Within weeks of the Pearl Harbor attack and the declaration of war on the United States by Germany and Italy, US war plans included the defense of the East Coast and the invasion of Sicily. Here, Ezio Costanzo examines the many elements of this secret scenario, which included long-suppressed information about cooperation between the Mafia and the US Army. The results came in the aftermath of the invasion, during the new military government that gave many Mafia leaders important administrative positions. Seen from an Italian standpoint, the success of US forces is examined in detail and many questions are finally answered.

This study examines the separatist movement's origins, its leaders and followers, the actions in which separatists engaged to establish a free Sicily, the factors that caused the movement's demise, and its legacy. This book also examines the relationship of the separatist movement to the United States, Great Britain, and the Sicilian mafia.

An engrossing history that reads like a thriller. The Godfather meets Band of Brothers.' — Andrew Roberts 'Newark tells an extraordinary tale with pace and conviction, and impressively unravels what really happened from the pervasive myths.' — History Today 'A fascinating and compelling work on three of the most evil movements of the 20th century. It ought to be required reading for anyone looking for insights into the period.' — Richard Hammer The Mafia is the most powerful criminal organization the world has ever known. This book tells the epic story of how the Mafia was nearly destroyed by Mussolini, prospered in the US, struck a secret wartime deal with the US government, and then backed a bloody rebellion that nearly turned Sicily into an independent Mafia realm. It shows how Lucky Luciano won his freedom thanks to mobster help in World War II; how Jewish gangsters clashed with Nazis on the streets of New York; how Mafiosi nearly issued contracts to kill top Nazis including Hitler; how British bobbies patrolled the deadly streets of Palermo; and how Mafia-backed bandits conducted a guerrilla war for Sicilian independence. The Mafia at War is a provocative account of how a criminal organization exploited the grim realities of World War II to revive its fortunes and dominate global crime.

How the rise and ultimate defeat of Fascism in Italy affected the Mafia—a provocative and little-known chapter in the history of WWII, and of organized crime.

It has been called the most dangerous gang in American history. In Los Angeles alone it is responsible for over 100 homicides per year. Although it has fewer than 300 members, it controls a 40,000-strong street army that is eager to advance its agenda. It waves the flag of the Black Hand and its business is murder. Although known on the streets for over fifty years, the Mexican Mafia has flown under the radar of public awareness and has flourished beneath a deep cover of secrecy. Members are forbidden even to acknowledge its existence. For the first time in its history, the Mexican Mafia is now getting the attention it has been striving to avoid. In this briskly written and thoroughly researched book, Tony Rafael looks at the birth and the blood-soaked growth of this criminal enterprise through the eyes of the victims, the dropouts, the cops and DAs on the front lines of the war against the Mexican Mafia. The first book ever published on the subject, Southern Soldiers is a pioneering work that unveils the operations of this California prison gang and describes how it grew from a small clique of inmates into a transnational criminal organization. As the first prison gang ever to project its power beyond prison walls, the Mexican Mafia controls virtually every Hispanic neighborhood in Southern California and is rapidly expanding its influence into the entire Southwest, across the East Coast, and even into Canada. Riding a wave of unchecked immigration and seemingly beyond the reach of law enforcement, the Mexican Mafia is poised to become the Cosa Nostra of twenty-first-century America.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed and Dark Justice comes the World War II legend of American gangster Charles “Lucky” Luciano. It’s 1943 and war is raging. The key to America and the Allies’ first assault on Nazi-occupied Europe is the island of Sicily. But it is unknown whether the Sicilian people are willing to rise up and fight alongside the Allies. To secure their help, the US military turns to imprisoned mobster Lucky Luciano—the one man with the connections to the all-powerful Sicilian mafia that could change the course of the war in Italy. The price for his help? Nothing short of a full pardon. Sent in secret to Sicily, Luciano must use every bit of guile and ruthlessness he has to convince his underworld brethren to make a stand against the fascists who have overrun their land. If successful, his mission will pave the way for a full-scale invasion of Italy and aid the Allies in breaking Hitler’s grip on Italy. But if he fails, the price in blood will be higher than anyone can imagine—and Luciano’s will be the first spilled. For decades, author Jack Higgins has kept millions of readers around the world glued to the page with his breakneck pacing and shocking plot twists. Here, he takes the true story of the near-alliance between the US government and the mob during World War II to an explosive climax.

Using original documents, the Allied Occupation of southern Italy, particularly Sicily and Naples, is illustrated by examining crime and unrest by Allied soldiers, deserters, rogue troops and Italian civilians from drunkenness, theft, rape, and murder to riots, demonstrations, black marketeering and prostitution.