Mafia
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| - | {{Voir homonymes|mafia (homonymie)}} | + | {{pp-semi|small=yes}} |
| + | {{Otheruses1|the criminal society}} | ||
| + | The '''Mafia''' (also known as '''La Cosa Nostra''') is a [[Sicily|Sicilian]] [[criminal]] [[secret society]] which first developed in the mid-19th century in [[Sicily]]. An offshoot emerged on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] of the [[United States]] and in [[Australia]]<ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897088,00.html Omerta in the Antipodes], Time, January 31, 1964</ref> during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian [[emigration]] (see also [[Italian diaspora]]). In North America, the Mafia often refers to Italian organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian organized crime. According to historian [[Paolo Pezzino]]: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory..."<ref name="definition">[http://www.alleanzacattolica.org/idis_dpf/english/m_the_mafia.htm The mafia], by Domenico Airoma</ref> | ||
| - | Une '''mafia''' (orthographe vieillie : '''maffia''') est une [[organisation criminelle]] dont les activités sont soumises à une direction collégiale occulte et qui repose sur une stratégie d'infiltration de la société civile et des institutions. On parle également de ''système mafieux''. Les membres sont appelés "mafieux" (sans distinction de nombre), ou parfois "mafiosi", d'après le nom italien (au singulier : "mafioso"). | + | The Sicilian Cosa Nostra is a loose confederation of about one hundred Mafia groups, also called [[cosca|cosche]] or families, each of which claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city, though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its monopoly of violence. For many years, the power apparatuses of the single families were the sole ruling bodies within the two associations, and they have remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies were created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s (the [[Sicilian Mafia Commission]]).<ref name=paoli>[http://www.organized-crime.de/revpao01mafiandrangheta.htm Review of Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods''] by Klaus Von Lampe</ref> |
| - | ==Étymologie== | + | Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, [[Giuseppe Pitrè]], at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."<ref name="mafia">Giuseppe Pitrè, ''Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano'', Palermo 1889 </ref> |
| - | Le terme ''mafia'' a diverses [[étymologie]]s possibles, plus ou moins vérifiables et réalistes. Ainsi, il serait une déformation : | + | |
| - | * de l'[[Langue arabe|arabe]] Ma-Hias ''spacconeria'', en référence à l'"arrogance" dont font preuve les membres de telles organisations, | + | |
| - | * de l'arabe ''mu'afak'' ("protection des pauvres") ou ''maha'' ("grotte de pierre"), | + | |
| - | * lors des [[Vêpres siciliennes]] ([[1282]]) aurait été adopté le sigle M.A.F.I.A. pour "'''M'''orte '''A'''i '''F'''rancesi '''I'''talia '''A'''nela" ("''L'Italie aspire à la mort des Français''") en référence au soulèvement en cours contre le [[roi de Sicile]] [[Charles Ier de Sicile|Charles I]], issu de la maison française d'[[Anjou]] et frère du [[roi de France]] [[Louis IX]] (imposé par le [[pape]] en [[1265]]). Divers récits rapportent des versions différentes, comme celle d'une mère hurlant ''Ma-ffia, Ma-ffia!'' ou « ''mia figlia, mia figlia'' » après le viol de sa fille lors des mêmes Vêpres. On peut aisément affirmer qu'il s'agit là d'étymologies plus légendaires qu'historiques : le terme "fille" dans le dialecte sicilien (''figghia'') ne se rapproche pas suffisamment de la versions "-ffia" ; de même que les Vêpres, si elles étaient effectivement dirigées contre les Français (cf [[Saba Malaspina]] ou [[Giovanni Villani]]), restent malgré tout l'illustration d'un nationalisme sicilien et non pas italien. Le sigle ne semble avoir aucune pertinence historique. | + | |
| - | * notons enfin que le terme [[toscan]] ''maffia'' ("misère") ne semble avoir aucun lien avec le vocable sicilien. | + | |
