|
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| History of La Cosa Nostra Preface.
Origin. The Mafia is a much used term to describe criminal groups throughout the world, but in fact can only be used to define the Sicilian organized crime. The word 'Mafia' is taken from the Sicilian adjective 'Mafiusu', only in Dutch it is written with 2 f's. (Although in the 19th century Italians would also write the word with 2 f's) This word was first used in a Sicilian play in 1863 called 'I mafiusi di la Vicaria' by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca. 'I Mafiusi di la Vicaria' ironicly means 'The beautiful people of Vicaria.' The Play is about criminal gangs in a prison. The word itself made it's next public appearance in 1865 in a report by the prefect of Palermo, Filippo Antonio Gualterio. Sicilian criminals soon began to name themselves a Mafiusu, a man of honor. Many people from Sicily didn't regard these men as criminals, but as protectors and role models. Many of the early Mafiusu were land owners, exploiting the families who lived on their lands. Several bandits who became part of the land owners private crew, would involve themselves in stealing catle or extorting shopowners, mineworkers and peasants. However, in turn they offered help and protection to the people granting them respect, worthy of the name 'mafiusi'. Some believe that the Mafia had his origin in the 13th century with the birth of the 'Sicilian Vespers'. In 1282 Sicilian rebels fought against the forces of King Charles I, who had taken over the island with help from the pope in 1266. It is possible that small clans were formed which operated as a resistance against the king, but it has never been proven that these clans actually were dealing with organized crime. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that the first reports about the Mafia were written. Although they had the power to destroy someones live, they also helped poor families to buy food or pay debts and were frequently visited for their advice. This created a band between the Mafiusi and the local inhabitants, some looking up to them and joining the organization. The zero tolerance kept people in line and made them both feared and loved. The Mafia was considered to be more of an attitude and value system than an organization. At the funeral of Calogero Vizzini in 1954 it was stated that his organization was not criminal, but 'stood for the respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character... Love.' Traditions. The Mafia deals about honor & respect. For instance, a low level Mafiosi has no green light to kill a higher member without permission from the bosses. However, one thing makes them equal, the law of 'Omèrta'. Omerta is the code of silence, meaning you don't ever tell anyone outside the organization what's going on. Men who ignore this rule are either forced into a life of hiding or die a vicious death. Even if a widow knows her husbands killer she has to keep her mouth shut as things will be settled within the organization itself. The code has been respected for many years, however there are records about men turning witness ever since the mid 1800's. For example, after a gang of bandits, headed by Antonino Leone and Giuseppe Esposito, had kidnapped an English tourist in 1876, one of their members was caught and provided the police with enough information which led to their arrest. Another example is when Bartolomeo Fontana became a federal witness in 1921, giving up Stefano Magaddino and Vito Bonventre after he had murdered his own friend in their order. Although many times mistaken, Joe Valachi became a witness in 1963 and may have been the most famous turncoat, but sure wasn't the first. Fascist Era and WWII. After Benito Mussolini became Italy's prime minister in 1922, things were about to change for the Sicilian Mafia. Cesare Mori was appointed as Sicily's prefect and was given the task to hunt down Mafiosi. Many men fled abroad towards other European countries and the United States. Amongst them was Joseph Bonnano, the son of a Mafia boss from Castellammare Del Golfo. When Mori was removed from his prosecution task, the Fascist authorities said that the Mafia was defeated. Despite his assault on their brethren,
