Mafia

616 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mafia money laundering

The major illegal activities by these groups are drug trafficking and money laundering. They have been involved in heroin trafficking for decades. Two big busts that targeted Italian organized crime drug trafficking in the 1980s include the“French Connection” and the “Pizza Connection.” Worldwide the Italian Mafia beings in $100 billion annually. The Sicilian family began around 3,000 years when they began relying solely on family for safety, protection, justice, and survival. An underground secret society formed as first as resistance and as a vigilante form of justice against oppression. The member was known as a “man of honor” because he was protecting his family and friends but was keeping silence about it instead of boasting. These secret societies grew to become known as the “Mafia.” Since the 1900s thousands of Italian organized crime figures have migrated to this country, many fled during the early 1920s helped form what is now known as the La Cosa Nostra or the American Mafia. Charles “Lucky” Luciano was a Mafioso from Sicily is credited for making the American La Cosa Nost...

Show More
Related

  • Organized Crime In The Film 'Scarface'

    2528 Words  | 6 Pages

    As we open our eyes to the world around us, we see that crime comes in many different shapes and sizes. Organized crime is really not much different, it is a larger scale of individuals with the same goals, to commit criminal acts, normal for money or profit. As early as the 1700’s immigrants have been submitted to organized crime. They migrate to the United States and other countries in search for a better life but sometimes get caught up in the American system of wanting money and power and feel as though the illegal way is the only way of achieving this.

    Read More

  • Thomas Reppetto's American Mafia

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Reppetto’s book is a solid account of the events that took place between 1880 and 1995. The events are detailed and contain fact and evidence, he uses first hand knowledge, being a former chicago commander of detectives, Reppetto was well equipped to write this book. In American Mafia, and its rise to power, Reppetto shows the different parts of the mafia and their communication with the police and italian civilians. The book starts off showing the worst part of the mob, or mafia, and how bad they truly are. Using examples like how many people they’ve taken out and how they’d be one of the richest fortune 500 companies, ift was legal. The book also has how the police reacted to the crimes, in chapter one, they take you into the lives

    Read More

  • Why Did Ruby Kill John F Kennedy Essay

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    the mafia is powerful, they know how to cover their tracks they are master of manipulation . The mafia were angry at president kennedy in this article published by (anthony and robin ), assassination

    Read More

  • New England Patriarca Mafia

    2697 Words  | 6 Pages

    Organized crime is a collective result of the commitment, knowledge, and actions of three components: (1) Criminal groups, who are core persons tied by racial, linguistic, ethnic or other bonds; (2) Protectors, who are persons who protect the group’s interests; and (3) Specialist support, which are persons who knowingly render services on an side-job basis to enhance the group’s interests. In order to thrive, an organized crime group needs many different elements. First, it needs an ensured continuity of members, clients, supporters, funds, etc. Additionally, it needs structure, criminality, violence, memberships based on common grounds, and a willingness to corrupt a power and profit goal. Generally, mafia organized crime groups disguise themselves behind the ownership of a legitimate business to avoid questioning from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) regarding any financial sources. The ille...

    Read More

  • 1970s Mafia Crime

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    New York City the 1970s was home to the poorest residents. Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Italian survived by committing crimes. There was the Mafia, which was an Italian mob. Teens were involved in gangs. Whites were afraid of the rise and fall of crime. Crimes were starting to slowly fade out in neighborhoods after police and Giuliani took action.

    Read More

  • John Gotti

    2851 Words  | 6 Pages

    From its very existence the Mafia has always been feared and respected. They are respected for the power that they posses to do what they want whenever and with whomever they please. Also the Mafia is respected for the money that they poses and the ability to get it by all means possible. They are feared by people knowing that the Mafia would not hesitate to kill someone if need be. "The roots of the mafia go way back to Sicily where their history is ancient and bloody" ( Cummings and Volkman 3).

    Read More

  • The Sicilian Mafia in America

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    During 1869-2014 the Sicilian mafia in America evolved in a number of ways such as: the change in rules, leaders, how it is run, the change in code and power over American society. These topics will be covered throughout this essay and will give you a detailed explanation of the history of the evolution that took place. The Sicilian Mafia started in poor Sicilian ghettos in America and spread into the cities, striking fear into the American society. With around 2,500 members, it is seen as the most powerful and the most active Italian organized criminal group in the United States of America. The Sicilian mafia is more commonly known as La Cosa Nostra.

    Read More

  • The Prohibition Er Al Capone And The Prohibition Era

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    It also emerged in other areas of the East Coast of the United States and several other major metropolitan areas (such as New Orleans[1]) during the late 19th century and early 20th Century following waves of Italian immigration, especially from Sicily and other regions of Southern Italy. It has its roots in the Sicilian Mafia, but is a separate organization in the United States. Neapolitan, Calabrian, and other Italian criminal groups in America, as well as independent Italian-American criminals, eventually merged with Sicilian Mafiosi to create the modern pan-Italian Mafia in North America. Today, the American Mafia cooperates in various criminal activities with the Sicilian Mafia and other Italian organized crime groups, such as the Camorra in Naples, 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, and Sacra Corona Unita in Apulia. The most important unit of the American Mafia is that of a "family", as the various criminal organizations that make up the Mafia are known. Despite the name of "family" to describe the various units, they are not familial

    Read More

  • The Mafia

    1432 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that has great economic and political control over large parts of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have started during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bonds of strong-arm enforcers hired by local landowners. It eventually evolved into a network of independent groups governing in rural areas. With the Sicilian immigration of the late 19th century, the Mafia began to operate in several large United States cities. During the period of Prohibition it monopolized the trade in bootleg liquor and controlled loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Competing Mafia families established mutually recognized territories, reaching agreement by negotiation or by intimidation. By the mid-1930 the Mafia had taken on the institutionalized structure that is now typical of organized crime in the United States.

