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The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra, which is literally Our Thing in the Italian language, is an organized criminal secret society which evolved in mid-19th century Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States during the late 19th century following waves of Italian immigration to that country.
A member of the mafia is called a Mafioso, and the plural is mafiosi. Mafiosi like to think of themselves as a special society of "men of honor".
"Mafia" is often used by extension to refer to any large group of people engaged in criminal racketeering activities, such as the Russian Mafia, the Mexican Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, the Irish Mob, the Chinese Triads, the Polish Mafia, and the allegedly extinct Indian Thuggee.
Early period
Origins
The Mafia originated some time during the mid 19th Century in the island of Sicily, at around the same time as the emergence of the new Italian state – driven by industrialization and trade. The Sicilian mafia has always been at its strongest in the west of the island, especially around its birthplace in the city of Palermo. Palermo was the center of trade, commerce and politics of Sicily. The mafia originated around the affluent estates of lemon and orange groves in Palermo, as opposed to the economically backwards and underdeveloped interior of the island. The mafia was initially involved in the business of protection and extortion in and around Palermo's lemon and orange farms. According to some sources, members of the ruling aristocracy were also members of the "sect" (as the mafia was known in those days). Among those sources are Baron Turrisi Colonna, who wrote the first ever account of the organised criminality in Sicily in the mid 1800's. In 1864, He estimated the age of the "sect" at about 20 years. Colonna was well known as a political protector of members of the sect. A relationship with the government has always characterised the Sicilian mafia. In the early days of the Italian state there were two, often synonymous power groups: the landowners and the politicians. These groups were often discreetly infiltrated and corrupted by the mafia. Some historical evidence, and much hearsay, suggests that the mafia initiated many members of government and business.
Early political activities
It is as an instrument of local government that the mafia has always been useful to the powers in Rome. The mafia could often deliver all 40 or so states on the island to whichever political party it chose to support. It was during these formative years that the mafia inter-twined itself with all aspects of life in Sicily: commerce, trade, politics and law enforcement have all been tools of the mafia at some time or another. It is this early genesis of the mafia at a turbulent time during Italy's history which has so embedded it in the national consciousness, that up until relatively recently, the existence of a mafia in Sicily was long ignored or tolerated by the ruling classes of Italy. The systematic intimidation and organised criminality was explained away by implying that mafia was nothing more menacing than a peculiarly Sicilian form of self-confident pride, or 'rustic chivalry', or even the manly swagger of someone who knows how to look after his interests. Any explanation was used apart from the correct one which we know today: that by the late 19th century, the mafia had become a monopolist in the violence industry, a secret society with its own initiation rites and trials which used corruption and intimidation to amass power and wealth through acting as the sole instrument of local government in Sicily.
Background
The term "mafia" is sometimes said to stand for Morte Alla Francia Italia Anelia! (Italian for 'Death To the French Is Italy’s Cry'). It describes a specific secret society in Sicily and their descendants in the United States of America where Sicilian organized criminals had spread by the early 20th century through immigration.
Mafia power peaked in the United States in the mid-20th century, until a series of FBI investigations in the 1970s and 1980s somewhat curtailed the Mafia's influence. Despite the decline, the Mafia and its reputation have become entrenched in American popular culture, portrayed in movies, TV shows, and even product commercials.
Today the Italian-American Mafia remains the most powerful criminal organization operating in the USA and uses this status to maintain control over the majority of both Chicago's and New York City's criminal enterprises. It also has links to the more established organization from which it sprung, the original Sicilian Mafia.
Mafia power in Sicily is much more well established and complete. Corruption is widespread, and local government is almost an offshoot of the organization itself. Mafia influence in the national legislature has long been suspected, but never proven outright.
The Mafia in Sicily
Originating during the mid 19th century, the Mafia served as protection for the large orange and lemon estates surrounding the city of Palermo. From this, the Mafia began to spread its roots among the landowners and politicians of Sicily. Forming strong links with the government (it is more than likely that many politicians were members or collaborators) the Mafia gained significant power.
During the Fascist period in Italy, Cesare Mori, prefect of Palermo, used special powers granted to him to prosecute the Mafia, forcing many Mafiosi to flee abroad or risk being jailed. Many of the Mafiosi who escaped fled to the United States, among them Joseph Bonanno, nicknamed Joe Bananas, who came to dominate the US branch of the Mafia.
