01x04 - A Rising thr*at

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Previously on "The Making of the Mob: New York"...

All right, this is how it's gonna work.

Narrator: Charles "Lucky" Luciano takes control of the New York Mafia... and with his crew...

Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese...

Easy, Joe, easy.

Narrator: Luciano establishes a powerful commission of five families to rule the underworld...

The five New York families.

They will have the final say in all matters, even life and death.

Narrator: Enlisting notorious hit squad m*rder, lnc.

To enforce its power.

Luciano: You guys'll be like ghosts.

Nothing gets left behind.

Nothing.

(Man grunts)

♪

Narrator: But a thr*at to Luciano's organization emerges from within...

Get another bottle of vino over here for the ladies.

Narrator: As rogue gangster Dutch Schultz... (g*nsh*t, people scream) plans to assassinate the man on a mission to take down the Mob, New York prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

I don't care how much it costs.

Get me Dutch Schultz!

Narrator: Dewey launches a crusade against organized crime... and to save the Mafia, the New York kingpin orders a hit... on one of his own.

(g*n cocking)

♪

Man: ♪ This ain't no time ♪
♪ To feel sorry for myself ♪
♪ I can't help it ♪
♪ 'Cause there's nobody else ♪
♪ And I walk these streets ♪
♪ With your name on my tongue ♪
♪ But I dare not speak ♪
♪ Only there it belongs ♪
♪ There's got to be a better way ♪
♪ Better way ♪

(g*nsh*t echoes)

(Man groaning and gasping)

Narrator: In a single move, the New York Mafia has eliminated the greatest thr*at to its power: Uncontrollable gangster Dutch Schultz.

(Men laughing)

(All talking, clinking glasses)

Narrator: With Schultz out of the picture, the Mob is back in business.

He doesn't have anything in... that's all natural.

It's all natural... I'm Sicilian, come on.

Narrator: Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese are living the high life.

Vincent Pastore: Guys like Lucky came up from the bottom, clawed their way up, and wind up being on top, and when they became the boss, it was almost like their "Man of La Mancha" dream.

This is what they wanted.

♪

All right? Drink up.

Alla salute!

Men: Salute! God bless.

♪

Chazz Palminteri: In my neighborhood growing up, we didn't have money, and now all of a sudden you see these guys, they have a diamond pinkie ring, gorgeous suits, beautiful women with them.

They were gods to us.

Narrator: By 1935, Luciano and his crew had built an empire pulling in the modern-day equivalent of over $100 million a year.

♪

Meyer Lansky is leading the charge, revolutionizing their gambling rackets, turning their low-rent gambling dens into high-class establishments.

Rich Cohen: Well, Lansky saw opportunities where other people saw nothing, and he saw treasure where other people saw trash.

He was the first guy to take craps, which was a street game, and put it up on green felt on a table and thereby make it respectable and fancy.

Narrator: As Lansky is inventing the first modern casinos...

Look, I want all these collected today!

Collected today.

Narrator: Vito Genovese has a heroin racket that's pulling in millions of dollars a year, but he decides to diversify, and begins running high-stakes poker games...

Three of a kind.

Narrator: luring in unsuspecting wealthy businessmen and fixing the outcome to make sure he always wins.

Full house.

Jacks over nine.

Gambling was the strength of the American Mafia.

The reason gambling was appealing to Mob guys was because their life was a gamble, and it was only a reflection of the way they lived.

♪

Narrator: While business is booming, Bugsy Siegel makes sure the money is collected... and that the Mob's authority is understood.

And as part of the Mob's hit squad, m*rder, lnc., Siegel carries out orders sent down by the Commission...

♪

.. using his connections with corrupt politicians and law enforcement to ensure the Mob's business runs smoothly.

Now that they were running these criminal organizations, very profitable ones, they had to pay off police and politicians to continue thriving, because they didn't want any outside interference, you didn't want to be arrested.

Rudy Giuliani: "The Godfather" was based on Frank Costello with all the judges and all the politicians in his pocket.

Narrator: At the top of the operation is 38-year-old Lucky Luciano.

Selwyn Raab: The best way to describe Lucky Luciano was that he was a creative genius, but a criminal creative genius.

He knew entrepreneurship.

He knew how organizations should function and how to get rid of rivalries and competition.

In effect, he was an early equivalent, a criminal equivalent, of a Warren Buffett or a Steve Jobs.

♪

(Orchestra playing)

(People talking and laughing)

(Applause)

Hey.

Where are you going?

None of your business.

You know who I am?

(Scoffs)

Everybody knows who you are.

Am I supposed to be impressed?

Hey.

