"In 1946, the American Justice gave a present to the Mafia." "Sent back to Italy, his home country, Salvatore Lucanía, alias Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the king of the New York underworld." "Sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1936, by District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey, after 9 years he was acquitted for "special services" rendered to the U.S. Armed Forces, by the same Dewey, who had become the new governor of New York." "Where are you going, godfather?" " Open the gate!" "Go on." "Say hi to my hometown!" "I guess we'll go." "Excuse me, I need the bathroom." "You can't know how I feel." "I'm a guinea too and I'll break your ass!" "You're an asshole." "Charlie, don't get pissed." "Freddie's a new guy!" "That's Frank Costello, their prime minister." "And Sox Lanza with the whole fish market." "Shit, with a fishnet we'd catch 'em all!" "They're having fun while we freeze our asses off!" "A toast to Charlie's health!" "Champagne!" "Come!" "They drink champagne and you piss Coca-Cola." "One must always be on the side of power." "Because it's the only way, one can achieve balance.." "in the world we want." "A man to be a man, must be a man of order." "I'd even say a man of peace." "Five months after the death of Joe Masseria, on the night of September 11, 1931, which became known as the Night of the Sicilian Vespers," "40 crime bosses were killed in the United States." "The decapitation strategy of the old mafia was by Lucky Luciano, who then became the "Boss of the Bosses"." "# Bitter Sicily, the blood you gave me is all red." "# It's been long since I left as a boy, # so alone and sad all around the world." "# Mama, your death, # has broken my heart." "# But my homeland you should not abandon me." "# But should hold me in your arms, like mama." "Friends, I thank you with all my heart." "I was a free citizen in America." "I'll be a free citizen in Italy also." "Although, I don't plan to stay there long." "Even if I have to get back through Mexico." "I trust you won't make me wait me another 9 years." "This is $200,000, if you need more, just say." "What the fuck?" "Let's not spoil the party." "I'm sorry." "I can't drink." "But you're Italian!" " Yes, I am." "It's OK, he's a paisan!" "Yes, I am a paisan." "My parents are from the province of Avellino." "Can I do anything for you?" "Your family is in Italy?" "I can visit them." "What can I do for you?" "Would you like a raise?" "Yeah, a promotion.." "How can you help me if you're being deported to Italy?" "Don't worry about it." "It's my affairs." "Hopefully." "Excuse me, your Excellency, I was running a little late." "You know, some business." "He's returned to see his people?" " Yes." "It's her third son to be killed within the year." "CANCEMI, GIUSEPPE" "Innocent victim by a cruel and unscrupulous hand.." "RUSSO, ANTONIO" "Dead by an unholy hand, leaving a desolate wife.." "Here lies GIARDINA, ANTONINO who sacrificed his life for the workers' cause and socialism.." "The mortal remains of NICOSIA, CARMELO" "Innocent victim of a cruel assassin after 12 days of cruel suffering.." "ANGELO PALIZZOLO" "Killed by a cruel and unknown hand.." "You're Lucky Luciano?" "Sir, you're not Italian?" "Sort of." " Do you like Naples?" "I like the sea." "Fleets of all kinds, from Marseilles and Sicily, cross the Mediterranean from Tangiers to Beirut, from Malta to Genoa and Trieste, under the orders of a Mafia boss." ""A quiet man with sad eyes", living peacefully in Naples:" "Lucky Luciano." "In a few years, this man created the largest criminal organization that has ever existed." "Our investigations in Italy, has shown, despite the skepticism and indifference from the police, that the heroin sold by the Mafia in the United States comes from pharmaceutical companies with great reputations in Italy." "We've discovered.." "that.." "in the Schiaparelli laboratory in Turin, more than 350 kg of heroin has been diverted for the profit of the drug trade." "We've asked the Italian Public Health Commission to stop the illegal sale of licenses.." "but they did nothing." " That's not true!" "We've arrested Migliardi, the director of Schiaparelli." "He was sentenced to 11 years in prison." "But you still haven't changed the laws." "And Luciano and his men are continuously supplied with all the drugs they want!" "Medical authorities in my country state conclusively that heroin, when used well, is very beneficial for certain diseases." "Send them here to America." "They'll see how beneficial heroin is!" "What can you in Italy know?" "Let's look at the facts." "The chemical industry in Italy.." "has real political power over the government of Rome." "Explain something to us." "Why do all those mafiosi, all those certified "gangsters", can go anywhere they want with passports and have gun permits?" "And why, in the Italian police records, they're registered as people of good