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The Italian Mafia In The 1980's

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During much of the twentieth century, the Italian Mafia seemed to never be out of the headlines and was portrayed in a somewhat glamorous light by Hollywood and even by the media. Call to mind Al Pacino’s masterful performance throughout The Godfather series and images of the citizens of New York lining the streets to watch the John Gotti funeral procession. Even though the Mafia sent ripples through pop culture in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the members of the Mafia are not men to be admired. The only things that Italian Mafia members have on their minds in obtaining more power and wealth. The Italian Mafia was able to gain and maintain power and prestige through their control over public officials, infiltration into the community, and a strict …show more content…

Originally the Italian Mafia emerged “in response to centuries of Arab and Norman domination in Sicily and southern Italy”; the absence of “landlords” allowed members to control the land and “the livelihood of local peasants” (Powell). After emerging from Arab and Norman rule, the Mafia began to extract payments from the peasants to receive economical and political protection from foreign overlords (Powell). In the late 19th century, “the Sicilian Mafia first immigrated to New Orleans” but they were “suppressed there with limited success”(Waskey). After this initial foray in New Orleans, the Italian Mafia migrated to “New York and Chicago” which allowed them to flourish (Waskey). The mob first arrived in New york in 1860’s and slowly began to gain power and resources through extortion(Powell). The Mafia really gained a large majority of its power in the 1920’s when prohibition was a law in the U.S.(Powell). As the Mafia evolved over time, so did its criminal activities, which included gambling, extortion, smuggling, drug trafficking and …show more content…

Whenever there is friction between governments and their citizens, the opportunity for an outside force to come in and fill the void occurs. Since the beginning, the Mafia as a phenomenon rested on the “distrust of the state and its system of justice”(Satri). As a result of the animosity between governments and their people, the Mafia was able to offer services in opposition to the government (Satri). One of the initial services offered from the Mafia was protection from other criminal syndicates. In 1944, Sicily attempted to succeed from Italy. Even though the movement fell apart in 1947, the Mafia was the driving force that united Sicilian communities in their attempt for independence (Satri). The Sicilian independence movement is yet another instance in where the Mafia directed opposingly to the government and favorable to the

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