| - | Le terme toscan entra dans la langue populaire en [[Sicile]] juste après l'[[Unification de l'Italie]] ([[Risorgimento]]) en [[1862]], où il subit le phénomène de l'affaiblissement phonétique, comme d'autres mots toscans entrés dans l'usage sicilien. Il servit alors à désigner d'une part l'organisation secrète des classes populaires, qui trouvaient dans la mafia la protection contre le pouvoir des classes dominantes, ainsi que le courage et l'ostentation des mafiosi de cette époque. Aujourd'hui encore, en Sicile, l'adjectif ''mafiusu'' est utilisé aussi pour désigner quelque chose de coûteux : un costume élégant ou une voiture prestigieuse sont ''un vestito mafiusu, una machina mafiusa'', car à l'époque le peuple voyait dans les mafiosi leurs défenseurs, mais associait aussi l'idée de la justice sociale avec celle de l'avenance et de la prestance. | + | Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection for the poor and weak. As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, [[Calogero Vizzini]], stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honour, or even social responsibility: an attitude, not an organization. Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister [[Vittorio Emanuele Orlando]] stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being ''mafioso'', because that word meant honourable, noble, generous.<ref>Arlacchi, ''Mafia Business'', p. 181</ref><ref>Dickie, ''Cosa Nostra'', p. 183</ref> |
| - | Selon l'historique des traditions populaires de [[Giuseppe Pitrè]], le terme était utilisé comme synonyme de beauté et d'audace dans le parler d'un quartier populaire de [[Palerme]]. | + | ==Etymology== |
| + | There are several theories about the origin of the term. The [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] adjective ''mafiusu'' may derive from the [[Arabic]] <!--need to provide the Arabic word here, with "mahjas" as a transliteration)--> ''mahyas'', 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.<ref name="mafiusu">This etymology is based on the books ''Mafioso'' by Gaia Servadio; ''The Sicilian Mafia'' by Diego Gambetta; and ''Cosa Nostra'' by John Dickie (see [[#Books|Books]] below).</ref> | ||
| - | L'expression mafia est devenue courante à partir de [[1863]], avec la pièce ''[[I mafiusi di la Vicaria]]'' de [[Giuseppe Rizzotto]] et [[Gaetano Mosca]], qui eut un grand succès et fut traduit en [[Langue italienne|Italien]], [[Napolitain]] et [[Meneghino]], diffusant le terme sur tout le territoire national. | + | According to the Sicilian ethnographer [[Giuseppe Pitrè]], the association of the word with the criminal secret society was made by the 1863 play ''[[I mafiusi di la Vicaria]]'' (The Beautiful (people) of Vicaria) by [[Giuseppe Rizzotto]] and [[Gaetano Mosca]], which is about criminal gangs in the Palermo prison.<ref>Gambetta, ''The Sicilian Mafia'', p. 136</ref> The words ''Mafia'' and ''mafiusi'' (plural of ''mafiusu'') are never mentioned in the play, and were probably put in the title because it would add local flair. |
| - | Dans cette pièce, le mafioso est le [[Camorra|camorrista]], l'"homme d'honneur", c'est-à-dire l'individu qui adhère à une société qui s'oppose aux institutions et qui exhibe courage et supériorité. Un document confidentiel signé par le préfet de [[Palerme]] [[Filippo Gualtiero]] en avril [[1865]], mentionne la "''Mafia, o associazione malandrinesca''" (en [[français]] "la Mafia, ou association de malandrins"). | + | The association between ''mafiusi'' and criminal gangs was made by the association the play's title made with the criminal gangs that were new to Sicilian and Italian society at the time. Consequently, the word "mafia" was generated from a fictional source loosely inspired by the real thing and was used by outsiders to describe it. The use of the term "mafia" was subsequently taken over in the [[Italy|Italian]] state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word "mafia" made its first official appearance in 1865 in a report by the prefect of Palermo, [[Filippo Antonio Gualterio]]. |
| - | Dans les [[années 1860]] commence la notoriété du terme, qui désigne par exemple dans les documents officiels, comme les communications des fonctionnaires, à la fois une association de malfaiteurs et un comportement courant dans la société sicilienne. | + | [[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."<ref name=gambetta137>Gambetta, ''The Sicilian Mafia'', p. 137</ref> He 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.<ref name=servadio42> Servadio, ''Mafioso'', p. 42-43</ref> |
