Then and Now: The Face of the Cosa Nostra

Organized crime; is a group of individuals that work together to illicit profit through illegal and sometimes often violent methods1 and two of the most famous groups are the Mafia and the Irish Mob. The two groups can be traced as far back as the 1800’s and had originally formed together for their financial gain to improve their lives and to protect themselves against the corrupt police officers. However over the years they have developed this infamous reputation tying both groups together, when there are substantial differences between the two. For instance one is based in the country of Sicily and the other was formed right here in the United States. Both groups have different origins, histories, systems and traditions thus making both

La Cosa Nostra and the "Five Families" of which the surrounding area of New York City is comprised has drastically altered the culture in the region; transforming industries with brute force and attracting much public attention. Hollywood focuses on glamorizing the Mafioso lifestyle, distracting from the true nature of organized crime. Over the past decade, the key opportunities have been utilized by the Italian Mafia, resulting in a powerful behind-the-scenes dominance over many aspects we may not expect. "It's gonna be a Cosa Nostra."

The New Mafia refers to style of mafia that became increasingly prevalent in the 1950s. Prior to the New Mafia, the Old Mafia ran their operations with a focus on achieving power in society. They often associated with those in political power, even to the extent of pledging their alliance with a powerful political party in Italy, the Christian Democratic Party (Abadinsky, 2017). In return, their pledge would essentially secure an unofficial position of power within the Italian government.

By the nineteenth century, the Mafia had become known as a network of criminal thugs that dominated the Sicilian countryside. Members of the Mafia were bound by Omerta. Omerta, an Italian word, stands for a strict code of conduct. The code include avoiding all contact or cooperation with

“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.

100 years ago my grandfather Salvatore Rosario Passalaqua owned Sicilian land in the village of San Marco d’Alunzio. Salvatore was a Citrus Grower and Cattle Rancher. At the time thieves and bandits were running rampid stealing cattle and burning orchards across Sicily. The Cosa Nostra was formed in retrieving what was stolen, and killing those caught in burning orange groves. What began as an innocent act turned into an establishment turned bad. My grandfather joined forces with the Cosa Nostra after he had lost everything in a vicious battle and fled with family to New Orleans Louisiana with settling; settling in Old Algiers.

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

As you may know, The Mafia and La Costa Nostra are the major foundations of organized crimes in the United States. They were known to have earned their standing during the 1860s when they migrated from Sicily, which is in Italy. La Cosa Nostra is made up of about 25 Italian-dominated crime families. The members are dominated of men and is said that there are about 1,700 members.

Most crime families solve their problems with murder, but in some cases the crime families can put aside their difference for the greater good of each family's benefit. The Cosa Nostra families make money in numerous ways such as gambling, unions, and protecting people. There are several ways a Cosa Nostra family can begin feuding, but the most common way is when someone of a rival family breaks one of the codes that the mafia stands by. There isn’t many solutions to stop mob families from feuding; a compromise between rival families will have to consist of in both families make their respective amount of money or even a increase in revenue, a stop in violence, and staying in their own territory. Even though I am coming up with a code of ethics

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

The word Mafia itself has many meanings. In Arabic it means "refuge", which refers to the origins of the Mafia as a society that fled to the hills of Italy to avoid attack. Some Italians hold it as a word of high respect implying strength, courage, agility, quickness, endurance, and

A disadvantage in today’s culture is the transference of the aids virus. Seriously speaking, I wonder if Cosa Nostra takes precautions towards blood transference. Another disadvantage of being in organized crime is the wellbeing of mind. It is unethical and downright outlawed in the first place. They may targeted and blamed for crimes that may occur and can be victims of false accusations. I also believe it is a disadvantage because of the mere fact of the name that was derived, Our Thing”. '"Our Thing", Being of a Italian decent, I find the Italians lacked imagination, creativity, and down right ignorance. Cosa Nostra, our thing, should be renamed into something that TRADITIONALLY and expeditiously shows the intelligence of the Italians and not simplicity in thinking. DAAAA?

Speaking about criminality, it is necessary to say about Italian mafia. Based on the report of 2009 year, commissioned by Italy's parliamentary anti-mafia commission, it is possible to say that now it is silently prospering, moving on from spectacular crimes and massacres to business and politics, with a prudent dose of intimidation and violence in a bid to take over the fundamental role of the state. The highest concentration of people living under the shadow of the mafia, 95.9%, was in the province of Agrigento in Sicily, followed by Naples, at 95%. (Tom Kington, guardian.co.uk, 2009).