Havana Nocturne by T. J. English Book Review

Book Review of Havana Nocturne How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It To The Revolution by T. J. English

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution by T. J. English is a true account of taking over of Cuba by Havana Mob during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista. This was the time when Havana saw a staggering growth and development. Casinos, nightclubs, tourist resorts, and highways were constructed. Prostitution became rampant. During Prohibition, the flashy nightlife of Havana lured foreign investors and the economy exploded. However, the manufacturer of this new wave of development was Havana Mob. The country’s vital resources – sugar, oil, agriculture, refineries, and forestry – all were opened up to the world for exploitation. The massive yield was pocketed by a handful of people with dubious reputation. The outright looting of public by a government, which worked hand in glove with the gangsters, gradually set the stage for revolution.

When Charlie Lucky Luciano reunited with his old buddy Meyer Lansky, they already had a magnificent plan to establish a business empire in Cuba. Lansky, the more level-headed between the two, was a pupil of Arnold Rothstein, a criminal genius. Rothstein was the underworld’s central banking system. The shrewd gangster incorporated style in his work. He had a full-proof system to take in illegal money and then invest that money to produce more illegal money. He was so sophisticated and well-connected that despite being a stock swindler and con man of the highest order, he was never convicted of committing a single crime. Meyer Wolfsheim, the gangster immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby, was inspired by Arnold Rothstein.

It was from Rothstein that Meyer learned the most valuable lesson – it was important to bribe and cultivate the political powerhouse to stay in business – a lesson that he would later fine-tune and implement in Cuba.

In some quarters it was referred to as “the fix,” in others “the share-out”: a series of payoffs to high-ranking law enforcement officials and selected government legislators that made it possible for Lansky and his people to operate without undue harassment.”

Anything over the handle – the amount required to meet daily expenses in the business – went to the partners. Most of this extra money went to the fix.

All the muscle-power was provided by President Batista who was also supported by the then U. S. Government for its own reasons. 

The Platt Amendment was replaced by the “Good Neighbour” policy, which guaranteed Batista U.S. financial support as long as he continued to help make it possible for corporations such as United Fruit to garner huge profits on the island.

The political scenario is well documented in Havana Nocturne by T. J. English. The Great Depression, the Prohibition, and the World War – all had their roles in it. The relationship between the Havana Mob and Batista was hidden from scrutiny with much sophistication. Both Lansky and Batista knew what they want from the deal. There was no photo of Lansky and Batista together on record. There was no document that was signed jointly by them. The two men hardly met each other personally, yet they made each other filthy rich.

Batista earned millions through kickbacks, graft and fraudulent government contracts. Over the years he put the money aside in his offshore accounts. T. J. English remarked:

It is estimated that Batista plundered Cuba to the tune of three hundred million dollars.

However a portion of that money he had kept in Cuban bank. Before he could transfer it, it was seized by the revolutionaries. This money – no less than twenty million – was later used to help stabilise the new government.

The names of notorious gangsters like Alphonse “Big Al” Capone, Joe Stassi, Santo Trafficante, Albert Anastasia and many others came up as historical references. But that was only a part of Havana Nocturne. T. J. English didn’t spare anyone who was even remotely linked with the mob. Trafficante once told Frank Ragano that a senator from Massachusetts, who had a yen for the ladies, was about to visit him and Santo was to arrange a private sex party for him. The senator was J F Kennedy.

The mobster arranged for Kennedy to spend an afternoon with “three gorgeous prostitutes.”

The senator didn’t know that Trafficante and Garcia watched his tryst from another room through a two-way camera. Later Trafficante would express his frustration for having missed the opportunity to secretly film Kennedy’s dalliance. He would be disillusioned by the senator whose policies would weigh heavily on the Havana Mob.

The Mafia always had a keen interest in the entertainment industry, especially in Hollywood. T. J. English named most of the singers and movie stars who frequented Havana during this period. The famous singer Frank Sinatra’s nexus with the underworld also found mention in Havana Nocturne. Frank’s patron Willie Moretti was the influential bookmaker, extortionist and killer. Sinatra’s friend and fellow crooner Eddie Fisher once said about him:

“Frank wanted to be a hood. He once said, I’d rather be a don of the Mafia than President of the United States.’

By the mid-1950s, Hemingway became famous in Cuba. The Old Man and the Sea – a book that brought him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 - was set in the fishing village of Cojimar, outside Havana. He dedicated his book to the people of Cojimar. Hemingway was a frequenter in Havana and even bought a home outside the city.

When the gambling business in Havana was in its peak, and its prime beneficiaries – the Mafia and the Batista government – were being literally flooded with cash, there came the most devastating blow – Fidel Castro. The revolution led by Castro, his brother Raul and the famous Che Guevara would sound the death knell for Havana Mob. In his Sierra Manifesto, Castro declared that the casinos were among the various targets of revolution.

... after Batista was overthrown and a revolutionary government was installed,  gambling and corruption would be eradicated.

This practically rocked the Havana Mob to its foundation. It did sound like war. Afterwards when Batista fled from Havana, the revolutionaries would materialise Castro’s words.  The revolution would later bulldoze the casinos and anything that symbolised Batista Government, to dust. The mafia bosses would be arrested frequently. Soon it would be too hot for them to stay in Cuba. Thus the reign of Havana Nocturne would end.

T. J. English is an Irish-American author and journalist who had penned many non-fiction books. He is mostly known for his seminal works on organized crime. Havana Nocturne: : How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution is his masterpiece. The book is well-researched, though it hardly reads like a non-fiction. It reveals many shocking details, and names many famous persons. It is a seminal work on Cuban revolution and the Havana Mob.

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