You haven't given me the chance yet.

Frank Vincent: Well, good-fellas are sexy guys.

They got money, they got power, they have, uh, new cars, they have the best clothes, and they're notorious and they're bad boys.

I think certain women are attracted to that.

He's mesmerized over here, huh?

(Chuckles)

♪

And soon... soon we can go traveling together.

Go to Paris, take you shopping.

You like that?

Rich Cohen: Lucky Luciano lived in the Waldorf-Astoria.

Normal people with normal lives don't live in fancy hotels.

That's for rock stars and gangsters.

Narrator: From his residential suite at the Waldorf-Astoria, Luciano begins to build a life with his new girlfriend, a 20-year-old Broadway dancer named Gay Orlova.

Man: Luciano's relationship with women was similar to the relationship of a lot of these guys.

One-night stands.

Occasionally you met someone.

He had a longer relationship with a woman named Gay Orlova.

Well, she was an entertainer, she was fancy.

I'm gonna take care of you, you understand?

No matter what happens to me, you'll be taken care of.

Do you understand?

(Horns honking)

♪

(People talking and laughing)

Narrator: While his girlfriend's at home, Luciano looks to diversify his business into the seedier side of the underworld.

♪
♪

All right, fellas, well, it's pretty self-explanatory.

As you see, the man in the middle...

What do you have on Luciano?

Narrator: For years, Luciano has been New York special prosecutor Thomas Dewey's number-one target... but Luciano's rackets are so well-organized, pinning a crime on him will be nearly impossible.

Rudolph Giuliani: Well, being a prosecutor, you come up in a tradition in which you're here to do the right thing.

You're constantly reminded that the correct result in America is justice and the government wins when we achieve justice.

Narrator: But what Dewey doesn't know is Luciano is about to play right into his hands.

♪

Narrator: At the height of his power, Lucky Luciano is determined to expand his criminal operation and take advantage of the oldest profession in the world... prostitution.

In the 1930s, prostitution is illegal in the United States, but Luciano knows underground brothels are still thriving... and he wants a cut of their profits.

Luciano realized that crime could cash in on free enterprise.

That was what he was gonna do.

They weren't gonna limit themselves to one or two occupations like Prohibition or gambling or loan-sharking.

They would do everything.

Narrator: Like all of his other rackets, Luciano streamlines the prostitution business.

He has madams to oversee the customers and bookers to bring prostitutes to his brothels around the city.

Prostitution was a socially accepted thing on high levels of government, where politicians would go into the houses in the company of their gangster friends and spend a couple of hours and just slip out the back door.

Narrator: Soon, the criminal kingpin has a citywide network of up to 200 brothels and 1200 prostitutes.

Lucky Luciano has created a prostitution empire that will bring in $12 million a year, the modern-day equivalent of over 200 million.

♪

Well, I don't like it.

It's a dirty business.

It's a business.

Look, these girls, they get sick, they get diseases, they get pregnant, they need doctors.

That's trouble.

It's a dirty business.

And we're in a dirty business.

Charlie, let me ask you this.

Are you all right being connected to hundreds of drug-addicted girls who will turn on you in a second for another hit of heroin?

Are you okay with an army of pimps who are loyal only to themselves?

Are you okay risking everything we've built... for this?

Narrator: To Luciano, Meyer Lansky has been a trusted friend and business partner for decades... and while he's always trusted Lansky's advice... this time Luciano ignores his friend's warning.

♪

(Church bell ringing)

It's too long.

I can't.

Come on, take me to lunch.

I wish I could.

You don't have time for me?

I'll always have time for you.

You're my girl.

Narrator: Within months, Luciano begins leading a double life, spending days with his girlfriend and nights at his brothels.

Drea de Matteo: Lucky Luciano, he had a woman that was like his main woman, his main squeeze.

He adored her.

But he cheated on her.

It's a power thing, yeah, I think... and then men are also just pigs.

Man on record: ♪ Why am I so happy I could cry? ♪

It's always great to see you, Lucky.

Narrator: Luciano begins frequenting one of his own brothels, run by a madam named Cokey Flo.

Cokey Flo: You happy with the merchandise?

Very.

(Women giggling)

Here.

Anything you want... it's yours.

Man on record: ♪ Why? 'Cause I found you, that's why ♪

♪

Sal Polisi: I was involved with prostitutes, working girls.

There's something about them that you have in common which you don't have in common with your wife.

They're con artists.

They're movers, they're shakers.

They're criminals also, so you feel at ease with them.

You could spend a night with a prost*tute and let her know more about your life than you want your wife to know.

