Sicilian mafia. The names of the Italian mafiosi are the most famous gangsters 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 uprising of 1282, 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 the 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 completely imprisoned thousands of people indiscriminately as involved in mafia affairs. Of course, such a tough policy has borne fruit for several decades, the mafiosi lay low.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the mafia raised its head again 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 working closely 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 past 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.

"We don't have a mafia!" - so they say in Sicily to a stranger who came to look for traces of Cosa Nostra. And it won't be true. There is a mafia, it has penetrated into politics, business and everyday life of the islanders. The Sicilians do not want and are afraid to talk about it. But still there are those who are ready not only to speak, but also to fight

pizza for pizza

Alfio Russo, 37, accountant from Catania

Each mafia family in Sicily controls its part of the island. In their neighborhoods, they collect a so-called pizza tax from entrepreneurs and shop owners ( pizza comes from the Sicilian word pizza- "beak"; phrase fari vagnari u pizza, i.e. "to wet someone's beak", means "to pay a pizza"). Paying for pizza, people buy themselves protection from the mafia. But from whom? From herself. If you pay it, nothing will happen to your store. If not, one day it may suddenly burn out.

Today, the main problem of the Sicilians is not the mafia at all, but the fact that the mafia mentality has seeped into our daily lives. It takes a long time to open a business in Sicily. The civil servant will put spokes in the wheels, posing as an influential boss. Although his job is to make inquiries. A bribe or a call from the “right person” will speed up the process. And so in everything. To repulse the real mafia, you must first destroy the mafia consciousness in yourself.

sideways cap

Tindara Agnello, 33, director La Coppola Storta

My great aunt was kidnapped by one of the most brutal mafiosi in Sicily, Salvatore Giuliano. As a ransom, he demanded money, jewelry and land holdings. My father received repeated threats from the Cosa Nostra. But he refused to pay for pizza, and 18 years ago he founded a company La Coppola Storta, whose name translates as "a sideways cap". This is the unspoken name of the mafia. The company is engaged in tailoring of koppol - traditional tweed caps that have been worn on the island for more than a hundred years. First, these hats became popular with peasants and drivers, and then with the mafia. Coppola has actually become her symbol. Cosa Nostra even came up with their own secret language using a cap. For example, a coppola lowered over your eyes meant that they did not want to talk to you. Ordinary Sicilians completely stopped wearing coppolas - they didn’t want anything to connect them with the mafia. And my father decided to return this accessory to the people. He opened a manufactory in San Giuseppe Yato, a small town 30 km from Palermo, in the mountains. For decades, Cosa Nostra controlled the entire island from here. Here, by the way, was born Giovanni Brusca, nicknamed the Pig, who in 1992 killed Judge Giovanni Falcone, a well-known fighter against Cosa Nostra.

I was only once given to understand that they want money. Once, when I came to our store in Palermo, I couldn't open the door. They poured glue into the keyhole. This is the first thing the mafia does, hinting that you are not welcome here. Today the mafia does not prevent me from doing business. I think because we have become popular abroad, and the mafia is afraid to draw attention to itself. Now ordinary Sicilians are buying Coppola again. It is even called the symbol of the new Sicily.

Farewell mafia!

Edoardo Zaffuto, 41, co-founder Addiopizzo

In 2004, when we founded our company, about 80% of Sicilian entrepreneurs paid for pizza. Small shops gave monthly 200-300 euros, large - 400-600 euros. Large transport companies paid 2-3% of the profits. And, for example, the mafia asked small fruit merchants in the market to “donate” 10–15 euros to support families whose members were put behind bars. Cosa Nostra does not rob to the skin, but asks for a lifting amount for a person so that he does not complain to the police. Pizza for the mafia is not the main source of income - rather a way to control the territory. The more payers, the stronger its power. Everyone, except for rare daredevils, gave away pizza, fearing for their family and business.

My five friends and I decided to change that. One night we plastered the whole city with posters that said: "Those who pay for pizza are people without dignity." In the morning, all the media were talking about it.

This is how our association was founded. Addiopizzo, i.e. "Goodbye pizza". Within two years, the first hundred companies joined us, and in 2006 we all unanimously declared that we refused to support the mafia. Now there are more than a thousand such companies. Our orange sticker with the association's logo hangs in many cafes, restaurants and hotels. It means the owner refused to pay the mafia. . For tourists, this is a guarantee that when ordering coffee or booking a hotel, they do not fill up a criminal pocket. Headquarters Addiopizzo located in a room that used to belong to the mafia. And now, here in the center of Palermo, young guys are working for free to help ordinary Sicilians fight back.

Today, about 5,000 mafiosi operate in five million Sicily. There is also the so-called gray zone - these are politicians and businessmen who support Cosa Nostra. How many of them, no one really knows. We teach schoolchildren that the mafia is evil. Today's youth find pizza unacceptable, unlike their parents' generation. Now our association includes salespeople, teachers, students, priests and everyone who shares our values. Addiopizzo- this is family. For a long time, the mafia imposed a false idea of family. And I mean real family. Strong. Sicilian.

