mafia

For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation).

The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing" or "This Thing of Ours"), is a secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in 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.

The Mafia's power in the United States peaked in the mid-20th century, until a series of FBI investigations in the 1970s and 1980s reduced the Mafia's influence. Despite its decline, the Mafia continues to be the most dominant criminal organization operating in the U.S. and uses this status to maintain control over much of both Chicago's and New York City's organized criminal activity. The Mafia and its reputation have become entrenched in American popular culture, portrayed in movies, TV shows, and even commercial advertising.

Origin of the term

The word 'mafia' is derived from the old Sicilian adjective "mafiusu" which has its roots in the Arabic mahjas, meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging". Roughly translated it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, "mafiusu" in 19th-century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.^[1]

The connotation of the word with the criminal secret society was made by the 1863 play I mafiusu di la Vicaria 'The Beautiful (people) of Vicaria' by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca which is about criminal gangs in the Palermo prison. The words mafia or mafiusu are never mentioned in the play, and were probably put in the title because it would add local flair.

The association between "mafiusu" and criminal gangs was made by the association the play's title made with the criminal gangs that was new to Sicilian and Italian society at the time. Consequently, the word mafia was generated from fictional source loosely inspired by the real thing and was used by outsiders to describe it. The use of the term mafia was subsequently taken over in the Italian state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word "mafia" made its first official appearance in 1865 in a report by the then prefect of Palermo, the marquis Filippo Antonio Gualterio.

Leopoldo Franchetti, an Italian deputy who travelled to Sicily and who wrote one of the first authoritative reports on the mafia in 1876, described the designation of the term mafia: "the term mafia found a class of violent criminals ready and waiting for a name to define them, and, given their special character and importance in Sicilian society, they had the right to a different name from that defining vulgar criminals in other countries".

Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of positive attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, Giuseppe Pitrè, at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas." ^[2]

Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection of the poor and weak. As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, Calogero Vizzini, stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honor, even social responsibility; an attitude, not an organization. Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being "mafioso", because that word meant honorable, noble, generous.

"Cosa Nostra"

According to some mafiosi, the real name of the Mafia is Cosa Nostra, meaning 'our world, tradition, values'. Many have claimed, as did the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, that the word mafia was a literary creation. Other Mafia defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, said the same thing. According to them, the real thing was "cosa nostra". To men of honour belonging to the organisation, there is no need to name it. Mafiosi introduce known members to other known members as belonging to "cosa nostra" (our thing) or "la stessa cosa" (the same thing). Only the outside world needs a name to describe it, hence the capitalized version of the words: Cosa Nostra.

Cosa Nostra was first used, in the early 1960s, in the United States by Joseph Valachi, a mafioso turned state witness, during the hearings of the McClellan Commission. At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added an article to the term, calling it 'La Cosa Nostra'. In Italy the article 'la' is never used when the term refers to the Mafia; commonly "la cosa nostra" is used when meaning "our thing" in general contexts.

Rituals

The orientation ritual in most families happens when a man becomes an associate, and then, a soldier. As described by Tommaso Buscetta to judge Giovanni Falcone, the neophyte is brought together with at least three "men of honor" of the family and the oldest member present warns him that "this House" is meant to protect the weak against the abuse of the powerful; he then pricks the finger of the initiate and spills his blood onto a sacred image, usually of a saint.The image is placed in the hand of the initiate and lit on fire. The neophyte must withstand the pain of the burning, passing the image from hand to hand, until the image has been consumed, while swearing to keep faith with the principles of "Cosa Nostra," solemnly swearing that "may my flesh burn like this saint if I fail to keep my oath".

The Mafia in Sicily

Originating ^{(dubious assertion—see talk page)} during the mid 19th century, the Mafia served as protection.^{[3] (dubious assertion—see talk page)} 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 local 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 U.S. branch of the Mafia. However, when Mori started to persecute the Mafiosi involved in the Fascist hierarchy, he was removed, and the Fascist authorities proclaimed that the Mafia had been defeated. Despite his assault on their brethren, Mussolini had his fans in the New York Mafia, notably Vito Genovese.

The United States used 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 the U.S., provided information for US military intelligence, who used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing American troops.^[4]

Some mafia analysts, such as the Catanese author Alfio Caruso, argue that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services deliberately allowed the mafia to recover its social and economic position as the "anti-State" in Sicily and that the U.S.-mafia alliance forged in 1943 was the true turning point of mafia history and the foundation of its subsequent 60-year career. Others, such as the Palermitan historian Francesco Renda, have argued that there was no such alliance. Rather, the mafia exploited the chaos of post-fascist Sicily to reconquer its social base. The OSS indeed, in its 1944 "Report on the Problem of Mafia" by the agent W. E. Scotten, pointed to the signs of mafia resurgence and warned of its perils for social order and economic progress.

