Lucky luciano

Lucky Luciano (1896-1962) ─ the most powerful chief of American organized crime in the early 1930s and a major influence even from prison, 1936-45, and after deportation to Italy in 1946. (To deport means to make someone who is not a citizen of a particular country leave that country, especially because they do not have a legal right to stay.) Luciano immigrated with his parents from Sicily to New York City in 1906 and, at the age of 10, was already involved in mugging, shoplifting, and extortion.(Mugging is an attack on someone in which they are robbed in a public place. Shoplifting is a crime of stealing things from shops, for example by hiding them in your bag, under your clothes. To extort means to illegally force someone to give you money by threatening them.)

In 1916 he spent six months in jail for selling heroin. He earned his nickname "Lucky" for success at evading arrest and winning craps games. In 1920 he directed bootlegging, prostitution, narcotics distribution, and protection racket. (Protection racket is a system in which criminals demand money from you to stop them from damaging your property.)

In October 1929 he was abducted by four men in a car, beaten, stabbed repeatedly with an ice pick, had his throat slit from ear to ear, and was left for dead on a beach ─ but survived. Lucky Luciano never named his abductors. He took an active part in the bloody gang war of 1930-31. By 1934 Luciano had become capo di tutti capi ("boss of all the bosses"). Then, in 1935, New York special protector Thomas E. Dewer bore down on Luciano, gathering evidence of his brothel and call-girl empire.

In 1936 he was indicted, tried, convicted and sentenced for a 50-year term. From his prison cell Luciano continued to rule and issued orders. In 1946 his sentence was commuted and he was deported to Italy, where he settled in Rome. In Naples, Lucky Luciano continued to direct the drug traffic into the United States and the smuggling of foreigners from one country to another.(Smuggling is the crime of taking things illegally from one country to another.) Lucky Luciano died of a heart attack in Naples in 1962.

Task 1. Answer the following questions:

1. When did Lucky Luciano head American organized crime?

2. What does mugging mean?

3. What activities was Lucky Luciano involved in when he was a child?

4. Why did he earned his nickname "Lucky»?

5. What criminal activities did he direct?

6. When was he sentenced?

7. Where did he settle after World War II?

8. What activities did he direct while living in Italy?

Task 2. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. Luciano was the most powerful chief of Italian organized crime.

2. Luciano immigrated with his friends from Palermo to Chicago.

3. Luciano spent ten months in jail for selling morphine.

4. Luciano deserved his alias for success at evading arrest.

5. Luciano was good at craps games.

6. Luciano made and sold alcohol illegally.

7. Luciano was sentenced for a 10-year term.

8. In 1946 his term was mitigated and Luciano was deported to France.