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63. King Cash

When the Mob Ruled Havana

The true story of how gangsters sliced up Cuba and created an illicit playground

Cigar Aficionado | By T.J. English | From Kurt Russell, July/August 2019

In February of 1947, Frank Sinatra arrived in Havana, Cuba, holding a suitcase filled with $2 million in cash. He was flanked by two mobsters from Chicago, the Fischetti brothers, Rocco and Charlie.

Snip…

Weeks before Sinatra’s arrival, a who’s who of the American Mob had gathered in Havana for a major conference, presided over by Luciano and his closest gangster associate, Meyer Lansky. Sinatra’s cash delivery to Luciano constituted operational expenses for the Mob. Some of it would grease the wheels of corruption in the Cuban government; some of it would cover Luciano’s living expenses in Havana; and some of it would cover lavish meals for the mobsters as well as choice rooms at the Hotel Nacional, a Moorish/Sevillian/Art Deco palace perched on a bluff overlooking the aquamarine Gulf of Mexico.

The international star was but a bit player in this saga, the dimensions of which he likely knew little. The cash he had delivered was seed money for one of the most grandiose ventures the American Mob would ever undertake: to establish a base of operations in Cuba that would make it possible for organized crime to function as an international conglomerate. Fulfilling this plan would put the Mob beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.

Snip…

With Luciano out of the way, Lansky could begin to formulate the kind of operation he had in mind for Cuba, one that was based on casino gambling, which was his forte. Even so, it would take another five years for all of the pieces to fall into place. The man who made it possible—Lansky’s partner in the plundering of Cuba—was none other than the president himself, Fulgencio Batista.

Snip…

Throughout Cuba’s history, political turmoil was the norm. Presidents came and went at a stupefying rate. One president lasted five days in office. Others were toppled through military coups and violent uprisings. The military, not elected officials, emerged as the true power in Cuba. Which is why Lansky, as far back as 1933, set his sights on Batista.

According to Joseph “Doc” Stacher, a friend and associate of Lansky’s since their childhood together on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, he was present on a day in 1933 when Lansky presented Batista with multiple suitcases filled with cash. In later meetings, Batista was given a guarantee of $3 million to $5 million a year, in exchange for a monopoly on casino gambling. Batista was also promised a cut of the profits.

Continues…

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/when-the-mob-ruled-havana

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