An alleged additional benefit (from the American perspective) was that many of the Sicilian-Italian Mafiosi were hard-line 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.^{citation needed]}

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 released from prison and 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 in Southeast Asia arising from the Vietnam War to establish an unassailable supply and distribution base in the "Golden Triangle", which was soon funneling huge amounts of Asian heroin into the United States, Australia and other countries via the U.S. military. ^[5]

After Fascism, the Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in World War II, and the U.S. occupation. 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 Cosa Nuova ("the new thing", a play on 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 recently caught 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. Antonino Giuffrè – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned pentito shortly after his capture in 2002 – 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. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed. The Italian Parliament, with the support of Forza Italia, extended the enforcement of 41 bis, which was to expire in 2002 but has been prolonged for another four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy’s leading magazines, L'Espresso 119 mafiosi – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41 bis regime – have been released on an individual basis. [1] The human-rights group Amnesty International has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could in some circumstances amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners.

Prominent Sicilian mafiosi

• Calogero Vizzini, boss of Villalba, was considered to be one of the most influential Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954.
• Giuseppe Genco Russo, boss of Mussomeli, considered to be the heir of Calogero Vizzini.
• Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, he was the first "secretary" of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was formed somewhere in 1958.
• Tommaso Buscetta, the first Sicilian Mafioso to become a pentito (informant) in 1984. (A predecessor, Leonardo Vitale, who gave himself up to the police in 1973, was judged as suffering from 'mental semi-infiMELISSAe 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.
• Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. He was nicknamed The Beast, or sometimes The Short One ('U curtu in Sicilian) and ruled the Mafia with an iron hand from the 1980s until his arrest in 1993.
• Bernardo Provenzano, successor of Riina at the head of the Corleonesi and a such considered one of the most powerful bosses of the Sicilian Mafia. Provenzano was a fugitive from justice since 1963. He was captured on 11 April 2006 in Sicily.^[6] Before capture, authorities have reportedly been 'close' to capturing him for 10 years.
• Giovanni 'lo scannacristiani' Brusca, who was involved in the murder of Giovanni Falcone.
• Matteo Messina Denaro, considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.
• Salvatore Lo Piccolo, considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.

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, the Stidda in southern Sicily. 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 City area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations to citywide and eventually international organizations. The mafia started with the "The Black Hand", extorting Italian (and other immigrants) around New York city. Black Hand gangsters would threaten them by mail if their extortion demands were not met. They might "decorate" the threats with a hand covered in black ink at the bottom of the page. As more Sicilian gangsters immigrated to the U.S., they expanded their criminal activities from extortion to loan-sharking, prostitution, drugs and alcohol, robbery, kidnapping, and murder.

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, the 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. These families held underground conferences with other mafia notables like Joe Porrello of Cleveland, and other gang leaders, such as Al Capone.

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 took care of the economic side of the "business". An underboss was possible as well. The "underboss guard" was a position between the consigliere and underboss, providing tactical information as well as advice to the boss. 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 faction 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 depicted in Mario Puzo's famous novel The Godfather.

The initiation ritual emerged from various sources, such as Catholic confraternities and Masonic Lodges in mid-nineteenth century Sicily^[7] 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 organization in Sicily. However, to this day, being a made man requires that one's father be of Italian background.

Law enforcement and the Mafia

United States

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.

The Mafia began a steep decline in the late-1970s and early 1980s due in part to laws, such as the RICO Act that made it a crime to belong to an organization that performed illegal acts, and to programs such as the witness protection program. This was followed by a resurgence in the late 1980s into the 1990s as the Mafia sought out new avenues of revenue. These factors, combined with the modest dissolution of the distinct Italian-American community through death, intermarriage, the lack of continued Italian immigration, and cultural assimilation, resulted in the appearance of a reduced Mafia presence in the United States.

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 rumored 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.

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 which have led to mob informants, violation of mob rules, family infighting, and death or imprisonment of its top leaders. Recent setbacks include relentless prosecution of the Five Families and arrests of the Chicago Outfit's hierarchy.

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 activity in the U.S.

Italy

In Italy 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.

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 the 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 magistrates/ prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, in 1992.

Recently, former Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti (Democrazia Cristiana) stood judicially accused of relationships with Mafia, but the case partially collapsed because of the expiry of the statute of limitations. In more detail, the trial court stated that proof of relationships with Mafia were not existing for the period after 1980. On the other hand, the trial court, and the appeal one, stated that his connection with Mafia had been constant and well-documented until the early 1980s.

