Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Is the Mafia real? What is the Mafia? Where did the Mafia get started? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Are you ready to learn more about the mafia? Be sure to explore the following activities with a friend or family member: Visit the National Geographic website to check out Inside the American Mob. You'll be able to view a chronology that will help you understand the development and rise of the American Mafia.
Write down at least five facts you learn and share them with a friend or family member. Curious to learn more about some of the colorful characters that have led some of America's most famous Mafia families? Jump online to explore Biography's Famous Mob Bosses page. Click through to learn more about the mob bosses that you find most interesting. Want to join the Mafia? No, we don't mean join an actual criminal organization. However, if you can gather together a group of at least seven people, you can play the fun Mafia Party Game.
Read the directions online and have fun with your friends and family members! Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words crime chase island foreign justice authority exchange secrecy loyalty unfortunately eventually suspicious landowners protection organization coast clans extort Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. JOSie llama Jan 16, Jan 17, Erick Aug 23, Al capone was a really bad person i know this because i watch history a lot.
Aug 27, Amarina Mrs. Mize class Mar 20, Mar 21, Integrating Sicily into Italy proved very difficult for the new Italian government. They were incessantly battling with Mafia groups for power: power in political, legislative and judicial systems, as well as in the social construction of the island. From Sicily's historically bad and disorganized legal system came a public appreciation for private justice, and so the Mafia became a strong influence in the judicial and political systems of the island.
Thus it had state power in addition to its socio-cultural power. From this "The Italians realized that no Sicilian government had ever been able to stamp out criminality because the Mafia had for so long been the only form of stability. However, this allowed the to influence higher officials in Rome, along with their usual officials of Palermo. The new Italian government made the gabelloti and other locally powerful men usually Mafia Dons the local and rural administrators. The local authorities were expected to reciprocate the favor by beguiling support from the peasantry and other groups within the region.
Those opposed to the Mafia's way of running things was promptly eliminated, in what became a string of political assassinations. During the period of Risorgimento the Mafia began to take on a new role in Sicilian politics. Before it had strived to be the stable judicial and political force in Sicily. Now men in Rome were making decisions regarding the future of Sicily, and the Mafia along with other Sicilians, were outraged.
Mainland Italy was using the island to grow raw goods, and imported finished goods to the island. This colonial use of the island, along with the lack of modernization by way of industry, created economic hardships for the Sicilian inhabitants. Thus in an effort to redistribute wealth in Sicily, the new government in Rome decreed that all large properties were to be seized and sold by the Catholic Church at auction. One person was only allowed to buy a given amount of land, however, the Mafia through extensive organization to by up the majority of land per capita in Sicily.
However, contrary to the intent of the Italian government which was to give back to the peasantry this redistribution of the land only perpetuated their position in society. In the Parliamentary Commission of the redistribution of land was considered a success, along with the restructuring and expansion of education in Palermo. However, with the exception of the creation of schools, it was an utter failure.
The commission also advised building roads and railroad tracks and lessening laws and funding for combating the Mafia. It is seems apparent from these decisions that the Mafia had a hand in influencing the politicians who wrote this commission. While Italy strived for international recognition, they understood that like the empires that had ruled Sicily before them, that Sicily was an important place for power to manifest. It showed the rest of the Mediterranean that the Italians had succeeded in gaining control of Sicily, and hence political legitimacy.
However, this shows that the Mafia already had strong ties to legitimate institutions Servadio , p. The Mafia was not just gangsters, even from the beginning. There were those who carried out the dirty work, but the leaders were more political and economic thinkers than thugs. Until there were no inquiries into the Mafia: how it functioned, and its administration were still very much clouded by its mystique.
But in two Tuscan deputies, Sonnino and Franchetti conducted an unofficial inquiry into the lowest classes of Sicily. They arrived in Sicily unannounced and interviewed the least important people, as to not raise suspicions.
This way they were able to understand the everyday intricacies of coexistence with the Mafia. After finishing their study, they concluded that the Mafia was a fungus on Sicilian society, which was deeply rooted in culture, politics and everyday life.