Despite the relentless use of mafia images by Hollywood that have long become cliches, there are still illegal gangs in the world that control industry, engage in smuggling, cybercrime, and even shape the global economy of countries.

So where are they located and which ones are the most famous in the world?

Yakuza

This is not a myth, they exist and, by the way, were among the first to make significant efforts to help after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The traditional areas of interest of the yakuza are underground gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking, arms and ammunition trafficking, racketeering, the production or sale of counterfeit products, car theft and smuggling. More sophisticated gangsters trade in financial fraud. Members of the group are distinguished by beautiful tattoos, which are usually hidden under clothing.

Mungiki

This is one of the most aggressive sects in Kenya, which arose in 1985 in the settlements of the Kikuyu people in the central part of the country. The Kikuyu gathered their own militia in order to protect the Masai lands from government militants who wanted to crush the resistance of the recalcitrant tribe. The sect, in essence, was a street gang. Later, large detachments were formed in Nairobi, which engaged in racketeering of local transport companies that transport passengers around the city (taxi firms, car parks). Then they switched to garbage collection and disposal. Each slum dweller was also required to pay the representatives of the sect a certain amount in exchange for a quiet life in their own shack.

Russian Mafia

It is officially the most feared organized crime group in the world. Former FBI special agents call the Russian mafia "the most dangerous people on Earth." In the West, the term "Russian mafia" can mean any criminal organization, both Russian itself and from other states of the post-Soviet space, or from the immigration environment in the far abroad. Some get hierarchical tattoos, often use military tactics and perform contract killings.

Hell's Angels

Considered an organized crime group in the United States. This is one of the largest motorcycle clubs in the world (Hells Angels Motorcycle Club), which has an almost mythical history and branches all over the world. According to the legend posted on the official website of the motorcycle club, during the Second World War, the US Air Force had the 303rd heavy bomber squadron with the name "Hell's Angels". After the end of the war and the disbandment of the unit, the pilots were left without work. They believe that their homeland betrayed them and left them to the mercy of fate. They had no choice but to go against their "cruel country, get on motorcycles, join motorcycle clubs and rebel." Along with legal activities (motorcycle dealerships, motorcycle repair shops, sale of goods with symbols), the Hells Angels are known for illegal activities (sale of weapons, drugs, racketeering, prostitution control, and so on).

Sicilian Mafia: La Cosa Nostra

The organization began its activities in the second half of the 19th century, when the Sicilian and American mafia were the strongest. Initially, Cosa Nostra was engaged in the protection (including the most cruel methods) of the owners of orange plantations and nobles who owned large land plots. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had turned into an international criminal group, whose main activity was banditry. The organization has a clear hierarchical structure. Its members often resort to highly ritualistic methods of revenge, and also have a series of elaborate rites of initiation for males into the group. They also have their own code of silence and secrecy.

Albanian mafia

There are 15 clans in Albania that control most of the Albanian organized crime. They keep drug trafficking under their control, they are engaged in trafficking in people and weapons. They also coordinate the supply of large quantities of heroin to Europe.

Serbian mafia

Various criminal gangs based in Serbia and Montenegro, consisting of ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins. Their activities are quite diverse: drug trafficking, smuggling, racketeering, contract killings, gambling and information trafficking. To date, there are about 30-40 active criminal groups in Serbia.

Montreal Mafia Rizzuto

The Rizzuto are a crime family primarily based in Montreal but running the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. They once merged with families in New York, which eventually led to the mafia wars in Montreal in the late 70s. Rizzuto owns hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in different countries. They own hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, construction, food, service and trading companies. In Italy, they own firms for the production of furniture and Italian delicacies.

Mexican drug cartels

Mexican drug cartels have existed for several decades; since the 1970s, certain state structures of Mexico have been assisting their activities. Mexican drug cartels intensified after the collapse in the 1990s of the Colombian drug cartels - Medellin and. It is currently the main foreign supplier of cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine in Mexico, and Mexican drug cartels dominate the wholesale illicit drug market.

Mara Salvatrucha

Slang for "Salvadorian roaming ant brigade" and is often shortened to MS-13. This gang is mainly based in Central America and is based in Los Angeles (although they operate in other parts of North America and Mexico). According to various estimates, the number of this cruel criminal syndicate ranges from 50 to 300 thousand people. Mara Salvatrucha is involved in many types of criminal business, including drug trafficking, arms and human trafficking, robbery, racketeering, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, car theft, money laundering and fraud. A distinctive feature of the members of the group are tattoos all over the body, including on the face and the inside of the lips. They not only show a person's belonging to a gang, but also tell in their details about his criminal biography, influence and status in the community.

Colombian drug cartels

"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 ramified 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 layer 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 liquidation of people, even intervening 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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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