| - | ==Origine== | + | ===The real name: Cosa Nostra=== |
| - | La mafia est originaire d'[[Italie du Sud]] ([[Mezzogiorno]]), où ce type d'organisation a été identifié et caractérisé en tant que tel en premier, dès le [[XIXe siècle]] (bien que des organisations du même type aient pu exister à d'autres endroits et en d'autres temps). Plusieurs organisations mafieuses sont recensées en [[Italie]] méridionale : | + | According to some mafiosi, the real name of the Mafia is "''Cosa Nostra''" ("Our thing"). Many have claimed, as did the Mafia turncoat [[Tommaso Buscetta]], that the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other Mafia defectors, such as [[Antonio Calderone]] and [[Salvatore Contorno]], said the same thing. According to them, the real thing was "cosa nostra". To men of honour belonging to the organization, there is no need to name it. Mafiosi introduce known members to other known members as belonging to "cosa nostra" (our thing) or ''la stessa cosa'' (the same thing), meaning "he is the same thing, a mafioso, as you". Only the outside world needs a name to describe it, hence the capitalized form "Cosa Nostra". |
| - | * la [[Camorra]] (en [[Campanie]] : [[Naples]]), | + | |
| - | * la [[Cosa Nostra]] (en [[Sicile]]), | + | |
| - | * la [['Ndrangheta]] (en [[Calabre]]), | + | |
| - | * la [[Sacra Corona Unita]] (dans les [[Pouilles]]), | + | |
| - | * la [[Stidda]] (en [[Sicile]]), | + | |
| - | * les [[Basilischi]] (en [[Basilicate]]), | + | |
| - | * la [[Anonima sequestra]] (en [[Sardaigne]]). | + | |
| - | Les organisations criminelles considérées comme des mafias ''stricto sensu'' par les criminologues sont, outre les mafias italiennes, les [[Triades chinoises]], les [[Boryokudan]] [[japonais]] (dont les membres sont appelés « [[Yakuza]] »), la [[mafia italo-américaine]], la « Mafiya » [[russe]], la « Maffya » [[turque]] et la mafia [[albanais|albano-kosovare]]. D'autres groupes criminels tels que les [[cartels colombiens]], les clans [[nigérian]]s, les [[posse]]s [[jamaïcain]]s, la [[pègre]] du sud de la [[France]], etc... ne peuvent pas être qualifiés de « mafias » au sens strict, dans la mesure où leurs caractéristiques ne correspondent pas aux critères de définition d'une mafia (stade symbiotique d'intégration dans la société, espérance de vie des institutions supérieure à celle des individus en place). | + | Cosa Nostra was first used, in the early 1960s, in the United States by [[Joseph Valachi]], a mafioso turned state witness, during the hearings of the [[McClellan Hearings|McClellan Commission]].<ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894561,00.html Their Thing], Time, August 16, 1963</ref><ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875227,00.html Killers in Prison], Time, October 4, 1963</ref><ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,873080,00.html "The Smell of It"], Time, October 11, 1963</ref> 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 an article to the term, calling it 'La Cosa Nostra'. In Italy the article 'la' is never used when the term refers to the Mafia. |
| - | ==Histoire de la Cosa Nostra sicilienne== | + | ===Other Names=== |
| - | ===Les débuts=== | + | The Mafia has used many other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as ''The Honoured Society.'' Mafiosi are known among themselves as ''Men of Honour.'' |
| - | Il a été longtemps débattu savoir si la mafia avait des origines médiévales. Le Pentito décédé Tommaso Buscetta a pensé que oui, alors que les lettrés modernes pensent maintenant autrement. Il est possible que la mafia « originale » ait été constituée comme une [[société secrète]] dont l'objectif avoué était de protéger la population sicilienne de la menace des maraudeurs [[espagnol]]s au [[XVe siècle]]. Cependant, il y a très peu de preuves historiques qui abondent dans ce sens. Il est également concevable que le mythe de « [[Robin des Bois]] » ait été perpétué par les premiers mafiosi notoires dans le but de gagner la bienveillance et la confiance des [[Sicilien]]s. | + | |
