The Mafia at War is a dramatic provocative account of how a criminal organisation exploited the grim realities of World War II to revive its fortunes and dominate global crime. The Mafia is the most powerful criminal organisation the world has ever known. This book tells the epic story of how the Mafia was nearly destroyed by Mussolini, prospered in the US, struck a secret wartime deal with the US government, and then backed a bloody rebellion that nearly turned Sicily into an independent Mafia realm. It shows how Lucky Luciano won his freedom thanks to mobster help in WWII; how Jewish gangsters clashed with Nazis on the streets of New York; how Mafiosi nearly issued contracts to kill top Nazis ? including Hitler; how British 'bobbies' patrolled the deadly streets of Palermo; and how Mafia-backed bandits conducted a guerrilla war for Sicilian independence. SELLING POINTS: ? The true story of Britain and America's wartime pact with the Mafia. ? Startling secret accounts of Mafia-Allied collaboration. ? Allied intelligence reports of Mafia insurgency in Sicily. ILLUSTRATIONS: 16 plates
