Clans of the Italian mafia names. 13 most famous and daring mafias in the world

Until 1963, the Italian mafia for other countries was something of a myth, even the FBI did not recognize its existence, until some small fry of Cosa Nostra, Joe Valachi, in order to avoid the death penalty, exposed the mafia, setting out in detail all its ins and outs. By the way, later angry mafiosi tried to “sew” a traitor who was in prison until his death for breaking the vow of silence.

We can say that the mafia was a secret society, about which only rumors circulated among the inhabitants, the whole system was covered with a halo of mystery.

After Valachi's confession, the Italian mafia became a truly fashionable phenomenon, its image romanticized in the media, literature and cinema. The most famous book about the Italian mafia, "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, was written 6 years after the exposure, later an entire saga about the Corleone family was filmed based on it. Vito Corleone was based on Joe Bonanno, the godfather of one of the Five Families that control organized crime in New York.

Why did crime families become known as the "mafia"?

What the word "mafia" means, historians still argue. According to one version, it is an abbreviation of the motto of the 1282 uprising, which propagated the slogan: “Death to France! Breathe Italy! (Morte alla Francia Italia Anelia). Unfortunate Sicily was forever besieged by foreign invaders. Others believe that this word appeared only in the 17th century and has an Arabic root meaning "protector", "shelter".

Strictly speaking, the mafia is precisely the Sicilian group; in other parts of Italy and the world, the clans called themselves differently (for example, "Camorra" - in Naples). But with the increase in the influence of the mafia on other regions of Italy and the whole world, the word has become a household word, now they are named after any major criminal organization: Japanese, Russian, Albanian mafias.

A bit of history

under the guise Robin The Goode crime families have protected the poor from pirate raids, foreign aggressors and oppression by feudal lords since the 9th century. The government did not help the peasants, they did not trust foreigners, so the poor had no one to rely on, except for the mafia. And although the mafiosi also took a considerable bribe from them and imposed their own laws, they were still in order and protected.

The mafia was finally formed as an organization in the 19th century, and the peasants themselves put criminals on the throne, not wanting to obey the exploiters who ruled at that time - the Bourbons. So in 1861 the mafia officially became a political force. They got into parliament and got the opportunity to control the political situation in the country, and the mafiosi themselves turned into a kind of aristocracy.

Once the mafia extended its influence only to agriculture. But already at the beginning of the 20th century, mafiosi began to actively intervene in city affairs, helping this or that deputy win elections, for which he generously rewarded them. Now the influence of the mafia has spread to continental Italy.

Maybe the mafiosi would have lived without knowing anyone's refusal, swimming in money and enjoying unlimited power, but in 1922 the Nazis came to power. The dictator Mussolini did not tolerate the mafia as a second power, and then indiscriminately imprisoned thousands of people as involved in mafia affairs. Of course, such a tough policy bore fruit for several decades, the mafiosi lay low.

In the 50s and 60s, the mafia again raised its head and the Italian government had to start an official fight against crime, a special body was created - the Antimafia.

And the mafiosi have turned into real businessmen. Most often, they acted on the principle of an iceberg: legal low-budget activities are at the top, and a whole block is hidden under the water, drug trafficking, “protection” of a business or prostitution. Thus, money is laundered to this day. Over time, many families have developed the legal part of the business so much that they have become successful entrepreneurs in the restaurant business and the food industry.

In the 1980s, a brutal clan war began, in which so many people died that the new generation of mafiosi preferred to engage in only legal business, while maintaining mutual responsibility and other signs of a secret organization.

But do not think that the Italian mafia is living out its last days. In March 2000, a scandal erupted in Italy: the police had to arrest several Sicilian judges suspected of close collaboration with the mafia.

Although the mafiosi were partially legalized, they did not leave the stage at all. In southern Italy, it is still impossible to open a business without enlisting the support of local authorities. In the last 10 years, the Italian government has been actively fighting the mafia, carrying out "cleansing" and removing mafiosi from key positions.

How mafiosi ended up in America

Due to terrible impoverishment, from 1872 until the First World War, Sicilians emigrated in droves to America. Luckily for them, Prohibition was just introduced there, which helped them develop their illegal business and accumulate capital. The Sicilians completely recreated their order on the new land and earned so much that their total income was several times higher than the income of the largest American firms. American and Italian mafiosi never lost contact with each other and faithfully kept common traditions.