| - | Après les révolutions de [[1848]] et [[1860]], la [[Sicile]] avait sombré dans l'anarchie la plus totale. Les premiers mafiosi, alors bandes de hors-la-loi, petites et éparses, contribuèrent par les armes à la confusion. Pour l’auteur [[John Dickie]], leur objectif était de détruire les rapports de police et les preuves, ainsi que d'éliminer la police et les "pentiti" ([[repenti]]s) en profitant du chaos ambiant. Cependant, une fois qu’un nouveau gouvernement fut établi à [[Rome]] et qu'il devint clair que la mafia ne serait plus à même de mener à bien ces actions, ils changèrent progressivement leurs méthodes et leurs techniques au cours de la seconde moitié du [[XIXe siècle]]. Protéger les grandes plantations de citronniers et les propriétés de la [[noblesse]] locale (parfois en son absence jusqu'à la remplacer) devinrent des affaires lucratives bien que dangereuses. Ces activités se déroulaient au début principalement à [[Palerme]], mais la domination de la mafia sicilienne s'étendit bientôt dans tout l’ouest de la Sicile. Afin de renforcer les liens entre les bandes disparates et par là d'assurer de meilleurs profits et un environnement plus sûr, il est possible que la mafia telle que nous la connaissons ait été formée à ce moment, au milieu du [[XIXe siècle]]. | + | ==Rituals of Sicilian Cosa Nostra== |
| + | The orientation ritual in most families happens when a man becomes an associate, and then, a soldier. As described by [[Tommaso Buscetta]] to judge [[Giovanni Falcone]], the neophyte is brought together with at least three "men of honor" of the family and the oldest member present warns him that "this House" is meant to protect the weak against the abuse of the powerful; he then pricks the finger of the initiate and spills his blood onto a sacred image, usually of a saint. The image is placed in the hand of the initiate and lit on fire. The neophyte must withstand the pain of the burning, passing the image from hand to hand, until the image has been consumed, while swearing to keep faith with the principles of "Cosa Nostra," solemnly swearing "may my flesh burn like this saint if I fail to keep my oath." Joseph Valachi was the first person to mention that in court. | ||
| - | ===La mafia après l'[[Unification de l'Italie]]=== | + | The Sicilians also have a law of silence, called [[omertà]]; it forbids the common man, woman or child to cooperate at all with the police or the government, upon pain of death. |
| - | A partir de [[1860]], date à laquelle le nouvel état italien unifié prit contrôle de la Sicile et des états papaux, les [[Pape]]s furent hostiles à l'Etat. Dès [[1870]], le Pape déclara être assailli par l’Etat italien et les [[catholique]]s furent fortement encouragés à refuser de coopérer avec lui. En règle générale, en Italie, cela prit un caractère paisible. La Sicile était fortement catholique, mais plus dans un sens communautaire que dans un sens intellectuel ou théologique, et se méfiait traditionnellement des étrangers. La friction entre l’Église et l’Etat donna un grand avantage aux bandes criminelles violentes de Sicile qui pouvaient déclarer aux paysans et aux citadins que coopérer avec la police, qui représentait le nouvel Etat italien, était un acte anti-catholique. C'est pendant les deux décennies suivant l’unification de 1860 que le terme mafia est venu à l’attention du grand public, bien qu’il désignât alors davantage un système d’attitudes et de valeurs qu'une organisation. Elle était encore à l'image des contremaîtres qui dirigeaient les grandes propriétés agricoles en l'absence des propriétaires terriens (les nobles) qui résidaient le plus souvent à Palerme, [[Naples]] ou, après l'Unification, [[Rome]] et qui acquérirent de fait un pouvoir local, notamment en termes d'impôts. | + | |
| - | La première mention dans les annales judiciaires officielles du terme « mafia » apparaît à la fin du XIXe siècle, quand un certain Dr. Galati fut victime de menaces violentes par un mafioso local qui tentait de le chasser de son exploitation de citronniers afin de s'y installer. Les rackets de "protection", le vol de bétail et la corruption de fonctionnaires de l’Etat étaient les sources de revenus et les protection principales des premières mafias. La Cosa Nostra a aussi fortement emprunté aux serments et rites maçonniques, comme la désormais célèbre cérémonie d’initiation. | + | ==History of Sicilian Cosa Nostra== |
| + | ===Origins=== | ||
