By 1942, Germany had already declared war against the US and had begun attempts at sabotaging Eastern seaports, with German Operation Pastorius having sent a total of eight German saboteurs to blow up facilities necessary for the American war effort. Fortunately, these eight men were caught before being able to carry out their mission, but the event did heighten the Office of Naval Intelligence's concern about sabotage on New York Harbor given its large population of Italian longshoremen that might sympathize with Fascist Italy.
Unable to get information from people on the docks who were unwilling to speak to Naval officers, Naval Intelligence made an unlikely move and decided to reach out to the Mafia for help. In March, 1942, Operation Underworld was launched with a meeting between the Fulton Fish Market kingpin Joseph "Socks" Lanza, a Capo or Captain in the Luciano Crime Family. His reach did not extend very far however, and suggested that if the Navy could get the cooperation of "Lucky" Luciano then they could get the cooperation of the entire underworld.
(Lucky Luciano) (Meyer Lansky)
Luciano at the time was in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York serving his sixth year of a thirty to fifty year sentence for extortion and prostitution charges, but despite being locked up he still wielded a huge amount of influence in the Underworld. With Meyer Lansky, a top Jewish mobster, acting as a liaison between the Navy and the Mafia, they were able to secure Luciano's help. With the Mafia's cooperation, the docks operated smoothly. Suspected Axis sympathizers were rooted out and rest were "persuaded" to keep quiet, there were no strikes, equipment was loaded quickly, there were no delays, and troop movements were kept silent. Lansky declared that nothing went wrong in New York Harbor once he spoke with Luciano and got his support.
Not only did the Mafia help with preventing any possible sabotage, but they also helped Navy officers work undercover. They provided union cards to Naval Intelligence agents so that they could lurk around the docks without arousing much suspicion. Further, in the city of Yorkville, Mafia connections help the Navy keep tabs on Nazi sympathizers. Yorkville was a neighborhood home to many German American Bund members, a pro-Nazi organization founded in 1936, as well as other Nazi supporters. Here, restaurant owners with connections to the mob were encouraged to hire German-speaking Navy agents to help them collect information from Nazi sympathizers.
The extent of the Mafia aiding the US war effort was not even restricted to the home front. With the Allies gaining ground in North Africa, an invasion of Italy was imminent, and the first move would be to conquer Sicily. The operation would require as much intel on the island as possible, but lucky for the Navy, the American Mafia had many connections with the Sicilian mob.
More on Operation Husky coming in part two of: Cooperation Between the US Government and the Mafia.
Works Cited:
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-operation-underworld
https://argunners.com/unlikely-allies-cooperation-between-the-american-mafia-the-u-s-military-during-wwii/
Ari- I found your post to be very interesting and well researched. I never knew that the American government had gotten help from mobsters at any time point in time and we especially surprised to learn that they aided in the war effort. I was curious about "Lucky Luciano" and researched a bit more on him. I found that "While in prison, Luciano offered to help in the war effort during World War II by using his criminal connections in Italy to advance the Allies' cause. After the war, Luciano received parole and a deportation order. He went back to Italy briefly and then traveled to Cuba." This leads me to believe that while yes, the mobsters to put an effort into helping with the war effort, it wasn't really for the reason that may be seen as good. Perhaps Lucky made it an arrangement with the government or knew that it would happen and he would be able to gain parole for giving his assistance.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.biography.com/people/lucky-luciano-9388350
I thought you post showed a very interesting aspect of the war and a deeper understanding of the mafia. Earlier, I wrote a post about the mafia's involvement in the prohibition and it goes to show just how far the mafia's influence spread. The impact of their actions went beyond the prohibition era and solidified into a power that even the government used. What may have seemed like a decline once they no longer held much control when prohibition was banned was actually a more subtle influence on the nation. It goes to show how somethings are not what they seem and that desperate times call for desperate measures.
ReplyDeleteSource :
http://www.history.com/topics/prohibition
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/aug/26/lawless-prohibition-gangsters-speakeasies
Ari, you and I had talked briefly about this topic, but I had no idea of the extent of the mob's aid in the war. I think it's really interesting that the US government did what it did, turning to the mob for help in the war. It goes to show the desperate nature of the times, that the government would enlist the aid of those who seek to undermine the law and its authority. I researched the topic, and I found that the US government did indeed have concerns about enlisting the help of the mobsters, but they needed help and they needed it fast, so the mob was their only choice. Another interesting thing I noticed, reading your article, is that Meyer Lansky was a Jewish mobster. Perhaps he had more motivation than others to fight back against German forays into the US. Just a hypothesis. Maybe a source for further research.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2007-09-01/mafia-allies-true-story-americas-secret-alliance-mob-world-war-ii