♪

Narrator: As Thomas Dewey builds his case against Luciano, he brings in an ambitious young prosecutor named Eunice Carter.

Ellen Poulsen: Eunice Carter was an assistant district attorney and the very first African-American woman to serve in that capacity in New York City.

Narrator: Carter soon discovers the break in the case Dewey has been looking for.

More than half the prostitutes arrested had the same bail bondsman and the same attorney.

They're all working together.

What I need is how Luciano is connected to these people.

It's not a coincidence.

Narrator: Dewey and Carter discover that the man bailing out the prostitutes is a known criminal with ties to the Mob.

This booker, Ralph.

Get him in here.

On what charge?

Littering, jaywalking, I don't care.

Bring him in.

Narrator: Thomas Dewey believes he's found the weak link in Luciano's operation.

Now he just has to make the booker talk.

"What charge?"

Narrator: Special prosecutor Thomas Dewey has finally caught a break in his case against Lucky Luciano and brings in a booker tied to Luciano's prostitution ring.

Now Dewey just has to get him to talk.

So, Ralph, I'm wondering what you know about Lucky Luciano's prostitution ring.

Who?

Sometimes he's known as Charles Luciano.

Ringing any bells?

Never seen him before.

Never?

I have a lot of evidence showing the contrary.

Are you sure that's the answer you want to give me?

I've never seen the guy before.

That's real cute, Ralph... but I'm almost out of patience here.

What do you know about Lucky Luciano?

If you were a rat, you were... you couldn't be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

I mean, they would k*ll you for that.

That's their unwritten law.

You and I have nothing more to talk about.

(Slaps Ralph's shoulder hard)

♪

(Truck horn honking)

Lansky: You've gotta be careful.

Dewey's coming for you and he's got the Mayor and half the City Council behind him.

Well, then it's a good thing we got the other half.

You can't buy Dewey.

Okay? He's not like the others.

Meyer, everybody's got a price.

Narrator: Dewey lets the booker walk, but he has a plan... as assistant district attorney Eunice Carter has introduced a new crime-fighting technology.

Ralph: I have two shifts tonight, sometimes, um, six to 12 girls.

It all depends.

(On recording) Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Woman: Ralph...

Hold on one second.

b*at it!

Yeah.

Thomas Dewey III: The use of wiretaps was very much of an innovation at the time.

Um, no need for a court order.

Um, it's really become one of the staples of law enforcement.

Narrator: Dewey's investigators listen to hundreds of hours of calls...

Ralph: Nothing at all... I'm just trying to enjoy my cigar.

Waiting to hear evidence against Luciano.

Uh, about one every hour.

Hey, Ralph.

Man: Your numbers are off, damn it.

Ralph: I did the books, so... they're not off.

Man: I'm looking at the numbers, they're off.

Ralph: Listen, if you're having trouble, you're gonna have to talk to Lucky about it, all right?

♪

Well, you talk to Lucky and then you get back with me.

All right?

Always busting my balls.

(Horns honking)

♪

What am I listening to?

One of Luciano's bookers.

Man: Your numbers are off, damn it.

Ralph: I did the books so... they're not off.

Man: I'm looking at the numbers, they're off.

Ralph: Listen, if you're having trouble, you're gonna have to talk to Lucky about it, all right?

You talk to Lucky and then you get back with me.

Find out where Mr. Luciano is.

♪

So... why do they call you Lucky anyway?

You're not from around here, are you?

What makes you say that?

Just a hunch.

♪

(Raised voices, women screaming)

Police! This is a raid!

Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait!

Come on, let's move! Come on, everybody out!

Let's go, let's go! Move it!

(Voices overlapping)

Everybody out! Time's up! Let's go!

♪

Narrator: Thomas Dewey organizes a citywide raid to find Lucky Luciano.

He's not in here.

♪

Narrator: Luciano escapes, but for Dewey, the raid isn't a total loss, as he brings in a prost*tute who works in one of Luciano's brothels.

So, how do you know Lucky Luciano?

I don't.

You're lying to me.

You and me both know I'm gonna be outta here... two hours... three, tops.

Not this time.

I have you on solicitation, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, public lewdness, narcotics possession... and sodomy.

Given your record, I'd say you're looking at five to 10.

Or you can walk... and I can expunge your prior convictions.

Just tell me everything you know about Lucky Luciano.

All right.

♪

Man: He's gone.

Find him... no matter what it takes.

♪

Special prosecutor Thomas Dewe is determinate to find Mafia kingpin Luky Luciano.

Man: He's gone.

Find him... no matter what it takes.

