After the US entered WWII, the government interned the French luxury liner Normandie, which was docked in NY harbor, and intended to turn it into a troop-carrying ship. A fire broke out when a workman got careless with a torch he was using near a pile of burlap bags. The ship capsized.

The naval commander of the port suspected the cause was "sabotage" by longshoremen of German and Italian extraction--a product of his bigoted imagination. His concern was picked up by Joseph (Socks) Lanza, Mafia boss of the waterfront. He brought it to Meyer Lansky, Luciano's closest pal. Lansky saw an opportunity: if the commander thought sabotage was the cause, why not exploit his fear by cutting a deal--Luciano (serving a 30-year prison term) would use his influence to prevent further sabotage (and strikes) if the government cut him a break. The commander agreed.

Lansky brought the putative deal to Murray Gurfein, a judge who had been special assistant to Thomas E. Dewey when he prosecuted Luciano for "white slavery" (enforced prostitution). Gurfein brought it to Dewey, who agreed. The "sabotage" and strikes stopped. Luciano was transferred to a less-harsh prison. His sentence was commuted in 1946 and he was deported to Italy.