Havana Conference

The Havana Conference was a meeting of all the major figures of U.S. organized crime, held during the week of 22 December, 1946 at the Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba. Decisions made at the conference would have a notable bearing on American organized criminal activity in the ensuing decades.

Lucky and Don Vito

The tension between Luciano and Genovese reached a boiling point at the conclusion of the Havana Conference. In Luciano's room, Vito told him that the U.S. government knew that Lucky was in Cuba, and was putting pressure on the Batista regime to have him expelled. Genovese then declared his desire to inherit Lucky's holdings, since Luciano would be back in Italy.

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Luciano snapped, sure that Vito had tipped off the Washington authorities about his whereabouts. He proceeded to beat Genovese and eventually broke three of his ribs; it was three days before Vito could travel again. Lucky and Anastasia then put Genovese on a plane and Luciano threatened Vito with death if he ever mentioned the altercation to anyone.

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In February 1947, the New York City papers got wind of the fact that Lucky was in Cuba, and U.S. drug agent Harry Anslinger demanded that Luciano be deported back to Italy. Anslinger even went so far as to seek support for Luciano's expulsion from President Harry S. Truman when the Cuban government refused to comply with his request. Uncle Sam halted all shipments of medical supplies to Cuba until Luciano left; Lucky, Lansky, and Batista tried to concoct a counter to this embargo by trying to halt all Cuban sugar shipments to the U.S., but it failed. Luciano was arrested that month, and arrested again once he landed on Italian soil in April.

Related Topics:
February - 1947 - New York City - Harry Anslinger - Harry S. Truman - Uncle Sam

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Luciano died in 1962, and Genovese passed in 1969. They ended up buried 100 feet from each other in the same cemetery.

Related Topics:
1962 - 1969

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