Narrator: But Luciano is in the last place Dewey would look... more than 1200 miles away, in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

(Birds chirping)

Luciano: Hustle-bustle of the city streets, the subway, who needs that, right?

This is where it's at.

You're safe here, right?

Yeah.

What about the local police?

You don't have to worry about that here.

No?

No.

Narrator: With one of the most corrupt police forces in the country, Hot Springs is the most sought-after hideout for gangsters on the run from the law... a haven filled with casinos, overrun with gamblers, and completely under the control of the Mob.

Ellen Poulsen: When Lucky landed in Hot Springs, it was controlled by organized crime.

Any gangster could check in and enjoy the hospitality, as long as that gangster promised not to bring his criminal activities into the town.

♪

Narrator: Back in New York, Dewey knows if he can't find Luciano, all the evidence he's collected will mean nothing.

With Luciano nowhere to be found, Dewey expands his citywide search into a nationwide manhunt.

♪

On April 3, 1936, Dewey's big break won't come from effort or strategy, but from pure coincidence.

♪

Lucky!

Yeah?

Lucky Luciano.

That's right.

Narrator: A New York detective working an unrelated case recognizes Luciano while passing through Hot Springs.

You're coming with me.

Hands off me... get your hands off me.

Narrator: After months on the run, the most powerful gangster in America has finally been arrested.

♪

Hey, Sheriff, let me make a phone call.

Narrator: Luciano believes if he can arrange his trial in Arkansas, he'll be able to bribe his way out of Dewey's charges.

(Phone rings)

Hello?

Frank, what's going on?

Charlie, don't worry, we're handling it.

We're pulling every string that we can.

Trust me, I'm on it... we're calling in all the favors.

All right.

Just do whatever you have to do, you understand?

Sal Polisi: The police department, attorneys, they're all for sale.

We had them all in our hand.

Like "The Godfather," they said, "He had the politicians."

We had them.

Narrator: Luciano's bribes pay off and the local sheriff personally refuses Thomas Dewey's demand to deliver Luciano back to New York.

♪

Dewey soon learns that Luciano is continuing to run his rackets.

Vito Genovese is making millions dealing heroin...

Meyer Lansky is overseeing the largest network of casinos in the country...

♪

.. and Frank Costello is continuing to use his connections to keep Luciano out of Dewey's reach.

♪

From a jail cell in Arkansas...

Lucky Luciano is still in full control of his empire.

♪

Thomas Dewey III: If you have a situation where you have the level of institutional corruption that you had in the late 1920s and early 1930s, one of the things that you need to do is to try to rally the public behind your efforts.

We are entirely prepared to prosecute Lucky Luciano.

The only problem is that he has fled to Arkansas, where for some reason the authorities seem unwilling to hand him over to us.

Lucky Luciano, to my knowledge...

Narrator: To put pressure on Arkansas state officials, Dewey takes his case to the media... and while still in police custody, Lucky Luciano is named Public Enemy Number One.

We are entirely prepared to prosecute Lucky Luciano.

The only problem is that he has fled to Arkansas, where for some reason the authorities seem unwilling to hand him over to us.

Lucky Luciano, to my knowledge...

Narrator: With Lucky Luciano protected by a corrupt Arkansas sheriff, Thomas Dewey goes to the press and names the Mafia kingpin Public Enemy Number One.

Thomas Dewey III: The motivation for calling Luciano Public Enemy Number One was to personalize the corruption and the criminal conduct.

Luciano is widely regarded as the most important racketeer in the country, and this case involves one of the most loathsome of crimes, exploiting the most vulnerable, downtrodden women in our society.

Ellen Poulsen: Thomas E. Dewey utilized a two-pronged approach to get Luciano out of Hot Springs.

In addition to putting pressure on the police departments, he also got the press involved and accused Hot Springs of being afraid to release Luciano into his custody.

We intend to see Lucky Luciano in prison for the longest possible amount of time.

(Chuckles)

I'm not afraid of Thomas Dewey.

I'm just an American citizen defending my rights.

I happen to respect and think Mr. Dewey's an intelligent man and a great prosecutor.

This is about politics, the most vicious kind of politics...

Narrator: To counter Dewey's att*ck, Luciano launches his own press campaign.

I might not be the most moral man in this world, but I have never in my life supported or participated in the practice of prostitution.

And I have every confidence that the authorities in Arkansas will uphold the law and send this man Luciano to meet his fate in a court of law here in New York City, where his crimes...

Narrator: For days, Luciano and Dewey wage w*r through press conferences and national headlines.

Luciano: He can say whatever he wants in the paper, but I tell you this.

Any jury or judge will see it my way, and this case will be dropped, and I will be set free.

