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THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVINGSTURBRIDGETIMES

THE

MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2010

19THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE

BY RICHARD MURPHY

In the Godfather II there is the famous scene atHyman Roth’s birthday party where Michael Coreleonetalks about Cuban rebels. Michael notes, “I saw an inter-esting thing happen today. A rebel was being arrested bythe military police, and rather than be taken alive, heexploded a grenade he had hidden in his jacket. He killedhimself, and took a captain of the command with him.”Michael further notes, “The soldiers are paid to fight --the rebels aren't.....They can win.” Hyman Roth dismiss-es the insurgents, “This country's had rebels for the lastfifty years -- it's in their blood, believe me, I know. I'vebeen coming here since the ’20s.”

We all know how that worked out, except that theGodfather II is fiction. The real story is much moreinteresting. It is the tale of hard calculating men whothought they had made a country their wholly ownedsubsidiary. Oh, the part about the rebels being willing todie, and thus potential winners, that was true.

BOOK REVIEW

In ‘Havana Nocturne,’ author examinesLansky, Luciano and the Cuban mob

Author: T.J. EnglishHarper,2008ISBN 978-0-06-171274-6330 pages$15.00 price

The story of the mob in Cuba is told by a man who isarguably this country’s best crime writer. T.J. English hasbeen around as a journalist for quite a while. His firstbook, The Westies, was about a particularly brutal gangout of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. His next book,Born to Kill, was about an Asian gang that was, born tokill. Havana Nocturne is about a group of men whocould and did kill when necessary, but thought of them-selves as more businessmen than thugs.

Havana Nocturne also has some resonance forMassachusetts as we wait to see if a casino is approvedlocally. The men who operated in Cuba had thoughtthey had solved all their problems by leaving the US todominate the island to the south. There is no lack of sen-timent here that our troubles will be over once construc-tion commences on a gambling palace.

National organized crime had been given its start withthe passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.Ratified in 1919, it prohibited the sale of alcohol in the

US. It is, of course, folly to believe men can be madeangels by law, but that’s never stopped the effort.

Almost before the law went into effect, it was beingbroken on an industrial scale. Networks quickly materi-alized to insure the citizenry had near as much access todemon rum as before. There were many participants inthe trade, but two of the most effective together wereMeyer Lansky and Charles “Lucky” Luciano.

They and their ilk were so successful, they caused thegovernment to play a dirty trick on them. Shockingly, thenation came to its senses and repealed prohibition. Amajor source of criminal revenue disappeared.

Lansky and Luciano were nothing if not shrewd. Theyinvested in Cuban strong man Fulgencio Batista. Thiswas essentially the same as investing in Cuba. For a guar-anteed stipend, they got to control gambling in Havana.This investment took place at the beginning of thedepression and would only payoff after the war. Boy,

Continued on page 22

THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING22

would it pay.Luciano would be convicted of prostitution related

crimes in 1936. He got a 30 to 50 year sentence. It washis luck that the US would get dragged into World WarII. Lansky set it up so that the mobsters who controlledthe docks would suppress sabotage. The price, Lucianofree.

And he was freed. In what he felt was a double cross,he was deported to Italy. Though he could not comeback to the States, there was still Cuba. With post warprosperity in full swing, Havana would be almost as goodas being in New York. In December 1946, Meyer andLucky would convene all their mobster confederates inHavana to decide who would get what in the capital ofthe Pearl of the Antilles.

It all looked rosy, and it would be for everyone butLuciano. He was too close to the US for our govern-ment’s liking. Pressure was put on the Cuban govern-ment that it could not resist, no matter how amplybribed. Luciano went back to Italy. The HavanaMobocracy raged on. The existing casinos did well andnew and more opulent establishments were being built.

The Batista Government, firm ally of the gangsters,was becoming more repressive and hated every day. Itsenemies, however, seemed pitifully inept. The big star ofrevolution, Fidel Castro, had been captured after anattack on a barracks in 1953.

Despite the tyranny, the regime looked secure. Thegangsters poured more money into building on a grandscale.

Out of jail in an amnesty, Castro started organizing.The new efforts did not seem impressive. His little armyset sail from Mexico in an unseaworthy ship. Landingwith 82 seasick men, he headed for the hills. Betrayed bya guide, Batista’s forces ambushed his little band. With

16 left it didn’t look good. The casino owners must havebeen thinking like Hyman Roth as he spoke to MichaelCoreleone.

Fidel and his sidekick, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, hadmade their last mistake. Batista had started making his.The revolutionaries would cultivate the population whilethe government would become more repressive. Therebels would grow in numbers while defections wouldplague state forces.

Until near the end, Batista would vow to keep up thefight. Then, on new tear’s morning, 1959, the dictatortook off without telling his mob allies. Talk about hold-ing the bag!

Time has shown Castro to have done many of thethings he complained about in the Cuban AncienRegime. He has political prisoners, news is censored andhe was until recently a dictator. Yet, he meant what hesaid about the casinos and closed them down when hecould. The mob was booted out, never to return. Thelosses sustained by the criminal element were staggering.So bad were they that Meyer Lansky who had investedvast wealth in Cuba would leave an estate of $57,000.

The Havana Mob were not the last to see Nirvana bythe roulette wheel. Why just down the street in Palmer,one would not be surprised if they were holding prayersessions to encourage the General Court to pass the billso work can start. Gambling is regarded as the road toprosperity.

What if it turns out to be the wrong answer? What ifthe overbuilding of casinos leads to a beggar thy neighborsituation where there is little profit for anyone? What ifthe economy continues to stagnate such that there is toolittle income for even the profligate to waste? The some-thing for nothing ethos of the mobsters is, at bottom, notfar removed from ours.

Continued from page 19

LUCKY LUCIANO

MEYER LANSKY

FULGENCIO BATISTA

CHE GUEVERA & FIDEL CASTRO

Courtesy Argentour

‘Havana Nocturne’ might offer lessons, even for us