Impacts of the Mafia

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.

“It was during the troubled years of the 1860s that the Italian kingdom’s ruling class ruling class first heard talk of the mafia in Siciliy” (Dickie, s38, 2004). In this quote we find a potential reason to why the idea that the mafia was born during the making of the modern Italian state has become leading with scholars. Most likely this event shaped the mafia into what it has become because of the political influence that the Italian state bestowed upon Sicily. However, it is not unlikely that the mafia wasn’t already existing in Sicily during this time, and most definitely that criminal gangs of Sicily before this time had traits that were transferred into the mafia as it evolved under the new Italian kingdom. While the mafia is largely

     Exactly what is the Mafia? Mafia, more specifically the Italian-American Mafia, is a group of criminals organized into "families," and operating primarily in North America. Also known as La Cosa Nostra, at one time there were 26 families in the United States - roughly one for each major city. The Mafia composed of bosses of numerous families, mostly New York, was the overseeing authority for all of the other La Cosa Nostra families. New York City is the place of origin for organized crime in the United States. Currently, there are five families in the New York City outfit of the La Cosa Nostra. The five families are, the Gambinos, Genovese, Colombo,

The Mafia way of life may seem like a romantic updated version of the western movie played out on the streets of the big cities where the good guys and the wise guys who share the same instincts and values do battle before an enthralled public but it is actually very different. The Mafia is really just a group of uneducated thugs making money by victimizing the public. Initially, the Mafia was setup as a prominent supplier of bootlegged liquor, but it has spread into many different areas of crime. During this research paper I will discuss three aspects of the Mafia which are crime, structure and decline in leadership.

Finally, the mafia is the most interesting crime organizations in the world. Associated to the Sicilian Mafia, the Italian-American Mafia is a stealthy, criminal, society. “Charles “Lucky” Luciano,

The term “Mafia phenomenon” delineates the significance of the indefinite number of networks within US society, advocating particular values and conventions cultivated by the Italian “mafiositá”. “La Cosa Nostra”, the phrase etymologised by America meaning “Our concern” is an organisation with it’s roots in the Sicilian Mafia. The organisation rose to prominence in the beginning of the nineteenth century by conducting a large scale immigration to the United States, particularly to the cities of New York and Chicago. The Mafia and the idea’s from the Sicilian Mafia they brought with them became the impetus of change from the 1920’s to 1960’s in American Society.

History.com staff stated that “by 1910, that number jumped to 500,000 immigrants and first generation Italian Americans, becoming one-tenth of the city’s population. Many of these immigrants were law-abiding citizens, but in the large group of immigrants came criminals that began to form neighborhood gangs that would terrorize those in the community. Some of these criminals were mafia members in Italy that had escaped to the U.S. These mafia members later got into bootlegging (make, distribute or sell something illegally) and became the American mafia”. The history.com staff also stated that “the Italian and American mafia was separate but some American gangs adapted the traditions of the Italians”. Even though they were different, the American mafia started as a part of the Italians. The early mafia groups in the U.S. started off in New York, then growing into neighborhood operations to citywide and international activities. The American mafia entered the bootleg business, selling and distributing liquor throughout cities and transformed themselves into a sophisticated criminal enterprise, where they became very skilled at smuggling, money laundering (the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses) and bribing police

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

Cosa Nostra, has been around for hundreds of years and means “our thing when translated from Italian. Italy is where Cosa Nostra has most of its origins but we will focus on the branch of the Mafia that operates in the US. The American mob, also known as the American Mafia, is a criminal organization in America. They originated from the Sicilian Mafia who came to America during the late 19th century and early 20th century by emigration. New York is known for housing the highest activity of organized crime . There are five crime families in New York. These consist of the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese.

Imagine living in a world where crime ruled. A world where gangsters were more powerful than politicians, owned the police, and ran the city in whatever way they felt. They robbed whom they wanted and killed when they didn't get their way. Now stop imagining and realize that this happened here in the United States of America in the 1920's. It was run by an organization made up mainly of Italians called the Mafia.

There are five mafia like organizations that are known to Italy and they are: Cosa Nostra of Sicily, ‘Ndrangheta Of Calabri, These two are considered to be the biggest cocaine mugglers in Europe, and Camorra of Naples, are the oldest of five, having started development between 1500 and 1800. When the 20th century came about there were two new organizations that came about, Stidda and Sacra Corona Unita of Apulia.(Organized)

Organized crime groups are usually made up of members with similar ethnic backgrounds (e.g., Italian Mafia, Irish Mob) with the prime objective of seeking wealth and power. In the 1920’ during Prohibition, Organized Crime were instrumental in illegal alcohol sales. The success of Organized depends on an extensive peripheral network. That peripheral network involves bankers, politicians and law enforcement; ergo, these portals revolving around business activity protects the core of organized crime (Stratfor, 2010).

In conclusion, organized crime and street gangs are unfavourable to society, although organize crime is more detrimental to society and the economy. Organized crime is one of the main reasons why taxes keep rising. The cost for law enforcement and the judicial system is an expensive cost for the government, they have no choice to raise taxes for the law-abiding citizens. As street gangs, are more violent and more aggressive, this group only affects certain citizens, but not the entirety of society. Street gangs have minor involvement towards the economy, as organized crime influences the economy in a tremendous manner. As criminals become more intelligent their strategies and tactics continue to be successful. With the popularity of technology,

These traits center on low self-esteem and economic factors. In addition, another common factor of organized crime is the relation of politics and law enforcement. Both concerns and categories require a certain degree of timing. Organized crimes entities watch for certain cues to justify the next phase of crime to be implemented. For example, this type of infiltration was magnified in Italy where the mafia started its roots. “There is no doubt that during the second half of the 1990s the judicial fight against the mafia lost popular and political support amid polemics about its excessive reliance on mafia defectors turned witnesses (the so called pentiti) and investigations and trials targeting prominent politicians. However, contrary to popular perceptions, direct anti-mafia policies, which are anchored in criminal and criminal procedural law and primarily implemented by the criminal justice system, have continued to be quite effective at the beginning of the twenty-first century (Letizia Paoli 2007). To date European countries have and continue to pay attention to organized crime. “From 1995 onwards, the political and security agendas of international institutions, EU governments and law enforcement agencies, such as Interpol and Europol, have paid closer attention to ‘the fight’ against organized

Organized Crime is considered a major threat to the development and security of their country. They gain profit through the evaluation of countries risks, benefits, and markets, and have taken to multiple forms of corruption to invade political, economic, and social levels not only in their own country, but in the world. Today, organized crime still poses as a major threat in American society with their illegal operations, especially with the growth of