This book relates the 1936 trial of Lucky Luciano, through the experience of the witnesses. The most notorious of these were the women who worked as New York syndicate madams and prostitutes in 1933-1936. The book asserts the opinion that the conviction was appropriate, based on the fact that at least two of the co-defendants were highly placed in Luciano's drug and liquor trades.
Author at gravesite of Assistant D.A. Eunice H. Carter, located in Brooklyn's Cypress Hills Cemetery.
The forthcoming book explains the Bonding Combination whose members extorted money from NYC madams in 1933-1935
89 Mulberry St., "formerly Little Italy," now "Chinatown"
Hangout of Tommy "The Bull" Pennochio
Racing down Broadway to the Woolworth Building, (background) c. 2008.
The Women's Court, now a library, where this book was researched along with the 42nd Street Library and New York Municipal Archives.
Check out the original book on the Luciano trial, Ninety Times Guilty, by the late Hickman Powell, in reprint ed. from Barricade Books.
Here are some of the authors and 1930s crime experts who helped contribute information and vintage crime magazines that are the source of the artwork on these pages. These researchers are:
Brian Beerman, Mario Gomes, Reno Dakota, Jim Sanseverino, Richard McDermitt, Steve McCormick, John Binder, Patrick Downey, Tony Stewart, Tom Smusyn, Charles Molino, Allan May, Bill Helmer, Rick Mattix, and Rose Keefe.
- Ellen Poulsen
Author, Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang
It’s Guys & Dolls meets Goodfellas. Bravo to Ellen Poulsen for presenting the Runyonesque cast of characters that made up the 1936 Luciano Vice Trial.
- Pat Downey, author, “Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld 1900-1935”
“Don’t Call Us Molls,” Ellen Poulsen’s debut work, broke ground by re-examining the American outlaw era from the perspective of their women accomplices. “The Case Against Lucky Luciano” is a terrific follow-up. Both chilling and engrossing, it is the story of the New York madams and prostitutes whose voices were silenced by threats and violence until the time came to get their revenge. And then the women did not speak – they roared. Just as they gave unto Luciano, they proceeded to take away.
- Rose Keefe, author of “Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O’Banion” and “The Man Who Got Away – the Bugs Moran Story.”
After her successful “Don’t Call Us Molls,” Ellen Poulsen is back with a second punch. “The Case Against Lucky Luciano” brings us back to the famous vice trial of the 30’s in which New York mob kingpin Luciano was brought down and Thomas Dewey was elevated in stature. Poulsen delivers the facts and gritty details surrounding prostitution and its links to organized crime. Riveting! A true crime must read!!
- Mario Gomes, Capone Historian - My Al Capone Museum
For once-and at last-somebody has successfully delved into “Lucky” Luciano, replacing countless myths with careful research. Ellen Poulsen’s biography focuses on Luciano’s vice trial, giving the reader the first detailed account of New York’s grim but lively prostitution industry; and she reviews that well-orchestrated racket through documents that record Luciano’s rise to power, his prosecution that made Tom Dewey a presidential candidate, and his fall, which was “interrupted” only when the Allies needed Mafia help to land troops in Sicily.
– William J. Helmer, author, “The Complete Public Enemies Almanac: New Faces and Features on the People, Places & Events of the Gangster and Outlaw Era” and “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre”
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 of “Superthief,” and “To Kill the Irishman.”
Bravo! The documented drama of the biggest debacle in the career of the American Mafia’s chief architect. Discover how the “Dirty 30s” prostitution rackets led to the downfall of Luciano.
– Selwyn Raab, Author, “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires.”
Ellen Poulsen’s new book, The Case Against Lucky Luciano, is a brilliant piece of work, investigating the trial of the man who lead the Unione Siciliana and established organized crime in the Mafia world. This fascinating account of New York’s most astounding trial is truly an eye opener that includes the men and women who put their lives on the line to bring down a crime lord. Highly Recommended!
– Tony Stewart, author, “Dillinger, the Hidden Truth.”
Dear Ms. Poulsen: Just began reading your book on Luciano and could not help comparing the lives of the prostitutes to the lives of dysfunctional folks observed in children's homes where we volunteer our time (we're retired) and, in addition, in some ways, we wonder about the psyche's of the women in the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas. In any case, you've done well with the book [so far :)] and have done a service to mankind. Thanks,
– Del Kentner, Allen, NE
