List of criminal organizations
This page is a list of criminal organizations, including organized crime groups, criminal gangs, or other organizations who engage in such activities for either profit or funding (such as certain terrorist groups).
Drug cartels
Colombian drug cartels
Medellín Cartel
Cali Cartel
Norte del Valle Cartel
Black Eagles
North Coast Cartel
Mexican drug cartels
Juárez Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
Los Negros
Tijuana Cartel
Gulf Cartel
Los Zetas
Guadalajara Cartel
Sonora Cartel
Colima cartel
Golden Triangle drug cartels
Khun Sa cartel
Golden Crescent drug cartels
Noorzai cartel
Quirino Organization
French Connection
Organized crime groups
Italian-American Mafia crime families
See also List of Mafia crime families
Five Families of New York
Bonnano
Colombo
Genovese
Palma Boys Crew
Gambino
The Ozone Park Boys
DeMeo Crew
Lucchese
The Jersey Crew
The Vario Crew
Buffalo crime family
Rochester Crime Family
DeCavalcante crime family (New Jersey)
The Chicago Outfit
Scarfo crime family (Philadelphia)
Bufalino crime family (Northeastern Pennsylvania}
Pittsburgh crime family
Dallas crime family
Patriarca crime family (Boston/Providence)
Cleveland crime family
Los Angeles crime family
Kansas City crime family
Trafficante crime family
The Detroit Partnership
Milwaukee Crime Family
Montreal crime family
New Orleans crime family
Defunct mafia families
Morello crime family
Genna crime family
East Harlem Purple Gang
Philadelphia Poison Ring
Other American crime groups
Jewish mafia
The Purple Gang
The Bugs and Meyer Mob
Shapiro Brothers
Yiddish Black Hand
Rosen gang
The Commission (mafia)
National Crime Syndicate
Seven Group (considered the predecessor to the National Crime Syndicate)
Murder, Inc.
African-American organized crime
New York City
The Council
Harlem numbers racket
Supreme Team
The Country Boys
Detroit
Black Mafia Family (Atlanta)
Young Boys Inc.
Chambers Brothers
Errol Flynns
Black Mafia (Philadelphia)
69 Mob (Oakland)
Polish-American organized crime
Chicago
Saltis-McErlane Gang (Prohibition-era)
Philadelphia (Port Richmond and Northeast Philly)
Kielbasa Posse
Buffalo, NY
Pittsburgh, PA
Detroit, MI
New York
Greenpoint Crew
Cleveland
Flats Mob
Cuban-American organized crime
The Corporation
Prohibition-era gangs
Shelton Brothers Gang
Charles Birger gang
Sheldon Gang
Broadway Mob
Circus Cafe Gang
Dixie mafia
Greek-American organized crime
Philadelphia Greek Mob
Velentzas Family
Wonderland murders gangs (1970's-1980's Los Angeles)
Wonderland Gang
Nash gang
Polanco-Rodríguez organization
Italian organized crime
See also List of 'ndrine
Mafia (Sicily)
Corleonesi
'Ndrangheta (Calabria)
Strangio-Nirta clan (San Luca)
Pelle-Romeo clan (San Luca)
Siderno Group (Ontario)
Piromalli 'ndrina
Barbaro 'ndrina
Cataldo 'ndrina
Cordì 'ndrina
De Stefano 'ndrina
Camorra (Naples)
Nuova Camorra Organizzata
Di Lauro Clan
Nuova Famiglia
Casalesi clan
Contini clan
Fabbrocino clan
Giuliano clan
Licciardi clan
Lo Russo clan
Mallardo clan
Nuvoletta clan
Vollaro clan
Scissionisti di Secondigliano
La Torre clan
Sacra Corona Unita (Apulia)
Stidda (Sicily)
Casamonica (Pescara/Rome)
Rancitelli (Pescara)
Basilischi (Basilicata)
Società Foggiana (Foggia)
Anonima Sequestri Sarda (Sardinia)
Mala del Brenta (Veneto, now disbanded)
Banda della Magliana (Roma, now disbanded)
Banda della Comasina (Milan, now disbanded)
Irish mob
Prohibition-era Chicago gangs
North Side Gang
Valley Gang
Ragen's Colts
Boston
Mullen Gang (incorporated into the Winter Hill gang in the 70's)
Winter Hill Gang
Gustin Gang
Charlestown Mob
Killeen gang
Egan's Rats (St Louis gang active in the early 20th century)
The Westies (New York City)
White Hand Gang (New York City)
West End Gang (Montreal)
Danny Greene's Celtic Club (active in Cleveland during the 1970s)
Ireland
Cahill gang
Gilligan gang
Russian Mafiya
Moscow
Izmailovskaya gang
Solntsevskaya bratva
Dolgoprudnenskaya gang
Orekhovskaya gang
St Petersburg
Tambov gang
Chechen mafia
Obschina
Lazanskaya gang
Brighton Beach, New York City
Potato Bag gang
Agron gang
Elson gang
Nayfeld gang
Balagula gang
Mogilevich organization
Viktor Bout's arms trafficking network
Vory v zakone
Ukrainian mafia
Bashmaki gang
British organized crime
London
The A-Team
The Richardson Gang
Brindle family
Historical London gangs
Jonathan Wild's crime ring
Charles Hitchen's crime ring
The Firm
Interwar era gangs
Messina Brothers (Mafia)
Sabini gang (Mafia)
Hoxton Gang
Elephant and Castle Mob
Birmingham Boys
Noonan family
Quality Street gang
Aggi Crew
Tamil Snake gang
Curtis Warren's drug ring
Balkan organized crime
Albanian mafia
Rudaj Organisation
Princ Dobroshi
Ismail Lika
Bosnian mafia
Jusuf Prazina
Ismet Bajramović
Mušan Topalović
Ramiz Delalić
Bulgarian Mafia
VIS
Multigroup
Serbian mafia or Nasa Stvar
Željko Ražnatović
Ljubomir Magaš
Rade Kotur
Ratko Djokić
Kristijan Golubović
Radoljub Kanjevac
Milorad Ulemek
Other European crime syndicates
Sweden
Uppsalamaffian
Naserligan
Original Gangsters
Poland
Pruszków gang
Wołomin gang
Dutch organized crime
Klaas Bruinsma (drug lord)
Willem Holleeder
Armenian mafia
Estonian mafia
Vilnius Brigade (Lithuania)
France
Unione Corse
Francisci clan
Orsini clan
Venturi clan
Guerini clan
Gang des postiches
Gang des Tractions Avant (Paris
Turkish mafia
Arifs (London based)
Kilic Gang
Cakici gang
Agansoy gang
Canturk gang
Baybaşin drug organization
Triads and Tongs
See also: List of Chinese criminal organizations
Triads
14K
Wo Shing Wo
Shui Fong
Wo Hop To
Luen Group
Tung Group
Sun Yee On
Big Circle
Sio Sam Ong
Green Gang (active in early 20th century Shanghai)
Taiwan
United Bamboo Gang
Four Seas
Criminal Tongs
Hop Sing Tong
Hip Sing Tong
On Leong Tong
Ying On Tong
Bing Kong Tong
Four Brothers Tong
Other Chinese crime groups
Snakeheads
Wah Ching
FriscoSide Wah Ching
Sing Wa
Yakuza groups
See also List of Bōryokudan
Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaken-gumi
Kodo-kai
Takumi-gumi
Goto-gumi
Kishimoto-gumi
Kokusui-kai
Dojin-kai
Goto-gumi
Suishin-kai
Inagawa-kai
Sumiyoshi-kai
Sumiyoshi-ikka
Honda-kai
Ichiwa-kai
Nakano-kai
Kyokuto Sakurai-soke-rengokai
Yamano-kai
Aizukotetsu-kai
Asano-gumi
Azuma-gumi
Goda-ikka
Kantō-kai
Kozakura-ikka
Kudo-kai
Kyodo-kai
Kyokuryu-kai
Kyokuto-kai
Kyosei-kai
Matsuba-kai
Nakano-kai
Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
Shinwa-kai
Soai-kai
Taishu-kai
Toa-kai
Yamano-kai
Predecessors to modern yakuza
Tekiya
Bakuto
Jamaican Yardies and Posses
United States
Shower Posse
Spangler Posse
Tel Aviv Posse
Dunkirk Boys Posse
Waterhouse Posse
Jamaica
Klans Massive
United Kingdom
London
Lock City Crew
Firehouse Posse
Cartel Crew
Bristol:
Hype Crew
Mountain View Posse
Back to Back gang
The Gucci
Other groups or mafias
Nigerian criminal enterprises
Nigerian criminal confraternities
419 gangs
Indian mafia
Mumbai
D-Company
Rajan gang
Arun Gawli gang
Kkangpae (Korea)
Vietnam
Binh Xuyen
The Nam Cam gang
Australia
5T gang (Sydney)
Melbourne
The Carlton Crew
Carl Williams|The Williams family
The Painters and Dockers
Moran family
Israeli mafia
Zeev Rosenstein organization
Attias gang
Abergil Crime Family
Alperon crime family
Canada
Independent Soldiers
Red Scorpion
United Nations
Johal gang(defunct)
Tahvili crime family (Iranian criminal organization in Canada)(possibly defunct)
Philippines
Waray-waray
Ormoc Boys
Kuratong Baleleng
Pentagon
Akyat Bahay Gang
Salisi Gang
Dugo-Dugo Gang
Estribo Gang
Martilyo Gang
Outlaw biker gangs
See also: List of outlaw motorcycle clubs
Abutre's
Bandidos
Blue Angels
The Breed
Comanchero
Diablos
The Finks
Free Souls
Grim Reapers
Hells Angels
Rockers MC
Mongols
Notorious
Outlaws
Pagans
Rock Machine
Sons of Silence
Vagos
Warlocks
Paramilitary and terrorist organizations
'See also List of designated terrorist organizations
Ireland
Provisional IRA
Continuity IRA
Real IRA
INLA
Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Defence Force
Colombia
AUC
FARC
ELN
United States
Black Liberation Army
The Order
Palestine
The Doghmush clan
Palestine Liberation Organization
Turkey
PKK
Grey Wolves
Communist terrorism
New People's Army (Philippines)
Red Army Faction (Germany)
Red Brigades (Italy)
Islamist terrorism
Hezbollah
Al-Qaeda
Abu Sayyaf
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Nationalist
Tamil Tigers (Sri Lanka)
Kosovo Liberation Army (Kosovo)
ETA (Spain)
FLNC (France)
United Wa State Army (Burma)
United Liberation Front of Asom (India)
Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (Chechen militant group)
Contras
Bonnot Gang - French anarchist band of robbers subscribing to an individualist anarchist, illegalist, Stirnerian-Nietzschean philosophy
