Many people see two main divisions when they think of crime: ordinary criminals, such as burglars and thieves, and organized crime. Although organized crime may not impact your day-to-day life, it is still important to be aware of its existence and its impact on the world.
The Mafia is perhaps the most well-known organized crime group in the world today. The American Mafia, which is also known as Cosa Nostra, is an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia, an Italian criminal society. The origins of the Mafia in Italy are believed to date back as far as the Middle Ages, when groups of wealthy families controlled Sicily through their social standing. The organized crime group known as the American Mafia first emerged at the end of the 1800s on the East Coast following a wave of immigration from Southern Italy.
The first Mafia groups in America started in New York City, where gangsters would threaten immigrants with extortion. By 1890, organized crime had spread to New Orleans, where the Police Superintendent was murdered, execution-style, allegedly by Mafia members. As organized crime grew on this side of the ocean, the criminal activities expanded from extortion to drugs and alcohol, robbery, kidnapping, murder, loan-sharking, and dozens of other nefarious crimes. In 1920, prohibition resulted in a significant increase in alcohol sales and related activities by the Mafia.
By the end of the 1920s, there were two main factions of the Mafia in the United States. This caused a major mafia war for the control of organized crime in New York City which lasted throughout the 1930s. It is during this time that Al Capone (or Scarface) led the Chicago Outfit, one of the main Mafia crime families, and amassed a fortune reportedly over a hundred million dollars. Like many Mafia kingpins, he was chased by the law for years, before he was finally caught for tax evasion.
By this time, the Mafia is believed to have infiltrated most of the major labor unions throughout the country, particularly the Teamsters Union. Little of the inner workings of the Mafia were known by outsiders, even law enforcement agencies, until 1963, when Joseph Valachi became the first Mafia member to provide a detailed look of the organization to the FBI. He exposed much of the secret structure of the mafia, including its ranking system and how Mafia members did business.
According to the FBI and other agencies, the American Mafia still has a significant level of control in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City, among other major cities. Today, although the word 'Mafia' is used to refer to almost any forms of organized crime, it is believed that there are about 26 major American Mafia families throughout the United States, as well as offshoot groups and associates in many smaller cities. The Mafia and its reputation have been portrayed in movies, TV shows, books, and video games. It is believed that Cosa Nostra has is hand in many major areas of crime, including labor racketeering, gambling, corruption, drug trafficking, pornography, tax fraud, and even stock manipulation.
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