How the Mafia and US Government Teamed Up to Win World War II
October 24, 2022
Journalist Black (Dave Beck: A Teamster’s Life) spotlights in this colorful history the collaboration between the U.S. military and the Italian mob during WWII. Motivated by the sinking of the SS Normandie on the Hudson River in February 1942 and the torpedoing of 31 U.S. ships by German U-boats that same month, U.S. naval intelligence commander Charles Radcliffe Haffenden enlisted the help of Joseph “Socks” Lanza, a member of the Luciano crime family who ran the Fulton Fish Market, in placing undercover agents in the Port of New York. At the urging of Lanza, Haffenden eventually recruited Charles “Lucky” Luciano, who still held “tremendous power” over the New York underworld from prison, into the operation. Though the threat of sabotage on New York’s docks “decreased dramatically,” Haffenden’s aggressive actions, including breaking into foreign consulates and a push to get Luciano pardoned so he could join the Allied invasion of Sicily, made him enemies within naval intelligence. When word of Operation Underworld leaked in 1945, the Navy destroyed classified documents and threatened Haffenden with a court-martial if he spoke out. A winning mix of true crime, espionage, and military history, this WWII tale thrills.
March 1, 2023
Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross delivers a compelling performance of crime and labor historian Black's (Dave Beck: A Teamster's Life) treatise about the U.S. government's use of mobsters to conduct counterintelligence for German and Italian spies in the United States. When the S.S. Normandie caught fire in New York Harbor, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence worried about sabotage and submarines. Enter LCDR Charles Haffenden, a naval officer who managed the covert recruitment of gangsters for wartime undercover espionage. Ross authoritatively captures initial negotiations between Haffenden and Meyer Lansky, known as the "Mob's Accountant," who suggested names of other gangsters to bring onboard. Haffenden finally recruited "Lucky" Luciano, who, even from prison, was critical to the covert operation. Ross vocally celebrates the successes of the collaboration and maintains objectivity when relating details of crimes committed. When the New York operation was wrapped up, Haffenden volunteered to fight at Iwo Jima. Ross's voice rises and falls with animation as he describes the wartime action. An afterword details what happened to all the players after the war. VERDICT Black's engrossing account, mixing espionage with true crime and military history, is not to be missed. Highly recommended for all public library collections.--Stephanie Bange
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