Abu Nidal Organization
Abu Sayyaf
Ilaga
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Philippines)
Davao Death Squad
Prison gangs
White supremacist
Aryan Brotherhood
Public Enemy No. 1
Nazi Lowriders
European Kindred
Hispanic-American
Mexican Mafia
Nuestra Familia
Texas Syndicate
Ñetas
Black Guerrilla Family
People Nation
Folk Nation
Primeiro Comando da Capital (Brazil)
Garduna (operated in Spain in the Middle Ages)
Secret societies
Secret societies in Singapore
Salakau
Angsoontong
Ghee Hin Kong Si
Ku Klux Klan
Knights of the White Camelia
White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Imperial Klans of America
Propaganda Due
Thuggee (Indian criminal society, dissolved in the 19th century)
Smuggling organizations
North America
The Yogurt Connection
Black Tuna Gang
George Jung
Mancuso organization
Chagra organization
African American drug organizations
"Freeway" Ricky Ross organization
Ike Atkinson organization
England
Hawkhurst Gang
The Aldington Gang
Brian Brendon Wright's drug organization
The French Connection
Mr Asia (New Zealand)
Street gangs
Area Boys (Nigeria)
New Zealand
Mongrel Mob
Black Power
Rio de Janiero
Amigos dos Amigos
Comando Vermelho
MS-13
Australia
Rocks Push
Evil Warriors
Dlasthr
Canada
Indian Posse
American street gangs
African-American gangs
Chicago-based gangs
Gangster Disciples
Mickey Cobras
Black Disciples
Four Corner Hustlers
Vice Lords
Black P. Stones
Black P. Stones (Jungles)
Bloods
Sex Money Murder (Newark, New Jersey)
Double II Set (East Orange, New Jersey)
Pirus (Los Angeles)
Crips
Rollin 30's
Rollin 60 Neighborhood Crips
P Jay Crips
Kelly Park Compton Crips
12th Street Gang (Kansas City)
Hispanic-American gangs
New York City
Latin Kings
Jheri Curls
Mau Maus
California
18th Street Gang
38th Street gang
Culver City Boyz
Venice 13
Norteños
Sureños
Tooner Ville Rifa 13
Mara Salvatrucha
Maravilla
Longos
Chicago
Almighty Saints
Asian-American gangs
Chinese American gangs
Ghost Shadows
Flying Dragons
Joe Boys
Southeast Asian American gangs
Last Generation Korean Killers
Born to Kill
Satanas (Filipino American)
Armenian Power (Armenian American)
Italian-American gangs (often serve as recruiting ground for the Mafia)
The Tanglewood Boys
Forty-Two Gang (Prohibition era)
The Golden Guineas
Young Turks (Joey Merlino's gang)
South Brooklyn Boys
Historical American gangs
Baltimore
Bloody Tubs
New Orleans
Live Oak Boys
New York
Neighbors' Sons
Boodle Gang
Honeymoon Gang
Eastman Gang
Batavia Street Gang
Bowery Boys
Charlton Street Gang
Gas House Gang
Ghost shadow
Flying Dragon
Lenox Avenue Gang
Crazy Butch Gang
Hudson Dusters
Slaughter House Gang
Cherry Hill Gang
Swamp Angels
Yakey Yakes
Hook Gang
Tub of Blood Bunch
Asian Empire
Irish-American gangs
19th Street Gang
40 Thieves
Dead Rabbits
Gopher Gang
Grady Gang
Five Points Gang
Daybreak Boys
Tenth Avenue Gang
Kerryonians
The Ducky Boys gang
Roach Guards
Whyos
Chichesters
Marginals
St Louis
Cuckoos
British street gangs
London
Black British gangs
Chipset
Coulsdon Gang
Ghetto Boys
Peckham boys
Spanglers
Brixton boys
Fireblades
Kingsland Crew
Much Love Crew
Asian gangs
Brick Lane Massive
Stepney Posse
Oriental Mandem (O.M)
Holy Smokes
Tooti Nung
Drummond Street Boys
Manchester
The Gooch Gang
The Doddington gang
Glasgow
Penny Mobs
The Tongs
Razor Gangs
Vigilante organizations
The Vendicatori (based in medieval Sicily)
The Bakassi Boys (Nigeria)
PAGAD (South Africa)
Los Pepes (Colombian organization formed to fight Pablo Escobar)
Sombra Negra (El Salvador)
Beati Paoli - A half-legendary ancient Sicilian order of Robin Hood-like knights fighting for the Sicilian peasant against both Church and State
Other criminal groups
Benson Syndicate
Sugarman Gang (Early 20th century London burglary ring)
Mungiki (Religious sect/criminal gang in Kenya)
Mamak Gang (Malaysia)
Zwi Migdal
Internet-based criminal networks
Russian Business Network
ShadowCrew
Wonderland Club
Anton Gelonkin
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Mafia (Italian)
Mafia
The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a "family", "clan" or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets - usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city.
Offshoots of the Mafia emerged in the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration (see Italian-American Mafia).
Etymology
There are several theories about the origin of the term "Mafia" (sometimes spelt "Maffia" in early texts). The Sicilian adjective mafiusu may derive from the slang Arabic mahyas (مهياص), meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging", or marfud meaning "rejected". Roughly translated, it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.
The public's association of the word with the criminal secret society was perhaps inspired by the 1863 play "I mafiusi di la Vicaria" ("The Mafiosi of the Vicaria") by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca. The words Mafia and mafiusi are never mentioned in the play; they were probably put in the title to add a local flair. The play is about a Palermo prison gang with traits similar to the Mafia: a boss, an initiation ritual, and talk of "umirtà" ("humility") and "pizzu" (a codeword for protection money). Soon after, the use of the term "mafia" began appearing in the Italian state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word made its first official appearance in 1865 in a report by the prefect of Palermo, Filippo Antonio Gualterio.
Leopoldo Franchetti, an Italian deputy who travelled to Sicily and who wrote one of the first authoritative reports on the mafia in 1876, saw the Mafia as an "industry of violence" and described the designation of the term "mafia": "the term mafia found a class of violent criminals ready and waiting for a name to define them, and, given their special character and importance in Sicilian society, they had the right to a different name from that defining vulgar criminals in other countries."Franchetti saw the Mafia as deeply rooted in Sicilian society and impossible to quench unless the very structure of the island's social institutions were to undergo a fundamental change.
Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by Pitrè at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."
The name "Cosa Nostra"
When the American mafioso Joseph Valachi testified before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations in 1962, he revealed that American mafiosi referred to their organization by the term cosa nostra ("our thing"). At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added the article to the term, calling it La Cosa Nostra. In Italy the article la is never used when referring to the Sicilian Mafia.
Italian investigators didn't take the term seriously, believing it was only used by the American Mafia. Then, in 1984, the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta revealed to the anti-mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone that the term was used by the Sicilian Mafia as well. According to Buscetta, the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, confirmed this. Mafiosi introduce known members to each other as belonging to cosa nostra ("our thing") or la stessa cosa ("the same thing"), e.g. "he is the same thing, a mafioso, as you". The name is not a formal one, however, as members see no need for one.
The Sicilian Mafia has used other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as "The Honoured Society." Mafiosi are known among themselves as "men of honour" or "men of respect."
Structure and composition
Hierarchy of a Cosa Nostra clan.Cosa Nostra is not a monolothic organization, but loose association of groups called "families", "coscas" or "clans". Today, Cosa Nostra is estimated to have about 100 clans, almost half of them in the province of Palermo, with at least 3,500 to 4,000 full members.
In 1984, the mafioso informant Tommaso Buscetta explained to prosecutors the pyramidal command structure of a typical clan. A clan is led by a "boss" (capofamiglia), who is aided by a second-in-command (a sotto capo or "underboss") and one or more advisers (consigliere). Under his command are crews of about 10 "soldiers", each led by a capodecina (or sometimes caporegime).
Other than its members, Cosa Nostra makes extensive use of "associates". These are people who aid or work for a family (or even multiple families) but are not treated as true members. These include corrupt officials and prospective mafiosi. An associate is considered nothing more than a tool; "nothing mixed with nil."
