Mafia Allies

“Newark tells an extraordinary tale with pace and conviction, and impressively unravels what really happened from the pervasive myths”—History Today Magazine

“A highly readable account of a fascinating, little-known piece of Mafia history”—James Morton, author of Gangland Bosses

“An absorbing, widely researched and lively account which not only sheds fresh light on the Mafia, Allied intelligence operations and the workings of military government but also explodes a number of myths on the way”—Charles Messenger, editor of the Reader’s Guide to Military History

“An engrossing account that has the read-on factor of the finest thriller, and which shows, all too clearly, the compromises the Allies were prepared to make in the pursuit of victory”—James Holland, author of Fortress Malta and Together We Stand

“Tim Newark has written a compelling work on three of the most evil movements of the first half of the twentieth century. It ought to be required reading for anyone looking for insights into the period and the movements that so dominated it and the world”—Richard Hammer, author of The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano


Mafia Allies is a dramatic and provocative account of how a criminal organization brilliantly exploited the grim realities of war to revive its fortunes and dominate global crime.

Using first-hand testimony and declassified intelligence reports, Tim Newark traces the relationship between the Mafia, Mussolini, and Hitler , and tells the remarkable story of Mafia-Allied collaboration duringWorld War II.

The author’s findings are startling. Newark shows how Jewish gangsters clashed with Nazis on the streets of New York; how Mafiosi nearly issued contracts to kill top Nazis, including Hitler; how Mafia-backed bandits conducted a guerrilla war for Sicilian independence; and how General Eisenhower was happy to arm the Mafia during the Allied invasion of Sicily. And, it reveals how the U.S. government worked with the Mafia to “protect” the docks of the American ports that were so vital in supplying the Allied armies.