History of the American Mafia Essay

The Sicilian Mafia is a criminal organization that has its origin in Sicily, Italy. They are estimated to have come to existence during the 1800’s. Also known as Cosa Nostra and are mainly located in Sicily, some parts in Italy and America.

The prohibition caused much controversy in the 1920’s. The 18th amendment was passed on Jan 16, 1920, it said in Title II, Section 3 the National Prohibition Act states that "No person shall on or after the date when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States goes into effect, manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish or possess any intoxicating liquor except as authorized in this act." (United States constitution). The Prohibition opened up many big business opportunities in the illegal marketing of alcohol. The people who took advantage of this opportunity were known as “Bootleggers”. With the enactment of this law organized crime was established, allowing men such as Al Capone to capitalize

When one thinks about organized crime in the United States, an infamous group always comes to mind, the American Mafia. What many people are unaware of is the official name for one of the major organized criminal syndicates in the United States is La Cosa Nostra, “Our Thing” being its literal translation ("History of La Cosa Nostra"). Originating from Sicily, Mafia-like factions emerged in places such as Harlem and Brooklyn in New York and even in Chicago; these neighborhoods were impoverished with a high Italian population. In other areas across the East Coast of United States, such as in New Orleans, Mafia factions emerged with the immigration of Italians in the late 19th century, mainly from Sicily and Southern Italy ("Mafia in the United States." History.com). According to the FBI, despite having Sicilian Mafia roots, the American Mafia is its own independent organization in the United States, thus the dubbed name “La Cosa Nostra”. In the 1920s, the Mafia took advantage of Prohibition and focused on the bootleg liquor business and became “sophisticated criminal enterprises” ("Mafia in the United States.").

Organized crime was not so organized up until the 1920s. When the 1920s arrived, the American lifestyle changed dramatically. People started investing money in home appliances and automobiles, women’s skirts became higher and drinking became very popular. Also, organized crime came to a rise in the 1920’s. And in the high ranks of organized crime was Al Capone. Al Capone ran many illegal businesses including bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and murders. There were many gangs in the world of organized crime and Al Capone’s was at the top. Al Capone was the most infamous gangster in the 1920’s.

The mafia has been around since the late twenties and was created by Salvatore Maranzano. All the members of the Mafia are untouchable criminals, any harm brought to them is met with retaliation. The process of joining is met with agreements that involves oaths and blood. The mafia is better than the state because they have a sense of honor, they provide high-quality products to the people who desire them (instead of conducting war on drugs), and will keep you protected. The mafia has been glorified by many despite their reputation of violence, it has inspired filmmakers to make Goodfellas, The Sopranos, and The Godfather. They are successful groups who know what they are doing in business and want money. The mafia cares a lot about their people,

The movie itself depicts real world situations of what we know about the mob today, the John Gotti's, the Genovese family and even La Cosa Nostra. According to www.fbi.gov "They are some of the most notorious and widespread of all criminal societies" (2010). These Italian-American gangsters were involved in prostitution, drug trafficking, gambling, murder, money laundering and racketeering, many of the things that we see in The Godfather. Mafia families have struck fear in the lives of many and their communities. Murders would occur in the middle of the street in broad daylight. Communities were downtrodden with narcotics, alcoholics, and gangsters until the government stepped in to start indicting these individuals, locking them up and throwing away the

First, the prohibition significantly encouraged gansterism in the 1920s, when the mafia raised a considerable amount of money by selling alcohol underground. They even became more wealthy and powerful then the local government and took control of city affairs. Probably the most famous, and infamous mafia was Al Capone, who was a Italian descent grew up in New York City, and later started to smuggling illegal alcohols into Chicago city in the 1920s. He also participated in elections and controlled government officials by using patronage. In the late 1920s he had raised billions of money, and he was nicknamed “Chicago’s underground mayor”. Even when he abandoned his career after he was released from the prison in the 1930s, he kept about 8 million of properties still. Hence by enforcing prohibition, the government gave chances for gangsters to develop rapidly and may trigger some chaos as well as corruption. By using patronage, the mafias also gained lots of authorities for dirty work

The Mafia is a clandestine organization formed by a group of criminals born in Sicily, who exercise their power through blackmail, violence and crime. They fight to obtain the absolute dominion on a thing, generally employing unlawful means. This organization of criminals tries to get control of their criminal activities in an area. In fact, there are data that support the connection of the mafia with drug trafficking networks. The Mafia originated in Italy, but it is widespread in the United States of America.