The United States utilised the Italian connection of the American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other members of Mafia, who had been imprisoned during this time in USA, provided information for US military intelligence, who used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing American troops.
An alleged additional benefit (from the American perspective) was that many of the Sicilian-Italian Mafiosi were hardline anti-communists. They were therefore seen as valuable allies by the anti-communist Americans, who allegedly used them to root out socialist and communist elements in the American shipping industry, the wartime resistance movements, and in many postwar local and regional governments in areas where the Mafia held sway.
According to drug trade expert Dr Alfred W. McCoy, Luciano was permitted to run his crime network from his jail cell in exchange for his assistance. After the war Luciano was rewarded by being deported to Italy, where he was able to continue his criminal career unhindered. He went to Sicily in 1946 to continue his activities and according to McCoy's landmark 1972 book The Politics of Heroin in South-East Asia, Luciano went on to forge a crucial alliance with the Corsican Mafia, leading to the development of a vast international heroin trafficking network, initially supplied from Turkey and based in Marseille — the so-called "French Connection".
Later, when Turkey began to eliminate its opium production, he used his connections with the Corsicans to open a dialogue with expatriate Corsican mafiosi in South Vietnam. In collaboration with leading American mob bosses including Santo Trafficante Jr., Luciano and his successors, took advantage of the chaotic conditions of the Vietnam War to establish an unassailable supply and distribution base in the "Golden Triangle", which was soon funnelling huge amounts of Asian heroin into the United States, Australia and other countries via the U.S. military.
Benito Mussolini ruthlessly suppressed the Mafia, imprisoning many men on mere suspicion of being a mafioso. The Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in the Second World War. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, a series of internecine "gang wars" led to many prominent Mafia members being murdered, and a new generation of mafiosi has placed more emphasis on "white-collar" criminal activity as opposed to more traditional racketeering enterprises. In reaction to these developments, the Italian press has come up with the phrase La Cosa Nuova ("the new thing", a play on La Cosa Nostra) to refer to the revamped organization.
The main split in the Sicilian Mafia at present is between those bosses who have been convicted and are now in jail, chiefly Salvatore 'Totò' Riina and Leoluca Bagarella, and those such as the current capo di tutti capi Bernardo Provenzano, who are on the run, or who have not been indicted. The incarcerated bosses are currently subjected to harsh controls on their contact with the outside world, limiting their ability to run their operations from behind bars under the Italian law 41 bis. Antonio Giuffrè, a close confidant of Provenzano, turned Pentito shortly after his capture in 2002. He now alleges that in 1993, Cosa Nostra had direct contact with representatives of Silvio Berlusconi while he was planning the birth of Forza Italia. The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for electoral deliverances in Sicily. However, Giuffré's declarations have not been confirmed by any proof and have been belied by facts. The current government of Forza Italia extended the enforcement of 41 bis, which had to expire on 2002 and has been prolonged for other four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism.
Prominent Sicilian mafiosi
- Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, former 'Capo Crimini' (Superboss) of the Corleonesi and thus the entire Sicilian Mafia, now in jail. Succeeded by Bernardo Provenzano (see below).
- Tommaso Buscetta, the first Sicilian Mafioso to become an informant during the 1980s. (A predecessor, Leonardo Vitale, who gave himself up to the police in 1973, was judged as suffering from 'mental semi-infirmity', and his evidence led to the conviction of himself and his uncle only.) Generally known as the 'Supergrass', Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the Maxi-Trials.
- Bernardo Provenzano, Current 'capo di tutti i capi' or Boss of Bosses of the Sicilian Mafia, a fugitive from justice for over 40 years. He is said to have been recently spotted in a medical clinic in the south of France. The authorities have reportedly been 'close' to capturing him for the past 10 years, since he took over from Salvatore Riina.
- Giovanni 'lo scannacristiani' Brusca, who personally murdered Giovanni Falcone, the investigating judge who started the first and only real fightback against the Sicilian Mafia.
