Lucky Luciano and John Gotti are two of the most polarizing and well-known figures of the US mafia over the past 100 years. Both men were the main man in their ‘families’ when they were alive. They were always in the news whether it was for their trials, or for things prosecutors said they committed. In this paper, I will try to see if the New York Times changed their language when referring to the mafia or mobsters in the time of Lucky Luciano between the 1930s and 1950s to more respectful or neutral terms in the time of John Gotti in the 1980s and 1990s. I will do this by looking at the newspaper articles from their lives and see if any of the language had changed over the 50-60 years. Luciano was the first new world gangster, he liked money more than old Sicilian rivalries, and he was the influence of many future mobsters including John Gotti. Both men lived very wealthy lives, with Luciano living in the Waldorf-Astoria and Gotti dining in elegant restaurants.
Salvatore “Charles Lucky” Luciano was born on November 11, either in 1896 or 1897 as he contended at one of his trials, near Palmero, Sicily. He and his family migrated to the US when he was 9 years old (United Press International). Soon after coming here he dropped out of school and then got an “honest job” as a sales clerk. By this time he already had a reputation as a knife fighter and had served 6 months in jail for dealing opium. Once he was released, he joined the Five Points Gang (Walker 152).
His criminal career “spurted when he became an associate of Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria, who headed the mafia” (United Press International). During his time as an associate he controlled brothels and a prohibition business that paid money to Masseria. Luciano always...
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May, Allan. "John Gotti, the Last Mafia Icon." CrimeLibrary.com. Crime Library, Web. 05 May 2014.
Selwyn Raab. "Gotti Accused of Role in Castellano Slaying." New York Times (1923- Current file): 2. Dec 13 1990. ProQuest. Web. 9 Apr. 2014 .
Selwyn Raab. "Gotti and Fame: Dapper Folk Hero Or Ruthless Mob Boss?" New York Times (1923-Current file): 2. Feb 19 1990. ProQuest. Web. 9 Apr. 2014
Selwyn Raab with, Joseph A. "With Growing Reputation, Gotti's Swagger is Bolder." New York Times (1923-Current file): 2. Oct 22 1987. ProQuest. Web. 6 May 2014 .
"U.S. Ends Narcotic Sales to Cuba while Luciano is Resident there." New York Times (1923-Current file) Feb 22 1947: 1. ProQuest. 9 Apr. 2014
Walker, Martin. "Lucky Luciano and the American Criminal." America Reborn: A Twentieth- Century Narrative in Twenty-Six Lives. New York: Knopf, 2000. 147-59. Print.
Thomas Reppetto’s book is a solid account of the events that took place between 1880 and 1995. The events are detailed and contain fact and evidence, he uses first hand knowledge, being a former chicago commander of detectives, Reppetto was well equipped to write this book. In American Mafia, and its rise to power, Reppetto shows the different parts of the mafia and their communication with the police and italian civilians. The book starts off showing the worst part of the mob, or mafia, and how bad they truly are. Using examples like how many people they’ve taken out and how they’d be one of the richest fortune 500 companies, ift was legal. The book also has how the police reacted to the crimes, in chapter one, they take you into the lives
John Gotti John Gotti: The American Mobster This is a story about a New York mobster, who was the Godfather of the Gambino Family. Today he is serving a life sentence in Marion Federal Penitentiary on 43 counts of racketeering, multiple murders, loan sharking, gambling, and even jury tampering. John Gotti was born October 27, 1940 in the Bronx. John Gotti had 12 other brothers and sisters.
He started out as an errand boy for an underground club, where he met Aniello Dellacroce, who would eventually become his mentor.... ... middle of paper ... ... Gotti used his newfound status as boss to move the Gambino family headquarters to Manhattan at the Ravenite social club. The move made him a target for further surveillance from law enforcement, and by 1989 no less than nine men were informing on him.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone was the most notorious bootlegger in American History. He was born on January 17, 1899 and died of a heart attack on January 25, 1947. Capone grew up in Brooklyn and became a member of the Five Points Gang. During a street fight he had received a scar on his face that gave him the nickname “Scarface”. Capone quickly moves up the ranks in the mafia world, often noticed for his toughness, in 1919 he grabbed the attention of mobster John Torrio of Chicago. Capone was promoted to bodyguard of the mob boss James Colosimo. When Capone moved to Chicago, bootlegging was just starting to blow up. These bootleggers pounced on the opportunity to completely control the business of making, importing, and distributing alcohol and all alcohol products. Alcohol wasn't the only flourishing industry for the the mob, they also did trade in
Al Capone Thesis: From racketeering, bootlegging, and brotheling, Alphonse Capone is one of the most well known and influential gangsters in history. Al Capone, born to Gabriele and Teresina Capone, was born in Brooklyn, New York. At age 5 he starrted school at Public School no.7 on Adams street. Al’s school had outbreaks of violence. Male Students engaged in fist fights with female teachers.