Its main function was that of enforcing rudimentary order in an archaic system, and crimes were a means to an end of winning respect, money and power. Sonnino and Franchetti's investigation is considered one of the most in depth and realistic accounts of the Mafia Servadio , p It was the first to probe into the everyday reality of the Sicilian life to understand how the Mafia affected everything in society. Before this study the working and effects of the Mafia were only understood from a political and economic vantage point.
This investigation shed light on the modern interpretation of the Mafia and how it affected people on an everyday basis. Understanding how the mafia influenced ordinary, everyday life is central in understanding the Mafia. It not only explains why Sicily allowed these impetuous men to rule and dictate law, but also how these men aided the lives of those they helped and protected.
It is precisely Sicily's varied history and multiple governments that led to the creation and necessity of the Mafia. Sicily's long string of judicially inept governments fostered an environment where those who were wily enough could manipulate the system to their advantage, creating wealth, power and prestige.
By the turn of the century the Mafia had become very powerful and widespread throughout Italy in the face of widespread unemployment and poverty that permeated not only Sicily, but the rest of Europe as well. Many of the underprivileged began to immigrate to America to find better jobs to support their families. It is speculated that this is when the Mafia formally entered America and began to set up shop.
The Mafia, a network of organized-crime groups based in Italy and America, evolved over centuries in Sicily, an island ruled until the midth century by a long line of foreign invaders. Sicilians banded together in groups to protect themselves and carry out their own justice.
The American Mafia, which rose to power in the s, is a separate entity from the Mafia in Italy, although they share such traditions as omerta, a code of conduct and loyalty. For centuries, Sicily, an island in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and the Italian mainland, was ruled by a long line of foreign invaders, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French and Spanish. The residents of this small island formed groups to protect themselves from the often-hostile occupying forces, as well as from other regional groups of Sicilians.
These groups, which later became known as clans or families, developed their own system for justice and retribution, carrying out their actions in secret.
From this history, the Sicilian Mafia emerged as a collection of criminal clans or families. In , Sicily became a province of recently unified Italy. However, chaos and crime reigned across the island as the fledgling Italian government tried to establish itself. In the s, Roman officials even asked Sicilian Mafia clans to help them by going after dangerous, independent criminal bands; in exchange, officials would look the other way as the Mafia continued its protection shakedowns of landowners.
The government believed this arrangement would be temporary, lasting just long enough for Rome to gain control; instead, the Mafia clans expanded their criminal activities and further entrenched themselves in Sicilian politics and the economy. The Mafia became adept at political corruption and intimidated people to vote for certain candidates, who were in turn beholden to the Mafia. Even the Catholic Church was involved with Mafia clans during this period, according to Raab, who notes that the church relied on Mafiosi to monitor its massive property holdings in Sicily and keep tenant farmers in line.
Some are groomed to replace the boss if he is old or in danger of going to jail. Beneath the underboss are the capos. The number of capos varies depending on the overall size of the family. A capo acts like a lieutenant, leading his own section of the family. He has specific activities that he operates. The capo's territory may be defined geographically as in, "everything west of 14th Street belongs to Louie 'The Key' DiBartolo" or by the rackets he operates "Alfonze 'Big Al' Maggioli is in charge of illegal gambling".
The key to being a successful capo is making money. The capo keeps some of the money his rackets earn and passes the rest up to the underboss and boss. The dirty work is done by the soldiers. A soldier is the lowest rank among made men. Soldiers are part of the family, but they hold little power and make relatively little money. The number of soldiers under any given capo can vary tremendously. In addition to soldiers, the Mafia uses associates. They're not actual members of the Mafia, but they work with Mafia soldiers and capos on various criminal enterprises.
An associate can include anyone from a burglar or drug dealer to a lawyer, investment banker, police officer or politician. One other position within the family is somewhat legendary: the consigliere. The consigliere is not supposed to be part of the family's hierarchy. He is supposed to act as an adviser and make impartial decisions based on fairness and logic rather than personal feelings or vendettas.
This position is meant to be elected by the members of the family, not appointed by the boss. In reality, consiglieres are sometimes appointed and are not always impartial. The position was made famous with Robert Duvall's portrayal of lawyer Tom Hagen , fictional consigliere to the Corleone family in two of "The Godfather" movies and the Mario Puzo novel upon which they were based.