The most powerful boss is often referred to as the capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses"), who alledgedly commands all the clans of Cosa Nostra. Calogero Vizzini, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano were especially influential bosses that have each been described by the media and law enforcement as being the "boss of bosses" of their times. However, such a position does not formally exist, according to Mafia turncoats such as Buscetta.
Traditionally, only men can become mafiosi, though in recent times there have been reports of women assuming the responsibilities of imprisoned mafioso relatives.
Commission
For many years, the power apparatuses of the individual clans were the sole ruling bodies within the association, and they have remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies were created in Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s (the Sicilian Mafia Commission also known as known as Commissione or Cupola).
The Commission is a body of leading Cosa Nostra members who decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the organisation. It is composed of representatives of a mandamento (a "district" of three geographically contiguous Mafia families) that are called capo mandamento or rappresentante. The Commission is not a central government of the Mafia, but a representative mechanism for consultation of independent families who decide by consensus. "Contrary to the wide-spread image presented by the media, these superordinate bodies of coordination cannot be compared with the executive boards of major legal firms. Their power is intentionally limited. And it would be entirely wrong to see in the Cosa Nostra a centrally managed, internationally active Mafia holding company," according to criminologist Letizia Paoli.
The jurisdiction extends over a province; each province of Sicily has some kind of a Commission, except Messina, Siracusa and Ragusa. Beyond the provincial level details are vague. According to Buscetta a commissione interprovinciale – Interprovincional Commission – was set up in the 1970s, while Calderone claims that there had been a rappresentante regionale in the 1950s even before the Commissions and the capi mandamento were created.
Rituals and codes of conduct
Initiation ceremony
A prospective mafioso is carefully supervised and tested to assess his obedience, discretion, ability and ruthlessness. He is almost always required to commit murder as his ultimate trial.
After his arrest, the mafioso Giovanni Brusca described the ceremony in which he was formally made a full member of Cosa Nostra. In 1976 he was invited to a "banquet" at a country house. He was brought into a room where several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger and an image of a saint. They questioned his commitment and his feelings about criminality and murder (despite already having a history of such acts). When he affirmed himself, Salvatore Riina, then the most powerful boss of Cosa Nostra, took a needle and pricked Brusca's finger. Brusca smeared his blood on the image of the saint, which he held in his cupped hands as Riina set it alight. As Brusca juggled the burning image in his hands, Riina said to him: "If you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh will burn like this saint."
Introductions
A mafioso is not supposed to introduce himself to another mafioso. He must ask a third, mutually-known mafioso, to introduce him to the latter as "a friend of ours". Right after his initiation, Brusca was introduced to his own mafioso father in this manner by Riina.
Ten Commandments
In November 2007 Sicilian police reported to have found a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo. Similar to the Biblical Ten Commandments, they are thought to be a guideline on how to be a good, respectful honourable mafioso. The commandments are as follows:
No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
Never look at the wives of friends.
Never be seen with cops.
Don't go to pubs and clubs.
Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
Appointments must absolutely be respected.
Wives must be treated with respect.
When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.
Omertà: the code of silence
Omertà is a code of silence that forbids members from cooperating at all with the police or prosecutors should they be arrested. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be murdered. To a degree, Cosa Nostra also imposes this code on the general population, persecuting any citizen who aids the authorities.
Activities
Extortion
It is estimated that the Sicilian Mafia makes more than €10 billion a year through protection rackets. Roughly 80% of Sicilian businesses pay protection money to Cosa Nostra, which can range from €200 a month for a small shop or bar to €5,000 a month for a supermarket. In Sicily, protection money is known as pizzo; the anti-extortion support group Addiopizzo derives its name from this.
Drug trafficking
In 2003, the Sicilian Mafia is estimated to have made over €8 billion through drug trafficking.
Sicily is a major transshipment center for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin.
Arms trafficking
In 2003, the Sicilian Mafia is estimated to have made over €1.5 billion through weapons trafficking.
Loan sharking
In a 2007 publication, the Italian small-business association Confesercenti reported that about 25.2% of Sicilian businesses are indebted to loan sharks, who collect around €1.4 billion a year in payments.
Control of contracting
The Sicilian Mafia makes around €6.5 billion a year through control of public and private contracts.
History
Post-feudal Sicily
The genesis of Cosa Nostra is hard to trace because of its secretive nature and lack of historical record-keeping. It is widely believed that its seeds were planted in the upheaval of Sicily's transition from feudalism to capitalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. The Sicilian state couldn't fully enforce law and order. Many groups, from bandits to artisan guilds, used violence to plunder or settle disputes. The common traditions and structure that distinguishes the Mafia may have been shared between criminals in prison.
In 1864, Niccolò Turrisi Colonna, leader of the Palermo National Guard, wrote of a "sect of thieves" that operated across Sicily. This "sect" had special signals to recognize each other, had political protection in many regions, and a code of loyalty and non-interaction with the police known as umirtà ("humility"). The sect was mostly rural, comprising plantation wardens and smugglers, among others. Colonna warned in his report that the Italian government's brutal and ham-fisted attempts to crush unlawfulness only made the problem worse by alienating the populace. An 1865 dispatch from the prefect of Palermo to Rome first officially described the phenomenon as a "Mafia".
Much of the Mafia's early activity centered around the lucrative citrus export industry around Palermo, whose fragile production system made it quite vulnerable to extortion. What is probably the earliest detailed account of Mafia activity comes from the memoirs of a citrus plantation owner named Gaspare Galati in the 1870s. After firing his warden for stealing coal and produce, Galati received threatening letters demanding that he rehire this "man of honour". Two successive replacements he hired were shot by hitmen, but the police failed to find any evidence implicating the "man of honour". Galati's own inquiries led him to believe the "man of honour" was part of a group known as a cosca, based in a nearby village and led by a local landowner and former revolutionary. Many such groups existed that disrupted citrus plantations to either extort money or buy them at low prices. Worse still, these groups appeared to have allies in the police and local government. Galati gave up and fled home to Naples.
The accounts of Galati and others alarmed politicians in Rome. One described the mafia as "an instrument of local government", given its level of collusion with Sicilian officials. Throughout the late 1870s, the government ordered numerous authoritarian crackdowns in which entire towns were encircled and suspects deported en masse. The crackdowns failed, however, to deal with the political corruption, and many well-connected mafiosi escaped the dragnet.
Mafiosi meddled in politics early on, bullying voters into voting for candidates they favoured. At this period in history, only a small fraction of the Sicilian population could vote, so a single mafia boss could control a sizeable chunk of the electorate and thus wield considerable political leverage. Mafiosi used their allies in government to avoid prosecution as well as persecute less well-connected rivals. The highly fragmented and shaky Italian political system allow cliques of Mafia-friendly politicians to exert a lot of influence.
In an 1898 report to prosecutors, the police chief of Palermo identified eight mafia clans operating in the suburbs and villages near the city. The report mentioned initiation rituals and codes of conduct, as well as criminal activities that included counterfeiting, ransom kidnappings, robbery, murder and witness intimidation. The mafia also maintained funds to support the families of imprisoned members and pay defense lawyers.
Fascist repression
In 1925, Benito Mussolini initiated a campaign to destroy the Mafia and its political allies. In doing so, he would suppress many political opponents on the island and score a great propaganda coup for Fascism. In October 1925, he appointed Cesare Mori prefect of Palermo and gave him special powers to attack the Mafia. Like previous crackdowns, it involved massive round-ups of suspected criminals; over 11,000 arrests were made over the course of the campaign. Wives and children of mafiosi were sometimes taken hostage to force their surrender. Many were tried in en masse. More than 1,200 were convicted and imprisoned, and many others were internally exiled without trial.
Mori's campaign ended in June 1929 when Mussolini recalled him to Rome. Although he didn't totally crush the Mafia as the Fascist press proclaimed, his campaign was nonetheless very successful. In 1986, the mafioso defector Antonino Calderone said of the period: "The music changed. Mafiosi had a hard life. After the war the mafia hardly existed anymore. The Sicilian Families had all been broken up." Many mafiosi fled to the United States. Among these were Carlo Gambino and Joseph Bonanno, who would go on to become powerful mafia bosses in New York City.
Post-Fascist revival
In 1943, nearly half a million Allied troops invaded Sicily. The crime rate soared in the upheaval and chaos. Many inmates escaped from their prisons. Banditry returned and the black market thrived. During the first six months of Allied occupation, party politics in Sicily was banned. As Fascist mayors were deposed, the Allies simply appointed replacements. Many turned out to be mafiosi, such as Calogero Vizzini and Giuseppe Genco Russo. They could easily present themselves as political dissidents, and their anti-communist position made them further desirable.
The changing economic landscape of Sicily would shift the Mafia's power base from the rural to the urban. The Minster of Agriculture - a communist - pushed for reforms in which peasants were to get larger shares of produce, be allowed to form cooperatives and take over badly used land, and remove the system by which leaseholders (known as "gabelloti") could rent land from landowners for their own short-term use. Owners of especially large estates were to be forced to sell off their excess land. The Mafia, which had connections to many landowners, murdered many socialist reformers. In the end, though, they couldn't stop the process, and many landowners chose to sell their land to mafiosi, who offered more money than the government.
After the war, the Italian government poured public money into rebuilding Sicily, leading to a big construction boom. In 1956, two Mafia-connected officials, Vito Ciancimino and Salvatore Lima, took control of Palermo's Office of Public Works. Between 1959 and 1963, about 80% of building permits were given to just five people, none of whom represented major construction firms and were probably Mafia frontmen. Construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay protection money. Many buildings were illegally constructed before the city's planning was finalized. In 1982, Giovanni Falcone noted: "Mafia organizations entirely control the building sector in Palermo - the quarries where aggregates are mined, site clearance firms, cement plants, metal depots for the construction industry, wholesalers for sanitary fixtures, and so on".