Organized crime and the rise of gangsters was one of the biggest reasons Prohibition had a backfiring effect. Crime prospered in the late 19th century and early 20th century, when waves of Italians came to America for better economic opportunities. Italians and members of the Sicilian Mafia became a part of the American Mafia, transformed themselves into criminal enterprises, and became skilled at smuggling, money laundering, and bribing police.The arrival of the European immigrants is a reason organized crime took a negative turn. They had a great deal of experience before in the Sicilian Mafia, and set precedents for other American civilians, and taught how to bootleg. These immigrants were a great reason for the prosperous black market during

The Italian Mafia was originally founded on a sense of loyalty and respect for culture, family and the Sicilian heritage. The Mafia was meant to protect its members interests while granting them freedom in exchange for absolute loyalty and submission to the family. The Sicilian Mafia was based on the belief that justice, honor, and vengeance are for a man to take care of, not for a government to take control of. The Sicilian mafia followed a code called"om erta”, which was a code of honor, silence and strictly adhered to the ruling that this was a secret society, open only to those who had Sicilian blood. In contrast to the humble beginnings of the Sicilian mafia, the American mafia has proved to be a conniving, cold hearted organization.

The Mafia is a type of organized crime syndicate. Organized crime is a certain type of crime that is neatly executed and well planned out. When a group, like the mafia, attends in organized crime, it almost always involves illegal activity and is for a profit of some sort. Other times the mafia collects money or dues from a shopkeeper for the protection of his/her business by the mafia. For example, if a store's owner came to the head mobster and ask for protection the store would there for be protected from other gangs for as long as the owner pays their dues.

The Italian Mafia in the U.S. can trace its origins all the way back to the Sicilian Mafia which was founded in Sicily during the 1800’s (Italian Organized Crime). After thousands of years of different armies with different nationalities conquering Italy and exploiting its people, the Sicilians became to be more clannish and family focused. Originally they were just resistance fighters that were protecting their friends and family. They were relied on for protection, justice, and survival. Nobody cared if they got money from it because it came from the oppressive authorities. Members of these groups were known as “Men of Honor” and they were well respected and even admired because they looked out for their family and kept silent sometimes even unto death. They didn’t become an organized crime group until the 1920’s however (Italian Organized Crime). It was around this same time that the US began to see what later became La Cosa Nostra or “our thing,” better known as the American Mafia which was aided by the “thousands of Italian organized crime figures, mostly Sicilian Mafiosi” who came to the United States illegally (Italian Organized Crime). The modern American Mafia is credited to Charles “Lucky” Luciano who came over in the 1920’s (Italian Organized Crime). Luciano structured La Cosa Nostra just like their Sicilian

These mobs retained a system of feudalism, which placed the mafia bosses on top and worked it’s way down to the bottom, or the soldiers. The Mafias were and are still known for their notorious drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, and loansharking. This form of organized crime was most prominent during the 1920s, when immigrants from these countries grouped together to form mafias such as La Cosa Nostra, or, our own thing.

“The word ‘Mafia’ was formally recorded by the prefect of Palermo in 1865, after the unification of Italy (57 Robb).” It wasn’t until 1982 that it was added to the Italian penal code. Until the end of World War II, the Mafia was a force that the landowners and state of Sicily found useful to maintain power and property. In the nineteen seventies The Oxford English Dictionary was still listing the Mafia as

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