| + | It has long been debated whether the mafia has medieval origins. Deceased ''pentito'' [[Tommaso Buscetta]] thought so, whilst modern scholars now believe otherwise. It is possible that the "original" mafia formed as a secret society sworn to protect the Sicilian population from the threat of Catalan marauders in the fifteenth century. However, there is very little historical evidence to suggest this. It is also feasible that the "[[Robin Hood]]" origins, which are closely intertwined with the Sicilian outlaw [[Salvatore Giuliano]], were perpetuated by the earliest known ''mafiosi'' as a means of gaining goodwill and trust from the Sicilian people. This origin states that the Mafia is a means for righteous rebels to defend the people against oppression, Roman and Northern Italian control, and outside invasion. | ||
| - | ===L'ère fasciste=== | + | After the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states|Revolution of 1848]] and the [[Risorgimento|revolution of 1860]], Sicily had fallen to complete disorder. The earliest mafiosi, at that time separate, small bands of outlaws, offered their guns in the revolt. Author John Dickie claims that the main reasons for this were the chance to burn police records and evidence, and to kill off police and pentiti in the chaos. However, once a new government was established in Rome and it became clear that the mafia would be unable to execute these actions, they began refining their methods and techniques over the latter half of the nineteenth century. Protecting the large lemon groves and estates of local nobility became a lucrative but dangerous business. [[Palermo]] was initially the main area of these activities, but the Sicilian mafia's dominance soon spread over all of western Sicily. In order to strengthen the bond between the disparate gangs and so ensure greater profits and a safer working environment, it is possible that the mafia as such was formed at this time in about the mid-19th century. |
| - | Pendant la période [[fasciste]] en [[Italie]], [[Cesare Mori]], le préfet ("de fer") de Palerme, utilisa les pouvoirs spéciaux qui lui furent accordés pour poursuivre en justice la Mafia, forçant beaucoup de mafiosi à fuir à l’étranger pour échapper à l'emprisonnement. Beaucoup se réfugièrent aux [[États-Unis]] (souvent en passant par le port du [[Havre]]) et parmi eux [[Joseph Bonanno]], surnommé Joe Bananas, qui en vint à dominer la branche américaine de la Mafia. Cependant, quand Mori commença à persécuter les mafiosi qui s'étaient réfugiés dans la hiérarchie fasciste, il fut destitué et les autorités fascistes proclamèrent que la Mafia avait été vaincue. Malgré ses attaques contre leurs confrères, [[Mussolini]] eut des partisans dans la mafia de [[New-York]], notamment [[Vito Genovese]], qui était toutefois de Naples et non de Sicile. | + | |
| - | ===La renaissance d'après-guerre=== | + | === Mafia after the unification of Italy === |
| - | Après le [[Fascisme]] de la [[Seconde Guerre Mondiale]], la Mafia n’est redevenue puissante en Italie qu’avec la reddition du pays et l’occupation américaine. Les Etats-Unis ont utilisé les relations italiennes de mafiosi américains pendant l’invasion de la Sicile et de l'Italie en [[1943]]. [[Lucky Luciano]] et d’autres mafiosi, qui avaient été emprisonnés pendant ce temps aux Etats-Unis, fournirent des informations au renseignement militaire américain et usèrent de l’influence de Luciano pour faciliter l'avancée des troupes. En outre le contrôle de Luciano sur les ports a empêché leur sabotage par les agents des forces de l'[[Axe]]. | + | From 1860, the year when the new unified Italian state first took over both Sicily and the [[Papal States]], the Popes were hostile to the state. From 1870, the Pope declared himself besieged by the Italian state and strongly encouraged Catholics to refuse to cooperate with the state. Broadly speaking, in mainland Italy, this did not lead to violence. [[Sicily]] was strongly [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]], but in a strongly tribal sense rather than in an intellectual and theological sense, and had a tradition of suspicion of outsiders. The friction between the Church and the state gave a great advantage to violent criminal bands in Sicily who could claim to peasants and townspeople that cooperating with the police (representing the new Italian state) was an anti-Catholic activity. It was in the two decades following the 1860 unification that the term Mafia came to the attention of the general public, although it was considered to be more of an attitude and value system than an organization. |