In America, organized crime that came out of Sicily is called " Cosa Nostra"(in Italian it means" our business "- they say, do not poke your nose into someone else's question). Now the entire Sicilian mafia is often collectively called "Cosa Nostra". This name is also given to one of the Sicilian clans that returned home from America.

The structure of the Italian mafia

The boss or godfather is the head of the family. Information about all the affairs of his family and the plans of enemies flocks to him. The boss is elected by voting.

The underboss is the first deputy godfather. It is appointed solely by the boss himself and is responsible for the actions of all capos.

The consigliere is the family's chief adviser, whom the boss can fully trust.

A caporegime or capo is the head of a "team" that operates in a single family-controlled area. Teams are required to give the boss a portion of their earnings each month.

The soldier is the youngest member of the family, who was recently "introduced" into the organization. Teams of up to 10 people are formed from the soldiers, controlled by a kapo.

An accomplice is a person who has a certain status in mafia circles, but is not yet considered a member of the family. Can act, for example, as an intermediary in the sale of drugs.

Laws and traditions honored by mafiosi

In 2007, Salvador's influential godfather Lo Piccolo was arrested in Italy and a secret document called "The Ten Commandments of Cosa Nostra" was seized. Basically from it we know the traditions of the Italian mafia.

• Each group "works" in a certain area and other families should not go there.
• Initiation ritual for newcomers: a recruit's finger is wounded and the icon is poured with his blood. He takes the icon in his hand, and it is lit. The beginner must endure the pain until the icon burns. At the same time, he says: "Let my flesh burn, like this saint, if I break the laws of the mafia."
• The family cannot include: policemen and those who have policemen among their relatives; that, whocheating on his wife or among his relatives there are those whochange spouses; as well as people who violated the laws of honor.
• Family members respect their wives and never look at the wives of their friends.
• Omerta is the mutual responsibility of all members of the clan. Joining the organization is for life, no one can get out of business. At the same time, the organization is responsible for each of its members, if someone offended him, she and only she will administer justice.
• For an insult, it is supposed to kill the offender.
• The death of a family member is an insult that is washed away in blood. Bloody revenge for a loved one is called "vendetta".
• The kiss of death is a special signal given by mafia bosses or kapos, which means that this family member has become a traitor and must be killed.
• Code of silence - a ban on revealing the secrets of the organization.
• Betrayal is punishable by the murder of the traitor and all his relatives.

Contrary to the established ideas about the mafia, the “code of honor” is often violated: mutual betrayals, denunciations of each other to the police are no longer a rarity today.

In conclusion, let's say...

Despite the seemingly fabulous wealth of mafia leaders, it is mostly poverty from the Italian south that dreams of such a career. After all, this is a very dangerous business and, on closer examination, is not so profitable. After unfastening all the bribes, confiscating some of the illegal goods by the police, constantly spending money to protect yourself and your family - there is not much left. Many mafiosi are killed stupidly in banal drug deals. Today, not everyone can live according to the laws of honor, and the way back, contrary to the assurances of American melodramas such as Blue-Eyed Mickey, is no longer the case.

The world has long been fighting the state against criminal clans, but the mafia is still alive. Currently, there are many criminal gangs, each of which has its own boss and mastermind. Criminal authorities often feel unpunished and create real criminal empires, intimidating civilians and government officials. They live by their own laws, the violation of which often leads to death. This article presents 10 famous mafiosi who really left a noticeable mark on the history of the mafia.

1. Al Capone

Al Capone was a legend in the underworld of the 30s and 40s. of the last century and is still considered the most famous mafia in history. The authoritative Al Capone inspired fear in everyone, including the government. This American gangster of Italian origin developed a gambling business, was engaged in bootlegging, racketeering, and drugs. It was he who introduced the concept of racketeering.

When the family moved to the US in search of a better life, he had to work hard. He worked in a pharmacy and a bowling alley, and even in a candy store. However, Al Capone was attracted to the nocturnal lifestyle. At 19, while working at a pool club, he made a cheeky comment about the wife of felon Frank Galuccio. After the ensuing fight and stabbing, he was left with a scar on his left cheek. Daring Al Capone learned to skillfully handle knives and was invited to the "Gang of Five Trunks". Known for his brutality in the massacre of competitors, he organized the Massacre on Valentine's Day, when, on his orders, seven tough mafiosi from the Bugs Moran group were shot dead.
His cunning helped him get out and avoid punishment for his crimes. The only thing he was jailed for was tax evasion. After leaving prison, where he spent 5 years, his health was undermined. He contracted syphilis from one of the prostitutes and died at the age of 48.

