Lucky Luciano Ordered the Creation of Murder Inc. to Help Usher in the Modern Mafia
Murder Inc. was the ordered into being by Charles “Lucky” Luciano (1897 – 1962), a visionary criminal mastermind who founded today’s Genovese crime family, and is considered the godfather of modern American organized crime. His greatest contribution was to establish The Commission – a committee to run the Italian-American mafia and arbitrate its disputes, in order to avoid future gang wars harmful to everybody’s interests. Murder Inc. was to ensure that the Commission’s will was heeded – or else.
Luciano emigrated to America at age 9, and by age 10, he was already involved in shoplifting, mugging, and extortion. He did his first stint behind bars – six months for selling heroin – at age 19. In 1920, Luciano joined Masseria’s crime family, and became his chief lieutenant, running his bootlegging, prostitution, and narcotics operations. Incidentally, the notion that the mafia avoided drugs is just a myth popularized by The Godfather. In reality, the mafia was heavily involved in the drug trade from the start, and Luciano became America’s biggest ever home grown drug lord.
Luciano was appalled by the 1930 – 1931 Castellamarese War, and the way it drew attention to and disrupted mafia business. He eventually made a deal with Maranzano, then had Masseria killed. Five months later, Luciano had Maranzano killed as well, after which he established The Commission to regulate the American mob, and avert similar bloodshed.
Things went sour for Luciano with the arrival of a reformist New York crusading prosectuor, Thomas Dewey, who prosecuted Luciano for forced prosecution. Luciano was convicted in 1936, and received a 30 years sentence. He was saved by WWII, during which Luciano’s friend Meyer Lansky cut a deal with the US Navy to commute Luciano’s sentence in exchange for mafia mob help in protecting New York’s harbor. After the war, Luciano was freed and deported to Italy. His reforms and restructuring of the American mafia, remained even after he was gone.