François "Lydro" Spirito (23 January 1900 – 9 October 1967) was a French gangster. He was one of the leaders of the

French Connection The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada. The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and was dismantled in the 1 ...

, and inspired the film '' Borsalino'', which featured

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

and

Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...

Early life

Spirito was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on 23 January 1900 to Dominick Spirito and Rosina De Nola. By the age of 12 he already had a police record for theft. When he was 13 he moved into his own flat and adopted the French name François. He was part of a juvenile gang that terrorised and stole around the docks. When Spirito was 15 he started working for a gangster called Antoine la Rocca, and got involved in

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

and the white slave trade. In 1913, whilst in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, part of la Rocca's network that brought women from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to work in Egyptian

brothels A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe t ...

, Spirito rescued Paul Carbone. Three rival pimps had kidnapped Carbone and left him buried up to his neck in sand in the desert. Spirito and Carbone struck up a life-long friendship and business partnership. Once recovered from his ordeal, Carbone wanted to leave Egypt, and persuaded Spirito to go to

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

with him. Here the pair got involved in

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

smuggling. This lasted for about a year until the outbreak of WW1, when the pair returned to France to enlist.

Inter-war years

After the end of the war, Carbone and Spirito left for

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. In

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

they started pimping and soon had 20 women working for them. The pair returned to Marseille in 1919, where they engaged in pimping and opium smuggling. The Carbone-Spirito clan gained more and more influence in the Marseille underworld. By the late 1920s they were involved in

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, the white slave trade,

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from vio ...

s and various forms of trafficking. They were involved in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

, especially

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. They set up a laboratory in

Bandol Bandol (; ) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The region, located near the coast ...

, near

to refine the raw opium from Egypt,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

into heroin, some of which was sent to

Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( ; ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster who operated mainly in the United States. He started his criminal career in the Five Points Gang and was instrumental in the ...

in the United States. They owned a bar in rue pavilion, the Amical Bar, and the Beauvau restaurant in rue Beauvau. Their empire was run from these establishments. In Marseille alone they had more than 25 brothels, mostly staffed by young

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish women forced into prostitution. Carbone and Spirito were also active in Paris, where the Prefect of Police,

Jean Chiappe Jean Baptiste Pascal Eugène Chiappe (3 May 1878 – 27 November 1940) was a high-ranking French civil servant. Career Chiappe was director of the ''Sûreté générale'' in the 1920s. He was subsequently given the post of Préfet de police in ...

, was a friend of Carbone. They initially set up an up-market brothel in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

. At this time all the brothels in Paris were controlled by an obese Italian, Charles Codebo. Carbone and Spirito couldn't get him to lose weight so they muscled-in on his operation. With the money made in Paris they opened brothels all over France, staffing them with women from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and South America. During the

inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Carbone and Spirito allied themselves with the mayor of Marseilles,

Simon Sabiani Simon Pierre Sabiani (14 May 1888 – 29 September 1956) was a French businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1928 to 1936. Early life Simon Pierre Sabiani was born in 1888 in Casamaccioli, Corsica, Fr ...

, and acted as his enforcers, and in return received political protection. When Carbone and Spirito were arrested for the murder of financial consultant Albert Prince in 1934, Sabiani came to their aid.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Carbone and Spirito joined the

Carlingue The ''Carlingue'' (or French Gestapo) were French auxiliaries who worked for the Gestapo, ''Sicherheitsdienst'' and ''Geheime Feldpolizei'' during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. The group, which was based at 93 rue L ...

which collaborated with the Germans in France; in return, the local civilian authorities in Marseilles were expected to ignore their criminal activities. They also profiteered from

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

eering, supplying German soldiers with hard to obtain goods. Carbone died on 16 December 1943 in a train crash caused by the resistance sabotaging the train. Spirito carried on the clan's affairs. After the

French Liberation The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French ...

, Spirito fled to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and thence to

Post-WWII

In 1946, Spirito moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. From here he organised smuggling heroin shipments into

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The distribution in New York was handled by the

Lucchese Crime Family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey, within the nationwide c ...

. Spirito was arrested in New York on 23 August 1951, on suspicion of drug smuggling. Whilst he was in custody, on 24 October, the French Court of Appeal found him guilty, in his absence, of theft and sentenced him to 20 years of hard labour. The French authorities requested his extradition on November 15 of that year. In February 1952, a federal court in New York sentenced Spirito to two years in prison on drug trafficking charges. At the end of 1953, soon after his release from prison, Spirito was deported from the U.S. to France for entering the country illegally. Spirito died on 9 October 1967 in Toulon, France.

References

Bibliography