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Ellen Poulsen

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The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial Hardcover – May 28, 2007

by Ellen Poulsen (Author), Rick Mattix (Foreword)

4.7 19 ratings

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The case of the notorious Charlie Lucky Luciano and his $12-million-a-year prostitution ring rattled and intrigued New York City during the Great Depression. Charlie Lucky eluded the police for years, until rackets-squad prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey connected him with the operation and he was finally convicted of compulsory prostitution. This book takes readers through this infamous case from a unique slant from the amazing case histories of the prostitutes who served as material witnesses. It includes confiscated letters that desperate prostitutes sent to their district attorneys and rare photos of material witnesses, including the legendary Cokey Flo.

From Booklist

The author of Don't Call Us Molls (2002), about the women of the Dillinger gang, takes a hard look at Charles "Lucky" Luciano's 1936 trial for running a prostitution racket. The feds wanted to put "Charlie Luck" away for something--anything--and the convoluted investigation and prosecution strategies they followed in pursuit of that goal provide the glue for the story Poulsen tells and her conclusions about how the women involved were treated like pawns by both sides in the case. Poulsen adopts those women's perspective, and a richer, more Runyonesque point-of-view is hard to imagine. Drawing on the womens' letters and photos from the period, many published here for the first time, Poulsen offers hoot after hoot while profiling the likes of Gay Orlova (Luciano's girlfriend), madame supreme Polly Adler, and riotous, redoubtable Cokey Flo, who was not exactly prosecutor Thomas Dewey's ideal witness. The Luciano case has been much commented on, but Poulsen's riveting account must be reckoned an essential popular addition to the annals of the American Mafia. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

At the heart of this book is the 1936 vice trial of Charlie Lucky Luciano, the inveterate gambler and reputed head of the prostitution syndicate in New York City; but his story has been told elsewhere. Instead, the author explores the myriad of minor players whom Luciano exploited, with an emphasis on the women forced into his syndicate. From the squandered lives of young, even beautiful women like Nancy Presser, a small town girl corrupted by the Big Apple, to Jenny The Factory and the other hardened madams running $1 and $2 houses, Poulsen culls a compelling tale of lives ruined by illicit drugs, sex and violence. Poulsen has crafted an exhaustively-researched criminal saga. Her research into events which occurred more than seventy years ago pays off with such tidbits as a photograph of the post-card sent from Mexico by one of the prostitute witnesses in Luciano's trial to an assistant prosecutor. Poulsen's artful rendering leaves no doubt that their stories have long deserved to be told. - Alan J. Couture --ForeWord, July/Aug. 2007, Vol. 10, No. 4

The author of Don't Call Us Molls (2002), about the women of the Dillinger gang, takes a hard look at Charles Lucky Luciano's 1936 trial for running a prostitution racket. The feds wanted to put Charlie Lucky away for something -- anything -- and the convoluted investigation and prosecution strategies they followed in pursuit of that goal provide the glue for the story Poulsen tells and her conclusions about how the women involved were treated like pawns by both sides in the case. Poulsen adopts those women's perspecive, and a richer, more Runyonesque point-of-view is hard to imagine. Drawing on the womens'letters and photos from the period, many published here for the first time, Poulsen offers hoot after hoot while profiling the likes of Gay Orlova (Luciano's girlfriend), madame supreme Polly Adler, and riotous, redoubtable Cokey Flo, who was not exactly prosecutor Thomas Dewey's ideal witness. The Luciano case has been much commented on, but Poulsen's riveting account must be reckoned an essential popular addition to the annals of the American Mafia.-Mike Tribby --American Library Association Booklist, April 15, 2007

A rare but essential look back at the desperate souls of the Mafia's sex trade. Ellen Poulsen's commendable examination of the infamous Luciano trial is mandatory reading for true crime, organized crime and social history readers, and those for or against the 'victimless' crime of prostitution. --Rick Porrello, author, To Kill the Irishman and Superthief

From the Inside Flap

An engrossing and gritty examination of the madams and prostitutes who helped convict Lucky Luciano in New York's most sensational vice trial in history.

