Charles "Lucky" Luciano (;[1] born Salvatore Lucania;[2] November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an influential Italian-born mobster, criminal mastermind, and crime lord who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of the first Commission. He was also the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family. He was, along with his associates, instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate.

Luciano was tried and successfully convicted for compulsory prostitution and running a prostitution racket in 1936 after years of investigation by District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. He was given a thirty-year prison sentence, but during World War II an agreement was struck with the Department of the Navy through his associate Meyer Lansky in order to protect New York's harbors from Axis U-boats. Dewey almost failed to keep his end of the bargain, and it took months to finally come up with a solution to release Luciano. He was deported to live his life freely outside the U.S.

Meyer Lansky(born Meier Suchowlański;[2] July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American[3] major organizedcrime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.[4]

The Atlantic City Conference held between 13–16 May 1929[1] was a historic summit of leaders of organized crime in the United States. It is considered by most crime historians to be the earliest organized crime summit held in the US. The conference had a major impact on the future direction of the criminal underworld and it held more importance and significance than the Havana Conference of 1946 and the Apalachin meeting of 1957. It also represented the first concrete move toward a National Crime Syndicate.[2]

The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia,[1] formed in 1931. The Commission replaced the "Boss of all Bosses" title with a ruling committee consisting of the New York Five Families bosses and the bosses of the ChicagoOutfit and the Buffalo crime family.[1] The last known Commission meeting held with all the bosses was in November 1985.[2]

The Five Families are the five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia.

The term was first used in 1931, when Salvatore Maranzano formally organized the previously warring gangs into what are now known as the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families, each with demarcated territory, organizationally structured in a now-familiar hierarchy, and having them reporting up to the same overarching governing entity. Initially Maranzano intended each family's boss to report to him as the capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses), but this led to his assassination and by September the role was replaced by The Commission, which continues to govern American Mafia activities in the United States and Canada.