Other criminal organizations in Italy
The Sicilian Mafia is organized into cosche (clans) in Sicily; in other regions there exist other similar organisations: 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, Sacra corona unita in Apulia, Camorra in Naples and the Mala del Brenta in the Veneto (an organisation whose members come from Northern Italy, once led by infamous Venetian, Felice "Angel Face" Maniero). Although the different crime empires do business with each other, these are separate and distinct organisations from the Sicilian Mafia. A 2003 Eurispes report on Italian organised crime indicates the possibility that the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta may have superseded the Sicilian Mafia in power and profit.
Mafia in the United States
Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations to citywide and eventually international organizations. The Mafia had eventually expanded to twenty-six crime families nationwide in the major cities of the United States, with the center of organized crime based in New York. After many turf wars, five families ended up dominating New York, named after prominent early members: the Bonanno family, the Colombo family, the Gambino family, the Genovese family, and the Lucchese family.
Carmine Galante after his gangland execution
Each family was ultimately controlled by a Don, who was insulated from actual operations by several layers of authority. According to popular belief, the Don's closest and most trusted advisor was referred to as the consigliere ("counselor" in Italian). In reality, the consigliere was meant to be something of a "hearing officer" who was charged with mediating intra-family disputes. He also takes care of the economic side of the "business". An underboss was possible as well. There were then a number of regimes with a varying number of soldati (lit. "soldiers"), or "made" men, who conducted actual operations. Most recently there have been two new positions in the family leadership, the family messenger and Street Boss. These positions were created by former Genovese leader Vincent Gigante.
Each regime was headed by a caporegime, who reported to the boss. When the boss made a decision, he never issued orders directly to the soldiers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the chain of command. In this way, the higher levels of the organization were effectively insulated from incrimination if a lower level member should be captured by law enforcement. This structure is immortalized in Mario Puzo's famous novel The Godfather.
The initiation ritual emerged in Sicily in the mid-19th century and has hardly changed to this day. The Chief of Police of Palermo in 1875 reported that the man of honor to be initiated would be led into the presence of a group of bosses and underbosses. One of these men would prick the initiate's arm or hand and tell him to smear the blood onto a sacred image, usually a saint. The oath of loyalty would be taken as the image was burned and scattered, thus symbolising the annihilation of traitors. This was confirmed by the first pentito, Tommaso Buscetta.
A hit, or assassination, of a "made" man had to be preapproved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would go to the mattresses — rent vacant apartments and have a number of soldiers sleeping on mattresses on the floor in shifts, with the others ready at the windows to fire at members of rival families.
The American Mafia eventually became more accommodating of non-Sicilian Italians among the sworn-in membership of "made" men and forged closer associations with gangsters of other nationalities, thus becoming distinct from the original organisation in Sicily.
The D'Elia crime family were one of the most dangerous crime families in Sicily, but retreated to the USA after Don Francesco D'Elia got into trouble with the law. They are now presumebly living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement and the Mafia
In Italy in particular, there has been a long history of police, prosecutors and judges being murdered by the Mafia in an attempt to discourage vigorous policing. The Italian government officials who were assassinated because of their attempts in bringing the Mafia to justice are called Excellent Cadavers. In the United States, murders of state authorities have been rare, largely out of fear of the backlash that would result. In several Mafia families, killing a state authority is strictly forbidden, and even conspiring to commit such a murder is punishable by death. The mobster Dutch Schultz was reportedly killed by his peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill New York City prosecutor Thomas Dewey.
In the United States, the Mafia began a steep decline in the late-1970s and early 1980s due in part to laws such as the RICO Act, which made it a crime to belong to an organization that performed illegal acts, and to programs such as the witness protection program. These factors combined with the gradual dissolution of the distinct Italian-American community through death, intermarriage, the lack of continued Italian migration, and cultural assimilation.
In the mid-20th century, the Mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many labor unions in the United States, notably the Teamsters, whose president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared and is widely believed to have been killed by the Mafia. In the 1980s, the United States federal government made a determined effort to remove Mafia influence from labor unions.
There is some evidence that in Italy law enforcement seems to be finally gaining the upper hand over the Mafia organisations, through stronger laws and the breaking down of the "code of silence" or "Omertà". A huge help in fighting the military side of Mafia has been provided by many so-called pentiti (Mafia members who dissociated for a milder judicial treatment), like Tommaso Buscetta.