About the Author

Ellen Poulsen is the author of Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang. She has been researching 1930s gangsters' molls for 20 years, and has discussed 1930s crime on both TV and radio.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Clinton Cook Publishing Corp.
Publication date

May 28, 2007
Dimensions

6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0971720010
ISBN-13

978-0971720015
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Frank Ragano
97
Hardcover
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clinton Cook Publishing Corp. (May 28, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0971720010
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0971720015
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,568,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,241 in Organized Crime True Accounts
- #8,575 in Criminology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 19 ratings

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Ellen Poulsen

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Ellen Poulsen is a researcher in the field of 1930s crime history. "Don’t Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang", and "The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York’s Most Sensational Vice Trial" are her first two titles. They reflect years of research and a life-long interest in the Depression-Era Public Enemy. In 2008, "The Case Against Lucky Luciano" won the Silver Independent Publisher Book Awards, the IPPY Medal for True Crime.

Ellen's recent book concerns the Dillinger hunt with a special focus on the police officers involved in the chase. Written with a co-author, distinguished Dillinger historian Lori Hyde, this biography of Matthew Leach, Captain of the Indiana State Police in 1934 and a key figure in the hunt for John Dillinger, is now available.

"Chasing Dillinger: Police Captain Matt Leach, J. Edgar Hoover and the Rivalry to Capture Public Enemy No. 1," has won Ellen her second IPPY award, this time the Bronze Medal for True Crime 2019.

Ellen is currently researching the story of Anna Antonio, a wife and mother of three who was executed by the State of New York in 1934 for the conspiracy murder of her husband. Ellen is looking into unknown aspects of the case and hopes to advance new theories on this puzzling and tragic case.

Ellen has appeared on The Discovery Channel’s special, “The Dillinger Conspiracy,” and History Channel’s “Crime Wave,” and NYC Media's “Secrets of New York,” "The Making of the Mob," and numerous other documentaries.

The daughter of a now deceased New York City police officer and artist, Ellen became fascinated with desperado John Dillinger through a book, John Toland's "The Dillinger Days" while she was still in elementary school. As a young adult while working and raising a family, she earned a B.A. Degree in English at Queens College-CUNY. A nontraditional student, she studied nonfiction writing, volunteered at Queens College Evening Reading Series, and received a total of three awards and scholarships. Throughout her life, she has worked as a legal secretary and freelance court reporter.

Ellen can often be found entertaining audiences with a slide show and lecture in libraries and historical societies on the subject of the 1930s public enemies. Her email has not changed in many years although she continues to evolve as a writer. Reach her at ellenpoulsen@aol.com

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Thomas Hunt

Finally something new and interesting on Luciano

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2007

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Finally something new and interesting for the Luciano shelf! "The Case Against Lucky Luciano" is certainly not another rehashed biography of the oft-discussed crime boss. Expertly written, carefully researched and well considered, it is a detailed analysis of the vice trial that finally put Luciano behind bars.

This work reveals the methods used by racketeers, including Luciano and his close underworld allies, to organize and monopolize prostitution in the New York City region. In addition, it sheds new light on the actions of law enforcement and personnel from Special Prosecutor Thomas Dewey's office, some of whom employed exploitive methods similar to those used by the racketeers when dealing with the female witnesses in the case. Finally, it also provides a frank look at the witnesses themselves - prostitutes, madams, drug addicts.

Author Ellen Poulsen (who also wrote "Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang") probes deeply into the lives and careers of such personalities as "Cokey Flo" Brown, Jennie "the Factory" Fischer and Peggy "Wild" Ventimiglia. While discussing the profound mistreatment of the female subjects, Poulsen keeps her distance and avoids becoming judgmental or preachy. Her objectivity actually serves the subject far better, allowing the numerous offenses against the women to accumulate and develop into condemnation within the mind of the reader.

