Now when the coast is clear.....little part from an previous article written by Tim Newark...
To uncover the truth of these remarkable claims, I have explored archives in London, Washington and New York, analysing first–hand intelligence reports made by Allied agents dealing with the Mafia on a day-to-day basis. Many of these reports have never been published before or cited in Mafia literature. I have visited the sites of notorious Mafia crimes and report the testimony of people who were there at the time—including those recorded in the secret Herlands report which remained top secret for decades after the events described. These accounts bring to life one of the most important – and hitherto unexplored – areas of the Allied war in Europe.
Some of the players in the game are known. Allied connections with the Mafia undeniably reached the highest level. Recommendations to work alongside mobsters were put before senior US generals and politicians—including supreme commander Dwight Eisenhower. Even war leaders Churchill and Roosevelt were keen to exploit Italian-American connections. Notorious gangsters Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Vito Genovese all played their part in the war on Hitler and Mussolini, mixing easily with senior military officials on both sides.
Some remarkable new characters also emerge. The implacable English Lord Rennell who took on the Mafiosi in their own realm. The humble US Sergeant Orange C Dickey who defied everyone—including his own superior officers—to arrest a top Mafioso. We see how Sicilian mobsters and bandits exploited the chaos of war to carve out an independent fiefdom for themselves in the Mediterranean.
Many of these tales have never been investigated or published before. In my book, for the first time, is a complete account that definitively answers one of the greatest mysteries of World War Two – did the Allies made a secret pact with the Mafia?
....and words from ppl who were there at the time(sorry i posted this in the documentaries post but what the hell)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euAvuTdu73E