After Fascism the Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in World War II. In 1943 the Americans called for help to invade Sicily. That help came from a most unsuspected side. Lucky Luciano, a notorious Mafiosi from New York who was imprisoned that time for leading a massive prostitution ring. Because they suspected that Luciano had close ties with mafiosi in Sicily they asked his help to invade the island. Sicilian Mafia bosses such as Giuseppe Genco Russo helped and were afterwards awarded by becomming mayor of their towns. As long as the war lasted Luciano was permitted to run his criminal network from jail, only to be deported back to Italy afterwards. The Mafia in Italy/Sicily today. After 2 bloody Mafia wars (1961-1963 ; 1978-1983) and the murders of anti-Mafia heroes like Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino , Sicily changed for good. The people openly demonstrated against the mafia and hated them for destroying peoples lives. One year later boss of bosses Salvatore Riina, nicknamed The Beast, was arrested. 13 years later his succesor Bernardo Provenzano was also captured after being on the run for about 40 years. In November 2007 yet another succesor was captured, namely Salvatore Lo Piccolo, who was on the run for about 20 years. Due to the many blows the Cosa Nostra had to deal with it lost alot of it's power and influence. Since Tommaso Buscetta became a 'pentiti', many mobsters followed his footsteps and by this betrayed their former associates, friends and collegues from the Mafia. This again resulted in many captures of prominent and important members. Although the Mafia still earns fortunes thanks to extortion, drugs and other crimes, they aren't the strongest criminal organization anymore in the world. Old Italian organizations such as the 'Ndrangheta and the Camorra are heading as top earners in criminal life now. Notable members from the Sicilian Mafia. |Calogero Vizzini||Giuseppe Genco Russo||Michele Navarra||Michele Greco| |Luciano Leggio||Salvatore 'Toto' Riina||Bernardo Provenzano||Vito Cascio Ferro| The Mafia in America Since the mid 1800s and early 1900s many Europeans searched a new life and travelled to America, a land of opportunity and new chances. During 1860 - 1890 most of the Sicilians went to the Louisiana area and in particular New Orleans. It was claimed that this was the cause of the climate which was more in the likes of Sicily than the cold and chilly North of America. But more likely it was because of the geographical isolation from the rest of the United States. During that period a number of gangs operated in the city. It is believed that the Mafia first established in and around New Orleans before stretching its arm to other major city's such as New York and Chicago. By 1890 about 100 murders were connected to Sicilian men. Some prominent Sicilians of that time were Charles Matranga and Joseph Macheca. Many of the clans based in New Orleans extorted the Italian community under the form of Mano Nera (Black Hand) threats. The Black Hand extortion method was a many used and old way of getting money from honest and hard working men around the 1890s until 1919, when Prohibition came along. Notorious Black Handers were Ignazio Saietta and Giuseppe Morelo, who operated in New York mostly during the late 1890s and early 1900's. Prohibition. Ever since alcohol frequently reached the common people and crimes were being pointed out to the cause of drinking,
The Five NY Families. The most famous families are without question the ones from New York. Most books and documentaries about the Mafia will tell you about the creation of these 5 families, because they are the strongest and most important ones in America (In fact, let's not forget the Chicago Outfit). During the mid 1800's New York was allready known for it's many streetgangs. When several Europeans started to move to New York, they tried to find a better life and prosperity, but this wasn't the case for most of them. So many poor men and children got involved in criminal gangs where they could earn easy money. Most of them were seeking a gang with members from their own etnical group. This is were friendships and bounds were made. Slowly gangs would melt together as one and for Italian groups this would eventually lead to 5 major organizations during the mid 1920's. These were: These 5 organizations were all backed by others and allied itself to criminal organization outside New York. The Castellammare organization for example had close ties to Buffalo, Detroit, Philladelphia and Chicago groups. The Castellammarese and the Morello organization would eventually go to war, known as the Castellammare War. This war, which was most likely prefixed by the Castellammarese, would lead to alliances being forged and broken. It was eventually settled when Morello leader Giuseppe Masseria was murdered in 1931. Castellammarese leader Salvatore Maranzano became America's new Boss of Bosses and regrouped the 5 New York organization into his likes: Above all was Salvatore Maranzano. However, his term as boss of bosses wasn't for long as he was murdered only six months after his arch nemesis Masseria. The main suspects for the crime were Charles Luciano and Jewish crime lord Meyer Lansky. Things were settled and no revenge actions would be taken place and peace would be restored. The position of Boss of Bosses was removed, but either how, Luciano was conscidered to be the head chairman of the American Mafia for his part in the Masseria and Maranzano slaying. The 5 families still exist today, although some of them under a new name. Murder, Inc. Murder, Inc. was