political, civil and moral character?" "Why don't you ask this to your Immigration or Justice departments?" "These "gangsters", these mafiosi, who sent them back to Italy?" "You, Americans." "And by the hundreds." "You called them "undesirables"." "And these undesirables came to Sicily on the heels of the Allied forces." "And then they've moved up through the Italian peninsula:" "Naples, Milan, Genoa." "Always in the wake of the United States army." "Ask your generals why mayors were appointed in Sicily from such men as" "Calogero Vizzini and Genco Russo." "Men known everywhere as mafia bosses." "Ask your Colonel Poleti why when he was in Naples did he choose as his partner and right arm, Vito Genovese?" "You know better than we that Genovese is a Mafia boss!" "Quiet!" "Salute the colonel!" "Hey, Jim, I don't like your friend." "You'll get me another one tomorrow?" "My boyfriend'll black my eyes if I see another American." "Don't worry, they only drink and sleep." "What I'd give for corned beef!" "We've made one mistake in Sicily." "We were too soft." " You're right!" "The Colonel wants the cooperation of all citizens to end this scandal of the black market." "Severe penalties will be meted out to the offenders." "A severe rationing.." "will ensure fairness, that the help that comes from the American people goes to the Italian people." "Viva America!" "Viva Italia!" "This makes 5 tons of wheat.." "and 1000 liters of olive oil." "Listen, "the mayor is authorized to transport and buy and sell oil and wheat."" ""Not to be requisitioned."" "A lot of stuff." "We'll need a dozen trucks." "You name it, we got it." "But watch out for those drivers." "They're all black, they're all thieves." "They'll suck the gas out of your tanks." "Sonofabitch!" "Here's a pass for the gas." "No name or limit." "All that you want." "Fine." "Better unload at San Giuseppe, The MPs went to Resina tonight." "Burn the trucks afterward." "Leave no trace." "We got throw in the Packard or the deal's off." "Take it." "I gotta go back soon to New York anyway." " OK, clear it!" "Hey, what about these blacks?" "Sell them with all their clothes." "Don't you have any shame in front of the Americans?" "Get out of here!" "Do you see this pretty blonde?" "It's the first Packard to come to Italy." "Really?" " Want to try it?" "Why, is it yours?" " Let's take it for a ride." "We must appoint a new magistrate and a new bank president for Naples." " Sure!" "There's a lot of people with pull who want to get into the act," "But don't worry." "I made up a list of true antifascists, real friends of America that I personally guarantee." "Oh, by the way, I need more passes to bring in oil, gas and everything else." "But the real problem is to give electricity to the industries." "And those who want are just gonna have to pay for it, right?" "This ain't Russia." "We don't give it away." "Right, colonel?" " Right!" "You like the car?" "Keep it." "And by the way, who gave Lucky Luciano his credentials as a "useful" person?" "From this document," ""A useful man who has rendered services to the armed forces of the United States."" "You released him from jail." "You practically gave him a medal!" "Don't forget all the help we gave you through Marshall Plan!" "There's also socialist morphine that comes to the U.S." "Yugoslavia, for example, is very good at stopping Italian fishermen the moment they enter its territorial waters." "Why don't you notice certain giant whaling ships like those of.." "Mr. Rosario Mancino of Palermo?" "It lands on the Dalmation coast every week!" "Sit down, Charlie." "It's no use trying to put all of the blame on the Italians." "This game isn't played in Rome or Naples.." "but in New York and Washington." "What do you mean, Mr. Esslinger?" "There's a campaign against us." "While you've been chasing Luciano around Italy, they've been trying to discredit me at the Narcotics Bureau." "They say we're paranoid, megalomaniacs, who arrest people without proof." "And that we invented the whole Luciano story for political reasons." "I'll tell you what was invented." "That fairy tale about Luciano winning the war in Sicily." "After what came out in the Kefauver investigation, you'd think they'd know." "Now the democrats are saying Dewey allowed the drug flow into the U.S." "when he sprung Luciano from jail." "Dewey doesn't like any mention of the Luciano matter and he's fighting back." "And with the republicans back in power, he has some very powerful friends there." "The Attorney General for one and.." "and.. and the Secretary of the Treasury, to drop a few names." "And who do we have?" " Each other, Charlie." "So be careful." "Dewey is forming his own commission to "investigate" Lucky Luciano." "So they say." "He's trying to prove that everything we told the Kefauver committee was a lie." "And that we have no real evidence against Luciano in Italy." "Now Lucky's the hero and we're the villains?" "Who'll