In the 1950s, a crackdown in the United States on drug trafficking led to the imprisonment of many American mafiosi. Furthermore, Cuba, a major hub for drug smuggling, fell to Fidel Castro. This prompted the American mafia boss Joseph Bonanno to return to Sicily in 1957 to franchise out his heroin operations to the Sicilian clans. Anticipating rivalries for the lucrative American drug market, he negotiated the establishment of a Sicilian Mafia Commission to mediate disputes.
First Mafia War
Ciaculli massacre
The First Mafia War was the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy (the Sicilian Mafia has a long history of violent rivalries).
In December 1962 some heroin went missing from a shipment to America. When the Sicilian Mafia Commission could not decide who was to blame, one of the clans involved - the La Barbera clan - took matters into its own hands. They murdered a mafioso from the Greco clan whom they suspected of stealing the heroin, triggering a war in which many non-mafiosi would be killed in the crossfire. In April 1963, several bystanders were wounded during a shootout in Palermo. In May, Angelo La Barbera survived a murder attempt in Milan. In June, six military officers and a policeman in Ciaculli were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb.
The fact that the conflict spread outside Sicily and claimed innocent lives provoked national outrage and a crackdown in which nearly 2,000 arrests were made. Mafia activity fell as clans disbanded and mafiosi went into hiding. The Commission was dissolved; it would not reform until 1969. 117 suspects were put on trial in 1968, but most were acquitted or received light sentences.
Heroin boom
When heroin refineries operated by the Corsican Mafia in Marseilles were shut down by French authorities, morphine traffickers looked to Sicily. Starting in 1975, Cosa Nostra set up heroin refineries across the island. As well as refining heroin, Cosa Nostra also sought to control its distribution. Sicilian mafiosi moved to America to personally control distribution networks there, often at the expense of their American counterparts. Heroin addiction in Europe and North America surged, and seizures by police increased dramatically. By 1982, the Sicilian Mafia controlled about 80% of the heroin trade in the north-eastern United States. Through the heroin trade, Cosa Nostra became wealthier and more powerful than ever.
Second Mafia War
In the early 1970s, Luciano Leggio, boss of the Corleone clan and member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission, forged a coalition of mafia clans known as the Corleonesi, with himself as its leader. He initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade. Because Leggio was imprisoned in 1974, he acted through his deputy, Salvatore Riina, to whom he would eventually hand over control. The Corleonesi bribed cash-strapped Palermo clans into the fold, subverted members of other clans and secretly recruited new members. In 1977, the Corleonesi had Gaetano Badalamenti expelled from the Commission on trumped-up charges of hiding drug revenues. In April 1981, the Corleonesi murdered another member of the Commission, Stefano Bontate, and the Second Mafia War began in earnest. Hundreds of enemy mafiosi and their relatives were murdered, sometimes by traitors in their own clans. In the end, the Corleonesi faction won and Riina effectively became the "boss of bosses" of the Sicilian Mafia.
At the same time the Corleonesi waged their campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra, they also waged a campaign of murder against journalists, officials and policemen who dared to cross them. The police were frustrated with the lack of help they were receiving from witnesses and politicians. At the funeral of a policeman murdered by mafiosi in 1985, policemen insulted and spat at two attending statesmen, and a fight broke out between them and military police.
Maxi Trial and war against the government
In the early 1980s, the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino began a campaign against Cosa Nostra. Their big break came with the arrest of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafioso who chose to turn informant in exchange for protection from the Corleonesi, who had already murdered many of his friends and relatives. Other mafiosi would follow his example. Falcone and Borsellino compiled their testimonies and organised the Maxi Trial, which lasted from February 1986 to December 1987. It was held in a fortified courthouse specially built for the occasion. 474 mafiosi were put on trial, of which 342 were convicted. In January 1992 the Italian Supreme Court confirmed these convictions.
The Mafia retaliated violently, in part because the outrage over the violence of the 1980s made its political allies reluctant to help. In 1988, the Mafia murdered a Palermo judge and his son; three years later a prosecutor and an anti-mafia businesman were also murdered. Falcone and Borsellino were killed by bombs in 1992. This led to a public outcry and a massive government crackdown, resulting in the arrest of Cosa Nostra's "boss of bosses", Salvatore Riina, in January 1993. More and more defectors emerged. Many would pay a high price for their cooperation, usually through the murder of relatives. For example, Francesco Marino Mannoia's mother, aunt and sister were murdered.
After Riina's arrest, the Mafia began a campaign of terrorism on the Italian mainland. Tourist spots such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome were attacked, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the Uffizi Gallery. When the Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, two churches were bombed and an antimafia priest shot dead in Rome.
Bernardo Provenzano took over as boss of the Corleonesi and halted this campaign and replaced it with a campaign of quietness known as pax mafiosi. This campaign has allowed the Mafia to slowly regain the power it once had. He was arrested in 2006, after 43 years on the run.
The modern Mafia in Italy
The main split in the Sicilian Mafia at present is between those bosses who have been convicted and are now imprisoned, chiefly Riina and capo di tutti capi Bernardo Provenzano, and those who are on the run, or who have not been indicted The incarcerated bosses are currently subjected to harsh controls on their contact with the outside world, limiting their ability to run their operations from behind bars under the article 41-bis prison regime. Antonino Giuffrè – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned pentito shortly after his capture in 2002 – alleges that in 1993, Cosa Nostra had direct contact with representatives of Silvio Berlusconi who was then planning the birth of Forza Italia.
The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for electoral deliverances in Sicily. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed. The Italian Parliament, with the support of Forza Italia, extended the enforcement of 41 bis, which was to expire in 2002 but has been prolonged for another four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy’s leading magazines, L'Espresso, 119 mafiosi – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41 bis regime – have been released on an individual basis. The human rights group Amnesty International has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could in some circumstances amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners.
In addition to Salvatore Lima, mentioned above, the politician Giulio Andreotti and the High Court judge Corrado Carnevale have long been suspected of having ties to the Mafia.
By the late 1990s, the weakened Cosa Nostra had to yield most of the illegal drug trade to the 'Ndrangheta crime organization from Calabria. In 2006, the latter was estimated to control 80% of the cocaine import to Europe.
Prominent Sicilian mafiosi
See also: List of Sicilian mafiosi
Vito Cascio Ferro Prominent early Don, imprisoned by Cesare Mori.
Calogero Vizzini (1877 – 1954), boss of Villalba, was considered to be one of the most influential Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954.
Giuseppe Genco Russo (1893 – 1976), boss of Mussomeli, considered to be the heir of Calogero Vizzini.
Michele Navarra (1905 – 1958), boss of the Mafia Family in Corleone from 1940s to 1958
Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco (1923 – 1978), boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, he was the first "secretary" of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was formed somewhere in 1958.
Gaetano Badalamenti (1923 – 2004), boss of the Mafia Family in Cinisi
Angelo La Barbera (1924 – 1975) boss of the Mafia Family in Palermo Centro
Michele Greco (1924 – 2008), boss of the Mafia Family in Croceverde
Luciano Liggio (1925 – 1993), boss of the Corleone clan and instigator of the Second Mafia War
Tommaso Buscetta (1928 – 2000), a mafioso who turned informant in 1984. Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the Maxi-Trials.
Salvatore Riina (born 1930), also known as Totò Riina, emerged from the Second Mafia War as the "boss of bosses" until his arrest in 1993.
Bernardo Provenzano (born 1933), successor of Riina as head of the Corleonesi faction and as such was considered one of the most powerful bosses of the Sicilian Mafia. Provenzano was a fugitive from justice since 1963. He was captured on 11 April 2006 in Sicily. Before capture, authorities had reportedly been "close" to capturing him for 10 years.
Stefano Bontade (1939 – 1981), boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù clan. His murder by the Corleonesi in 1981 inaugurated the Second Mafia War.
Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941), member of the Mafia Family in Corleone arrested in 1995
Salvatore Lo Piccolo (born 1942), considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.
Salvatore Inzerillo (1944 – 1981), boss of the Mafia Family in Passo di Rigano
Giovanni 'Lo Scannacristiani' Brusca (born 1957), who was involved in the murder of Giovanni Falcone.
Matteo Messina Denaro (born 1962), considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.
Michele Cavataio died in Mafia hit in 1969
Benedetto Santapaola (born 1938), the most important boss of Catania.
The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a "family", "clan" or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets - usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city.
Offshoots of the Mafia emerged in the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration (see Italian-American Mafia).
Etymology
There are several theories about the origin of the term "Mafia" (sometimes spelt "Maffia" in early texts). The Sicilian adjective mafiusu may derive from the slang Arabic mahyas (مهياص), meaning "aggressive boasting, bragging", or marfud meaning "rejected". Roughly translated, it means "swagger", but can also be translated as "boldness, bravado". In reference to a man, mafiusu in 19th century Sicily was ambiguous, signifying a bully, arrogant but also fearless, enterprising, and proud, according to scholar Diego Gambetta.
