If that really happened, and Luciano reacted this way, I can only imagine that he wanted to create an alibi for when underworld vengeance was exacted upon the assaulter.

Other than creating an alibi, there is no other reason for Luciano to go to police about a slap....if he in fact did this and it wasn't a story completely cooked up and planted by law enforcement to defame him.

The slap may never have happened. Newspapers get their information from police oftentimes. Maybe in Italy back then it worked the same way.

A big clue is that the "witness" to the slapping supposedly brought to the police by Luciano...was the slapper. So something is not right with that story. If the only witness to something is someone untrustworthy or with a motive to lie, then the whole story is on a weak premise. Pirozzi as a rival underboss of the Camorra would have plenty of motive to spread a false story, through the police, and then through the media, about him slapping Luciano and Luciano running to the police.

I don't believe it.