buy that crap?" "The judges!" "The same judges who are still on the bench." "The ones who Frank Costello appointed when he, Meyer Lasky and Luciano were still pulling wires in New York." "But now the republicans are in office." "The mafia makes no distinctions between parties." "They have no party." "They're always on the side of power." "During Truman's time they backed Truman and Dewey was fighting them." "Now Dewey has the power and Kefauver is fighting them." "And where are we?" "In the middle." "And if we're not careful, we'll be getting it from both sides." "So what do I do?" "You keep on chasing Luciano.." "and Dewey will keep on chasing us.." "and Kefauver will chase after Dewey." "And when all of this running around is over, everyone will find himself back at the same damn place he started." "Not for everyone." "Not for Charles Lucky Luciano." "Bring me the dossier on Gene Giannini." " Right away." "Thanks." " You're welcome." "Gentlemen, here's Lucky Luciano." "What would you like to know?" " Where have you been all this time?" "Did you escape from Italy?" " Who gave you a passport?" ""Ah, what frenzy!" "One at a time, please!"" "Is it true you own all the gambling houses in Cuba?" "Let's sit down over there." "We have refreshments." "Mr. Lucania, today at the UN, they're talking about you, about drugs." "You want to know about drugs, ask the Narcotic Bureau!" "This is for Asslinger!" " Esslinger." "Henry Esslinger, The head of the Narcotics Bureau." "A German protestant policeman." "If a racketeer is mowed down, it's Luciano's fault." "If the Queen of England leaves her husband, it's also Luciano's fault too." "At a party, people have fun." "And there are what we Italians call "stupefacente"." " That's right." "And they point to Luciano!" "But aren't Luciano and drugs the same thing?" "I don't take any." "Yeah, but the scandal is in every paper." "Mr. Lucania, they talked about it in the Congress, in the U.S. Senate!" "It's politics." "America should elect a president." "Dewey, a republican, is the best man." "Then the democrats.." "spread the story that it was he who pardoned me." "You were pardoned for helping the army?" "Is it true that in 1943, they parachuted you in Sicily to prepare the invasion?" "I've never seen from Sicily so high up." "I don't like heights." "When I go to Italy, I go to Palermo, by boat." "I've a candy factory in Palermo." " Right." "Filled with chocolate?" " The comfits." "And I soak in the sun, like in Capri!" " And the black market?" "Since you've returned, Sicily has become a market for contraband cigarettes." "Look:" "I smoke cigarettes from Montevoglio." "I think I'm the only one in Naples who actually smokes them." "And what do you smoke?" "They have no evidence against me." "If there was even an inch of proof, I'd be in jail in the blink of an eye!" "Why hasn't the U.S. asked for my extradition?" "I'd be ready to go back, even in handcuffs!" "And defend myself." " Even in handcuffs?" "You want to go back to America?" "You were born in Italy!" "I came to America as a young boy," "I lived there for 30 years as a free man." "I was unjustly condemned by the false evidence of pimps and prostitutes." "No respect for the rules!" "But here in Italy, it's like a persecution." "Here rules don't even exist." "They don't even know what bail is!" "And your convictions?" " Mere fines." "I went through a red light while bringing whiskey." "During prohibition?" " Prohibition!" "An invention of that Jesuit, Esslinger!" "People wanted to drink." "We needed to get them something to drink." "If it weren't for us, what would the government have done?" "Eh!" "A public service?" "Yes, I'm a public servant." "That's why we gave all of our support to Roosevelt." "He knew that a lot of things had to be changed." "That's why in Chicago, we gave him our vote." " You like politics then?" "But not in Italy?" " Italy is a poor country." "In politics, you can't do a thing without money." "But Mr. Lucania, isn't your business profitable?" "I've lost $10,000 with my candy factory in Palermo." "How do you manage to live?" "You're always spending money at the racetrack, enormous sums." "I already explained this to the Department of Finance." "I received a little help from my friends in New York." "Even my car is a gift from them." "I'm not a rich man!" "What about your living expenses, your bodyguards?" "Bodyguards?" "Who needs them?" "The police follow me around everywhere!" "You move around a lot:" "Rome, Milan." "You go abroad!" " Excuse me!" "I'm a free man." "The American government has pardoned me." "Yet when I go to Capri, there's the head of Interpol." "He looks after my security." " You mean that somebody like you.." "like Lucky Luciano can come and go freely in America?" "I can return to America with my head held high." "And I must return." "At least to die." "I already bought my family vault in Brooklyn." "Come in, sit down." "Sit." "And