2. Lucky Luciano

Charles Luciano, born in Sicily, moved with his family to America in search of a decent life. Over time, he became a symbol of crime and one of the toughest gangsters in history. Since childhood, street punks have become a comfortable environment for him. He actively distributed drugs and at the age of 18 he went to prison. During the prohibition of alcohol in the United States, he was a member of the Gang of Four and was involved in the smuggling of alcohol. He was a poor immigrant, like his friends, and ended up making millions of dollars in crime. Lucky organized a group of bootleggers, the so-called "Big Seven" and defended it from the authorities.

Later, he became the leader of the Cosa Nostra and controlled all areas of activity in the criminal environment. Maranzano's gangsters tried to find out where he was hiding drugs and for this they tricked him into taking him to the highway, where they tortured, cut and beat him. Luciano kept the secret. The bloody body with no signs of life was thrown to the side of the road and after 8 hours it was found by a police patrol. In the hospital, he received 60 stitches and saved his life. After that, they began to call him Lucky. (Lucky).

3. Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar is the most famous brutal Colombian drug lord. He created a real drug empire and established the supply of cocaine around the world on a huge scale. The young Escobar grew up in the poor areas of Medellin and began his illegal activities by stealing tombstones and reselling them to resellers with erased inscriptions. In addition, he sought to earn easy money on the sale of drugs and cigarettes, as well as forging lottery tickets. Later, theft of expensive cars, racketeering, robberies and kidnappings were added to the scope of criminal activity.

At 22, Escobar has already become a famous authority in poor neighborhoods. The poor supported him as he built cheap housing for them. Becoming the head of a drug cartel, he earned billions. In 1989, his fortune was more than 15 billion. During his criminal activities, he was involved in the murders of more than a thousand policemen, journalists, several hundred judges and prosecutors, various officials.

4. John Gotti

John Gotti was known to everyone in New York. He was called the "Teflon Don", because all the accusations miraculously flew away from him, leaving him unstained. This was a very quirky mobster who worked his way from the bottom to the very top of the Gambino family. Due to his bright and elegant style, he also received the nickname "Elegant Don". During the management of the family, he was engaged in typical criminal cases: racketeering, theft, carjacking, murders. The right hand of the boss in all crimes has always been his friend Salvatore Gravano. In the end, this was a fatal mistake for John Gotti. In 1992, Salvatore began to cooperate with the FBI, testified against Gotti and sent him to prison for life. In 2002, John Gotti died in prison from throat cancer.

5. Carlo Gambino

Gambino is a Sicilian gangster who led one of the most powerful crime families in America and led it until his death. As a teenager, he began to steal and engage in extortion. Later switched to bootlegging. When he became the boss of the Gambino family, he made it the richest and most powerful by controlling such lucrative properties as the state port and airport. During its dawn of power, the Gambino criminal group consisted of more than 40 teams, and controlled the major cities of America (New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and others). Gambino did not welcome drug dealing by members of his group, as he considered it a dangerous business that attracted a lot of attention.

6. Meir Lansky

Meir Lansky is a Jew born in Belarus. At the age of 9 he moved with his family to New York. From childhood, he became friends with Charles "Lucky" Luciano, which predetermined his fate. For decades, Meir Lansky has been one of America's most important crime bosses. During Prohibition in America, he was involved in the illegal transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages. Later, the "National Crime Syndicate" was created and a network of underground bars and bookmakers was opened. For many years, Meir Lansky developed a gambling empire in the United States. In the end, tired of the constant supervision of the police, he leaves for Israel on a visa for 2 years. The FBI wanted him extradited. At the expiration of the visa, he wants to move to another state, but no one accepts him. He returns to the US, where he is awaiting trial. The charges were dropped, but the passport was cancelled. In recent years, he lived in Miami and died in a hospital from cancer.

7. Joseph Bonanno

This mafioso occupied a special place in the criminal world of America. At the age of 15, the Sicilian boy was left an orphan. Illegally moved to the United States, where he quickly joined the criminal circles. Created and ran the powerful Bonanno crime family for 30 years. Over time, he began to be called "Banana Joe". Having achieved the status of the richest mafioso in history, he voluntarily retired. He wanted to live the rest of his life in peace in his own luxurious mansion. For a while, he was forgotten by everyone. But the release of the autobiography was an unprecedented act for the mafiosi and again riveted attention to him. They even put him in jail for a year. Joseph Bonanno died at the age of 97, surrounded by relatives.

