American Mafia

satisfy many Americans' need for alcohol and much more. This was the catalyst that ignited a spark of crime that burned in America for decades to come. These criminals hid behind the bustle of everyday life, simply doing their job of organized crime. Whether it be bootlegging, laundering, stealing, or murdering this heterogeneous mix of criminals were all banded together through their ability to bypass getting caught. Organized crime flourished in the 1920s influencing the minds of Americans and…

By 1910 there were over 500,000 Italian immigrants and first-generation Italian Americans in New York City alone. Most were law-abiding citizens but there were quite a few bad apples who had escaped from the wrath of Benito Mussolini. To Mussolini, the Mafia was a huge threat and needed to be dealt with swiftly. In turn, over a “thousand suspected Mafiosi were convicted and thrown in prison” (“The Demise of the Mafia,” 2009), and those who were lucky enough to escape continued their illegal…

The Structure of Russian organized crime in the United States differs from that the American Mafia in many ways. Russian crime groups are fluid, and membership is Transient consisting of five to twenty people. The Russian organized crime group is loosely structured, without a hierarchy because the groups are normally formed on the basis of regional background or built around a particular enterprise (Abadinsky, 2013). In addition, one group may consist mostly of immigrants from Kiev. However,…

Francis Ford Coppola’s, The Godfather Part II, released in 1974, provides additional insight into the Corleone family affairs following the events of the first film. The film begins with a mafia chief executing all of Vito Corleone’s immediate family in Sicily. Left alone, young Vito flees his hometown and travels to America. As Vito gets older, his career of crime begins with petty theft and later escalates into the neighborhood negotiator. Despite his life of crime, Vito continues to be…

Rise of Crime In January of 1919, the 18th amendment was passed which stated “ … The manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors … For beverage purpose is hereby prohibited” (Constitution). Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many counties and some states were already dry. Even though the 18th amendment was to stop drinking all together, it did not even come close. Prohibition created a large number of bootleggers, which are people that sell alcohol illegally.…

that lasted many years but it made the mafia in New York seem as if they were the powerhouses of the city. That they were in control of everything that was going on and even glorified the life of a mobster. They portrayed the mafia life as one full of luxury and fun times. They even made the killing of rival mafia members seem cool or necessary. This show portrayed to everyone that being in the mob was the life to live. Even though this show portrayed the mafia as this great thing and made it…

and at a meeting of twenty capos on January 15, 1986, Gotti was formally acclaimed the new boss of the Gambino family. At the time of Gotti’s takeover, the Gambino family, with an annual income of $500 million, was viewed as the most powerful American mafia family. In his book Underboss, author Sammy Gravano estimated that during his years as boss Gotti himself had an annual income of not less than $5 million and more likely between $10 and $12 million. To protect himself, Gotti maintained a…

to mind, a Mafia man. Throughout time, things like the Mafia have been in existence. Today, gangs in big cities are the main source of the criminal underbelly. The visual in the appendix depicts FBI agents finding a burial ground for the Mafia’s own. With all these incidents, even today we are able to pinpoint when the Mafia truly began to gain power; during prohibition and how gangs have risen to power with the rise of drugs. How and why prohibition caused such a growth in the Mafia is simple…

ocean, traits and traditions did not change for the Italian immigrants. The mafia originated in Sicily, Italy. It came to the United States through immigration. Even though the mafia remained in Italy, the newly formed…

The Mafia are some of America's favorite bad guys. They are the subject of countless television series, movies, and books. When people hear the term Mafia or Mob, they may often think of the violent and ruthless tactics they used to get what they wanted. What many do not realize is that, from the early to mid-twentieth century, the Mafia had a hand in many aspects of American culture that people still enjoy today. Prohibition arose out of the Progressive Era at the end of the eighteenth century…