January 26, 1962

Gangster Charles “Lucky” Luciano died of a heart attack at Capodichino Airport in Naples, Italy, where he had gone to meet a Hollywood movie producer. Though Luciano had been denied reentry into the United States after serving a sentence in federal prison, he was buried at St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery in Queens, New York. In many ways, he was the model for the character Don Corleone in the popular book and movie, The Godfather (1972). He evaded arrest and survived attempted gangland assassinations only to have his luck run out in 1936, when he was arrested while vacationing in Hot Springs (Garland County).