Mafia Activity in American History
Mafia Activity in American History
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 1800's, 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 heroin, provides the bulk of the Italian Mafia's revenue from Sicily. Cocaine is becoming more important, however, as drug lords from Colombia try to expand beyond the Americas. To gain a foothold in Europe, the Colombians have got to strike deals with the Mafia, which ironically guards its home turf. (273)
Italy in general, has added to the crime list of the Mafia for over 100 years. The famous Al Capone, the Italian-American gangster of the Prohibition era, also known as Scarface because of a knife cut to his cheek. (Nash 79) He was born Alphonse Capone in Naples, Italy, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He left school at an early age and spent nearly ten years "hanging-out" with gangs. In the 1920's he took over a Chicago organization dealing in illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution from the gangster Johnny Torrio. (80) Convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in prison, he was released in 1939. After obtaining syphilis, he went on to reside in Miami Beach, Florida. (80)
Many Italian families are a major influence on the organized crime melting pot. Families such as the Colombo's, the Gambino's, the Bannanno's, and the Luchesse's have migrated from Italy, and play an important role in the organized crime system. (Worsnop 267) The Colombo family, which consists of approximately 100 members is currently led by Victor Orena. Victor is currently acting as boss due to the absence of Carmine Persico, who is serving a prison sentence for racketeering. (268) The Colombo families main activities include loan sharking, gambling, smuggling, and narcotics. This family...