There is also plenty in this book about Luciano, himself, and about colleagues like "Socks" Lanza and "Tommy the Bull" Pennochio. Poulsen explores the working relationships between the gangsters, as well as Luciano's later wartime partnership with the United States government.

The book itself is well designed. It has an eye-catching cover, an easy-on-the-eyes type and plenty of photographs. Researchers will also be happy to find endnotes and a bibliography. The book also features 12 pages of index, though this could have been more helpful with subentries for the often referred to subjects. (The Luciano entry, for example, references 113 out of the possible 246 pages in the book.)

The Case Against Lucky Luciano is recommended for those curious about Depression Era organized crime, the plight of the women who - willingly or not - became involved with it, or the careers of Mafia bigshot Charlie Luciano and Special Prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

4 people found this helpful

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C. Alexander Hortis

Real research and terrific writing!

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2014

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Ellen Poulsen's The Case Against Lucky Luciano is the definitive account of the prosecution of Charles "Lucky" Luciano by Thomas Dewey. Poulsen really plumbed the primary sources to produce an authentic history. The proof is in the pages: this is a rich, refreshing story of the downfall of one of the Mafia's most famous gangsters.

Too often in mob history books, the "characters" come off as one-dimensional cartoons. Not so with this book. Poulsen makes the individuals (on both side of the law) come alive with vivid writing and descriptions. I especially liked the background context the author provides. Poulsen explains why the courts were so corrupt, and how the mob took advantage of the system.

There's no point in anyone trying to tell this story again-- Poulsen wrote THE book on the subject.

One person found this helpful

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Jeanine Garcia

I love this book

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2019

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This book is thorough, fascinating, and addicting. I always want to know what happens next and get upset when I can't find it. I'm almost done and I am so sad that I am. The author includes every detail which makes planning a NY trip even more exciting! Thank you so much!

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Amazon Customer

Can't wait to read it!

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2020

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Received in great condition

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Ralph White

The End of White Slavery and the Corruption that Fostered it.

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2008

"The Case against Lucky Luciano" is a stunning portrayal of the vicious New York underworld of the late 20's and early 30's, and the blatantly corrupt police and judicial system which fostered it. Ellen Paulson has justly earned a position as a historian of this amazing era. She describes in vivid detail how perfectly normal and innocent women were snared into the Kafkaesque bonds of the "white slave trade," made dependent on drugs, and forced to have sex "15 to 20 times a night," sharing the $2 fee with their pimps, bookers, madams, and the higher criminal hierarchy, ultimately headed by Salvatore Lucania, Lucky Luciano. Paulson describes, as though she had witnessed the action herself, the cleanup of the Tammany machine, the firings of the corrupt officials, the arrests of the criminal protagonists, and the remarkable trial, featuring the prostitutes themselves as the key witnesses. We see the early career of Thomas Dewey, whose visibility in this case vaulted him to political prominence, and ultimately to the governorship of New York State. And whereas some of the previous coverage of these gangsters in the popular press and in the entertainment industry has tended to glamorize them, or overlook their subhuman brutality, Paulson portrays them exactly as the witnesses themselves testified. These aren't the wiseguys of popular fiction, they are the killers, extortionists, rapists, kidnappers and torturers of that particular non-fiction called history. Ms. Paulson's scholarship is also apparent in the 12 pages of endnotes, 7 pages of bibliography, and 42 historical photos and illustrations. "The Case Against Lucky Luciano" is not only informative and historically rigorous, it is also a compelling read.

Ellen Paulson is the daughter of a New York cop, and her admiration for the law enforcement fraternity is apparent in her writing. In recent years she has taken a table at the Independent and Small Press Book Fair, held in December in New York, where you will find her happy to discuss and sign her book.

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