The public's association of the word with the criminal secret society was perhaps inspired by the 1863 play "I mafiusi di la Vicaria" ("The Mafiosi of the Vicaria") by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca. The words Mafia and mafiusi are never mentioned in the play; they were probably put in the title to add a local flair. The play is about a Palermo prison gang with traits similar to the Mafia: a boss, an initiation ritual, and talk of "umirtà" ("humility") and "pizzu" (a codeword for protection money). Soon after, the use of the term "mafia" began appearing in the Italian state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word made its first official appearance in 1865 in a report by the prefect of Palermo, Filippo Antonio Gualterio.
Leopoldo Franchetti, an Italian deputy who travelled to Sicily and who wrote one of the first authoritative reports on the mafia in 1876, saw the Mafia as an "industry of violence" and described the designation of the term "mafia": "the term mafia found a class of violent criminals ready and waiting for a name to define them, and, given their special character and importance in Sicilian society, they had the right to a different name from that defining vulgar criminals in other countries."Franchetti saw the Mafia as deeply rooted in Sicilian society and impossible to quench unless the very structure of the island's social institutions were to undergo a fundamental change.
Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by Pitrè at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."
The name "Cosa Nostra"
When the American mafioso Joseph Valachi testified before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations in 1962, he revealed that American mafiosi referred to their organization by the term cosa nostra ("our thing"). At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added the article to the term, calling it La Cosa Nostra. In Italy the article la is never used when referring to the Sicilian Mafia.
Italian investigators didn't take the term seriously, believing it was only used by the American Mafia. Then, in 1984, the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta revealed to the anti-mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone that the term was used by the Sicilian Mafia as well. According to Buscetta, the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, confirmed this. Mafiosi introduce known members to each other as belonging to cosa nostra ("our thing") or la stessa cosa ("the same thing"), e.g. "he is the same thing, a mafioso, as you". The name is not a formal one, however, as members see no need for one.
The Sicilian Mafia has used other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as "The Honoured Society." Mafiosi are known among themselves as "men of honour" or "men of respect."
Structure and composition
Hierarchy of a Cosa Nostra clan.Cosa Nostra is not a monolothic organization, but loose association of groups called "families", "coscas" or "clans". Today, Cosa Nostra is estimated to have about 100 clans, almost half of them in the province of Palermo, with at least 3,500 to 4,000 full members.
In 1984, the mafioso informant Tommaso Buscetta explained to prosecutors the pyramidal command structure of a typical clan. A clan is led by a "boss" (capofamiglia), who is aided by a second-in-command (a sotto capo or "underboss") and one or more advisers (consigliere). Under his command are crews of about 10 "soldiers", each led by a capodecina (or sometimes caporegime).
Other than its members, Cosa Nostra makes extensive use of "associates". These are people who aid or work for a family (or even multiple families) but are not treated as true members. These include corrupt officials and prospective mafiosi. An associate is considered nothing more than a tool; "nothing mixed with nil."
The most powerful boss is often referred to as the capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses"), who alledgedly commands all the clans of Cosa Nostra. Calogero Vizzini, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano were especially influential bosses that have each been described by the media and law enforcement as being the "boss of bosses" of their times. However, such a position does not formally exist, according to Mafia turncoats such as Buscetta.
Traditionally, only men can become mafiosi, though in recent times there have been reports of women assuming the responsibilities of imprisoned mafioso relatives.
Commission
For many years, the power apparatuses of the individual clans were the sole ruling bodies within the association, and they have remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies were created in Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s (the Sicilian Mafia Commission also known as known as Commissione or Cupola).
The Commission is a body of leading Cosa Nostra members who decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the organisation. It is composed of representatives of a mandamento (a "district" of three geographically contiguous Mafia families) that are called capo mandamento or rappresentante. The Commission is not a central government of the Mafia, but a representative mechanism for consultation of independent families who decide by consensus. "Contrary to the wide-spread image presented by the media, these superordinate bodies of coordination cannot be compared with the executive boards of major legal firms. Their power is intentionally limited. And it would be entirely wrong to see in the Cosa Nostra a centrally managed, internationally active Mafia holding company," according to criminologist Letizia Paoli.
The jurisdiction extends over a province; each province of Sicily has some kind of a Commission, except Messina, Siracusa and Ragusa. Beyond the provincial level details are vague. According to Buscetta a commissione interprovinciale – Interprovincional Commission – was set up in the 1970s, while Calderone claims that there had been a rappresentante regionale in the 1950s even before the Commissions and the capi mandamento were created.
Rituals and codes of conduct
Initiation ceremony
A prospective mafioso is carefully supervised and tested to assess his obedience, discretion, ability and ruthlessness. He is almost always required to commit murder as his ultimate trial.
After his arrest, the mafioso Giovanni Brusca described the ceremony in which he was formally made a full member of Cosa Nostra. In 1976 he was invited to a "banquet" at a country house. He was brought into a room where several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger and an image of a saint. They questioned his commitment and his feelings about criminality and murder (despite already having a history of such acts). When he affirmed himself, Salvatore Riina, then the most powerful boss of Cosa Nostra, took a needle and pricked Brusca's finger. Brusca smeared his blood on the image of the saint, which he held in his cupped hands as Riina set it alight. As Brusca juggled the burning image in his hands, Riina said to him: "If you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh will burn like this saint."
Introductions
A mafioso is not supposed to introduce himself to another mafioso. He must ask a third, mutually-known mafioso, to introduce him to the latter as "a friend of ours". Right after his initiation, Brusca was introduced to his own mafioso father in this manner by Riina.
Ten Commandments
In November 2007 Sicilian police reported to have found a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo. Similar to the Biblical Ten Commandments, they are thought to be a guideline on how to be a good, respectful honourable mafioso. The commandments are as follows:
No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
Never look at the wives of friends.
Never be seen with cops.
Don't go to pubs and clubs.
Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
Appointments must absolutely be respected.
Wives must be treated with respect.
When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.
Omertà: the code of silence
Omertà is a code of silence that forbids members from cooperating at all with the police or prosecutors should they be arrested. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be murdered. To a degree, Cosa Nostra also imposes this code on the general population, persecuting any citizen who aids the authorities.
Activities
Extortion
It is estimated that the Sicilian Mafia makes more than €10 billion a year through protection rackets. Roughly 80% of Sicilian businesses pay protection money to Cosa Nostra, which can range from €200 a month for a small shop or bar to €5,000 a month for a supermarket. In Sicily, protection money is known as pizzo; the anti-extortion support group Addiopizzo derives its name from this.
Drug trafficking
In 2003, the Sicilian Mafia is estimated to have made over €8 billion through drug trafficking.
Sicily is a major transshipment center for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin.
Arms trafficking
In 2003, the Sicilian Mafia is estimated to have made over €1.5 billion through weapons trafficking.
Loan sharking
In a 2007 publication, the Italian small-business association Confesercenti reported that about 25.2% of Sicilian businesses are indebted to loan sharks, who collect around €1.4 billion a year in payments.
Control of contracting
The Sicilian Mafia makes around €6.5 billion a year through control of public and private contracts.
History
Post-feudal Sicily
The genesis of Cosa Nostra is hard to trace because of its secretive nature and lack of historical record-keeping. It is widely believed that its seeds were planted in the upheaval of Sicily's transition from feudalism to capitalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. The Sicilian state couldn't fully enforce law and order. Many groups, from bandits to artisan guilds, used violence to plunder or settle disputes. The common traditions and structure that distinguishes the Mafia may have been shared between criminals in prison.
In 1864, Niccolò Turrisi Colonna, leader of the Palermo National Guard, wrote of a "sect of thieves" that operated across Sicily. This "sect" had special signals to recognize each other, had political protection in many regions, and a code of loyalty and non-interaction with the police known as umirtà ("humility"). The sect was mostly rural, comprising plantation wardens and smugglers, among others. Colonna warned in his report that the Italian government's brutal and ham-fisted attempts to crush unlawfulness only made the problem worse by alienating the populace. An 1865 dispatch from the prefect of Palermo to Rome first officially described the phenomenon as a "Mafia".
Much of the Mafia's early activity centered around the lucrative citrus export industry around Palermo, whose fragile production system made it quite vulnerable to extortion. What is probably the earliest detailed account of Mafia activity comes from the memoirs of a citrus plantation owner named Gaspare Galati in the 1870s. After firing his warden for stealing coal and produce, Galati received threatening letters demanding that he rehire this "man of honour". Two successive replacements he hired were shot by hitmen, but the police failed to find any evidence implicating the "man of honour". Galati's own inquiries led him to believe the "man of honour" was part of a group known as a cosca, based in a nearby village and led by a local landowner and former revolutionary. Many such groups existed that disrupted citrus plantations to either extort money or buy them at low prices. Worse still, these groups appeared to have allies in the police and local government. Galati gave up and fled home to Naples.
The accounts of Galati and others alarmed politicians in Rome. One described the mafia as "an instrument of local government", given its level of collusion with Sicilian officials. Throughout the late 1870s, the government ordered numerous authoritarian crackdowns in which entire towns were encircled and suspects deported en masse. The crackdowns failed, however, to deal with the political corruption, and many well-connected mafiosi escaped the dragnet.
Mafiosi meddled in politics early on, bullying voters into voting for candidates they favoured. At this period in history, only a small fraction of the Sicilian population could vote, so a single mafia boss could control a sizeable chunk of the electorate and thus wield considerable political leverage. Mafiosi used their allies in government to avoid prosecution as well as persecute less well-connected rivals. The highly fragmented and shaky Italian political system allow cliques of Mafia-friendly politicians to exert a lot of influence.
In an 1898 report to prosecutors, the police chief of Palermo identified eight mafia clans operating in the suburbs and villages near the city. The report mentioned initiation rituals and codes of conduct, as well as criminal activities that included counterfeiting, ransom kidnappings, robbery, murder and witness intimidation. The mafia also maintained funds to support the families of imprisoned members and pay defense lawyers.
Fascist repression
In 1925, Benito Mussolini initiated a campaign to destroy the Mafia and its political allies. In doing so, he would suppress many political opponents on the island and score a great propaganda coup for Fascism. In October 1925, he appointed Cesare Mori prefect of Palermo and gave him special powers to attack the Mafia. Like previous crackdowns, it involved massive round-ups of suspected criminals; over 11,000 arrests were made over the course of the campaign. Wives and children of mafiosi were sometimes taken hostage to force their surrender. Many were tried in en masse. More than 1,200 were convicted and imprisoned, and many others were internally exiled without trial.
Mori's campaign ended in June 1929 when Mussolini recalled him to Rome. Although he didn't totally crush the Mafia as the Fascist press proclaimed, his campaign was nonetheless very successful. In 1986, the mafioso defector Antonino Calderone said of the period: "The music changed. Mafiosi had a hard life. After the war the mafia hardly existed anymore. The Sicilian Families had all been broken up." Many mafiosi fled to the United States. Among these were Carlo Gambino and Joseph Bonanno, who would go on to become powerful mafia bosses in New York City.
Post-Fascist revival
In 1943, nearly half a million Allied troops invaded Sicily. The crime rate soared in the upheaval and chaos. Many inmates escaped from their prisons. Banditry returned and the black market thrived. During the first six months of Allied occupation, party politics in Sicily was banned. As Fascist mayors were deposed, the Allies simply appointed replacements. Many turned out to be mafiosi, such as Calogero Vizzini and Giuseppe Genco Russo. They could easily present themselves as political dissidents, and their anti-communist position made them further desirable.
The changing economic landscape of Sicily would shift the Mafia's power base from the rural to the urban. The Minster of Agriculture - a communist - pushed for reforms in which peasants were to get larger shares of produce, be allowed to form cooperatives and take over badly used land, and remove the system by which leaseholders (known as "gabelloti") could rent land from landowners for their own short-term use. Owners of especially large estates were to be forced to sell off their excess land. The Mafia, which had connections to many landowners, murdered many socialist reformers. In the end, though, they couldn't stop the process, and many landowners chose to sell their land to mafiosi, who offered more money than the government.
After the war, the Italian government poured public money into rebuilding Sicily, leading to a big construction boom. In 1956, two Mafia-connected officials, Vito Ciancimino and Salvatore Lima, took control of Palermo's Office of Public Works. Between 1959 and 1963, about 80% of building permits were given to just five people, none of whom represented major construction firms and were probably Mafia frontmen. Construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay protection money. Many buildings were illegally constructed before the city's planning was finalized. In 1982, Giovanni Falcone noted: "Mafia organizations entirely control the building sector in Palermo - the quarries where aggregates are mined, site clearance firms, cement plants, metal depots for the construction industry, wholesalers for sanitary fixtures, and so on".
In the 1950s, a crackdown in the United States on drug trafficking led to the imprisonment of many American mafiosi. Furthermore, Cuba, a major hub for drug smuggling, fell to Fidel Castro. This prompted the American mafia boss Joseph Bonanno to return to Sicily in 1957 to franchise out his heroin operations to the Sicilian clans. Anticipating rivalries for the lucrative American drug market, he negotiated the establishment of a Sicilian Mafia Commission to mediate disputes.
First Mafia War
Ciaculli massacre
The First Mafia War was the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy (the Sicilian Mafia has a long history of violent rivalries).
In December 1962 some heroin went missing from a shipment to America. When the Sicilian Mafia Commission could not decide who was to blame, one of the clans involved - the La Barbera clan - took matters into its own hands. They murdered a mafioso from the Greco clan whom they suspected of stealing the heroin, triggering a war in which many non-mafiosi would be killed in the crossfire. In April 1963, several bystanders were wounded during a shootout in Palermo. In May, Angelo La Barbera survived a murder attempt in Milan. In June, six military officers and a policeman in Ciaculli were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb.
The fact that the conflict spread outside Sicily and claimed innocent lives provoked national outrage and a crackdown in which nearly 2,000 arrests were made. Mafia activity fell as clans disbanded and mafiosi went into hiding. The Commission was dissolved; it would not reform until 1969. 117 suspects were put on trial in 1968, but most were acquitted or received light sentences.
Heroin boom
When heroin refineries operated by the Corsican Mafia in Marseilles were shut down by French authorities, morphine traffickers looked to Sicily. Starting in 1975, Cosa Nostra set up heroin refineries across the island. As well as refining heroin, Cosa Nostra also sought to control its distribution. Sicilian mafiosi moved to America to personally control distribution networks there, often at the expense of their American counterparts. Heroin addiction in Europe and North America surged, and seizures by police increased dramatically. By 1982, the Sicilian Mafia controlled about 80% of the heroin trade in the north-eastern United States. Through the heroin trade, Cosa Nostra became wealthier and more powerful than ever.
Second Mafia War
In the early 1970s, Luciano Leggio, boss of the Corleone clan and member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission, forged a coalition of mafia clans known as the Corleonesi, with himself as its leader. He initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade. Because Leggio was imprisoned in 1974, he acted through his deputy, Salvatore Riina, to whom he would eventually hand over control. The Corleonesi bribed cash-strapped Palermo clans into the fold, subverted members of other clans and secretly recruited new members. In 1977, the Corleonesi had Gaetano Badalamenti expelled from the Commission on trumped-up charges of hiding drug revenues. In April 1981, the Corleonesi murdered another member of the Commission, Stefano Bontate, and the Second Mafia War began in earnest. Hundreds of enemy mafiosi and their relatives were murdered, sometimes by traitors in their own clans. In the end, the Corleonesi faction won and Riina effectively became the "boss of bosses" of the Sicilian Mafia.
At the same time the Corleonesi waged their campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra, they also waged a campaign of murder against journalists, officials and policemen who dared to cross them. The police were frustrated with the lack of help they were receiving from witnesses and politicians. At the funeral of a policeman murdered by mafiosi in 1985, policemen insulted and spat at two attending statesmen, and a fight broke out between them and military police.
Maxi Trial and war against the government
In the early 1980s, the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino began a campaign against Cosa Nostra. Their big break came with the arrest of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafioso who chose to turn informant in exchange for protection from the Corleonesi, who had already murdered many of his friends and relatives. Other mafiosi would follow his example. Falcone and Borsellino compiled their testimonies and organised the Maxi Trial, which lasted from February 1986 to December 1987. It was held in a fortified courthouse specially built for the occasion. 474 mafiosi were put on trial, of which 342 were convicted. In January 1992 the Italian Supreme Court confirmed these convictions.
The Mafia retaliated violently, in part because the outrage over the violence of the 1980s made its political allies reluctant to help. In 1988, the Mafia murdered a Palermo judge and his son; three years later a prosecutor and an anti-mafia businesman were also murdered. Falcone and Borsellino were killed by bombs in 1992. This led to a public outcry and a massive government crackdown, resulting in the arrest of Cosa Nostra's "boss of bosses", Salvatore Riina, in January 1993. More and more defectors emerged. Many would pay a high price for their cooperation, usually through the murder of relatives. For example, Francesco Marino Mannoia's mother, aunt and sister were murdered.
After Riina's arrest, the Mafia began a campaign of terrorism on the Italian mainland. Tourist spots such as the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome were attacked, leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the Uffizi Gallery. When the Catholic Church openly condemned the Mafia, two churches were bombed and an antimafia priest shot dead in Rome.
Bernardo Provenzano took over as boss of the Corleonesi and halted this campaign and replaced it with a campaign of quietness known as pax mafiosi. This campaign has allowed the Mafia to slowly regain the power it once had. He was arrested in 2006, after 43 years on the run.
The modern Mafia in Italy
The main split in the Sicilian Mafia at present is between those bosses who have been convicted and are now imprisoned, chiefly Riina and capo di tutti capi Bernardo Provenzano, and those who are on the run, or who have not been indicted The incarcerated bosses are currently subjected to harsh controls on their contact with the outside world, limiting their ability to run their operations from behind bars under the article 41-bis prison regime. Antonino Giuffrè – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned pentito shortly after his capture in 2002 – alleges that in 1993, Cosa Nostra had direct contact with representatives of Silvio Berlusconi who was then planning the birth of Forza Italia.
The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for electoral deliverances in Sicily. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed. The Italian Parliament, with the support of Forza Italia, extended the enforcement of 41 bis, which was to expire in 2002 but has been prolonged for another four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy’s leading magazines, L'Espresso, 119 mafiosi – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41 bis regime – have been released on an individual basis. The human rights group Amnesty International has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could in some circumstances amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners.
In addition to Salvatore Lima, mentioned above, the politician Giulio Andreotti and the High Court judge Corrado Carnevale have long been suspected of having ties to the Mafia.
By the late 1990s, the weakened Cosa Nostra had to yield most of the illegal drug trade to the 'Ndrangheta crime organization from Calabria. In 2006, the latter was estimated to control 80% of the cocaine import to Europe.
Prominent Sicilian mafiosi
See also: List of Sicilian mafiosi
Vito Cascio Ferro Prominent early Don, imprisoned by Cesare Mori.
Calogero Vizzini (1877 – 1954), boss of Villalba, was considered to be one of the most influential Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954.
Giuseppe Genco Russo (1893 – 1976), boss of Mussomeli, considered to be the heir of Calogero Vizzini.
Michele Navarra (1905 – 1958), boss of the Mafia Family in Corleone from 1940s to 1958
Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco (1923 – 1978), boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, he was the first "secretary" of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was formed somewhere in 1958.
Gaetano Badalamenti (1923 – 2004), boss of the Mafia Family in Cinisi
Angelo La Barbera (1924 – 1975) boss of the Mafia Family in Palermo Centro
Michele Greco (1924 – 2008), boss of the Mafia Family in Croceverde
Luciano Liggio (1925 – 1993), boss of the Corleone clan and instigator of the Second Mafia War
Tommaso Buscetta (1928 – 2000), a mafioso who turned informant in 1984. Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the Maxi-Trials.
Salvatore Riina (born 1930), also known as Totò Riina, emerged from the Second Mafia War as the "boss of bosses" until his arrest in 1993.
Bernardo Provenzano (born 1933), successor of Riina as head of the Corleonesi faction and as such was considered one of the most powerful bosses of the Sicilian Mafia. Provenzano was a fugitive from justice since 1963. He was captured on 11 April 2006 in Sicily. Before capture, authorities had reportedly been "close" to capturing him for 10 years.
Stefano Bontade (1939 – 1981), boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù clan. His murder by the Corleonesi in 1981 inaugurated the Second Mafia War.
Leoluca Bagarella (born 1941), member of the Mafia Family in Corleone arrested in 1995
Salvatore Lo Piccolo (born 1942), considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.
Salvatore Inzerillo (1944 – 1981), boss of the Mafia Family in Passo di Rigano
Giovanni 'Lo Scannacristiani' Brusca (born 1957), who was involved in the murder of Giovanni Falcone.
Matteo Messina Denaro (born 1962), considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano.
Michele Cavataio died in Mafia hit in 1969
Benedetto Santapaola (born 1938), the most important boss of Catania.
Gang
Gang
Mara Salvatrucha suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force to combat gang activity in the United States. A year later, the FBI helped create National Gang Intelligence Center.A gang is a group of people who through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a grouhjop of workmen. In the United Kingdom the word is still often used in this sense, but it later underwent pejoration. The word gang often carries a negative connotation; however, within a gang which defines itself in opposition to mainstream norms, members may adopt the phrase as a statement of identity or defiance.
The term gangster (or mobster) refers to a criminal who is a member of a crime organization, such as a gang. The terms are widely used in reference to members of gangs associated with American prohibition and the American offshoot of the Italian Mafia, such as the Chicago Outfit or the Five Families. The related word "mobster" is a term derived from Latin and Aramaic. The word mobi means large gathering in Aramaic, and similarly, mob in Latin means crowd. In modern slang, the term "gangster" or "gangsta" is associated with being powerful, admirable or street smart.
Gang is from the past participle of Old English gan "to go". It is cognate with Old Norse gangr "a group of men", and it is in this sense that the word is used today, rather than the older meaning.
Historical criminal gangs
A wide variety of historical gangs, such as the Muslim Assassins, Adam the Leper 's gang, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, American Old West outlaw gangs and Italian Mafia crime families have existed for centuries. These early gangs were known for many criminal activities, but in most countries could not profit from drug trafficking prior to twentieth century drug prohibition laws such as the 1912 International Opium Convention and the 1919 Volstead Act. Gang involvement in drug trafficking increased during the 1970s and 1980s, but some gangs continue to have minimal involvement in the trade.
Classification
School-yard gangs and the dissimilarity between different gangs has prompted some officials to designate categories to classify gangs based on age, finances, criminal activities, and levels of sophistication. Sometimes these are referred to as "wannabes." Gang activity can also account for some of the higher drop out rates in some public school systems.
Scavenger gangs are characteristically disorganized and often represent the least successful of all the types of gangs. Members of scavenger gangs may be low achievers, and may be prone to violent or erratic behavior. Because these gangs are not well organized, leadership of scavenger gangs may change frequently and without reason. Scavenger gangs often turn to low-level crime, usually committed spontaneously and without planning. If a scavenger gang can become more organized, it may be able to grow into a territorial gang.
Territorial gangs are typically more organized than scavenger gangs, but their primary purpose is still social. Some may sell drugs, but this is not a defining characteristic of the territorial gang. Territorial gangs will often use violent means to defend their territory; in some cases this helps the gang to bond and reinforces the social structures of the gang. Gang members may be attracted to territorial gangs because they have difficult home lives. Two examples of such gangs are the Bloods and the Crips.
Corporate gangs are highly organized conspiracies, constructed for the purpose of marketing drugs and gaining maximum profits. The symbolism and turfs that are significant to territorial and scavenger gangs are meaningless to corporate gangs. Members of corporate gangs are expected to follow a certain etiquette, and severe punishment can be expected for any faux pas. Leadership of a corporate gang requires a higher level of intelligence than other gangs, and bosses in these gangs will often be highly successful career criminals.
Notable gang members
Al Capone
Bugs Moran
Machine Gun Kelly
Barry Mills
Larry Hoover
Jeff Fort
Luis "Huero Buff" Flores
Joe "Pegleg" Morgan
Raymond Washington
Stanley Williams
David Barksdale
John Gotti
Luis Felipe
Yaakov Alperon
James J. "Whitey" Bulger
Frank Lucas
Kray twins
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Jimmy the Gent
Sonny Barger
George Jung
Pablo Escobar
Bumpy Johnson
Gang signs
Main article: Gang signal
Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags, colors, hand-signals, clothing, jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans, signs such as the swastika, the noose,the cross, five pointed and six pointed stars, crowns and tridents , flags for example the Confederate flag, secret greetings, slurs, or code words and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs, rituals, and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from rival groups and gangs. As an alternative language, hand-signals, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti, print, music, or other mediums communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt, harass, intimidate, alarm, influence, or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused on terrorism and symbols states: "... Symbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions." Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a symbolic act can be construed as "... a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience...an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking, ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief."
Gang population
Los Angeles is the 'gang capital of America' with an estimated 120,000 gang members. There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007. About 900,000 gang members lived "within local communities across the country," and about 147,000 were in U.S. prisons or jails in 2009.[15] By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 31%, Whites 13%, and Asians 6%.
There are between 25,000 and 50,000 gang members in Central America’s El Salvador. The Yakuza are among the largest crime organizations in the world. In Japan, as of 2005, there are some 86,300 known members.[18] Hong Kong's Triads include up to 160,000 members.[19] It was estimated that in the 1950s, there were 300,000 Triad members in Hong Kong
Mara Salvatrucha suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force to combat gang activity in the United States. A year later, the FBI helped create National Gang Intelligence Center.A gang is a group of people who through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a grouhjop of workmen. In the United Kingdom the word is still often used in this sense, but it later underwent pejoration. The word gang often carries a negative connotation; however, within a gang which defines itself in opposition to mainstream norms, members may adopt the phrase as a statement of identity or defiance.
The term gangster (or mobster) refers to a criminal who is a member of a crime organization, such as a gang. The terms are widely used in reference to members of gangs associated with American prohibition and the American offshoot of the Italian Mafia, such as the Chicago Outfit or the Five Families. The related word "mobster" is a term derived from Latin and Aramaic. The word mobi means large gathering in Aramaic, and similarly, mob in Latin means crowd. In modern slang, the term "gangster" or "gangsta" is associated with being powerful, admirable or street smart.
Gang is from the past participle of Old English gan "to go". It is cognate with Old Norse gangr "a group of men", and it is in this sense that the word is used today, rather than the older meaning.
Historical criminal gangs
A wide variety of historical gangs, such as the Muslim Assassins, Adam the Leper 's gang, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, American Old West outlaw gangs and Italian Mafia crime families have existed for centuries. These early gangs were known for many criminal activities, but in most countries could not profit from drug trafficking prior to twentieth century drug prohibition laws such as the 1912 International Opium Convention and the 1919 Volstead Act. Gang involvement in drug trafficking increased during the 1970s and 1980s, but some gangs continue to have minimal involvement in the trade.
Classification
School-yard gangs and the dissimilarity between different gangs has prompted some officials to designate categories to classify gangs based on age, finances, criminal activities, and levels of sophistication. Sometimes these are referred to as "wannabes." Gang activity can also account for some of the higher drop out rates in some public school systems.
Scavenger gangs are characteristically disorganized and often represent the least successful of all the types of gangs. Members of scavenger gangs may be low achievers, and may be prone to violent or erratic behavior. Because these gangs are not well organized, leadership of scavenger gangs may change frequently and without reason. Scavenger gangs often turn to low-level crime, usually committed spontaneously and without planning. If a scavenger gang can become more organized, it may be able to grow into a territorial gang.
Territorial gangs are typically more organized than scavenger gangs, but their primary purpose is still social. Some may sell drugs, but this is not a defining characteristic of the territorial gang. Territorial gangs will often use violent means to defend their territory; in some cases this helps the gang to bond and reinforces the social structures of the gang. Gang members may be attracted to territorial gangs because they have difficult home lives. Two examples of such gangs are the Bloods and the Crips.
Corporate gangs are highly organized conspiracies, constructed for the purpose of marketing drugs and gaining maximum profits. The symbolism and turfs that are significant to territorial and scavenger gangs are meaningless to corporate gangs. Members of corporate gangs are expected to follow a certain etiquette, and severe punishment can be expected for any faux pas. Leadership of a corporate gang requires a higher level of intelligence than other gangs, and bosses in these gangs will often be highly successful career criminals.
Notable gang members
Al Capone
Bugs Moran
Machine Gun Kelly
Barry Mills
Larry Hoover
Jeff Fort
Luis "Huero Buff" Flores
Joe "Pegleg" Morgan
Raymond Washington
Stanley Williams
David Barksdale
John Gotti
Luis Felipe
Yaakov Alperon
James J. "Whitey" Bulger
Frank Lucas
Kray twins
Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Jimmy the Gent
Sonny Barger
George Jung
Pablo Escobar
Bumpy Johnson
Gang signs
Main article: Gang signal
Gangs often establish distinctive, characteristic identifiers including graffiti tags, colors, hand-signals, clothing, jewelry, hair styles, fingernails, slogans, signs such as the swastika, the noose,the cross, five pointed and six pointed stars, crowns and tridents , flags for example the Confederate flag, secret greetings, slurs, or code words and other group-specific symbols associated with the gang's common beliefs, rituals, and mythologies to define and differentiate themselves from rival groups and gangs. As an alternative language, hand-signals, symbols, and slurs in speech, graffiti, print, music, or other mediums communicate specific informational cues used to threaten, disparage, taunt, harass, intimidate, alarm, influence, or exact specific responses including obedience, submission, fear, or terror. One study focused on terrorism and symbols states: "... Symbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions." Displaying a gang sign, such as the noose, as a symbolic act can be construed as "... a threat to commit violence communicated with the intent to terrorize another, to cause evacuation of a building, or to cause serious public inconvenience, in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience...an offense against property or involving danger to another person that may include but is not limited to recklessly endangering another person, harassment, stalking, ethnic intimidation, and criminal mischief."
Gang population
Los Angeles is the 'gang capital of America' with an estimated 120,000 gang members. There were at least 30,000 gangs and 800,000 gang members active across the USA in 2007. About 900,000 gang members lived "within local communities across the country," and about 147,000 were in U.S. prisons or jails in 2009.[15] By 1999, Hispanics accounted for 47% of all gang members, Blacks 31%, Whites 13%, and Asians 6%.
There are between 25,000 and 50,000 gang members in Central America’s El Salvador. The Yakuza are among the largest crime organizations in the world. In Japan, as of 2005, there are some 86,300 known members.[18] Hong Kong's Triads include up to 160,000 members.[19] It was estimated that in the 1950s, there were 300,000 Triad members in Hong Kong
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Gangs in the United States
List of gangs in the United States
Notable Gangs in the United States include:
Black
* Black P. Stones
* Bloods
* Crips
* Gangster Disciples
* People Nation
* Folk Nation
* Vice Lords
* DFGG
Hispanic
* Temple Street
* 18th Street
* Florencia 13
* Clanton 14
* Dominicans Don't Play
* Maniac Latin Disciples
* Mara Salvatrucha
* ñetas
* Norteños
* Sureños
* La Raza
* Satan Disciples
* Spanish Cobras
* Latin Kings
* Longos
* ABK (Anybody Killa)
* TRINITARIOS [3NI]
* Sherman Heights (27th St. & 21st. ST.)
* Logan Heights (30th St. & Red Steps)
* Shelltown (Gama St. Boys)
* Wap Town
* Diablos
* Whittier 13
-varrio alcapone(boyle heights) -Deciples -Eastside (East side San Diego-ESD) -South East Locos(San Diego) -OTNC(Old Town National City) -West Side Sur13 (San Diego) -Townsmen (El Cajon) -Orphans (El Cajon) -El Cajon Dukes -Varrios Unidos (El Cajon) (VU) -Imperial Dukes -Varrio Chula Vista (VCV) -OTSD (Old Town San Diego) -Mission Bay Locos (San Diego) I grew up in the Willowbrook area of Compton near the Willowbrook railroad tracks in the 1960s. At that time, the Florence 13 Gang (F13) was already a long established and large Hispanic Gang from the "Florence" area of South Central Los Angeles. It was a rival to the Hispanic Compton Varrio Tres (CV3), Tortilla Flats (TF), Hickory Street, Grape Street, Elm Street, Watts Jardin (Watts Garden), Lynwood Paragons, Ochentas (80's), and Colonia Watts local street gangs. Florence also sometimes "rumbled" with White Fence and other East and Central Los Angeles gangs, not to mention the continual skirmishes with the surrounding African-American street gangs.
The F13 gang got its name from the major street, Florence Avenue, which runs east and west, parallel and between Imperial Highway and Firestone Boulevard. The name Florence is pronounced Florencia in Spanish. Florence is also a woman's name, so the gang adopted a 50's "doo-woop" song, "Florence" by the Paragons, as its theme song. The song was often requested to be played by DJs like Huggie Boy or Wolfman Jack on the radio to let everybody know Florencia was in town and as an implicit challenge to rivals. The song was also played at Mexican weddings, cincinedas, baptisms, and dances, wherever "Oldies but Goodies" were popular. If Florence gang members were present in any numbers, it often proved a catalyst for fights.
Caucasian
* Gaylords
* Popes
* Royals
* KKK
* Tunnel Snakes
* Peckerwoods
* Stone Street Boys
Asian
* Tiny Rascal Gang
* Asian Boys
* FriscoSide Wah Ching
* Born to Kill
* Satanas
* SZA (Sarzana)
* Flying Dragons
* Asian Killa Boyz
* Vietnamese Boyz
* Bahala Na Gang
* Temple Street PINOY LOCOS
* Pinoy Real
* Westside Islanders
Middle Eastern/North African
* TAP Boyz
Bikers
* Hells Angels MC
* Outlaws MC
* Bandidos MC
* Pagans MC
* Mongols MC
* Warlocks MC
Prison
* Mexican Mafia
* Black Guerrilla Family
* Aryan Brotherhood
* Nuestra Familia
* Nazi Lowriders
* Public Enemy No. 1
* European Kindred
* Texas Syndicate
* Mexikanemi
* the faggots
* Netas
* BTRG
* KPA
Notable Gangs in the United States include:
Black
* Black P. Stones
* Bloods
* Crips
* Gangster Disciples
* People Nation
* Folk Nation
* Vice Lords
* DFGG
Hispanic
* Temple Street
* 18th Street
* Florencia 13
* Clanton 14
* Dominicans Don't Play
* Maniac Latin Disciples
* Mara Salvatrucha
* ñetas
* Norteños
* Sureños
* La Raza
* Satan Disciples
* Spanish Cobras
* Latin Kings
* Longos
* ABK (Anybody Killa)
* TRINITARIOS [3NI]
* Sherman Heights (27th St. & 21st. ST.)
* Logan Heights (30th St. & Red Steps)
* Shelltown (Gama St. Boys)
* Wap Town
* Diablos
* Whittier 13
-varrio alcapone(boyle heights) -Deciples -Eastside (East side San Diego-ESD) -South East Locos(San Diego) -OTNC(Old Town National City) -West Side Sur13 (San Diego) -Townsmen (El Cajon) -Orphans (El Cajon) -El Cajon Dukes -Varrios Unidos (El Cajon) (VU) -Imperial Dukes -Varrio Chula Vista (VCV) -OTSD (Old Town San Diego) -Mission Bay Locos (San Diego) I grew up in the Willowbrook area of Compton near the Willowbrook railroad tracks in the 1960s. At that time, the Florence 13 Gang (F13) was already a long established and large Hispanic Gang from the "Florence" area of South Central Los Angeles. It was a rival to the Hispanic Compton Varrio Tres (CV3), Tortilla Flats (TF), Hickory Street, Grape Street, Elm Street, Watts Jardin (Watts Garden), Lynwood Paragons, Ochentas (80's), and Colonia Watts local street gangs. Florence also sometimes "rumbled" with White Fence and other East and Central Los Angeles gangs, not to mention the continual skirmishes with the surrounding African-American street gangs.
The F13 gang got its name from the major street, Florence Avenue, which runs east and west, parallel and between Imperial Highway and Firestone Boulevard. The name Florence is pronounced Florencia in Spanish. Florence is also a woman's name, so the gang adopted a 50's "doo-woop" song, "Florence" by the Paragons, as its theme song. The song was often requested to be played by DJs like Huggie Boy or Wolfman Jack on the radio to let everybody know Florencia was in town and as an implicit challenge to rivals. The song was also played at Mexican weddings, cincinedas, baptisms, and dances, wherever "Oldies but Goodies" were popular. If Florence gang members were present in any numbers, it often proved a catalyst for fights.
Caucasian
* Gaylords
* Popes
* Royals
* KKK
* Tunnel Snakes
* Peckerwoods
* Stone Street Boys
Asian
* Tiny Rascal Gang
* Asian Boys
* FriscoSide Wah Ching
* Born to Kill
* Satanas
* SZA (Sarzana)
* Flying Dragons
* Asian Killa Boyz
* Vietnamese Boyz
* Bahala Na Gang
* Temple Street PINOY LOCOS
* Pinoy Real
* Westside Islanders
Middle Eastern/North African
* TAP Boyz
Bikers
* Hells Angels MC
* Outlaws MC
* Bandidos MC
* Pagans MC
* Mongols MC
* Warlocks MC
Prison
* Mexican Mafia
* Black Guerrilla Family
* Aryan Brotherhood
* Nuestra Familia
* Nazi Lowriders
* Public Enemy No. 1
* European Kindred
* Texas Syndicate
* Mexikanemi
* the faggots
* Netas
* BTRG
* KPA
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