Mafia

The Sicilian mafia originated hundreds of years ago as a kind of protection society during the Spanish occupation of Sicily. The locals felt they could not trust the Spanish law-enforcement officials, and so formed their own protection societies, which developed into the mafia.

This role as protector extended to the early 20th century mafias in the United States, where newly arrived Italian immigrants often spoke no English and settled in the same districts of American cities. Many Americans were suspicious and mistrustful of recent immigrants, especially those with a limited command of English. Some Italians felt that they could not rely on the often corrupt and prejudiced local law-enforcement officials for protection, and turned to the mafiosi instead.

The mafia's fundraising activities have included legitimate business endeavors as well as many illegal activities such as extortion (obtained through such means as subverting trade unions), smuggling of alcohol during prohibition, prostitution, drug smuggling, illegal gambling, as well as simple theft. Las Vegas was transformed from a sleepy desert town into a gambling capital of the world through mafia investment, notably through the efforts of Bugsy Siegel.

During the Fascist period in Italy, Cesare Mori, the prefect of Palermo, utilised special powers to fight mafia activities, and his work resulted in many mafiosi being jailed or forced to flee abroad. It has been said that in reality, the most important leaders of the Sicilian mafia were enrolled in the MVSN, the fascist Militia, and only low-level suspects were charged in Mori's campaign, mainly for propaganda purposes. However, others claim that this version is nothing but US propaganda trying to relativize the cooperation of the United States government and the mafia during World War II. The mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in the Second World War.

Many of the mafiosi who escaped fled to the United States. Among them was Joseph Bonanno, who eventually dominated the US branch of the mafia. The Americans took advantage of the circumstances, and used connections of mafia in Sicily during the invasion in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other members of mafia, imprisoned during this time in USA, suddenly become valuable patriots and joined the US in fight against Fascism. The new American ally Lucky Luciano was pardoned and went to Sicily in 1946 to continue his activities.

In Italy in particular, there has been a long history of police prosecutors and judges being murdered by the mafia in an attempt to discourage vigorous policing. In the United States, murders of state authorities have been rare, largely out of fear of the backlash that would result. The mobster Dutch Schultz was reported killed by his peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill New York City prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

In the United States, the mafia began a steep decline in the late-1970s and early 1980s due in part to laws such as the RICO Act, which made it a crime to belong to an organization that performed illegal acts and to programs such as the witness protection program. These factors combined with the gradual dissolution of the distinct Italian-American community through death, intermarriage, the lack of continued Italian migration, and cultural assimilation.

In the mid-20th century, the mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many labor unions in the United States, including the Teamsters whose president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared and is believed to have been killed by the mafia. In the 1980s the United States federal government made a determined and, it believed, successful attempt to remove mafia influence from labor unions.

There is some evidence that in Italy law enforcement seem to be finally gaining the upper hand over the mafia organisations, through stronger laws and the breaking down of the "code of silence". A huge help in fighting the military side of mafia has been provided many so-called pentiti (mafia members who dissociated for a milder judicial treatment), like Tommaso Buscetta. The mafia allegedly retains strong financial influence. Thus, recent investigations usually research the economic movements of suspected members.

In recent decades, one of the most famous figures in Italy in the context of mafia has been Toto Riina, supposed to have ordered the murder of the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

Recently, former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti (Democrazia Cristiana) stood judicially accused of relationships with mafia, but was finally cleared.

Each family was ultimately controlled by a boss, who was insulated from actual operations by several layers of authority. The boss' closest and most trusted advisor was referred to as the consigliere ("counselor" in Italian). An underboss was possible as well. There were then a number of regimes with a varying number of soldiers who conducted actual operations. Each regime was headed by a caporegime, who reported to the boss. When the boss made a decision, he never issued orders directly to the soldiers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the chain of command. In this way, the higher levels of the organization were effectively insulated from incrimination if a lower level member should be captured by law enforcement.

Initiation rituals were secret and passed down via oral tradition, though they are rumoured to involve burning a card with the picture of a saint on it and tossing the flaming pieces from hand to hand. Members initiated into this organization were referred to as made men and were under the protection of their family. A hit, or assassination, of a made man had to be preapproved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would go to the mattresses - rent vacant apartments and have a number of soldiers sleeping on mattresses on the floor in shifts, with the others ready at the windows to fire at rival family members.

• Bonanno family
  • Joseph Bonanno
  • Carmine Galante
  • Sal Maranzano
  • Sonny Napolitano
  • Joe Pistone, "Donnie Brasco", an undercover FBI agent
• Colombo family
  • Joe Colombo
  • Carmine Persico
  • Joe Profaci
• Gambino family
  • Albert Anastasia
  • Crazy Joe Gallo
  • Carlo Gambino
  • Paul Castellano
  • John Gotti
  • Sammy "The Bull" Gravano
  • Al Mineo
• Genovese family
  • Frank Costello
  • Frank "Funzi" Tieri
  • Vito Genovese
  • Vincent "The Chin" Gigante
  • Lucky Luciano
  • Giuseppe "Joe The Boss" Masseria
  • Fat Tony Salerno
  • Joe Valachi, the first mafioso to publicly betray "omerta"
• Lucchese family
  • Tommy Gagliano
  • Tommy Lucchese
  • Tom Reina
  • Joe Ionno
  • James Jippens

Other Known Mafiosi and associated individuals

• Al Capone
• Meyer Lansky
• Bugs Moran
• Nicodemo Scarfo
• Charles Pasqua
• Bugsy Siegel

Countries with suspected mafia activity

• Albania
• Brazil
• Bolivia
• China
• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• England
• France
• Ireland
• Israel
• Japan
• Kuwait
• Mexico
• Puerto Rico
• Russia
• Thailand
• United States

Movies and Books Portraying the Mafia

• The Godfather series by Mario Puzo; later made into films by Francis Ford Coppola. A fictional amalgamation of events from several New York mafia families.
• Goodfellas
• Donnie Brasco, the first FBI agent to infiltrate the Mafia
• Casino, portrayal of Sam "Ace" Rothstein, general manager of a Las Vegas casino
• Gotti, an HBO feature on the recently deceased former Gambino family chieftain.
• Road to Perdition

See Also

• Terrorism
• Narcoterrorism

Mafia (game)