| - | Certains affirment que le bureau américain des services stratégiques ([[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]]), le précurseur de la [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], a délibérément permis à la mafia de retrouver sa position sociale et économique en tant qu'"Etat dans l'Etat" en Sicile et que cela fut, avec l’alliance Etats-Unis-Mafia forgée en 1943, le tournant décisif dans l’histoire de la mafia et les bases nouvelles pour son activité pendant les soixante années suivantes. D'autres, tel que l'historien palermitain [[Francesco Renda]], ont infirmé l'existence de toute alliance de ce type. La mafia aurait plutôt exploité le chaos de la Sicile post-fasciste pour reconquérir sa base sociale. L'OSS en effet, en [[1944]], dans son « Rapport sur les Problèmes de la mafia » par l’agent W.E. Scotten, a noté les signes de résurgence de la mafia et a averti des périls qu'elle représentait pour l’ordre social et les progrès économiques. | + | The first mention in official law documentation of the 'mafia' came in the late 1800s, when a Dr. Galati was subject to threats of violence from a local mafioso, who was attempting to oust Galati from his own lemon grove in order to move himself in. Protection rackets, cattle rustling and bribery of state officials were the main sources of income and protection for the early mafia. Cosa Nostra also borrowed heavily from masonic oaths and rituals, such as the now famous initiation ceremony. |
| - | Un bénéfice supplémentaire (dans la perspective américaine) aurait été que beaucoup de mafiosi siciliens étaient des anti-[[communiste]]s purs et durs. Ils ont donc été vus comme de précieux alliés par les Américains [[anti-communiste]]s. Ceux-ci auraient utilisé leurs services aussi bien dans l’industrie navale américaine pour éradiquer les éléments [[socialiste]]s et communistes, que dans les mouvements de [[résistance]] durant la guerre ou dans les gouvernements d’après-guerre, locaux et régionaux, là où la Mafia avait la main-mise. | + | === Fascist era === |
| + | During the [[Fascist]] period in Italy, [[Cesare Mori]], prefect of Palermo, used special powers granted to him to prosecute the Mafia, forcing many Mafiosi to flee abroad or risk being jailed.<ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,736971,00.html Mafia Trial], Time, October 24, 1927</ref><ref>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731421,00.html Mafia Scotched], Time, January 23, 1928</ref> Many of the Mafiosi who escaped fled to the United States, among them [[Joseph Bonanno]], nicknamed Joe Bananas, who came to dominate the U.S. branch of the Mafia. However, when Mori started to persecute the Mafiosi involved in the Fascist hierarchy, he was removed, and the Fascist authorities proclaimed that the Mafia had been defeated. Though the mafia was weakened, it had not been defeated as claimed. Despite his assault on their brethren, Mussolini had his admirers in the New York Mafia, notably [[Vito Genovese]] (although he was from Naples and not from Sicily). | ||
| - | Selon l’expert du trafic de drogue le Dr Alfred W.McCoy, Luciano a été autorisé à commander son réseau criminel de sa cellule de prison en échange de son assistance. Après la guerre, Luciano fut récompensé par une libération et une extradition vers l'Italie, où il put continuer sa carrière criminelle sans entrave. Il alla en Sicile en [[1946]] pour poursuivre ses activités et, selon le livre de McCoy « The Politics of Heroïn in South East Asia », Luciano forgea une alliance cruciale avec la mafia [[corse]], menant au développement d’un vaste réseau international de trafic d’[[héroïne]], initialement fourni par la [[Turquie]] et basé à [[Marseille]] – connue sous le nom de « [[French Connection]] ». | + | === The post-war revival === |
