At first he changed his first name from Salvatore to Charlie because as Don pappo said, he felt that Sal sounded like a girl's name. But Knowing the road that he had chosen at such a young age, was not the straight and narrow one, he felt that by changing his last name he would spare his family any potential embarassment that he may cause them in living the life of a mobster. Hence Charlie Luciano.

Some accounts claim that he got the name Lucky because he survived an attack that should have left him for dead.

But I've read other stories that he got the name Lucky earlier than that because he was Lucky when it came to gambling.


Don Cardi