South, David. The History of Organized Crime: Secrets of The World’s Most Notorious Gangs. New York: Metro Books, 2013. Print.
Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful “family-like” organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of “every man for himself,” within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain?
He came up from almost nothing in a poor immigrant home of Italian decent. His mother and father were working class citizens. Capone began using the Italian heritage at a young age with a slight twist of dastardly aggressiveness. Being kicked out of school at an early age from assault of a teacher then joining a gang was the future for Capone. Torrio left all his work in the hands of Capone, and Al did not disappoint. He was successful in making money. Prohibition alcohol, gambling, prostitution, speakeasy’s, and hits were just a few tactics of his reign in Chicago during the roaring twenties. With his attitude and ability to practically decide who will win elections made him so fearful, and if you ever crossed him you were due to payment for ticking him off. Valentine’s Day and the small-thug are just two examples of the raw decisions of Capone to commit murder. There is no possible answer to the amount of killings Capone is responsible for. Al Capone was finally caught after all the chaos and killing in 1931 where he would serve in Alcatraz and in Baltimore until returning to Miami where he would dance with the devil one last time. The notorious Al Capone never died in Chicago as the Chiraq still ran wild. Al Capone is one of Americas most famous gangsters from the prohibition era and will rest knowing that he is a symbol for modern destruction of law and order
Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York to Gabriele and Teresina Capone. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and was a member of two gangs; the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. Alphonse did well at school until the 6th grade when he was expelled for retaliating against a teacher who hit him. He was fourteen at the time. He became part of the Five Points gang in Manhattan and worked in gangster Frankie Yale's bar, the Harvard Inn, as a bouncer and bartender. While working at the Inn one night, local gangster Frank Gallucio was drinking with his sister at the Harvard Inn. Capone approached the girl to compliment her, and Gallucio took offense to him started a fight. Gallucio pulled a knife and cut Capone's face three times. That is how "Scarface" came to be.
Al Capone was a child from an Italian immigrant family, And was one of the most Notorious and infamous Mafia leader in the world during the Prohibition Era in Chicago. Also he was known as "Scarface," Al Capone was sent to Alcatraz Prison in Philadelphia in 1931 from a tax evasion conviction. Al Capone had a personal fortune estimated at $100 million and was responsible for countless murders, His most famous one was the St.Valentine’s Day Massacre.
People in Sicily believed that they could not trust the country’s police service, so they created their own organized protection that later evolved into the Mafia. Later on, the group engaged in organized crime and formed the Sicilian mafia. They came from Sicily to America during the mid 1800s due to bad conditions in Sicily where almost everyone was below the poverty line. Giuseppe Esposito and six other Sicilian members were the first to leave and fled to New York after they killed the chancellor and vice chancellor of Sicily. Then on the five main Sicilian mafia families were created and the majority of the mafia came to America in the early 20th century.
now the story behind him. What made him to be the most feared gangster in the city of Chicago? How did this kid from a rough neighborhood and no money grow up to have $60,000,000? I’ve always been fascinated with organized crime but had never been taught anything in school about it. This report gave me the chance to explore something interesting and also educational. The more I researched Al Capone, the more I wanted to learn about him. He may look like an innocent Italian at a glance, but he has done a lot of crime in the city of Chicago.
Al Capone was the son of two poor Italian immigrants, he had to find guidance with the only people that took an interest in him but unfortunately for him it was some of the biggest mob leaders in New York. Even with that kind of influence hard to believe that a once soft spoken, intelligent kid from a good family would grow up to run a major city with blood, bullets, and
Considered the most notorious gangster in history, Alphonse Capone, otherwise known as Scarface Al, was born in New York, 1899, in a small apartment in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Having many run-ins with the police growing up, he was always around the local street gang led my Johnny Torrio. After beating one of his sixth grade teachers, he quit school, and quickly learned the way of the streets, joining the Torrio gang, call the James Street Gang. James Street also included Lucky Luciano, one of Capone’s best friends, who would later also become a notorious gangster (Internet 1, 1).
Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia A history of Its Rise to Power. Edited by John Macrae. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2004.