where the hell can I sit?" "The trouble with you is you're a fucking cop!" "You should be like me: travel, hotels, women." "Just look at this ring!" "You know what you can do with it?" " What?" " Stick it up your ass." "You like ass, don't you?" "You see this?" "This is a real countess." "I bet you never fucked a countess." "Countesses in Italy are a dime a dozen." "I don't care for whores." "Whore!" "And take off your hat before a lady!" "And you know what?" " What?" "Go fuck yourself!" "How nice!" " The nuns taught her well!" "Where'd you find that slut?" "She may be a slut but she's a great fuck!" "You know something, Charlie?" "I like you." "You and I.." "should go into business." "I'll get you started and afterward I promise, you'll be thankful." "Good, so I can end up like you:" "in prison or in a gutter full of holes." "No, that won't happen to me." "Of course not, because we're protecting you." "But you better watch your step." "We know that you've been pushing drugs." "We know your connections and who you've been talking to." "Sure." "Why, how do you think I should get information for you?" "Cheers." "In the meantime, you're working your own deals and give us crumbs." "Better than nothing, right?" "Giannini, we already know about the crap with the Turks and the Arabs." "But when we want to know about Luciano, what do yo do?" "Shit your pants." "Shit my pants?" "Who can scare me isn't born yet!" "Who told you about Luciano's $50,000 in Naples?" "Me!" "Yeah, he paid a $4000 fine." "He left the courtroom laughing." "Nice job!" "Is that my fault?" "Listen, leave me alone." "Let me do my thing in Italy and France and I'll show you who Giannini is!" "You listen to me." "Keep on dealing penicillin, I don't give a damn and the Italians need it." "But you're messing with counterfeit money and that'll mess up Italian tourism." "Yeah.." " One final thing!" " What?" "You know well what I want from you?" " What?" " Lucky Luciano!" "They're here." "Fuck you, Lucky!" "Igea, Mr. Giannini." " A pleasure." "Want to rest up?" "One moment!" "Take this to my room." "After you." " I'll bring the camera." "I'll probably want to take some pictures." "I'll drive, you've forgotten the streets of Naples." "Mama mia, what a dirty city!" "Lucky, we oughta organize the garbagemen here like we did in New York." "Do you remember Tony Strollo?" "This place stinks." "How can you live here?" "You know what you should do?" "You should come with me and we'll go to Paris or the Riviera." "I talked to my friends in Marseille." "What about the penicillin, yes or no?" "Come see this!" "You see what it is?" "It looks like mine." "It's showing the short way to the bordello." "Whorehouse?" " Yes, wanna see it?" "Always!" " This way, it's the short way." "This the lupanare, an ancient bordello, the oldest trade in the world." "The Romans were smart." "As Pompei was a cosmopolitan city, not everyone could speak Latin." "Many visitors weren't able to ask for what they wanted, therefore, in every room, there was a fresco exhibiting the different postures of love." "The first three positions you see are the normal ones." "This one: the woman on top of the man." "The "candle snuffer"." "The second, a bit curious, the Spanish position." "How do you do the Spanish position?" "The woman with a leg over the man's shoulder." "The third is very different." "The woman is in front, the man behind:" "dog fashion." "Notice, up front, there was the maitresse, making the relatives "tickets"." "And two figures, which I won't comment on." "The first 69." " Hey, 69!" "I never heard of that!" "And the second one against nature." "Fags!" "Fags!" "Sodomy!" "Sodomy!" "You can see it with your eyes." "The last one is on the left and the most unusual of all." "Hey, he has two?" "How come?" "What can I say?" "Maybe he used one for the day and the other for night." "Lucky him!" "He fixed his problems!" "Observe this beautiful peristyle surrounded by a portico, which one would stroll on rainy days and it give light to surrounding rooms." "It was here the master of the house used to take his afternoon siesta." "How long was the siesta?" "Two, three or four hours.." "or something like that." "The slaves took care of the house chores, while the master slept." "How many slaves?" " About 20 - 20!" "Fuck what a life!" "You think you would've been a master?" "And now, continuing along the alley, turning to the right at the end, we'll visit another beautiful room with erotic frescoes, very well preserved." "Lucky!" "What about Marseille?" "Have you decided?" "You know I don't like to travel." "Even in America, I didn't move around much." "Except to go to Florida in the winter for vacation." "Always known places." "Like here in Naples" "Sometimes in Sicily." "With my people." "Or Milan." "For horseracing." "A lot of money can be made in Marseille." "My friends usually visit me for pleasure." "Not to do a job." "But for the