    Read More

  • Organized Crime

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    Organized crime has always been occupied with a negative label. Perhaps this is due to the constantly changing environment in America as well as the social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so-called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. "The origins of the secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century" (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafia's main purpose was to strengthen themselves against enemies, which invaded their homeland in Sicily. It was supposed to create a strong feeling of togetherness between all Sicilians. "This idea of family was carried through in the structure of the organization, which had a strong hierarchical layout" (Mafia History). The Mafia is said by many to have perhaps the best system of power, than any other group or government known today. One can compare a physical representation of the family almost to a family tree dated all the way back through many generations. Certain people operated the system, but without the help of the people with the less power, the Mafia would be very weak. To put it another way, a leader cannot lead without followers, and the followers cannot follow without leaders. This is why the Mafia was hard to overcome. Although when many think of the location of the Mafia, Chicago and New York often come to mind, but actually the Mafia has been traced back through 26 major cites in America. Within every city were many Mafia families each with it?s own government. "At the head of each family stood the Dons or Bosses. Next in line to the Dons was the Underbosses, who were second in command. Followed by the Consigliere or counselors. And last were the men who did the dirty work for the Mob, the Soldiers. The Soldiers were the one?s who would enforce discipline over both members and non-members through the use of intimidation, assaults, and murder" (Living Large 3). All the members of the society were expected to go through a ceremony that often was compared to the baptism ceremony. "The induction ceremony is the most important day of a mobster?s life, the day that they become full members of La Cosa Nostra" (Mafia Life). "The ceremony for the newcomers was som...

    Read More

  • The Mexican Mafia And The Los Surenos Gang

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.

    Read More

  • La Cosa Nostra

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film “The Godfather” when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a secret society that gave protection to the people in exchange for money. This group took their name, “Mafia” based on the Arabic word for refuge. In America today, one can hear it also be called “La Cosa Nostra”, or “This Thing of Ours.” In the 1700s,Wealthy people would receive a card with a black hand drawn on and if they did not pay the money, they could expect murder, theft, and violence. During the time Mussolini was ruling Italy, this secret society was under heavy persecution and many fled to the United States. “Don (term for the boss or head of a Mafia family) Vito Cascio Ferro fled to the United States in 1901 to escape arrest. He is known as the Father of American Mafia.” (La Cosa Nostra) Many Italian immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island in New York, which is today the most important center of organized Mafia crime in the United States. The new American Mafia came to power during the Prohibition by organizing the sale of outlawed alcohol, but after Prohibition was revoked, the Mafia needed a new “racket.” During the war, the Mafia got government issued ration stamps and sold them on the black market. These days the Mafia is involved in running prostitution, unions, construction, and gambling. New York, also called the “City that never sleeps,” houses the Five Families of New York. These Families are highly influential and powerful crime families and each holds claim to certain “rackets.” The Five Families are: Gambino, Bonano, Lucchese, Colombo, and Genovese. While all people in the Mafia are required to maintain certain silence about the workings of the Family, a code of silence called “Omerta,” d...

    Read More

  • Impacts of the Mafia

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peter Maas declares organized crime the “biggest business in the country” (Maas). “The largest and best known organized crime group is the nationwide organization variously known as the ‘syndicate’, the ‘mob’, the ‘Mafia’, and the ‘Cosa Nostra’” (Nash, Jason O-155). Some activities of the Mafia include gambling, loan sharking, pornography, illicit drugs, and racketeering. The Mafia began in Sicily, but did not retain to just that one location. In fact, in the late nineteenth century many of the Sicilian members immigrated to the United States (Nash O-155). The Mafia in the United States contains members that are Americans with Sicilian ancestry (“Mafia” M-48). There are several Mafia groups in the United States. Law enforcement authorities agree that there are around twenty-five groups that operate in large cities across the nation (Nash O-155).

    Read More

  • Mafia

    1945 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mafia. What does this word mean? The actual members of the Mafia aren’t even sure where the word first originated or what it really means. One of the theories as to where the word came from is from Sicily, where people would yell “ Morte alla Francia, Italia anela!” (Death to France, Italy groans!), therefore forming the acronym MAFIA. Others claim the word derived from the battle cry of rebels who slaughtered thousands of Frenchmen after a French soldier raped a Palermo woman on her wedding day. Their slogan echoed her mother’s cry, “Ma fia, Ma fia” (my daughter my daughter). There are other less “glamorous” stories as to where the word originally formed. The most likely reasoning says that it came from the Arabic word mahias, meaning bold man. The American Mafia has become infamous due to its leaders, its method of operation, and its impact on the economy through illegal means.

    Read More

  • Italian Mafia

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mafia was first developed in Sicily in feudal times to protect the estates of landlords who were out of town. The word Mafia, derived from the Sicilian word, Mafioso, means family. Today, Mafia is a name which describes a loose association of criminal groups. These groups can be bound together by blood, oath or sworn secrecy. Many people had considered the Sicilian Mafia as the most ruthless mobsters of the twentieth century.

    Read More

More about Mafia

Open Document