Lucky Luciano and Operation Husky
In World War II, the Allied forces were against the Germans and Italians, carrying their battles in the Mediterranean and North Africa. At some point, they even began to gain the upper hand. British prime minister Winston Churchill wanted the Allied forces to invade Italy and overthrow their Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini.
While then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt was a bit reluctant, Churchill eventually persuaded him to join the invasion, naming it “Operation Husky”.
However, in reality, Churchill really wanted to make this operation a great success. In the meantime, Lucky Luciano, who was the father of organized crime, proved to be more useful than anyone would have ever imagined.
Sicily, a Mafia Mecca
The Allied forces decided to go for the island of Sicily as their attack point in Italy. Even if there was a strong military presence on the island, it was much easier to stay there than in mainland Italy.
Even more, the majority of the residents of Sicily were all members of the Mafiosi. Years before, in the 1920s, Mussolini sent troops to Italy to kill, torture, and imprison all Mafia members and their families, so many of them fled to the United States.
The ones who remained wanted their vendetta (revenge). The U.S. wanted to contact them and profit from their need for revenge for their own benefit.
Lucky Luciano, the Intelligence Officer
Then, Lucky Luciano came to the realization that he could easily use his connections in Sicily to secure himself the pardon action that he needed.
He promised to help the U.S. government, by putting them in contact with some of the men that were working for him, who knew everything that was needed to know about ports, harbors, and inlets in Sicily.
Also, he offered to convince his people in Sicily to facilitate an Allied invasion of the island. Obviously, everything worked according to the plan.
Because of Luciano, the Allied commanders knew everything they needed to know about the geography of the island, and insiders on Sicily facilitated the Allied invasion, by planting explosives at Italian military bases themselves.
Operation Husky started on July 8, 1943, and the Allied troops successfully secured the island and seized the capital city of Palermo. Lucky Luciano got the pardon he was promised and then he moved to Sicily.
