Godfather inspiration was a fraud

A historian has claimed that the mobster who inspired the 1970s movie The Godfather was a “fake”.

A historian has claimed that the mobster who inspired the 1970s movie The Godfather was a “fake”.

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It was believed that Charles “Lucky” Luciano was the father of organised crime and experts hailed him as the model for legendary mafia boss Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando.

Luciano was credited for running New York’s underworld, and was linked to extortion rackets, punishment attacks and gangland murders.

But US author Tim Newark, in his new book Lucky Luciano: Mafia Murderer and Secret Agent, claims that his reputation was fabricated by the US government to justify the expense of tracking him down.