tourism." "I'm sorry, Mr. Giannini, but there's a warrant for your arrest." "Is this a joke?" " No." "It's a very specific charge." "Contraband." " What?" "Counterfeit money." "Counterfeit money?" "You can't arrest me, I'm an American citizen." "This is Italy." "You can call later!" "Sit down, please." "I said sit down." ""I've been rotting for 3 months in jail, not even a window, just an iron grate."" ""No air and no light." "The heat and mosquitoes eat me alive."" ""They are six of us in here and we must all go to bathroom in the same place."" ""It's a cesspool here, night and day."" ""There's no room to move and we can't even sleep in peace"" ""because one must stay awake to keep off the rats,"" ""who are starved and big enough to climb on us."" ""The bedbugs are as big as cockroaches."" ""I must pay to have a little water and some straw to lie on."" ""It cost me $50 just to send you this letter."" ""Yours truly, etc., etc."" "Here in Italy, you're born in poverty." "And the jails are terrible." "But even in Italy one can make deals." "I was hoping that Gene.." "could help me if he were like you.." " Wait a minute!" "If you want to go out, there's the theater." "If you want to have fun, I'm here." "But keep the deals to yourself!" "Here, another letter from Gene." "This one's about you." "About Joe Picci and Frank Calace." "This letter can ruin you." "I'm supposed to give it to Siragusa, but I'm giving it to you." "Now do you trust me?" "Go on, tear it up!" "You must send it to Siragusa." "That's what you'll do." "Want a lift?" "You left me lying there for a year!" "Come here, I have to talk to you." "I got you out without trial." "A judge would've locked you up." "As far as you're concerned, I could've died in there." "You could've got me out anytime." "You got to get one thing in your head:" "You're in the hands of the Italian police." "They don't take orders from an American cop." "I had to invent a story to get you out." " Who the fuck invented one to get me in?" "Not my fault." "You're the guy who messed with phony money." " Who told them?" "Maybe one of your friends." "Maybe it was Lucky Luciano!" "No, Lucky wouldn't talk." "He's not a.. snitch." "Offended, eh?" "You're not a cop, not a man." "You're just a stool pigeon!" "Fine, I'm not a cop, I'm a snitch." "Now go fuck yourself and leave me alone!" "You want this passport?" "You got to earn it." " How?" "Take a trip to New York, with all expenses paid." "New York." " That's right." "What for?" "To testify at a big case." "We need your evidence." "No!" "No, no, no, no." "You stop the car." "I get out here." "Use your head, Gene." "If you stay here without a passport, they'll throw you out as an undesirable." "If I go to New York, they'll kill me!" "I've been trying to save your ass, but you talk too much." "How could I talk?" "I've been in prison for a year." "You've a bad habit of writing letters." " The only ones I wrote were to you." "What did you do with them?" "I got them but I told you not to trust that countess, didn't I?" "I know what you're trying to do." "You're trying to scare me so I'll do anything." "I'm not going to New York." "I'm going to stay here in Italy." "And I say you're not going to stay here." "Because know a lot about you, and it's better for you if I don't tell." "Here's your passport and ticket for New York." "The plane leaves in an hour." "You'll be on it." "I don't know who's a bigger shit, you or Luciano." "In early September of 1952," "Gene Giannini was back from a trip to Italy, where he did months in jail." "Tony Bender sent for me for the biggest contract I ever got from Cosa Nostra." "He took me out to dinner at Rocco's on Thompson Street in Greenwich Village." "We chatted for a few minutes and then he told me that.." "Gene's been talking to the Narcotics Bureau." "Vito Genovese got the word straight from Lucky Luciano." "He said that Giannini has been talking to Narcotics for years.." "and that he needs to be liquidated." "Him and anybody with him." "I telephoned Gene and told him to meet at a bar, the Casbah." "I made up an excuse that he owed me some money." "I went to meet him and I took Joe Pagano with me." "He was new, Gene wouldn't have known him." "But a genius with a gun." "Giannini said he was broke and that he couldn't pay me." "Skip it, I said." "Let's just have some fun." "I had a girl come from the bar." "We had some drinks together then I went out and left him with the girl." "The next night I took Pagano and some of the boys to see the gambling joint where Giannini worked." "I told them the plan." "One of the boys would wait in the car by the sidewalk a block away." "The other two would wait by the door." "I gave the order to throw their guns in the East River." "I got in touch with Bender and told him to tell Genovese," "Gene Giannini would have nothing more to say to the Narcotics Bureau." "Lucky Luciano could rest easy." "Want to bet with