8. Alberto Anastasia

Albert Anastasia was called the head of the Gambino, one of the 5 mafia clans. He was nicknamed the Chief Executioner because his faction Murder, Inc. was responsible for over 600 deaths. He hasn't been in jail for any of them. When a case was brought against him, it was not clear where the main witnesses for the prosecution disappeared. Alberto Anastasia liked to get rid of witnesses. He called Lucky Luciano his teacher and was devoted to him. Anastasia carried out assassinations of the leaders of other criminal groups on Lucky's order. However, in 1957, Albert Anastasia himself was killed in a barbershop by order of his competitors.

9. Vincent Gigante

Vincent Gigante is a well-known authority among mafiosi who controlled crime in New York and other major American cities. He left school in the 9th grade and switched to boxing. He got into a criminal group at the age of 17. Since then, his ascent in the underworld began. First he became a godfather, and then a consoler (advisor). Since 1981, he became the leader of the Genovese family. Vincent was nicknamed "The Nutty Boss" and "King of Pajamas" for his inappropriate behavior and walking around New York in a bathrobe. It was a simulation of a mental disorder.
For 40 years he avoided prison by pretending to be crazy. In 1997, he was nevertheless sentenced to 12 years. Even while in prison, he continued to give instructions to members of the criminal gang through his son Vincent Esposito. In 2005, the mafioso died in prison from heart problems.

10. Heriberto Lazcano

For a long time, Heriberto Lazcano was on the list of wanted and most dangerous criminals in Mexico. From the age of 17 he served in the Mexican army and in a special squad to combat drug cartels. After a couple of years, he went over to the side of drug gangsters when he was recruited by the Gulf cartel. After a while, he became the leader of one of the largest and most authoritative drug cartels - Los Zetas. Due to his boundless cruelty against competitors, bloody murders against officials, public figures, police and civilians (including women and children), he was nicknamed the Executioner. More than 47,000 people died as a result of massacres. When Heriberto Lazcano was assassinated in 2012, all of Mexico breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cosa Nostra" - these words made every inhabitant of the sunny island shudder. Entire family clans were involved in criminal mafia groups. Sicily, this flowering garden, grew on rivers of blood. The Sicilian mafia has spread its tentacles throughout Italy, and even the American godfathers have been forced to reckon with it.

After returning from the south of Italy, I shared my impressions with one of my friends. When I said that I didn’t manage to get to Sicily, I heard in response: “Well, for the better, because there is a mafia!”

Unfortunately, the sad glory of the island washed by the waters of three seas is such that its name conjures up not amazing landscapes and unique cultural monuments, not centuries-old traditions of the people, but a mysterious criminal organization that has entangled, like a web, all spheres of society. Famous films contributed a lot to this idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba "criminal syndicate": about Commissioner Cattani, who fell in an unequal battle with the "octopus", or about the "godfather" Don Corleone, who moved to America from the same Sicily. In addition, the echoes of high-profile trials of mafia leaders in the 80s and 90s, when the fight against organized crime in Italy reached its climax, have reached us. However, no success of the authorities and the police in this endeavor can change the postulate that has taken root in the minds of society: "The Mafia is immortal." Is it really?

It is generally accepted that the mafia is a fairly complex branched criminal organization with its own strict laws and traditions, whose history goes back to the Middle Ages. In those distant times, people armed with swords and lances, hiding their faces under hoods, were hiding in the underground galleries of Palermo - members of the mysterious religious sect "Beati Paoli". The very name "mafia" appeared in the XVII century. It is assumed that the word is based on an Arabic root meaning "protection"; there are also other interpretations of it - “asylum”, “poverty”, “secret murder”, “witch” ... In the 19th century, the mafia was a brotherhood that protected “unfortunate Sicilians from foreign exploiters”, in particular, from time of the Bourbons. The struggle ended with a revolution in 1860, but the peasants, instead of their former oppressors, found new ones in the person of their compatriots. Moreover, the latter managed to introduce into the life of Sicilian society the relations and code of conduct that had developed in the bowels of a secret terrorist organization. The criminal orientation quickly became the cornerstone of the “brotherhood”, the corruption with which it allegedly fought was in fact the basis of its existence, mutual assistance turned into mutual responsibility.

Skillfully using the distrust of the official authorities, traditional for the population of the region, the mafia formed an alternative government, practically replacing the state where it could act more effectively, for example, in such an area as justice. The mafia undertook to solve any problems of the peasant, and - at first glance - for free. And the poor turned to her for protection, which the state could not provide them. The peasants did not think that someday it would be their turn to render services to their patron. As a result, each village had its own mafia clan, which administered its own court. And the widespread myth of a secret, centralized and branched organization with a thousand-year history greatly contributed to strengthening the authority of such clans as its "local divisions".