Mafia structure

Known as the Honored Society among Mafiosi, the chain of command is organized in a pyramid similar to a modern corporate structure.

Traditional terminology

1. Capo di Tutti Capi (the "Boss of All Bosses", namely Matteo Messina Denaro for the Sicilian Mafia and Renato Gagliano for the Sacra Corona Unita; not applicable to the American Mafia)
2. Capo di Capi Re (a title of respect given to a senior or retired member, equivalent to being a member emeritus, literally, "King Boss of Bosses")
3. Capo Crimini ("Crime Boss", known as a Don - the head of a crime family)
4. Capo Bastone ("Beat Head", known as the "Underboss" is second in command to the Capo Crimini)
5. Consigliere (an advisor)
6. Caporegime ("Regime head", a captain who commands a "crew" of around ten Sgarriste or "soldiers")
7. Sgarrista or Soldati ("Soldier", made members of the Mafia who serve primarily as foot soldiers)
8. Picciotto ("Little man", a low ranking member who serves as an "enforcer")
9. Giovane D'Onore (an associate member, usually someone not of Italian or Sicilian ancestry)

Sicilian Mafia structure

1. Capofamiglia - (Don)
2. Consigliere - (Counselor/Advisor)
3. Sotto Capo - (Underboss)
4. Capodecina - (Group Boss/Capo)
5. Uomini D'onore - ("Men of Honor")

Modern terminology

• Boss or Don - The head of the family, usually reigning as a dictator. The Boss or Don receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family. He makes decisions on initiation (who gets "made") and assassinations. The Boss or Don is chosen by a vote from the Captains of the family. If there is a tie, the Underboss must vote. The Boss appoints the Consigliere. (Typically, when referring to organized crime not dominated by Italians, the term Boss is used.)
• 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 - The 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.
• Capo (or Captain)- A Captain is in charge of a crew. There are usually four to six crews in each family, possibly even seven to nine crews. Each one consists of 20 to 30 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 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 an 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 the actual members. Non-Italians will never go any further than this, with a few exceptions.

Joint projects of the U.S. government and the Mafia

The United States government has conspired with organized crime figures to assassinate foreign heads of state. In August 1960, Colonel Sheffield Edwards, director of the CIA's Office of Security, proposed the assassination of Cuban head of state Fidel Castro by mafia assassins. Between August 1960 and April 1961, the CIA, with the help of the Mafia, pursued a series of plots to poison or shoot Castro (CIA, Inspector General's Report on Efforts to Assassinate Fidel Castro, p. 3, 14, archived at: www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/bayofpigs/chron.html). Those allegedly involved included Sam Giancana, Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, Jr., John Roselli, and Jimmy Hoffa.

Media portrayal of the Mafia

See also: List of Mafia movies

• The Godfather, a novel by Mario Puzo; later made into a film and two sequels by Francis Ford Coppola. The trilogy of films, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, is probably the most influential depiction 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.
• Prizzi's Honor, a Mafia film starring Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, and William Hickey
• Donnie Brasco, a film about the first FBI agent to infiltrate the Mafia.
• 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).
• 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.
• Oz, an HBO series about prison where all the Italian inmates are Mafiosos running illegal businesses inside and outside of prison.
• The Sopranos, an HBO series featuring a Mafioso and his two families—his wife and kids and his crime family—starring James Gandolfini.
• 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 and directed by Martin Scorsese.
• Once Upon a Time in America, a film about the Jewish Mafia in America, from Italian director Sergio Leone.
• Analyze This and its sequel Analyze That, comedies starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal.
• 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.
• 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, Saint's Row 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.
• Townies (2006) about the Charlestown mob in Massachusetts.
• The Godfather: The Game was released to all home consoles (and the PC) in 2006. A hand-held version for the PSP is going to be released this year.
• Mobsters (1991) The story of a group of friends in turn of the century New York, from their early days as street hoods to their rise in the world of organized crime. As their crime empire expands, they have to deal with many problems, including their own differing opinions on how to run their business, the local Godfather, and the psychotic Mad Dog Coll.
• The New Orleans Mafia was linked to the Kennedy assassination in Oliver Stone's film JFK.^[8]
• Mafia is a video game based on two Mafia families feuding with one-another.
• Noir, an anime series featured the Mafia in episodes 8-9.
• Two Batman graphic novels by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, showcase the slow changeover of power in the criminal underworld of Gotham City, with the traditional Mafia families becoming overshadowed by Batman's Rogues Gallery.
• Another DC comics character, Helena Bertinelli, aka The Huntress, is the daughter of a Mafia family, who became a costumed crimefighter after her family was killed in a hit by a rival gang. She would later infiltrate the Gotham Mafia as a Capo, and provide Batman with an "Atlas of organized crime", prompting him to compliment her for the first time ever.
• My Blue Heaven is a 1990 film starring Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joan Cusack.