In recent decades, one of the most famous figures in Italy in the context of Mafia has been Totò Riina, who ordered the murder of the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
Recently, former Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti (Democrazia Cristiana) stood judicially accused of relationships with Mafia, but the case collapsed because of the expiry of the statute of limitations. Nevertheless the trial court, and the appeal one, stated that his connection with Mafia had been constant and well documented until the early 80s.
According to Selwyn Raab, author of "Five Families : The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires", after 9/11 the FBI has redirected most of its attention to finding terrorists, which led to a resurgence of Mafia in the U.S.
Today the Mafia is still the dominant organized crime group in the United States but its power and influence continues to decline due to aggressive FBI investigations, mob informants, violation of mob rules, family infighting, dwindling membership, and death or imprisonment of its top leaders. Recent setbacks include arrests of the Chicago Outfit's hierarchy and news reports of Alex Rudaj, the leader of the Albanian mafia Rudaj Organization, reportedly attempting to outmuscle two of New York's Mafia families for control of gambling rackets.
Mafia structure
Known as the Honored Society among Mafiosi, the chain of command is organized in a pyramid similar to a modern corporate structure.
Boss - The head of the family, usually reigning as a dictator. The Boss receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family. The Boss is chosen by a vote from the Captains of the family If there is a tie, the Underboss must vote.
Underboss - The Underboss, usually appointed by the Boss, is the second in command of the family. The Underboss is considered the Captain that is in charge of all of the other Captains, who is controlled by the Boss. The Underboss is usually first in line to become Acting Boss if the Boss is imprisoned.
Consigliere - Consigliere is an advisor to the family. They are often low profile gangsters that can be trusted. They often keep the family looking as legitimate as possible, and are, themselves, legitimate apart from some minor gambling or loan sharking.
Captain (or Capo)- A Captain is in charge of a crew. There are usually four to six crews in each family, each one consisting of up to ten Soldiers. Captains run their own small family, but must follow the limitations and guidelines created by the Boss, as well as pay him his cut of their profits. Captains are nominated by the Underboss, but typically chosen by the Boss himself.
Soldier - Soldiers are official "Made" members of the family, and can only be of Italian or Sicilian background. Soldiers start as Associates that have proven themselves. When the books are open, meaning that there is an open spot in the family, a Captain (or several Captains) may recommend a up-and-coming Associate to be a new member. In the case that there is only one slot and multiple recommendations, the Boss will decide. The new member usually becomes part of the Captain's crew that recommended him.
Associate - An Associate is not a member of the mob, but more of an errand boy. They're usually a go-between or sometimes deal in drugs to keep the heat off of the actual members. Non-Italians will never go any further than this.
To the Cosa Nostra, while not actually part of the mob hierarchy, the only thing lower than an associate is a citizen (or civilian), which is a person who has no connection to the Mafia at all.
Sicilian Mafia structure
- Capofamiglia - (Boss)
- Consigliori - (Counselor)
- Sotto Capo - (Underboss)
- Capodecina - (Group Boss)
- Uomini D'onore - ("Men of Honor")
Source
Lunde, Paul. Organized Crime: An Inside Guide to the World's Most Successful Industry ISBN 0-7894-9648-8
Media portrayal of the Mafia
- The Godfather, a novel by Mario Puzo; later made into films by Francis Ford Coppola. This series of films, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, is probably the most influential depictions of the Mafia in American popular culture. The Corleone family portrayed in the story is an amalgamation of several real life Mafia families.
- La Piovra, Italian TV series by Luigi Perelli after stories by Sandro Petraglia is the most vast and dramatic Italian series on the Mafia spawning over 10 series and 60 hours.
- Goodfellas, a film directed by Martin Scorsese based on the life of Henry Hill.
- Bugsy, a film about Bugsy Siegel starring Warren Beatty.
- Donnie Brasco, a film about the first FBI agent to infiltrate the Mafia.
- Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag, a comedy about a Mafia hit-man (Joe Pesci), who accidentally exchanges his duffel bag with eight gangsters' heads inside with one that belonged to a family of tourists.
- Mafia! is a humorous spoof film of Mario Puzo's The Godfather.
- Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, a video game developed by Illusion Softworks, a.s. and published by Gathering of Developers, portraying 8 years in the life of a gangster during the 30's. The game is set in the fictitious city of Lost Heaven (amalgamation of several real cities) and follows Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through certain circumstances becomes a part of the Salieri mafia family.
- The Untouchables, film portrayal of Eliot Ness and the Untouchables, a group of law enforcers organized to fight Al Capone's organization.
- Carlito’s Way, 1993. Starring Al Pacino, Sean Penn and Penelope Ann Miller. A Brian De Palma film. A film about Carlito Brigante (Pacino), a gangster who is saved from a possible heavy sentence by his lawyer Dave (Penn) to try and repent and leave criminal life, but unfortunately he is too immersed in it to easily get out. (Note: Brigante is actually a Puerto Rican gangster with connections to the Mafia, rather than a true member).
- Hoodlum, a film about a little known Black gangster named Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson starring Lawrence Fishburne and Tim Roth.
- Casino, film portrayal of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, general manager of a Las Vegas casino starring Robert De Niro and directed by Scorsese. "Lefty" was renamed as Sam "Ace" Rothstein in the film.
- Gotti, an HBO feature on the recently deceased former Gambino family chieftain.
- Road to Perdition, a film about a mob hitman (Tom Hanks) whose family is killed. Hanks flees the city with his only surviving son, and tries to get revenge. (Note: the group present here is the Irish Mob that competed with the Italian Mafia, most notably in Chicago, rather than the Mafia itself).
- The Sopranos, an HBO series featuring a Mafioso and his two families--his wife and kids and his crime family--starring James Gandolfini.
- General Hospital, a long-running ABC Daytime soap opera began incorporating mafia characters into its storylines in the late 1970s and in 1993, the character of mafioso Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) was introduced. In recent years, the vast majority of the show's storylines have centred around Sonny, his right hand man Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and his mafia dealings to the point where some fans have dubbed the show "daytime television's answer to The Sopranos".
- Days of Our Lives, another soap opera on NBC, also featured several mafia characters from the 1980s through the early 2000s, most notably international Irish-Italian crime czar Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo), his son Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis), the DiMera "Family's" sometime-ally, sometime-rival, Greek mob boss Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston), a Peruvian crime syndicate and drug cartel called the Torres "Family", and an Old World Neapolitan syndicate called the Moroni "Family".
- A Bronx Tale, based on the memoirs of actor Chazz Palminteri, is the story about a mob boss (Palminteri) in the Bronx who befriends the son of a working class Italian father (Robert De Niro).
- Raging Bull, true story about boxing great Jake LaMotta amidst an atmosphere of Mob influence, also starring Robert De Niro.
- Once Upon a Time in America, a film about the Jewish Mafia in America, from Italian director Sergio Leone.
- Analyze This, comedy starring Robert De Niro, and its sequel Analyze That also with Robert De Niro.
- The Whole Nine Yards and its sequel, The Whole Ten Yards, comedies with Bruce Willis. (Note: Both films deal with the Polish Mob rather than the Italian Mafia).
- The Usual Suspects, featuring Russian, Turkish, and Bulgarian mafiosi in New York and Los Angeles, starring Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne.
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, director Jim Jarmusch's late 90's film about a black hitman (played by Forest Whitaker) who is betrayed by his Italian mafia employers.
- Billy Bathgate is a PEN/Faulkner Award winning book fictionalizing the last days of Dutch Schultz as seen through the eyes of a young boy. It was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman as Schultz and Nicole Kidman as his moll.
- A History of Violence is about an owner of a diner in Indiana who encounters mafia members who say he is an old "friend."
- The Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories video games all feature the Mafia to varying degrees in their storylines.
- The television series The Simpsons incorporates the fictional Springfield's extension of the Mafia into occasional episodes; its ringleader, Fat Tony, is voiced by Joe Mantegna.
- The Departed (2006) is a remake of the Chinese mafia thriller Infernal Affairs (2002) and directed by Martin Scorsese. It follows the inevitable breaking point when two men working undercover in both the Irish mafia and the Boston State Police, realize there's a mole in their organizations, and they have to draw them out. Jack Nicholson's Frank Costello is said to be based on James "Whitey" Bulger.
- Bootleggers is a text-based online mafia game, http://www.bootleggers.us
See also: List of Mafia movies
References
See also
External links