The Mafia is not an actual tax-paying, stock-selling organization. There is no head of the Mafia. Instead, the word Mafia is an umbrella term that refers to any of several groups of gangsters who can trace their roots to Italy or Sicily.
In broad terms, there are five original Mafia groups, defined mainly by the regions they operate in or the regions they originated in. All five groups have their hands in criminal operations that span the globe and have set up operatives in many different countries. The Sicilian Mafia originated on the island of Sicily. Finally, La Cosa Nostra is a name most often connected to the American Mafia, although this group can trace its history back to Sicilian families as well as some other Italian groups.
No clear naming convention exists when it comes to Mafia families. Early families were named after the region or town in Italy where they originated. Sometimes, the name of the family would change to the name of the boss, especially if he was a powerful or long-standing boss. The five main New York City families had their names set semi-permanently by the testimony of informer Joe Valachi before a Senate subcommittee in The families were named for the current bosses, although in one case, it was an earlier, more powerful boss whose name was used.
The Profaci family was taken over by Joseph Colombo a few years later, and he became so famous that the family is now known as the Colombo family. The same thing nearly happened to the Gambino family when it was taken over by John Gotti. Before it became the Gotti family, though, Gotti was arrested and convicted of racketeering and murder, based largely on the testimony of Mafia traitor Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
That family continues to be known by law enforcement officials as the Gambino crime family. Most of the other U. Thus, you have the Philadelphia family, the Buffalo family, the Cleveland family and so on. The details of a Mafia induction ceremony were a carefully kept secret for decades. But in the early s, Joe Valachi's testimony before a Senate subcommittee shined a spotlight on the mob. The Mafia induction described here is the ceremony conducted by the Sicilian Mafia as well as most American Mafia families.
Circumstances can alter some details of the ceremony, such as an induction in prison or a quick induction during a gang war. First, the potential gangster is told simply to "dress up" or "get dressed. Other Mafioso who are present will join hands and recite oaths and promises of loyalty.
The inductee may then hold a burning piece of paper. In some families, the new soldier is paired with a more experienced mobster who will act as his " godfather ," guiding him into Mafia life. The inductee must promise that he will be a member of the family for life, and then a drop of blood is drawn from his trigger finger. It takes more than just an oath and a drop of blood to get into the Mafia, however.
Only men of Italian heritage are allowed in. In some families, both parents must be Italian, while some require only an Italian father. The prospective mobster must also show a penchant for making money or at the least a willingness to commit acts of violence when ordered to do so.
Usually, the criminal must pass a test before he will be considered for induction, and this test is commonly rumored to be participation in an act of murder. One last obstacle that some mobsters face when they try to become made men: the Commission.
In the s and '30s, the Mafia families in the United States were almost constantly at war with one another. They would often recruit new soldiers by the dozens so rival families wouldn't recognize them as enemies. These new recruits could easily approach members of other families and assassinate them.
To put a stop to this, the Commission began requiring all the families to make a list of their prospective members and circulate the list among the other families. In addition to helping to ID family members, these lists also allowed the bosses to weed out prospects that other families had problems with.
If the prospects became made men, individual disagreements could grow into violent wars between families. Families use a variety of activities to accomplish the Mafia's main goal of making money. One of the most common is one of the simplest: extortion. Extortion is forcing people to pay money by threatening them in some way. Mafia "protection rackets" are extortion schemes.
The twist is that the Mafia members themselves are the criminals who threaten the business. The Mafia has made money through a wide variety of illegal activities over the years. Mobsters have dealt in alcohol during Prohibition, illegal drugs, prostitution and illegal gambling, to name a few. Sometimes, burglaries and muggings generate income, but the capos know that their activities need a grander scale to ensure maximum profit. That's why they hijack trucks and unload entire shipments of stolen goods.
Another method used by Mafioso is to pay off truck drivers or dock workers to "misplace" crates and shipments that later end up in Mafia hands. The stolen goods could be anything from stereo equipment to clothing a favorite of John Gotti early in his career. One of the most notorious Mafia schemes was the infiltration of labor unions. For several decades, it is believed that every major construction project in New York City was controlled by the Mafia.
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