a Brooklyn organization which by most carried out murders for the Mafia. The gang contained enforcers of Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Vincent Mangano and Louis Buchalter. Most of it's members were Jewish or Italian and operated during the 1920's until the mid 1940's. The main power after the organization was Louis Buchalter, Joe Adonis and Albert 'Mad Hatter' Anastasia. It is said that this organization murderd more than 500 people in and round the United States. Many murders were unsolved so almost nobody was ever convicted of a crime, until Abe Reles became a federal witness in 1940. Due to his testimonies many of his old friends where send to 'old sparky', the electric chair at Sing Sing prison. The name Murder, Inc. was invented by the press in the early 1930s. The Pizza Connection The Pizza Connection was a massive drug network between Sicily and America during the mid 1970's until the mid 1980's. This cooperation brought American and Sicilian Mafia families closer together on a large scale. Both sides were allready involved in drug trafficking for many years, but became dominant after the fall of the French Connection in the early 1970's. For years there was a cooperation with French and Sicilian criminals who for instance smuggled heroin towards Canada where men such as John Papalia made shure it entered the United States. After the end of the French Connection the Mafia had long gotten their own ressources for drugs. Pure heroin from the Middle East and Asia were taken to Turkey where smugglers brought it to the shores of Sicily. Once in Sicily it was manufactured and then shipped towards America and Europe. The Bonanno Family led the entire American operation with Salvatore Catalano and Carmine Galante as key figures. In Sicily the cooperation between the families was going from bad to worse as some became hostile. By the late 1970's families from mainly Palermo raged into war with the Corleonsi of Luciano Leggio and Salvatore Riina. Many, including mob leaders, were murdered during the war. During the mid 1980's the FBI and Italian law enforcements began a big scale crackdown and arrested several mafiosi for their involvment in the drug ring. The trials began in 1985 and ended in 1987, sending leading men such as Gaetano Badalamenti and Catalano to jail. Notable Sicilians from the American Mafia. |Carlo Gambino||Carmine Galante||Charles 'Lucky' Luciano||Gaetano Gagliano||Giuseppe Masseria| |Giuseppe Morello||Ignazio Saietta||Joe Profaci||Joseph Bonanno||Joseph Zerilli||Paul Kelly| |Salvatore D'Aquila||Salvatore Maranzano||Stefano Magaddino| Structure. - |Capo di Tutti Capi|, the Boss of Bosses, who oversees all Mafia families in a country. - |Boss|, the head of a Mafia Family. - |Consigliere|, the adviser, an important man who stays close by the bosses side. - |Underboss|, the second in command who keeps close contact with the capo's. - |Capo|, the captain, who leads a crew of soldiers in a particular neighbourhood. - |Soldier|, a starting position for Italian hoodlums in search for wealth and fame. - |Associates|, mostly men who aren't Italian, but could form an important source of income. Mafia in popular culture. The Mafia has become infamous thanks to lots of movies and books. Who doesn't know movies such as The Godfather or Goodfellas? Many criminals who operated, especially in the prohibition era, had a remarcable life filled with money, women & adventure. Some gangsters, such as Bugsy Siegel, had good contacts with famous Hollywood stars and even shared their bed on occasion with well known actresses. It is even said that Siegel was one of the inventors of Las Vegas. Also Frank Sinatra had his contacts with the Mafia, especially with Lucky Luciano & Sam Giancana. During prohibition one of Harlems most popular night clubs was the Cotton Club, a place where famous black artists such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong rose to prominence. The club was however owned by an English gangster named Owney Madden, who had close connections with Dutch Schultz and Italian Mafia members. The murder of president John F. Kennedy was also a much disputed subject because the Mafia is said to be involved. Carlos Marcello, Jimmy Hoffa & Santo Trafficante were all heared on wiretapes discussing the murder and it's aftermath. It may seem rare, but not that many mobsters faced the death penalty for their crimes. However, some of them were not that fortunate, for instance Harry Strauss(1941) Frank Abbandando(1942) & Lepke Buchalter(1944). Especially the American mob drew allot of attention from the press and not every member liked it. For instance, the burial of North-Side Chicago boss Dion O'Bannion in 1924 drew 5000 people to the spot. Many people are fascinated by their way of living, but there still is a dark side, members of the Mafia are vicious killers and they exploit many honest people, You think of that... |
|
|
