Todays Mafia Essays - 1186 Words

Todays Mafia Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active. Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal actions have been recognized since the late 1800s, and police say it is not disappearing too fast.(Widener 6) Migration from Italy, has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics. The Italian Mafia has always been based on the island of Sicily and the southern mainland provinces of Calabria and Campania. (Worsnop 273) Traffic in drugs, chiefly†¦show more content†¦This family has over 500 members and are located throughout the nation. Although indicted this family is still managed by John Gotti. Most of the focus of this family is on contracted killings, gambling, narcotics, and extortion. The focus of this family is nationwide.(E1) The Bannanno and the Luchesse families do not play as an important role in the organized crime melting pot as the Colombo and Gambino families do. (Worsnop 279) Both families combined for about 200 members. The main focus of criminal activity between the families are counterfeiting and pornography. This mostly spreads throughout most of the southwestern portion of the U.S. (Inman E2) Although New York seems to be the place where most Mafia action occurs, many other areas are influenced by the Mafia. Many people think that the Mafia only exists in New York. Astonishing enough New York is ranked nineteen out of twenty-five on the list of most active organized crime cities. Cities like San Jose, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Rockford, Ill., rank within the top ten. (Trimble 30) Some major crimes committed in the smaller cities are credit-card fraud, hijacking, prostitution, and drugs. (30) Some illegal business fronts include Nightclubs, Fast-food outlets, trucking, and garbage collection. (30) In the international Melting Pot of organized crime, has many different cultures. Such groups as the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, and the Vietnamese Gangs, whom all baseShow MoreRelatedThe Origins Of The American Mafia1711 Words   |  7 Pagessociety has been fascinated with the gangster lifestyle and the American Mafia is no exception to this trend. Mafia themed mo vies such as Scarface and Goodfellas have proven to be timeless classics. However, the American Mafia goes deeper than the media shows. While they do have the same name, the American Mafia is a group of Italian Americans and is not directly affiliated with the original Sicilian Mafia. The American Mafia is a highly organized and complex nationwide criminal network with a membershipRead More Italian Mafia Essay1315 Words   |  6 PagesItalian Mafia The Mafia was first developed in Sicily in feudal times to protect the estates of landlords who were out of town. The word Mafia, derived from the Sicilian word, Mafioso, means family. Today, Mafia is a name which describes a loose association of criminal groups. These groups can be bound together by blood, oath or sworn secrecy. Many people had considered the Sicilian Mafia as the most ruthless mobsters of the twentieth century. By the nineteenth century, the Mafia had becomeRead MoreEssay about Organized Crime1744 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica as well as the social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so-called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. The origins of the secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafias main purpose was to strengthen themselves against enemiesRead MoreEssay on La Cosa Nostra1240 Words   |  5 PagesCorleone’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 invadedRead More Mafia Essay1422 Words   |  6 Pages 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 crimeRead More Luciano Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesCrime Syndicate in the early 1930s, which still remains today (Nash 251). Lucky Luciano, the â€Å"true† American gangster, rewrote the rules of the Italian Mafia, under control of old-line Sicilian rule, and created an organization open to all ethnic backgrounds (Dewey). He worked his way from being a struggling messenger for a small gang, to eventually becoming the â€Å"Capo di Tutti Capi†(the Boss of All Bosses), the highest ranking in the Mafia (Dewey). During his reign, Charles Luciano decided that inRead MoreThe Crime Of Organized Crime1649 Words   |  7 PagesWhen I hear the term organized crime, I associate it with â€Å"The Mafia†, â€Å"Scarface†, and â€Å"Cartels†. Organized crime can be defined in a variety of ways. It is an ongoing criminal enterprise that is wisely working to generate profit engaging in illegal activities depending on demand, where its presence is preserve through force, intimidations, and corruption. According to the FBI, organized crime is basically a group of transnational, national, or local alliances of highly centralized enterprises runRead MoreThe Mafia Essay1298 Words   |  6 PagesThe Mafia It exists. You probably won’t see it if you visit Sicily. You probably won’t see any of its effects, either, unless you look very closely. But considering it’s profound influence on Sicilian life, no twentieth-century history book on Sicily would be accurate without mentioning the most famous Sicilian fraternity. â€Å"The word ‘Mafia’ was formally recorded by the prefect of Palermo in 1865, after the unification of Italy (57 Robb).† It wasn’t until 1982 that it was added to the ItalianRead MoreBook Report on The New Ethnic Mob by William Kleinknecht Essay1470 Words   |  6 Pagesreporter for the Newark Star Ledger in New Jersey, and The New Ethnic Mob is Bills first published book. As mafia boss after mafia boss goes to jail there is a new ethnic criminal emerging to the forefront of organized crime. A major player that is likely to leave a lasting impact is the Russian mafia. Many experts say they have even surpassed the Italian mafia in there cleverness. They are involved in sophisticated forging, counterfeit, and credit card schemes that haveRead MoreCriminology995 Words   |  4 PagesTandy When I think about organized crime and its very definition I immediately think of is the Italian Mafia, which has been portrayed in various articles, news casts, and historical culture and let’s not forget the many movies that have been made. This alone does not define what organized crime group are though I’m sure at one time it was the primary indicator for organized crime. Yet today this is not true at all and it would take multiple text books and research to explain it all because these