me?" "Thanks, but I prefer to bet alone." "Don't move!" "What the hell are you doing?" " Just one word." "I'll tell you what Lucky Luciano was doing at the racecourse in Naples." "That's his office, you understand?" "He controls the drug racket from there." "Lucky is the brain of the organization." "Like a king sitting on his throne" "The big deal connections from New York contact him at the races in Naples." "He then introduces them to the Sicilian mobsters." "And the Corsican suppliers." "But he's never there when a delivery is made." "He waits until later." "He gets his cut from both the buyers and suppliers." "The money's deposited in a bank in Switzerland, where Lucky Luciano has an account." "Alright, Charlie." "But what was that slap about?" "Nothing!" "It has nothing to do with heroin trafficking." "Just some dumb guapo trying to show off at Luciano's expense." "International organization, drugs, killers.." "This we already know." "But evidence is something else." "This man never leaves Naples." "He goes out in the morning, walks his dog and then plays a few races." "We'll look into it, Charlie, to see if we can make the races off limits." "He's nice to everybody." "He gives to charity and is liked by the press and even some policemen." "When we mentioned his past history, a police commissioner even said to me," ""Yes, we know about it." "He was sentenced for.."" ""inciting girls to prostitution." "But what kind of crime is that?"" ""And if a woman prostitutes herself she's a whore."" ""And we can't arrest a man for a crime from 20 years ago."" ""But if he commits a crime in Italy.." "then yeah.."" " Of course, but.." "he certainly is smart and exceptional man if what you say is true." "After Luciano's return to Italy, the mafia controlled all the drug traffic." "Which represents a revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars" "But why don't we arrest Lucky Luciano then?" "The answer is easy." "He takes no unnecessary risks." "He isolates himself." "The police can never catch him with the goods." "He can smell a stranger from a mile off." "That Sicilian bastard personifies the power and evil of the mafia." "But there are millions of honest Sicilians, who have to pay for his sins." "That's why I hate the mafia." "That's why I won't give Lucky Luciano a moment's peace!" "From the files of a special parliamentary commission on the mafia in Sicily." "In October 1957, in the city of Palermo, a series of meetings took place between American and Sicilian mafiosi." "The presiding chairman was Lucky Luciano." "The purpose of the convention was to set up a clearinghouse in Sicily for all drugs transported to North America." "Giuseppe Bonano, alias Joe Banana, born in Sicily," "American citizen, head of the New York syndicate, has come to Palermo to sign an agreement between Cosa Nostra and the Sicilian mob." "And also to set the groundwork for the Mafia reunion which would take place months later in the Appalachian mountains in New York." "The Sicilian boss, Giuseppe Genco Russo, participated in the convention at Palermo, serving to guarantee greater unity among the mafia rank and file on the island." "9 years later, 17 suspected mafia bosses appeared in front of a judge accused of forming a criminal association," "Only 5 were convicted:" "Camillo Garante," "Giuseppe Scandariato," "Giuseppe Genco Russo," "John Bonventri," "Joe Banana." "A hundred years of good health!" "Do you refuse to answer?" "You've been asking me the same questions for five hours." "And I only have the same answers." "Am I a witness or a defendant?" "Governor Dewey appointed this commission to investigate Lucky Luciano." "Aren't you an expert on Luciano?" "I'm a Narcotics Bureau agent, assigned to investigate the drug traffic in Europe." "All that I know that I know about Luciano is submitted regularly to my superior, Harry Esslinger." "Ask him for the reports in Washington." "You testified at the Kefauver committee that Luciano was "king of narcotics"." "I said that if he wasn't the king, he was at least a member of the royal family." "Where's the evidence for that?" "I already told you." "It's very difficult to get evidence against Luciano." "But behind every pinch we make:" "Joe Picci, Frank Callace, Frank Coppola, we find his shadow." "And everyone we caught with their hand in a bag of heroin, were criminal associates of Luciano." "What do you mean "criminal associates"?" "It means that every time we trace these men, they're connected to one head, Luciano." "In the Joe Biondo case.." " The Biondo case was only about acetic anhydride." "Only?" "Acetic anhydride is used to convert morphine into heroin." "Luciano was never convicted in Italy for drug trafficking." "That proves that they had nothing against him." "No, it only proves that his accomplices haven't spoken out of respect or fear." "But our informers confirmed that Luciano was always a source of supply." "Like