It has been noted for its relationship to the movie Goodfellas. Both movies are based upon the life of Henry Hill, although the character is renamed to "Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli" in My Blue Heaven. In some ways My Blue Heaven is a sequel to Goodfellas, as Goodfellas ends with Hill's dissatisfaction with life in the Witness Protection Program, while My Blue Heaven starts out Hill's life after the move. Goodfellas stays much closer to the facts of Hill's life, but a lot of Hill's experiences are reflected in the latter film (in an addition, My Blue Heaven flashes title cards on the screen listing the chapter headings in Hill's books.) While Goodfellas was based upon the book Wiseguys by Nicholas Pileggi, the screenplay for My Blue Heaven was written by Pileggi's wife, Nora Ephron, and much of the research for both works was done in the same sessions with Hill. The movie was filmed primarily in the California city of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding area.

Books

• Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day (1976) Gaia Servadio, Secker & Warburg ISBN 436447002
• The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection (1993), Diego Gambetta, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-80742-1
• Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia (2004) John Dickie, Coronet, ISBN 0-340-82435-2
• Organized Crime: An Inside Guide to the World's Most Successful Industry (2004) Paul Lunde, ISBN 0-7894-9648-8
• Cigar City Mafia : A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld (2004), Scott M. Deitche, Barricade Books ISBN 1-56980-266-1
• Excellent Cadavers (1995) Alexander Stille, Vintage ISBN 0-679-76863-7
• Io e la mafia: la verita' di Giulio Andreotti by Antonio Nicaso, Monteleone Editore, 1985.

References

1. ^ This etymology is based on the books Mafioso by Gaia Servadio, The Sicilian Mafia by Diego Gambetta, and Cosa Nostra by John Dickie (see books).
2. ^ Giuseppe Pitrè, 'Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano', Palermo 1889
3. ^ "The main source of wealth of the island were the large estates of lemon and orange estates. In the bare beginning, the Mafia served as a special kind of protection for the large orange and lemon estates around Palermo." The Sicilian Mafia, from the website Mafia Stars; Library of Mafia & Organised Crime, retrieved 16 April 2006
4. ^ "The wartime collaboration of Sicilian-born Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano with the United States Navy may have made the Allied invasion of Sicily smoother than it otherwise would have been, but the Iron Prefect's enforcement of the Duce's laws had already made most mafiosi sympathetic to the American cause, or at least hostile to the Fascist one." The Mafia from bestofsicily.com
5. ^ The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, by Alfred W. McCoy with Cathleen B. Read and Leonard P. Adams II, 1972, ISBN 06-012901-8
6. ^ 'Top Mafia boss' caught in Italy
7. ^ "Mafia's arcane rituals, and much of the organization's structure, were based largely on those of the Catholic confraternities and even Freemasonry, colored by Sicilian familial traditions and even certain customs associated with military-religious orders of chivalry like the Order of Malta." The Mafia from bestofsicily.com
8. ^ "The New Orleans family is famous for its possible involvement in the murder of President John F. Kennedy along with the Dallas, TX faction of LCN. The Oliver Stone movie JFK (Kennedy) focuses on the possibility of a conspiracy and also the Mafia's involvement in the assassination." New Orleans, LA. AmericanMafia.com 26 Mafia Cities - New Orleans, LA. Retrieved on June 19, 2005.

See also

• Sicilian Mafia Commission
• List of criminal organizations
• .22 LR (Reputedly popular caliber of 'hit gun', typically suppressed.)
• doctor gun (Another 'hit gun' variation)
• Organized crime
• National Crime Syndicate
• Lupara
• Front organization
• Racket (crime)
• Russian mafia
• Triad
• Yakuza
• Omertà

External links

• The financial mafia. The illegal accumulation of wealth and the financial-industrial complex by Umberto Santino, in "Contemporary Crises" 12, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, September 1988, pp.203-243
• The Mafia and Politics, by Judith Chubb, Cornell Studies in International Affairs, Occasional Papers No. 23, 1989.
• Competing for Protection: Land Fragmentation and the Rise of the Sicilian Mafia, by Oriana Bandiera, London School of Economics, August 1999
• Camorra, the neapolitan mafia
• Gangrule, American mafia history
• The Mafia in Sicilian History
• Mobwatcher