Operation Underworld with Matthew Black

 (Pictured: Mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano)

After Pearl Harbor, Americans were traumatized by the event’s sudden widescale death and destruction on US soil. When the second largest ship in the world, the SS Normandie, caught fire on the Hudson River and sank, many suspected sabotage. This fear led to an unusual alliance.

In the face of saboteurs, spies, and enemies of the state on the New York shoreline, the US Navy did the unthinkable and empowered the New York Mafia to help them patrol the New York City docks and act as informants. Journalist and crime historian Matthew Black has uncovered this clandestine coalition that brought homefront enemies together and ultimately succeeded in helping the Allies win World War II. Black will discuss his new book Operation Underworld: How the Mafia and US Government Teamed Up to Win World War II and how he came to uncover this hidden history. From Montauk to Sicily, from German garrisons to the halls of power in Washington, DC, with a side trip to Sing Sing, join us for an eye-opening evening and learn why “Lucky” Luciano was rumored to be up for a Congressional Medal of Honor!

Support for this program has been provided by a generous grant from the Pritzker Military Foundation, on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

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