Palermo Airport bears the names of Falcone and Borsellino, who have become a legend in today's Italy. Prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and his successor Paolo Borsellino did their best to rid Sicily of the Mafia. Falcone became the prototype of the famous Commissioner of Catania.

1861 - an important milestone in the history of the mafia - it became a real political force. Relying on the poor population of Sicily, the organization managed to nominate its candidates to the Italian parliament. By buying or intimidating other deputies, the mafia was able to largely control the political situation in the country, and the mafiosi, still relying on grassroots criminal structures, turned into respectable members of society, claiming a place in its upper class. The researchers compare the Italian society of that time with “a layered cake, in which the connections between the layers were carried out not by official representatives, but by informal ones, i.e. mafia soldiers. Moreover, without denying the criminal nature of such a state structure, many of them recognize it as quite rational. In the book of Norman Lewis, for example, you can read that in the “mafia” Palermo, a housewife could easily forget her handbag on a table in a bar, because the next day she would certainly find it in the same place.

The authorities of Palermo have developed a program to combat the mafia, which they called the "Sicilian cart". "Sicilian cart" two-wheeled. One wheel - repression: police, court, special services. The other wheel is culture: theater, religion, school.

Nevertheless, the new, "legal" mafia could not save the south of Italy from terrible impoverishment, as a result of which, between 1872 and the First World War, about 1.5 million Sicilians emigrated, mainly to America. Prohibition served as a fertile ground for illegal business and capital accumulation, the former members of the brotherhood reunited and successfully recreated their usual way of life on a foreign land - this is how Cosa Nostra was born (originally this name was used to refer specifically to the American mafia, although now so often called Sicilian).

In Italy, the mafia continued to be a state within a state until the Nazis came to power in 1922. Like any dictator, Benito Mussolini could not reconcile himself to the existence of any alternative power structures, even informal and perverted ones. In 1925, Mussolini deprives the mafia of its main instrument of political influence by canceling the elections, and then decides to finally bring the organization objectionable to the regime to its knees and sends a special prefect, Cesare Mori, to Sicily, endowing him with unlimited powers. Thousands of people were thrown into prison without sufficient evidence; sometimes, in order to capture the "godfathers", sieges of entire cities were announced, but Mori's tough tactics bore fruit - many mafiosi were imprisoned or killed, and in 1927, not without reason, victory over organized crime was announced. In fact, the fascist party itself began to play the role of the mafia as a guarantor of public order in Sicily and an intermediary between the government and the peasants.

The most "mafia" Sicilian sweetness is cannoli, waffle rolls with a sweet filling. They eat them all the time at The Godfather. Another Sicilian dessert is cassata, an almond-based cake. And the tourist town of Erice specializes in vegetables and fruits made from colored marzipan.

Those influential mafiosi who managed to escape Mori's persecution found refuge in the United States. However, here, too, the free life of Cosa Nostra was violated: first, by the abolition of Prohibition in 1933, which dealt a blow to the mafia's business, and then by quite successful, although not always legal, actions of the state against the most odious figures of the criminal organization. For example, the infamous Al Capone was imprisoned for 11 years for tax evasion, and another "America's greatest gangster", John Dillinger, was simply shot dead by federal agents when he left the cinema. However, the end of the Second World War was approaching, and the idea of ​​using the authority of the heads of organized crime in the capture of Sicily seemed tempting to the Allies. The "boss of bosses" of the latter, Lucky Luciano, who was sentenced by a US court to 35 years in prison, acted as an intermediary between the Sicilian and American mafias. The replacement of this punishment with deportation to Rome was, apparently, a good incentive for him - Luciano agreed with the Italian "colleagues" to assist the Allies in landing on Sicily, and the inhabitants of the island met the British and American troops as liberators.

However, there has never been a case where society did not have to pay for the services of the mafia. Almost brought to her knees, she suddenly had the opportunity to be reborn in a new capacity. The dons who distinguished themselves most in the fight against the fascists were appointed mayors in the main cities of Sicily, the mafia managed to replenish its arsenal at the expense of the Italian army, a thousand mafiosi who helped the allied forces were amnestied under a peace treaty. The Sicilian mafia has strengthened its position at home, strengthened ties with its American "sister" and, moreover, significantly expanded its possessions - both territorially (penetrating Milan and Naples, previously untouched by it), and in the sphere of its criminal business. Since the late 50s, the heads of the Sicilian organization have become the main suppliers of heroin to America.