(Music playing on radio)

Sheriff: Let's see if my luck'll change a bit.

Give me three.

Narrator: With lawyers fighting his extradition and the local sheriff in his pocket, Luciano believes it's only a matter of time before he's released.

Full house.

Hmm... can't b*at that.

♪

Send Luciano out!

♪

Narrator: Dewey's press campaign has paid off, and with public pressure on state officials, the Arkansas governor is forced to send a team of heavily armed state troopers to Hot Springs.

State troopers.

♪
♪

(Handcuffs clicking)

Narrator: On April 4, 1936, the most powerful gangster in the country is forced to surrender.

♪

What's your name, cop?

It's a long way to New York from Arkansas, no conversation.

How much they paying you?

Tell you what, I'll give you $10,000 right now if you let me go... cash.

What do you say, copper?

(Continues indistinctly)

♪

Bugsy Siegel: This whole case is a stretch.

Man: It's not a stretch.

He's very smart.

Well, we're smart too.

Narrator: Back in New York, Lucky Luciano is out on bail, facing charges of compulsory prostitution.

With just days to prepare for the trial, the notorious gangster meets with his lawyer and his crew to plan his defense against special prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

Charlie, this guy really knows his stuff.

That doesn't mean he's gonna win.

And he's coming after you hard.

Bugsy Siegel: Has anyone tried to look into this guy, huh?

Pay him off? Dewey doesn't care about money.

Does he care about his life?

Listen to me.

There's nothing funny about these charges.

Costello: He's right.

Dewey means business.

Look, there's a lot of things they can get me on... but not this.

That's not gonna happen.

♪

(Voices murmuring, gavel banging)

Court will come to order.

The case of New York State versus Charles Luciano.

Narrator: Thomas Dewey finally has Lucky Luciano right where he wants him, and after three years of building his case, Dewey is determined to put the gangster away for good.

(Voices murmuring, gavel banging)

Court will come to order.

The case of New York State versus Charles Luciano.

Narrator: In 1936, the most powerful Mob boss in America finally goes on trial.

Thomas Dewey III: The prosecution of Luciano was the first time that a Mob member of that seniority and stature and power had been called to account in a courtroom.

It was extraordinarily dangerous to take the Mafia on.

They had operated with impunity for a very long time.

They had substantial segments of law enforcement and the courts in their pocket.

So there was a very substantial personal risk for my grandfather.

Your Honor, the prosecution calls Miss Jane Smith.

Narrator: Thomas Dewey launches into his case, calling prostitutes from around the city to take the stand.

You say you were afraid to go to the police. Why?

I know what they do to squealers.

Plenty of girls who talked got b*rned with cigarettes...

(People murmuring)

.. their tongues cut.

Dewey: I want to be very specific here.

Since you started working at this establishment, how many men would you see in a day?

15... sometimes 20.

Woman 3: I didn't even know what heroin was, and... at first it was free.

Tearfully: Then it wasn't free anymore.

♪

Narrator: In total, Dewey calls 68 witnesses... and while the prosecutor's strategy to shock and outrage the jury seems to be working, Luciano is unfazed.

♪

Luciano is convinced it will take more than just the testimonies of prostitutes to take him down.

♪

Your Honor, the prosecution calls Florence Brown to the stand.

(People murmuring)

Would you state your name for the jury, please?

Florence Brown.

Do you go by any other names?

People call me Cokey Flo.

Why do they call you that?

Take a wild guess.

'Cause I like to use cocaine.

(Whispering and murmuring)

Where do you get cocaine from?

Different places... different people.

Depends.

Have you ever received cocaine... from anybody in this courtroom?

Yes.

Would you be so good as to point out that person to the jury?

(People exclaim)

Let the record show that the witness is pointing at Charles "Lucky" Luciano.

(People murmuring)

Was this cocaine a gift?

Uh, a mark of Mr. Luciano's, uh, generosity?

Not exactly.

Please, enlighten us.

He knew I was an addict... he knew it was my weakness... so he used it to control me and my girls.

He said he wanted to run the whorehouses just like they do the grocery stores.

The grocery stores?

I'm not sure I understand.

People come in, they pay for the merchandise, they leave happy.

He wanted to get as many customers in and out as quickly as possible.

(Louder murmuring, gavel banging)

Dewey: No further questions, Your Honor.

(Murmuring continues)

♪

Narrator: Thomas Dewey may have tipped the scales in his favor... but Luciano is determined to make a comeback... and against his lawyer's advice, Luciano does the unthinkable.

The New York kingpin will take the stand in his own defense... in a move that could destroy everything.

♪

Mr. Luciano...