Operation Underworld: How the Mafia and US Government Teamed Up To Win World War II

Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross delivers a compelling performance of crime and labor historian Black’s (Dave Beck: A Teamster’s Life) treatise about the U.S. government’s use of mobsters to conduct counterintelligence for German and Italian spies in the United States. When the S.S. Normandie caught fire in New York Harbor, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence worried about sabotage and submarines. Enter LCDR Charles Haffenden, a naval officer who managed the covert recruitment of gangsters for wartime undercover espionage. Ross authoritatively captures initial negotiations between Haffenden and Meyer Lansky, known as the “Mob’s Accountant,” who suggested names of other gangsters to bring onboard. Haffenden finally recruited “Lucky” Luciano, who, even from prison, was critical to the covert operation. Ross vocally celebrates the successes of the collaboration and maintains objectivity when relating details of crimes committed. When the New York operation was wrapped up, Haffenden volunteered to fight at Iwo Jima. Ross’s voice rises and falls with animation as he describes the wartime action. An afterword details what happened to all the players after the war.