The American Mobsters: How Did The Mob Change Today's Society

We may not see this group but the mafia was big back in the day. The mafia was the leading group in criminal activity in the 1960’s(Darity). The mafia was a group that would make tons and tons of money off of drugs, robberies and murders. They would sometimes pay off cops to look the other way and if they didn’t get what they wanted they would use their firearms. With stronger and more enforced laws, many lives could have been saved.

The Mafia, a network of organized-crime groups, evolved over the centuries on the island of Sicily, located just off the coast of south western Italy, and the Italian mainland. Up until the mid-19th century, Sicily had been ruled over by a line of foreign invaders dating back hundreds of years. The citizens of the island state banded together and created groups to protect themselves from foreigners and carry out their own justice against the invaders. The word Mafia, having been derived from the Sicilian word, Mafioso, means family. At the turn of the 19th century, these groups morphed together to form their own private armies, also known as “mafie.” These groups would extort protection money from land owners and would eventually be known like they are today as a violent criminal, gangster, pimp or hitman.

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.

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

Nowadays, the Mafia is perceived to be a transnational criminal organization, riddled with violence and gang-like activity. For example, the American Mafia has been described as, “A cult, a secret society, a brotherhood among men, and even a pack of rats that eat anything in their path including each other” (Inside the American Mob). On the flip side, the Italian Mafia groups have been described as, “gangs, whom besides running a series of illicit businesses, also pervade the social environment in which they operate, influencing aspects of public and private life to cement their power” (Bacchi). Given these descriptions, it would stand to reason that the Mafia groups across the globe are a force and even now are considered a threat to society. However, when speaking about the Mafia groups it is important to first understand that they are independent of each other and differ from country to country. That is not to say that they do not work together, but rather that they have their own independent structures, which have developed in accordance with their differing countries’ legitimacies and institutions. Furthermore, while there are many different Mafia groups across the world, in this essay, through case studies of “The Sopranos” and “La Scorta”, as well as other relevant texts, I will firstly analyze how the American and Italian Mafia groups rose to power and endured under similar conditions. Secondly, I will explain how due to the greater legitimacy of the American

The book History of the Mafia by Salvatore Lupe states, “Police and judicial sources are very bit as rife with ulterior motives as other sources.” It was far too easy for Mafia members to get away with acts like murder and do things like steal money. I stand behind the idea that this is due to the Roman Officials and people who were supposed to control law in Sicily. History.com says, “In the 1870s, Roman officials even asked Sicilian Mafia clans to help them by going after dangerous, independent criminal bands; in exchange, officials would look the other way as the Mafia continued its protection shakedowns of landowners. “ The Officials said this deal would only last for a short period of time, long enough for Rome to gain control of Sicily. Despite this, the Mafia became even more influential and prominent on the island. They began to act more criminally and illegally. This most likely lead them to believe that the law didn’t apply to them and they just began to run from it while looking for a glorious life. For example, in Wisguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Henry Hill and his friends easily made 5,000 dollars by stealing trucks and then they had the plan to go to Las Vegas. Innocent people were being robbed just for a few young boys to make money that they would later spend on nothing

You come in on your feet and you go in a coffin. Then the new members were asked if they were capable of even killing their own blood family on command" (Mafia Life). Along with the ceremony, the mobster was told of the rules he must abide by. The most important rule in organized crime was the rule called the Omerta. " The Omerta is a code of silence. A vow never to reveal any Mafia secrets or member under threat of torture or death" (Mafia History). Another rule was the obedience rule. "The obedience rule stated that the member must at all times be loyal to the boss or Don. A third law of the Mafia was the assistance to any befriended Mafia faction, no questions asked. A few others included, Avenge any attack on members of the family, because an attack on one was an attack on all, and the last rule was to avoid any and all contact with the authorities" (Mafia History). There is still much we don?t know about the Mafia due to the fact that the very first rule when inducted is the Omerta. Along with the many members involved with the Mafia, there were just as many ethnic families that existed if not more. "Mafia families were growing very large in 1800?s" (Mafia History). The reason for the large swelling of crime in America was because of the vicious increase in foreign immigrants during that time in America. "Three million Irish, four million Italians, and four million Jews immigrated to America. They immigrated for a

Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active. Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal actions have been recognized since the late 1800's, and police say it is not disappearing too fast.(Widener 6)

The mafia still worked to earn money, but the focus wasn’t geared entirely on what the next business venture would be. It was more of a power and respect issue early on. The same still holds true, but years ago, it meant more to the group to prove a point and throw around their weight. The groups didn’t care if they were seen and known. In present day, it is more beneficial for the organized groups to run efficiently, but more so behind closed doors.

Throughout history, crime has existed in many different forms and has been committed by not only individuals, but by groups as well. Crime is something that knows no boundaries; it exists in all cultures, is committed by all races, and has existed in all time periods. Crime exists as a part of the economic institution and is a lifestyle for many people. Crime also exists in both organized and un organized forms. Since the early 1900's, "organized" crime has existed in the United States. The following will show where, when, and why the Mafia came to the United States, who organized it in the United States, and how it differed from its origins in the European mafia. By showing this you will see how this specific type of organized

As we all know that America was built on the land of opportunity and the stitching' that binds America's fabric of history have been sown in with illegal threads. The Mafia has been woven into the American society like baseball and American apple pie The only fact about this problem is that it has been swept under the rug and said to be taboo. In this research paper I will attempt to answer this statement, the mafia is a violent and ruthless organization. In order to answer this statement there must be a clear understanding of the definition of The Mafia. Many different have defined the Mafia in many ways law enforcement agencies and researchers. There is no one individual definition, which fully expose

It was around the 1920’s, about a year or two after the war. It was a happy and cheerful time known as “the Roaring Twenties” with new everything that everyone had to get their hands on, yet not everyone had most of the money to spend on everything. Until, Prohibition happened. Thanks to mafias, they kept the alcohol around. These men were pretty bad guys. I mean, they were into making deals, drive by shootings, prostitution, gambling, and massacres. They changed the so many things after their era because of them. We begin with their rich history in crime. Mobsters aren't really just the men that are from Chicago or New York with the cool Italian accents and the suits with fedoras, they are much more than that, and I will tell you what they are all about.

Organized crime started in Sicily when the Sicilians came together to protect themselves and perform their own impartiality, had no criminal implications, but was represented as an individual who was suspicious of dominant authority (Origins of the Mafia, 2009). Some of these groups transpired as private armies, or “mafie” and these groups extorted money from landowners for protection and in turn emerged as the Sicilian Mafia. As the unseasoned government in Italy was attempting to inaugurate itself in 1861, the crime controlled the country and by 1870 Roman officials propositioned the Sicilian Mafia to assist them by going after threatening, individual groups and the government would turn their heads when the Mafia extorted protection money from the landowners (Origins of the Mafia, 2009). Although this agreement should have been

Literally that’s the point of being in the mafia. For the power and money. They have many different ways of achieving this. The most simple and common thing to get money in the mafia is to extort money. Extorting is when you get money when forcing or threatening someone. The mafia is always doing something illegal. That’s how they get their money and power. They also use other methods to make money. “Illegal goods are expensive, untaxed and unregulated. Over the years, mobsters have dealt in alcohol during Prohibition, illegal drugs, prostitution and illegal gambling.” (cite website) In the mafia by earning power you must gain it. People fear you and know you as one of the best. The more power you have over land and people, the better for