The beginning of this was laid by the same Lucky Luciano, who, by the way, lived to a ripe old age and died of a heart attack almost during a meeting with an American director who was going to make a film about his life. The efforts of his followers were directed both to the drug trade and to establishing links between the mafia and politicians. How much they have succeeded in this over the past decades can be judged by the report of the Italian Anti-Mafia Commission: “Numerous interrelations have formed between mafiosi, businessmen and individual politicians, which have led to the fact that public authorities have fallen into an extremely humiliated position .. The mafia often resorted to threats or direct physical elimination of people, even interfering in political issues, since the fate of the entire business, the income of the mafia and the influence of its individual representatives depended on them.

Thus, the impression was created that nothing threatened the well-being of the mafia. But this is not entirely true - the danger lay within the organization itself. The structural structure of the mafia is well known: at the top of the pyramid is the head (capo), near which there is always an adviser (consigliere), the heads of departments (caporegime), who control ordinary performers (picciotti), are directly subordinate to the head. In the Sicilian mafia, its cells-detachments (kosci) consist of blood relatives. Koskis under the leadership of one don are united in a consortium (family), and all the consortia together make up the mafia. However, the romantic version of an organization united by common goals becomes nothing more than a myth when it comes to big money.

The ritual of initiation into the Sicilian mafia is that the newcomer's finger is wounded and his blood is shed on the icon. He takes the icon in his hand, and it is lit. A beginner must endure the pain until it burns out. At the same time, he must say: "Let my flesh burn like this saint if I break the rules of the mafia."

Each consortium has its own interests, often very different from those of the rest of the Mafia. Sometimes the heads of families manage to agree among themselves on the division of spheres of influence, but this does not always happen, and then society becomes a witness to bloody wars between mafia clans, as was the case, for example, in the early 80s. The response to the drug trade that led to this terrible massacre was a government anti-mafia campaign, and the mafia, in turn, instituted terror, the victims of which were high-ranking officials, politicians and law enforcement officers. In particular, in 1982, General Della Chisa was killed, who began to dig up mafia scams in the construction industry and became interested in the question of who protects it in the government. 10 years later, the chief mafioso Tommaso Buschetta, who was arrested in Brazil, said that Giulio Andreotti, who served seven times as prime minister, ordered the clan to kill Della Chisa. Buscetta is also the author of the so-called "Buscetta theorem", according to which the mafia is a single organization based on a strict hierarchy, with its own laws and specific comprehensive plans. This “theorem” was firmly believed by the anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, who back in the 80s conducted a series of investigations, as a result of which hundreds of mafiosi were brought to trial.

After the arrest of Buscetta, Falcone, relying on his testimony, was able to start several "high-profile cases" against them. The judge vowed to devote his whole life to the fight against the "curse of Sicily", was sure that "the mafia has a beginning and an end", and sought to get to its leaders. Falcone created something like a committee to combat the mafia, the success of which was so obvious that the committee was ... dissolved by the authorities, dissatisfied with his authority and fame, and possibly fearing exposure. Slandered, left alone, Falcone left Palermo, and in May 1992, along with his wife, fell victim to a terrorist attack. However, the murder of Giovanni Falcone and another judge who fought against the mafia - Paolo Borselino - forced the Italian public to wake up. The mafia has largely lost its former support of the population. The “omerta” law, which surrounded the organization with a veil of silence, was violated, and a lot of “peniti” (repentant), i.e. defectors who refused mafia activities gave evidence, which made it possible to send dozens of important dons to jail. However, the old generation of gangsters, forced to retreat into the shadows, was replaced by a young one, ready to fight both the legitimate authorities and their predecessors...

So, the fight against organized crime, which was carried out with varying success throughout the 20th century, continues to this day. The mafia sometimes "changes its skin", always retaining its essence of a criminal terrorist organization. It is invulnerable as long as the official institutions of power remain ineffective and officials remain corrupt and selfish. In fact, the mafia is an exaggerated reflection of the vices of the whole society, and until society has found the courage to fight its own vices, the mafia can still be called immortal.

Meet the Italian mafia. How Cosa Nostra and its godbrothers live today

Ask the average person what he knows about Italy, and the first thing he will answer is that there is a mafia in this country. In the public consciousness of millions of people around the world, a stereotype has taken root, in which the mafia and Italy are inextricably linked. Naturally, in reality this is far from the case. However, the influence of organized crime on the economic, social and political life of the country, especially the south, is still great.

