Fiorello LaGuardia

Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was one of the greatest mayors in US history.  New Yorkers agree-- they reelected him twice.  The Progressive Republican ran the city from 1934 to 1945, managing to turn around the city after the Depression, defeat Tammany Hall, and crack down on the mob starting with having Lucky Luciano arrested on LaGuardia's very first day in office.  A straight shooter with zero tolerance for bullshit,  this is the guy who said  "Prohibition cannot be enforced for the simple reason that the majority of American people do not want it enforced and are resisting its enforcement." To check out after listening: Bette Davis is a gun moll who testifies against her mob boss in The Marked Woman, based on the prosecution of Lucky Luciano. The Pulitzer Prize- winning musical Fiorello! For a ton of information on everything related to LaGuardia, go to the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at CUNY. Follow Fiorello on Twitter, courtesy of WNYC. (He REALLY cares about food.)