Word: lucania
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1930-1939
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...trial in Supreme Court were swart, droop-eyed Charles Lucania and nine henchmen charged with having put New York City brothels on a big-business basis. Until 1933, explained Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey in his opening address to the jury, the city's prostitution was an individualistic enterprise, with a few "bookers" operating small strings of "houses" (apartments). Then various racketeers decided that a handsome profit could be made by assessing each prostitute $10 per week for bail bond, on a guarantee that she would never be jailed. One autumn day Lucania, a gambler and narcotic seller known...