In recent years, not a month, or even a week, has passed without the world media reporting another mass arrest of members of Italian criminal groups. However, despite the numerous arrests of mafiosi, the activities of criminal communities in the country are still quite large. It is believed that they control more than a third of the shadow business in the state, and their income is in the tens of billions of euros. For example, last year the total income of the mafia amounted to an amount equivalent to almost 7% of Italy's GDP. Only the amount of funds confiscated from criminals during this period exceeds 5 billion euros.

It should be noted that the very name "mafia" in relation to all Italian organized criminal groups is not entirely correct. This is also one of the stereotypes that have developed in the public mind. This word became widespread in the middle of the century before last, when the theater of Sicilian Palermo hosted the play "Mafiosi from the Vicegerency", which was very popular with the audience. The history of the origin of this word is rich. There are dozens of possible versions of its appearance. Meanwhile, as historians studying the problems of organized crime in Italy have established, only organized crime on the island of Sicily is called the mafia. It is better known under the name "Cosa Nostra". Usually, when experts talk about the Italian mafia, they first of all mean it.

In recent years, the authority of Cosa Nostra and its influence among the Italian criminal community have been significantly undermined. In the early 2000s, the authorities managed to achieve some success in the fight against this group - dozens of key figures in its hierarchy were arrested. In this regard, the structure of the organization has changed significantly. If earlier it was a centralized organization with one boss at the head, now it is led by a directory of 4-7 heads of families, who, due to the opposition of law enforcement agencies, can only very rarely meet with each other to resolve strategic issues. (It should be noted that the family this case- This is a mafia group, not necessarily related by blood ties, that controls a part of the territory, usually a village or city block.)

Against this background, criminal communities from continental Italy are gaining more and more power. These are the Calabrian Ndragetta, whose members were involved in the massacre in Duisburg, Germany in August 2007, and the Neapolitan Camorra, whose members are the main culprits of the garbage crisis in Naples. Gradually gaining weight and Apulian "Sacra Korona Unita" (Sakra Korona Unita). This group arose only in the early 1980s, but has already fully managed to earn the respect of other criminal communities.

The main area of ​​activity of criminal groups in Italy is the smuggling of drugs, weapons and alcohol, gambling and construction, racketeering, money laundering and prostitution control. A distinctive feature and the key to the successful operation of the mafia is considered to be high cohesion and organization. However, this did not prevent the clan war that arose in the early 1980s, when colleagues in the criminal business mercilessly cracked down on each other. Then hundreds of people became victims of the armed confrontation, including those who were not involved in the world of crime.

By the early 1990s, tired of the bloodshed, the criminals decided to go into legal business. Now, not without success, they are gaining more and more influence in the judiciary and government bodies. It is known that hundreds of Italian politicians of various levels, policemen, judges, prosecutors and lawyers are now on the payroll of criminal communities. However, this state of affairs was in previous years, however, there were much more victims of criminal showdowns then, and the public could only guess about the connections of the mafia with politicians. Law enforcement agencies did not have a legal opportunity to send criminals to jail.

The fact is that for decades the basis for the longevity of criminal communities in Italy was the unconditional adherence of all members of the mafia to the vow of silence (“omerte”). It was impossible for the police to get any information from the detained criminals. In case of violation of the vow, the traitor and all his relatives were threatened with death at the hands of the mafia. However, in the mid-1980s, this principle was violated and hundreds of criminals were sent to jail. Today, many bandits detained by law enforcement agencies willingly become their informants, receiving protection from the authorities in exchange for information for themselves and their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the final advantage in the direction of the state in the matter of its confrontation with the mafia is still not observed. According to the Italian intelligence services, approximately 250,000 people are involved in organized crime in southern Italy.

Only in "Cosa Nostra" there are up to 5 thousand active members. Tens of thousands are its supporters, and 70% of Sicilian entrepreneurs still pay tribute to the mafia.

The Calabrian "Ndragetta", which is now one of the most influential criminal organizations not only in Italy but also in the world, consists of 155 groups and has about 6 thousand militants. Ndragheta, unlike Cosa Nostra, has a horizontal structure, so it does not have any pronounced leader. In fact, each family exercises complete control over its territory.

The Neapolitan Camorra is organized according to a similar principle, whose history goes back more than one hundred years. It consists of 111 families and has almost 7 thousand members. The criminal activity of the Camorra threatens stability in southern Italy so much that government troops were sent to Naples in 2008, as in 1994 to Sicily, to counteract it.

