Havana Conference Attendees

Below is a list of Havana Conference Attendees:

Crime Family	Name	Age at the time of the Havana Conference	Position at the time of the Havana Conference	Death
Luciano Crime Family	Charlie Luciano	49	Capo di Tutti Capi	Died Jan 26,1962
Luciano Crime Family	Frank Costello	55	Boss	Died Feb 18, 1973
Luciano Crime Family	Willie Moretti	52	Underboss	Murdered Oct 4, 1951
Luciano Crime Family	Vito Genovese	49	Capo	Died Feb 11, 1961
Luciano Crime Family	Joe Adonis	44	Capo	Died Nov 27, 1972
Luciano Crime Family	Michele Miranda	50	Capo	Died 1973
Luciano Crime Family	Anthony Carfano	47	Capo	Murdered Sept 25, 1959
Chicago Outfit	Anthony Accardo	40	Boss	Died May 27, 1992
Chicago Outfit	Charles Fischetti	45	Consigliere	Died April 11, 1951
Chicago Outfit	Rocco Fischetti	43	Capo	Died July 6, 1964
Mangano Crime Family	Albert Anastasia	43	Underboss	Murdered Oct 25,1957
Bonanno Crime Family	Joseph Bonanno	41	Boss	Died May 11, 2002
Gagliano Family	Tommy Lucchese	46	Underboss	Died July 13, 1967
Profaci Crime Family	Giuseppe Profaci	50	Boss	Died June 7, 1962
Profaci Crime Family	Giuseppe Magliocco	48	Underboss	Died Dec 30, 1963
Buffalo Crime Family	Stefano Magaddino	55	Boss	Died July 19, 1974
New Orleans Crime Family	Carlos Marcello	36	Boss	Died March 3, 1993
Tampa Crime family	Santo Trafficante Jr.	32	Capo	Died March 17, 1987
Jewish Crime Syndicate	Meyer Lansky	44	Jewish Syndicate Boss	Died Jan 15,1983
Jewish Crime Syndicate	Abner Zwillman	47	Jewish Syndicate Boss	Suicide Feb 27, 1959
Jewish Crime Syndicate	Morris Dalitz	48	Jewish Syndicate Boss	Died Sep 1, 1989
Jewish Crime Syndicate	Joseph Stacher	-	Jewish Syndicate Boss	Died March 1977
Jewish Crime Syndicate	Philip Kastel	52	Jewish Syndicate Boss	Suicide Aug 16, 1962

The Havana Conference Part 3

The next area of focus for the Havana Conference was the Global Narcotics trade, which was one of the most significant topics on the Havana Conference agenda. In the book “The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano” it is stated that Luciano said “I told ‘em I want ‘em to get the hell outa that business, to stop it right then and there, and to forget it.” However, this argument was falling on deaf ears. As the discussion continued about the huge sums of money that could be made from drugs, Luciano could see this was a conflict he was not going to win. Soon Costello leaned over and whispered, “Charlie, don’t hit your head against the wall. Vito rigged it before the meet started. Try to get out of it as soon as you can. Someday, they’ll all be sorry.” Many experts believe this information is incorrect and the belief that Luciano and the Cosa Nostra did not want to nor did they deal in narcotics is mythical and incorrect. The reality is that only a few bosses who ran lucrative gambling rackets were opposed to the drug trade. One of these bosses was Frank Costello, the acting boss for the Luciano family at the time. These anti-narcotics, pro-gambling bosses were not interested in the drug trade. They believed dealing drugs would have a negative impact on La Cosa Nostra because of the media and law enforcement attention it would bring to the organization. For these reasons and the fact that the general public considered drugs to be a very harmful unlike gambling these few bosses argued against dealing drugs. However the majority of the bosses, who were pro-narcotics had a valid counterargument; they argued that narcotics were far more profitable than any other illegal activity and if they overlooked the drug trade, other criminal organizations would pick it up, which would lead to power and influence fading away from the La Cosa Nostra.

The top boss, Charlie “Lucky” Luciano had been involved with drugs from a very young age. He came up as a street dealer in the late 1910s and in 1928 after the murder of his old boss, Arnold “The Big Bankroll” Rothstein, Luciano decided along with Louis “Lepke” Buchatler to take over Rothstein’s large narcotics importation. La Cosa Nostra had been involved in the narcotics trade long before the Havana Conference and well after it. La Cosa Nostra was the biggest importer of narcotics from the 1920s-1980s in the United States, until other drug organizations and cartels such as those of the Mexicans and Asians prospered. The specific concern of the narcotics trade for the Havana Conference was monopolizing it. Charlie “Lucky” Luciano’s deportation was hurtful for him but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Mob’s Narcotic operations.

Upon his deportation to Sicily, Luciano now had the opportunity to import heroin from North Africa via Italy and Cuba to the United States and Canada. He made affiliations with Sicily’s biggest and most powerful bosses such as Don Calogero “Calo” Vizzini of Villalba who assisted in the Allied invasion of Sicily and had the greatest political connections of all Sicilian bosses. Don Pasquale Ania, a powerful boss in Palermo was another boss who had become an affiliate of Luciano. Don Pasquale Ania had connections to legitimate pharmaceutical companies; these connections were a result of large scale heroin production being legal at that time in Italy.

At the Havana conference Luciano laid out the details of the proposed drug networks that would help monopolize drug trafficking for the Cosa Nostra. The proposed plan was as follows; after arriving into Cuba from North Africa, the mob would ship the Narcotics to US ports that it controlled primarily New York City, New Orleans and Tampa. After arriving in their destined ports the narcotics would be overseen by the Luciano Crime Family (later the Genovese Family) and the Mangano Crime Family (later the Gambino Family) in New York, the Marcello Crime Family would oversee the operation in New Orleans and in Tampa the Trafficante Crime Family would watch over the narcotics operation. All the delegates voted yes to approve the plan.

The Havana Conference Part 2

On December 22, 1946, The Havana Conference kicked off. The conference had attendees from New York City, New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, New Orleans and Florida. The largest delegation of bosses was from the New York-New Jersey area. Several major bosses from the Jewish Syndicate were also present to discuss joint La Cosa Nostra-Jewish Syndicate business. The Jewish delegates had no voting power on Cosa Nostra rules or policies, but there input was much welcomed on any joint business ventures, such as the Flamingo Hotel.

The Havana Conference was opened by Luciano with the topic of “Capo di tutti Capi” which translates into “Boss of all Bosses” and was a position that would greatly affect his authority within the American Mafia. The last person to officially hold this title was Salvatore Maranzano who was murdered in early September 1931. In the last quarter of 1931 Luciano abolished the title of “Capo di tutti Capi” and replaced it with the Commission, a board of directors who would oversee criminal activities of the mafia, control rules and set policies. Luciano and the commission turned La Cosa Nostra into the most powerful criminal organization in the United States.

Luciano could have easily named himself “Capo di tutti Capi” after Maranzano’s death, but he decided to abolish the position and run things from behind the scene with the help of the commission. He was content with this arrangement until Vito Genovese came back from exile in Italy. Genovese was previously the acting boss of the Luciano family, while Luciano was in prison, but he had to run off to Italy to avoid a murder charge. In his absence Frank Costello became the acting boss of the family and when Genovese came back Costello was still the acting boss and Genovese was left to be just a capo regime, a title he was not satisfied with. Genovese had made it clear that he wanted to take control of the Luciano family. As a result of Genovese’s hunger for power, tension started to fester between Costello and Genovese factions. Luciano, who had no intention of retiring and stepping down as boss of the Luciano family, knew he had to do something about Genovese. Not only was Genovese acting like a nuisance and creating tension in the Luciano family, he was also becoming a continuing threat with support from other bosses to Luciano’s power, authority and influence within the American mafia. Therefore, Luciano decided to resurrect the position of “Capo di tutti Capi” and crown himself the “Boss of all Bosses”. Luciano hoped the other bosses would support him, either by officially affirming the title and accepting him as the “Capo di tutti Capi” or at least by acknowledging that he was still “First Amongst Equals”.

Luciano, after first thanking the delegates for the envelopes of cash, presented the motion for him to be crowned “Capo di Tutti Capi” and retain his position as the top boss in La Cosa Nostra. Albert “The Mad Hatter” Anastasia, a Luciano ally then seconded the motion. He, Anastasia stood up and while glaring over at Genovese stated “For me, you are the Big Boss, whether you like it or not. That’s the way I look at it, and I would like to hear from anybody who don’t feel the same way.” After Anastasia’s statement there was silence in the room. Albert Anastasia’s vote for Luciano was a result of Anastasia being threatened by Genovese, which was caused by Genovese’s attempts to muscle in on Anastasia’s waterfront rackets in New York. This move solidified Luciano’s position at the top of the Mafia food chain and also quashed Genovese’s ambitions for the time being. Adding to Genovese’s woes, Luciano made Genovese and Anastasia sort out their outstanding issues and shake hands in front of the other bosses, thus further humiliating Genovese. This gesture was for retaining peace in New York City and avoiding another war like the Castellammarese War.

The Havana Conference Part 1

In 1946, Luciano, now living in Italy after being deported and barred from America had grown a curiosity about Cuba. In early fall 1946, when Luciano was living in Rome, he got word in a sealed envelope through a newly deported U.S Mafioso. In the envelope was a paper with three words, “December Hotel Nacional”. Two Italian passports were issued to Luciano in late September, in his real name, Salvatore Luciano. On those passports were visas for Mexico, Cuba and several other South American Nations. Since the moment he was deported, Luciano had been planning to get back to America, a plan which was now becoming possible and even though he still couldn’t get in to America, he could get very close to it. 

In late October Luciano left Italy for Caracas, Venezuela, from Venezuela he flew to Mexico City, where he boarded a private plane to Havana. Arriving in Havana, Luciano was greeted by his childhood friend and associate Meyer Lansky. Luciano first stayed in a luxurious suite in the Hotel Nacional and then moved into a spacious home in the suburb of Miramar. Lansky, on Luciano’s orders had organized the conference for the week of December 22 in the Hotel Nacional. Lansky suggested that Luciano should purchase a $150 000 interest in the Hotel Nacional, a hotel which was owned by Meyer Lansky and his silent partner, the Cuban President Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar.

In December 1946 the Havana Conference was in motion. Top Mafioso’s from all over the United States bolted into Havana. All of the guests brought envelopes full of cash for Luciano, to welcome him back from exile and to recognize the authority he still had in the Mafia. This money was handed to Luciano at dinner on the night before the conference started. The dinner was hosted by Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello and Joe Adonis and the money which Luciano was given amounted to more than $200,000. Frank Sinatra was performing at the Hotel Nacional that week and that was the cover story for the conference. The mobsters were supposedly all there for a gala party in which Sinatra was the entertainment. Frank Sinatra flew in from Chicago to Havana with Al Capone’s Cousins, Charlie, Rocco and Joseph Fischetti. Joseph “Joe Fish” Fischetti, an old acquaintance of Sinatra, acted as his chaperone and bodyguard, while the other two Fischetti’s delivered a suitcase containing $2 million to Luciano. The $2 million was his share of the U.S rackets he still controlled. 

The most significant items on the agenda of the Havana Conference were the leadership and authority of the Mafia in New York, the mob-controlled Havana casino interests, the narcotics operations, and the West Coast operations of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, especially the new Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Luciano’s main concern was the situation in New York. Luciano had been away from several months and was not happy with the growing tension in New York. Previous acting Boss for the Luciano Family, Vito Genovese had returned from exile in Italy and was not happy with Frank Costello being the boss and him just being a capo regime and having a minor role in the organization.

Hits Orchestrated by Luciano

Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria

In 1931, after the Castellammarese War had been going on eighteen months, Luciano, who was one of Masseria's top lieutenants at the time decided to double-cross Masseria. At a meeting with Maranzano Luciano proposed to end the bloodshed. Luciano offered to get rid of Masseria and take control of his gang. In exchange he wanted Maranzano to call of his gun men, accept him as an equal boss and keep peace between the two factions. 

On April 15, 1931, Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria was invited to one of his favorite restaurants, the Nuova Villa Tammaro, located in Coney Island by Lucky Luciano. The meeting was supposedly to find a way to ambush Maranzano, but Luciano had his own agenda for the meeting, he had made arrangements to get rid of Masseria at this meeting. Masseria arrived at the meeting, with three bodyguards, in his personal armored car, which had one-inch think bulletproof windows. The mobsters had a extravagant lobster lunch, played a card game and conferred over how to get rid of Maranzano. At 3 pm, an hour after Masseria had arrived at the restaurant and just before desert arrived, Luciano left for the toilet, Masseria’s bodyguards vanished from the restaurant and four of Luciano’s gunmen appeared in the restaurant and pumped Masseria full with an array of bullets. The New York Daily News reported melodramatically that Masseria died “with the ace of spades, the death card, clutched in a bejeweled paw"

Giuseppe Masseria's Dead Body

Salvatore Maranzano

In 1931, after Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” had been murdered on Luciano’s command, Salvatore Maranzano, Masseria’s rival believed it was his turn to be the King of the American Underworld. So in a meeting of Bosses from all over the country Maranzano announced that he was now “Capo di Tutti Capi”, Boss of all Bosses. In order to remain the most powerful man in American Underworld, Maranzano had to get rid of some threats to him and his power, the biggest one being Luciano. Maranzano marked Luciano for a machine gun assassination by Irish cutthroat gangster Vincent “Mad Dog” Coll. Tommy “Three Finger Brown” Lucchese, who was a loyal associate and a good friend to Luciano got wind of this news and tipped Luciano off. Luciano knew he had to act quickly, since he had been marked for death.

On September 10, 1931, Lucchese paid Maranzano a surprise visit at his office. Minutes after Lucchese arrived, a group of men came in stating they were IRS agents. The men were actually Luciano’s hit men but none of them were Sicilian or Italian. Neither Maranzano nor his bodyguards had any clue that they were hit men and none of them even suspected that the men were not IRS agents. The hit men pulled their guns out and lined everyone up against the wall. Lucchese identified Maranzano with a head movement and one of the gunmen forced Maranzano into his private office. Sounds which came from the office indicated Maranzano initially put up a struggle, but was ultimately killed with a volley of gun fire. Maranzano’s body was full of bullets and stab wounds.

Salvatore Maranzano's Dead Body