Page 67 - All About History - Issue 59-17

Operation Underworld

also made it easier for Luciano to conduct his Early on, it was made clear to these criminals But was Operation Underworld a success for the
business in New York but it certainly cut down on that there would be “no compensation” for their US Navy? The ONI was certainly a more effective
Polakoff’s commute. assistance; it was “their duty” to assist the US in at counter-espionage than it had been. With the
Amid great secrecy, Polakoff and Lansky met their war effort. While helping the navy didn’t mafia on board, they had eyes everywhere in
with Luciano. Prison Warden Morhous was told cost them anything, the mafia wasn’t known for New York City and particularly in the docklands.
not to take fingerprints or record their visits in the giving something away for free. So what was in it More arrests were made, more enemy submarines
book and that they must have complete privacy. for Luciano and company? spotted and the Italian community of New York
The mob boss was apparently surprised by their While Luciano was assured to get out of prison was able to provide invaluable information on
visit, exclaiming, “What the hell are you fellows sooner, it’s likely the others knew ‘doing their bit’ the coastlines of their motherland. Finally, for the
doing here?” when Lansky and Polakoff entered would put them in a more favourable light if (or, duration of the war, the mafia-controlled labour
the holding cell. The situation was explained to more realistically, when) they ran into any trouble unions didn’t go on strike, so trade and the vital
him and Luciano agreed to help. Lanza would with the law in the future. It’s also hard to believe infrastructure of war was unobstructed.
meet with Luciano, who would tell him who Luciano didn’t make the most of his unrestricted William Herlands put it aptly in the conclusion
to talk to and what to do, while Lansky would access to his crime family to discuss illicit of his report. The governor who had commuted
speak on Luciano’s behalf to mafiosos outside of business during their meetings, too. The US defeat Luciano’s sentence had been “conservative” in his
Lanza’s sphere of influence. Both men knew that of Mussolini was also in the gangsters’ interests — statement of the mob boss’s contribution to the
if Lansky said he was acting in Luciano’s stead, the leader had cracked down hard on the mafia in war effort — that “there can be no question about
he wouldn’t be questioned. Sicily. It was a no-lose situation for the mob. the value” of Operation Underworld.
Polakoff visited Luciano 15 times, sometimes
with other members or associates of the mafia, Charles Luicano relaxing in Sicily,
including Jonny ’Cockeye’ Dunn, Willie McCabe after being released early from
prison – but expelled from the US
and Jimmy ‘Blue Eyes’ Alo. Every time, Polakoff
would sit in one corner of the room reading a
newspaper while the men chatted. On several
occasions, more than one crook was brought into
the fray — on 25 August 1942, a party of seven met
with Luciano in prison. These meetings continued
right up until of Victory over Japan Day in 1945.
The value of Luciano’s and his associates’
assistance is hard to quantify. The fact that the
US Navy relied on help from New York’s mobsters
was a source of some awkwardness immediately
after the war, especially when Luciano’s sentence
was commuted in 1946 — only 10 years into a
30-50 year stretch.
While Lucky’s release was conditional on him
being deported to Italy, it caused a scandal. An
inquiry was set up and William Herlands, New
York’s commissioner of investigation, wrote a
100-page report on the ONI’s interactions with the
crime families of New York during World War II.

Hitler’s dooMed sabotage Mission

When Nazi agents tried to infiltrate the US, it didn’t go entirely to plan
Operation Pastorius was sound in principle: the They had all the resources but it seemed The captured German
Nazis would contact and recruit eight German none of the professionalism required for the job. agents on trial, July 1942
citizens living in the US. They would arm them, George Dasch left documents that could have
give them explosives, $175,000, fake identity exposed the operation on a train. Another recruit
cards and draft deferment documents to avoid drunkenly boasted to punters in a Parisian bar
being called up for military service. that he was a secret agent. The Nazis clearly
This was December 1941, just after the US had didn’t choose their agents carefully enough.
declared war on Japan, and Germany wanted a After being dropped off 185 kilometres from
campaign of terror to demoralise civilians and New York City by a U-boat, the saboteurs had
hamper the US war machine. a close call with the US Coastguard, who found
The saboteurs were trained at the German some of their equipment buried on the beach.
High Command near Berlin where they were Dasch and one of his fellow agents decided that
taught to handle explosives, they made efforts to they hated Nazis and went to the FBI to inform
improve their English and pop culture knowledge them of their mission. Two weeks later, the men
by reading American newspapers and magazines, were rounded up, having failed to execute any
and they developed robust fake histories that they of their plans. Hitler never again tried to send
learned by heart. saboteurs into the US.

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