The Sacra Corona Unita appeared in 1981. Currently, it includes 47 families and more than 1.5 thousand people. Its organizational structure is also similar to that of the Ndragheta. Italian organized crime fighters note that special friendly relations have long existed between the leading criminal groups. At the same time, they successfully cooperate with criminal communities in almost all countries of Europe and America. For example, the Ndragetta is doing a successful business with Colombian drug lords.

And yet, despite the existence of the mafia, the level of tension in Italian society has now become noticeably lower than in previous decades. Since the early 1990s, when the mafia moved from armed confrontation to a less aggressive strategy, the media and politicians have turned to other issues. The country's authorities no longer pass laws against the mafia, although hundreds of its members have been arrested in recent years. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was suspected of having links with the mafia back in the early 1990s, promises to put an end to this phenomenon. It should be noted that only the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the 1920s was able to defeat the mafia in Italy in the entire history of its existence. However, despite this, having survived numerous metamorphoses, she was reborn and became even stronger and stronger than she was.

Despite the local victories of the authorities, hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Italy seem to have come to terms with life under the rule of the mafia. This means that the authorities of the country still have a lot to do in order to finally remove this phenomenon from the life of the country. But will the Italian rulers have enough patience, will and courage for this?

If you ask which state is the birthplace of the mafia from the first person you meet, then even the uninformed will give the right answer without much thought: Italy. This country can actually be called the “flower garden” of the mafia, which has become one of the favorite topics in history and cinema textbooks.

It cannot be said that the mafiosi have done something positive and outstanding, but many still admire the unsurpassed talent of the most famous criminals, most of whom, of course, have Italian roots.

Al Capone (Al 'Capone), of course, this name is "on hearing" not only in the sunniest country located on the Apennine Peninsula, but throughout the world. The name of the infamous gangster is probably the most recognizable. And no wonder: several films were made about Capone, the most popular of which was the 1987 film The Untouchables with Robert De Niro in the title role.

Born in Brooklyn in 1889, after his family had migrated to the United States, the story of the notorious mobster begins in 1919, when he entered the service of Johnny Torii. In 1925, he became head of the Torii family, and since then, his "criminal" career has skyrocketed. Soon, Capone was no longer afraid of anyone and nothing: his people were engaged in gambling, drug sales and prostitution. He earned a reputation as an honest, intelligent, but endlessly cruel man.

One need only recall the famous massacre on Valentine's Day, when a group led by a gangster destroyed many mafia leaders.

When the police were lucky enough to detain the great criminal, they simply could not show him anything other than tax evasion. However, in the end, Al Capone still ended up behind bars: he was in the famous Alcatraz prison, from where he came out seven years later with a fatal illness and soon died.

• We recommend reading about:

Bernardo Provenzano

Bernardo Provenzano, a native of a small village that is located on, was simply destined to become one of the members of the group of the same name. Already in his youth, he got into the Corleone clan, and after a couple of years he already killed several people and turned a lot of illegal deals. For 10 years, the name Provenzano hung in police stations at the Wanted stand, but the local carabinieri did not even try to find this dangerous criminal. Meanwhile, he continued to move up the career ladder and gain authority for himself. It was rumored that Provenzano for some time controlled the entire illegal business in Palermo, from the sale of drugs to prostitution. He was known for his intransigence and stubbornness, for which he received the nickname Bulldozer.

Many years later, the police managed to detain the criminal: they saw a thin old man in ordinary jeans and a T-shirt. Provenzano will spend the rest of his days in prison.

• We recommend a trip to Sicily:

Albert Anastasia

Like many of his other colleagues, Albert Anastasia was born in sunny Italy (the city of Tropea), but soon after birth he migrated with his parents to America. The first time he went to prison was when he was a teenager, when he killed a longshoreman in Brooklyn. He was sentenced to several years, but after some time the main witness in the Anastasia case died under mysterious circumstances, and the criminal himself was released.

Albert Anastasia has made a name for himself as one of America's most ruthless killers.

He was in the Masseria gang, but over time he went over to the side of his boss's competitors, and after a couple of years he was completely present at the murder of his former boss. After that, Anastasia became the head of a gang of highly professional killers "Murder Inc.", the Gambino clan. Police say the group was involved in at least 400 deaths. The killer himself was killed by order of one of the American mafiosi.

↘️🇮🇹 USEFUL ARTICLES AND SITES 🇮🇹↙️ SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS