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The mafias impact on america
History of the american mafia
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Those side effects created the perfect environment for the rise of organized crime and the
glory days of the American mafia. "Nothing like it had ever happened before. An entire
American industry- one of the most important in the country- Had been gifted by the government
to gangsters," historian Mike Dash points out in his book The First Family: Terror, Extortion,
Revenge, Murder and The Birth of the American Mafia (268). There was high demand for safe
drinking alcohol and organized crime took advantage of that. By supplying a reliable alternative
to potentially poisoned homemade brews, they made large profits. Using their newfound wealth,
corrupt cops were gathered and paid off to either do their bidding or look the other way.
Entire neighborhoods began to be taken over by them as their influence increased. They further profited from the increased corruption of society at the time with their gambling and prostitution rings. During this time, the large groups in cities like Chicago and New York seemed in many ways to be unstoppable, with the authorities in their pockets and their fighting ability. A prime example of a figure who represents this peak would be Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone. Fierce in business and violence, he ruled of the Chicago underworld. Bill Bryson asserts that, out of all the businessmen in America History, Al Capone was without a doubt one of the best with the estimated income of his organization being at $105 million (409). To put that into perspective, that would be over $1 trillion dollars today. The Prohibition undoubtedly caused this massive explosion in business for America’s organized crime syndicates.
Thomas Reppetto’s book is a solid account of the events that took place between 1880 and 1995. The events are detailed and contain fact and evidence, he uses first hand knowledge, being a former chicago commander of detectives, Reppetto was well equipped to write this book. In American Mafia, and its rise to power, Reppetto shows the different parts of the mafia and their communication with the police and italian civilians. The book starts off showing the worst part of the mob, or mafia, and how bad they truly are. Using examples like how many people they’ve taken out and how they’d be one of the richest fortune 500 companies, ift was legal. The book also has how the police reacted to the crimes, in chapter one, they take you into the lives
John Gotti John Gotti: The American Mobster This is a story about a New York mobster, who was the Godfather of the Gambino Family. Today he is serving a life sentence in Marion Federal Penitentiary on 43 counts of racketeering, multiple murders, loan sharking, gambling, and even jury tampering. John Gotti was born October 27, 1940 in the Bronx. John Gotti had 12 other brothers and sisters.
As more and more immigrants began to spread throughout the US, more and more gangs of people began to emerge. Gangs were usually made up of people of a common ethnicity, whether it be Irish, Italian, or Hispanic. These gangs were usually victims of anti-immigrant policies and looked for strength in numbers. As gangs became more and more sophisticated they realized they could make profits from the power they were accumulating. One of the most recognizable examples is the bootlegging of alcohol during the Prohibition. When federal officials attempted to enforce legislation such as the Volstead Act, there was a surge of illegal sales and profits. In 1927, Al Capone and his gang racked up over $60 million from bootlegged alcohol. With all of this money came tons of violence, people were getting murdered in broad daylight just so others could have a sum of all of this wealth. Soon Mob families would own clubs or casinos to increase their wealth. The attendees weren’t only made up of rich mob bosses, the alcohol, dancing, and gambling attracted many ordinary
South, David. The History of Organized Crime: Secrets of The World’s Most Notorious Gangs. New York: Metro Books, 2013. Print.
Organized crime has developed a stigma regarding its power and influence, especially during its hay day in the 1930’s. The mob has always been viewed as a powerful “family-like” organization. In Scarface, Hawkes brings the mafia into a seemingly more realistic light. By overturning Lovo’s position of power, Tony represents the idea of “every man for himself,” within a supposed organized group. The viewer steps into a cut-throat world of power hungry men, all trying to get rich quick. In this world, Hawkes asks, how can you organize men towards any goal if they all seek personal gain?