Giannini.." " Giannini's dead." "It's still not clear why he was killed." "If he stayed in Italy he'd still be alive." "Why did you force him to come to America?" "I didn't force him." "I just bought his ticket and brought him to the airport." "Are you accusing me of Giannini's murder?" "We must investigate everything." "And it's not bad if a cop gets to see what it likes on that side of the table." "Yes." "And it'd be a great experience for judges and governors too." "Why don't we start with why Luciano was released and sent to Italy?" "I've all the documents here." "And the report of your colleague, Agent White." "As usual you base everything on rumors from gangsters who end up murdered." "White's informant is dead." "But Dewey's assistants who went to deal with Luciano in jail are still alive." "They can tell you what they told me." " And that is?" "That Luciano couldn't possibly had any information which could help the US Navy." "The only thing he had to offer was a fat check for Dewey's campaign." "You want to end up on trial for perjury?" "You don't scare me, I tell the truth." "And I don't give a damn about politics." "And isn't it political when you blame Luciano for your failure and the failure of the Bureau to not put a stop to this drug traffic?" "It's easy to make accusations." "I'm convinced that Luciano is the head of this racket." "And I'll get him yet!" "Give us evidence and we'll ask for his extradition." "If the Italians won't arrest him, they'll send him back to the US to face his accusers at the least." "He was in the US, in jail." "He should've been kept there." "Boys, let me pass." "Aren't you coming inside?" "You can't hear the mass." "I'll hear it from here." "Inside, I'd be too much of a distraction." "But you need to see the priest." "Otherwise, it doesn't count." "It's like I see you." "Don Ciccio, you love me." "You don't ask me too many questions." "After the death of Igea," "I need friends like you." "Listen Lucky.. between charity and the hospital, I've many debts." "I've been told about these German slot machines." "Like they have in the bar." "They say if you put in 100 lire, you get out 3000." "What do you think?" "I saw those in America." "Forget that stuff." "It's not your style." "This is the first time, I'm finding myself face to face with Lucky Luciano and they're sending me back to the States." " How come?" "The big shots in Washington are afraid I'm digging too deep." "Isn't it disgusting those sailors asking for that son of a bitch's autograph?" "Who is it?" "The police!" "Open up!" "Is Salvatore Lucania in?" " He's inside lying down." "Tell him we need to speak to him." "Come in." "He's waiting." "Good evening." "We have a search warrant." "Is that boy with you?" " Yes, he's one of our agents." "Would you like some whiskey?" "No, we don't drink on service." "Then go ahead, search." "You want to bet I find something?" "And this?" "I've a license." "What's your name?" "Marshal Schioppa." "You're a smart guy." "I'm taking this telegram." "If you want." "But you also need to join us." "The Finance inspector wants to see you." "At this hour?" "Yes, at this hour." "Well, what does this telegram mean?" "I've been telling you all night." "What else can I say?" " Tell me again." "Then let's read it out loud." ""My connection with American writer, Martin Goesh, presently living in Madrid,"" ""was for the sole purpose of his writing a script on my life."" ""He telegraphed that he was flying into Naples today"" ""to return me the script."" ""Although the film was my idea, I since decided against it."" "Is this true?" "What did you do yesterday after receiving this telegram?" "Ask him!" "He was glued to me all day." "It's better that you do it." "Let's start again." ""On the 25th of this month at 1:00, I went out to the California restaurant"" ""and I ate with a friend, Giuseppe Di Meris, who lives in Naples"" ""after having escaped from Cuba where he was a croupier."" ""While eating, my friend Luigi Lombardi came in, who owns a club in Taormina."" ""Nicknamed 'Gigi', he just came back from Spain,"" ""together with Mr. and Mrs. Lo Marco of Miami."" "Your friends like to travel!" "And coincidentally," "A tourism boom between the U.S., Naples and Sicily broke out after you established yourself in Naples." "And that passion for bullfighting!" "From Cuba to Taormina to Miami." "Everybody passes through Spain and then meet up with you in Naples and then back to New York." "That's the full tour, eh?" "If you say so." ""It was 2:00 when Gigi left the California"" ""and was preparing to go back to Sicily by car and I went to the Agnano races."" ""At the hippodrome.." "I met my friend Pasquale Eboli,"" "alias Pat Ryan." "Eboli lives in Scisciano, a village nearby." "He comes often to Naples." "It's only half an hour." "And he's going to Spain to make a movie." "Pat Ryan is his movie name." "Siragusa always said drugs and cinema go hand in