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Italian Mafia
The Mafia (also known as Eduardo's Club) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia[1] during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration (see also Italian diaspora). In North America, the Mafia often refers to Italian organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian organized crime. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory..."[2]
The Sicilian Cosa Nostra is a loose confederation of about one hundred Mafia groups, also called cosche or families, each of which claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city, though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its monopoly of violence. For many years, the power apparatuses of the single families were the sole ruling bodies within the two associations, and they have remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies were created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s (the Sicilian Mafia Commission).[3]
Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, Giuseppe Pitrè, at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."[4]
Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection for the poor and weak. As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, Calogero Vizzini, stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honour, or even social responsibility: an attitude, not an organization. Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso, because that word meant honourable, noble, generous.[5][6]
The Mafia in Italy
The precise origins of the term Mafia are believed by some to originate in the 19th century, while others place it much further back in the history of Italy. Whatever the lexical origins of the term, organised crime has existed in Italy for over one hundred years and is today involved not only in common criminal activities, but also has influence in the Italian government, the judiciary and the political system.
Mafia activities in Italy
The Italian Mafia is perhaps best known for its traditional criminal activities such as extortion and running protection rackets. Today’s Mafia in Italy, however, has become much more sophisticated and has diversified its portfolio of criminal activities. Drug dealing, smuggling, kidnap, people trafficking, prostitution rackets, and the bribery of judges and politicians in Italy are all things that the Mafia deals with. In recent years there have been reports of the younger generation of Mafia leaders in Italy trying to diversify into white collar crime to make more money. Often, the profits of criminal activities carried out by the Italian mafia are re invested in legitimate business enterprises. The Mafia in Italy constitutes a formidable economic force which accounts for approximately 10% of Italy’s GDP. Annual turnover of the Italian Mafia is estimated at around 10 billion Euros.
Organised crime families in Italy
Although the original Mafia in Italy are from Sicily, the problem of organised crime in Italy is something that affects the entire country. Today there are believed to be 4 or 5 main Mafia families operating in Italy and in many cases with criminal enterprises spanning two or three continents. These Mafia families in Italy have up to several thousand members. The main mafia groups in Italy are outlined below.
The Sicilian Mafia in Italy
The Sicilian Mafia is the original mafia in Italy and dates back to the 19th century. The term Mafia is not one that is actually used by members of this crime organisation in Italy. The term cosa nostra or ‘our thing’ is preferred by Sicilian mafia members. Like all mafia groups in Italy, the Sicilian Mafia operates a code of honour and has a strict hierarchical structure. Recruits to the Mafia are sworn in to the family through secret ceremonies, after which point they become mafia members and are expected to stay so for life. The Sicilian mafia is most famous to the outside world because of its branch in America which arose out of mass migration from Sicily in the late 19th century. Inside Italy, The Sicilian mafia is particularly known for its assassinations of high profile figures including police chiefs, judges and politicians.
The Naples Mafia in Italy
The power of the Naples mafia was recently attested to when in 2004 police were literally surrounded and made hostage by a whole neighbourhood when they tried to capture a leader of the Naples Mafia. The Naples Mafia in Italy is known as the Camorra. The origins of the Naples Mafia are believed to date back to the 19th century when it was formed as a prison gang. Over the years inmates were released and began to operate their criminal enterprises in and around Naples. Today there are believed to be about 7000 members of the Naples Mafia who operate in about 100 small families. The criminal activities for which the Naples Mafia is most known are cigarette and drug smuggling as well as counterfeiting.
The Calabria Mafia in Italy
This mafia family in Italy is known as the 'Ndrangheta. The origins of this mafia group date back to the 19th century when a group of Sicilians were expelled from Sicily by the newly formed unified government. These Sicilians settled in the Calabria region and began to form small crime groups. Today the Calabria Mafia is believed to have about 6000 members who are particularly hard to infiltrate because the organisation is based on blood ties and marriage.
The Puglia Mafia
The Puglia Mafia is known as Sacra Corona Unita or SCU which means the sacred united crown. This is the newest of the Mafia groups in Italy and only became known in the 1980’s. It is believed to have originated as a prison gang whose inmates settled in the Puglia region upon release. This Mafia gang collects money from other Mafia families in Italy for landing rights in south east Italy, which is a lucrative enterprise because this is where all the smuggled goods and people from Eastern Europe are most likely to land.
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