This “business” aspect of organized crime is what the movie industry has latched on to in the Gangster genre. In Scarface, Tony Camonte is in the business of selling beer to the town watering holes. Of course, he doesn’t so much sell the beer as force it on the bar owners at jacked up prices. And just like any other business, there is competition for dominance in the market. And for this dominance, or rather monopoly, ringleaders do not think twice about taking their competition out – not by buying them out or forcing them into bankruptcy, but by sending a squad out to murder them.
The story begins as "Don" Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia "family", oversees his daughter's wedding. His beloved son Michael has just come home from the war, but does not intend to become part of his father's business. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer. Being this only request Don Vito has turned down, displease Sollozzo and has the Don shot down. The Don barely survives, which leads ...
Most of the organized crime related activities began due to the addition of the eighteenth amendment, which was the ban of alcohol. The amendment started in the beginning of nineteen twenty making the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol illegal, . aAll in hopes of stopping violence and have no more drunks. What they didn’t know is that it would do the exact opposite … and then some. The economic world was plumeting, and people were loosing their jobs. Many people saw this as another opportunity to start more crime. With theo
Weebly. (2013, 10 23). The Mafia In America. Retrieved 04 20, 2014, from The Mafia: www.the-mafia.weebly.com/index.html
The illegal liquor business, caused by Prohibition, was the start of organized crime in the USA. Many politicians and other officials in all positions became corrupt and criminal. This state remained even after the repeal of the liquor law for a long time.
The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that has great economic and political control over large parts of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have started during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bonds of strong-arm enforcers hired by local landowners. It eventually evolved into a network of independent groups governing in rural areas. With the Sicilian immigration of the late 19th century, the Mafia began to operate in several large United States cities. During the period of Prohibition it monopolized the trade in bootleg liquor and controlled loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Competing Mafia families established mutually recognized territories, reaching agreement by negotiation or by intimidation. By the mid-1930 the Mafia had taken on the institutionalized structure that is now typical of organized crime in the United States.
Mafia. What does this word mean? The actual members of the Mafia aren’t even sure where the word first originated or what it really means. One of the theories as to where the word came from is from Sicily, where people would yell “ Morte alla Francia, Italia anela!” (Death to France, Italy groans!), therefore forming the acronym MAFIA. Others claim the word derived from the battle cry of rebels who slaughtered thousands of Frenchmen after a French soldier raped a Palermo woman on her wedding day. Their slogan echoed her mother’s cry, “Ma fia, Ma fia” (my daughter my daughter). There are other less “glamorous” stories as to where the word originally formed. The most likely reasoning says that it came from the Arabic word mahias, meaning bold man. The American Mafia has become infamous due to its leaders, its method of operation, and its impact on the economy through illegal means.
Peter Maas declares organized crime the “biggest business in the country” (Maas). “The largest and best known organized crime group is the nationwide organization variously known as the ‘syndicate’, the ‘mob’, the ‘Mafia’, and the ‘Cosa Nostra’” (Nash, Jason O-155). Some activities of the Mafia include gambling, loan sharking, pornography, illicit drugs, and racketeering. The Mafia began in Sicily, but did not retain to just that one location. In fact, in the late nineteenth century many of the Sicilian members immigrated to the United States (Nash O-155). The Mafia in the United States contains members that are Americans with Sicilian ancestry (“Mafia” M-48). There are several Mafia groups in the United States. Law enforcement authorities agree that there are around twenty-five groups that operate in large cities across the nation (Nash O-155).
Organized crime in the United States keeps the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in a never-ending investigation of criminals suspected of the infiltration of legitimate businesses. A notorious twentieth century organized group was the New England Patriarca Mafia, or N.E.P.M.. Originating in 1915, the N.E.P.M. evolved over the early twentieth century decades, until 1954 when Raymond Loredo Salvatore Patriarca was donned as boss* and promptly began to expand its power. Due to mafia-related language that will be present throughout the paper, a page of definitions is supplied at the end of the paper. Defined words throughout the paper will be noted with an asterisk, “ * ”.
Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia A history of Its Rise to Power. Edited by John Macrae. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2004.