hand." "Siragusa is an asshole." "Siragusa loves you." "He often speaks of you." "Siragusa is an asshole!" "You can tell him from me." "Siragusa looks like you." "Talks and acts just like you." "Between him and you, we haven't had peace in 10 years in Italy!" "You mean because he's Sicilian, he's like me?" "Just like.." "the chief prosecutor of the Republic of Palermo," "Scaglione!" "Just like.." "the chief of police." "All Sicilians." "And me, like a lot of people," "I'm a peaceful man and hurt no one!" "It's only that bastard who puts these things in your head!" "And yet he was right about the Canapa brothers and we caught them red-handed." "And in a little while we get those who went to Spain." "And before long, we'll get you too." "Look, he's putting you on." "Siragusa couldn't have fingered the Canapas." "They were arrested three months prior." "But the judge in Rome.." "freed them." "I had nothing to do with it." "But your partner, Antonino Sorci, did." "We have documents." "They created a financial company together in Rome." "Proof, you need proof!" "You need a notary to form a company in Italy." "We found that notary." "The same one you used in Palermo to buy the Orleans park, together with Sorci and Mancino." "Is it a crime now to buy a little land?" "More than 160,000 square meters!" "And all those permits to build from Palermo." "The permits to build from Palermo were above board." "The university was one of the buyers." "As well as a few Christian Democrat politicians." "Things have changed, Lucky." "If you think you can play politics here, you're gravely mistaken." "What politics?" "Here, I don't even know the chief of the carabinieri." "In America, there's politics." "We were face to face with President Roosevelt." "Forget about Roosevelt.." "and let's return to your friend, Pasquale Eboli, eh?" "Eboli in New York owned a barbershop with his brother and some other business." "But I can't recall which one it is." "Do you remember what kind of business it was?" "Pasquale Eboli told me of a factory producing formica and wanted to set up a chain of stores in Italian cities." "With Gigi Lombardi he wanted to set up some stores in Rome with the Lo Marcos who just returned from Miami with their savings to invest in it." "And how they got their savings, I just can't seem to recall." "Let me see if I can help you out." "Maybe it's like that factory you had in Palermo in '46 with your pal Vincini, dismantled in one night and disappearing with 3 tons of candy?" "Or like the canned sardines?" "Like with Nick Gentile, eh?" "Or the cheese factory?" "Like with Marcello in Tunisia?" "Or like the tomatoes for the Mama Mia company with Joseph Profaci in New York?" "Or a factory for making bouillon cubes?" "Vegetable bouillon for export." "Like Frank Coppola in Pomezia?" "From there, crates of heroin are shipped." "Do you think I'm stupid, Lucky Luciano?" "We've arrested 40 people here and in America." "We caught them with both money and drugs." "All of them your friends!" "Only three escaped to Spain!" "Because American justice let them out on bail." "A fine system that country has!" "And those in Spain call you everyday by phone or cable, from Madrid or Barcelona!" "And you meet them "by chance" in restaurants to talk about about formica, the horses.." "What is it?" "What's with you?" "You feel sick?" "You want a coffee?" "I don't drink coffee." "Or smoke anymore." "Just give me a glass of water." "Get him a glass of water." "Some old scars from your friends, eh?" "No, not from friends." "From cops." "In New York." "Anyway, it's not the scars." "I've plenty." "I've had two heart attacks." "Can I go to the toilet?" "I'll go with you." "Once in America, you gave a certain address.." "and police found a case of heroin." "That time, I told all I knew." "But now I know nothing." "You can talk to me." "I have my own ideas about you." "And there a little different than Siragusa's." "It'd be worth it to you." "It'd be worth it to you." "And your career." "For you.." "For Esslinger, Siragusa, the General, the police chief.." "and it's worth it to the politicians." "To distract the people.." "so they don't know anything and so they'll never know anything." "In politics, when it's convenient, you use criminals or as you'd say:" "mafiosi!" "Sorry, but I can't be of use." "Make him sign it and go with him to pick up that American." "And then, do we arrest them both?" "If it's drugs." "If not, seize the film and send it to Siragusa." "Ah, finally." "You're a new man." "You looked like you were dead before." "Look at yourself." "Stand back!" "Who are you?" " Police!" "Get a doctor!" "So what do I do?" "You keep on chasing Luciano.." "and Dewey will keep on chasing us.." "and Kefauver will chase after Dewey." "And when all of this running around is over, everyone will find himself back at the same damn place he started." "Ah, Charlie, Charlie!" "English subtitles by sineintegral@KG."