Ghosts of Sicily Brings a Remarkable WWII Secret Out of the Shadows

Ghosts of Sicily by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr.

Ghosts of Sicily, subtitled The True Story of the Naval Intelligence Agents Who Courted the Mob to Fight Nazis in America and the Battlefields of Italy is the third nonfiction collaboration between best-selling authors Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, JR. It’s an extensively researched reconstruction of ‘Operation Underworld,’ a temporary alliance during WWII between the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and known mobsters including Charles “Lucky” Luciano and Meyer Lansky, which ended with the war. WWII was closer to home than most Americans realized. German U-boats sank 572 merchant and military ships off the US coast in 1942, resulting in approximately 5000 deaths, with over 2.5 million tons of cargo and vital shipments lost.

From New York’s Waterfront to Naval Intelligence

In early 1942, a small cadre of men gathered in Manhattan behind doors misleadingly labeled “American Federation of Little Businesses,” actually home to the Third Naval District’s Intelligence Office under the direction of Commander Charles R. Haffenden. New Yorker and Italian language fluent Tony Marsloe had recently been recruited to join the team. He had previously served under Manhattan DA Thomas Dewey, a tough crusader against organized crime and future two-time presidential candidate. Marsloe soon found himself on the frontlines for the invasion of Sicily and Italy. Through Meyer Lansky, the ONI brokered an initial meeting with Charles “Lucky” Luciano at the remote Clinton Correctional Facility maximum security prison.

Sicilian-born Luciano was 8 when his family immigrated to New York, where, propelled by his organizational skills, he rose through the criminal ranks to become Godfather of the Cosa Nostra, which he essentially led as a corporate boss. In 1936, Thomas Dewey slammed him with a 30-50-year prison sentence after a specious conviction for prostitution racketeering. Born in the Russian Empire, Meyer Lansky was 9 years old when his family immigrated to New York’s Lower East Side. Childhood friend Bugsy Siegel was a partner in bootlegging before his well-known involvement in gambling enterprises.

Operation Underworld Takes Shape

Having risen from poverty to achieve the American dream of power and worldly success instilled in these men gratefulness to their adopted country. While somewhat morally questionable, it was certain that intelligence gathering on the waterfront would be futile without Mafia support. The overarching influence of the mob on the docks and waterfront in the five boroughs of New York and New Jersey cannot be understated. Joe Lanza’s Fulton Fish Market Union and his associates effectively secured the ports to prevent sabotage and dockworker strikes while also conducting espionage to reveal Axis sympathizers and potential U-boat refueling sites.

In anticipation of the US invasion of Sicily via North Africa and bolstered by the history of their successful domestic collaboration, ONI requested additional meetings with Sicilian informants, which yielded essential detailed information about navigating the Strait of Sicily between Tunisia and Sicily for resources in planning a successful invasion. The uneven 922-mile coastline contained hidden shoals and rocky beaches strategically perfect for the German occupying forces and Mussolini’s Italian fascists to lay mines and build gun emplacements. Additionally, those interviewed were asked to provide the names of family members, friends, trusted associates and partisans who could assist the Allies in overthrowing the Axis powers following the invasion. Undeniably, the mention of Luciano’s name also opened doors.

A Secret Alliance Revealed

Knowledge of the unorthodox ‘Operation Underworld’ was and remained on a strictly need-to-know basis, and immediately postwar, all notes and documentation were destroyed to maintain secrecy. In early 1946, Thomas Dewey commuted Lucky Luciano’s sentence with the provision he be deported to Italy, where he lived comfortably until his death from a heart attack in 1962. Rumor has it that he was handed an envelope containing $300,000 from his crime family on the eve of his departure. Later speculation questioned the efficacy of Luciano’s participation and whether it merited the award of his freedom. In 1954, Thomas Dewey initiated a full inquiry headed by NY State Commissioner of Investigation William B. Herlands that produced over 3000 pages of testimony condensed into a 101-page report that confirmed the collaboration of ONI and organized crime. Classified by top Navy brass as being potentially embarrassing, it was not released until 1971 by permission of Thomas Dewey’s estate.

Who would’ve thought that top-echelon Mafia bosses were also staunch patriots who would willingly assist the US Navy in intelligence gathering? Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll JR’s gripping Ghosts of Sicily will particularly enthrall military history buffs and readers of spy thrillers with the danger, suspense and excitement of an unlikely but nevertheless true history.