| + | After Fascism, the Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in [[World War II]] and the U.S. occupation. The United States used Italian connections of American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. [[Lucky Luciano]] and other Mafiosi, who had been imprisoned during this time in the U.S., provided information for U.S. military intelligence and used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing troops. Furthermore, Luciano's control of the ports prevented sabotage by agents of the Axis powers.<ref name="luciano">"The wartime collaboration of Sicilian-born Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano with the United States Navy may have made the Allied invasion of Sicily smoother than it otherwise would have been, but the Iron Prefect's enforcement of the Duce's laws had already made most mafiosi sympathetic to the American cause, or at least hostile to the Fascist one." [http://www.bestofsicily.com/mafia.htm The Mafia] from [http://www.bestofsicily.com bestofsicily.com]</ref> | ||
| - | Plus tard, quand la Turquie a commencé à éliminer la production d’[[opium]], il usa de ses relations avec les Corses pour ouvrir un dialogue avec les mafiosi corses expatriés au [[Sud-Vietnam]]. En collaboration avec les principaux patrons américains comme Santo Trafficante Jr, Luciano et ses successeurs profitèrent des conditions chaotiques en [[Asie]] du Sud-Est, résultant de la guerre du [[Vietnam]], pour établir une base d'approvisionnement et de distribution hors d'atteinte dans le « [[Triangle d'or]] », laquelle redirigea bientôt des quantités énormes d’[[héroïne]] asiatique aux [[États-Unis]], en [[Australie]] et dans les autres pays via l’[[armée américaine]]. | + | Some say that the U.S. [[Office of Strategic Services]], precursor to the [[CIA]], deliberately allowed the mafia to recover its social and economic position as the "anti-State" in Sicily, and with the U.S.-mafia alliance forged in 1943, this became the true turning point of mafia history and the new foundation for its subsequent 60-year career.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} Others, such as the Palermitan historian [[Francesco Renda]], have argued that there was no such alliance. Rather, the mafia exploited the chaos of post-fascist Sicily to reconquer its social base. The OSS indeed, in its 1944 "Report on the Problem of Mafia" by the agent W. E. Scotten, pointed to the signs of mafia resurgence and warned of its perils for social order and economic progress. |
| - | ===Les années 1990=== | + | An alleged additional benefit (from the American perspective) was that many of the Sicilian-Italian Mafiosi were hard-line anti-[[communists]]. They were therefore seen as valuable allies by the anti-communist Americans, who allegedly used them to root out socialist and communist elements in the American shipping industry as well as wartime resistance movements and postwar local and regional governments in areas where the Mafia held sway.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} |
| - | L'[[Italie]] a réussi à donner quelques coups importants aux organisations mafieuses qui œuvraient sur son territoire et à partir de celui-ci. Les procès à grande échelle (l'[[Opération mains propres]] qui a concerné la mafia, mais pas seulement) dans les [[années 1990]] ont permis l'arrestation de plusieurs figures emblématiques de la mafia locale, tout en mettant hors d'état de nuire de nombreux politiciens véreux (dont les fameux fermiers généraux qui collectaient les impôts, dont une partie leur revenait !). | + | |
| - | L'assassinat particulièrement démonstratif du Général [[Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa]], puis des juges [[Giovanni Falcone]] et [[Paolo Borsellino]] (au moyen d'une tonne de [[Trinitrotoluène|TNT]] dans chaque cas), même s'ils eurent l'effet d'un électrochoc avec les nouvelles lois anti-mafia votées qui reprenaient l'essentiel des théories de ce haut fonctionnaire de l'armée ou des deux magistrats, donna malheureusement un coup d'arrêt grave à cette action. C'est surtout les mentalités qui doivent évoluer : ne plus avoir peur de la mafia et ne plus la considérer comme une fatalité. | + | According to drug trade expert Dr. [[Alfred W. McCoy]], Luciano was permitted to run his crime network from his jail cell in exchange for his assistance. After the war, Luciano was rewarded by being released from prison and deported to Italy, where he was able to continue his criminal career unhindered. He went to Sicily in 1946 to continue his activities and according to McCoy's landmark 1972 book ''The Politics of Heroin in South-East Asia'', Luciano went on to forge a crucial alliance with the [[Corsican Mafia]], leading to the development of a vast international [[heroin]] [[drug trafficking|trafficking]] network, initially supplied from [[Turkey]] and based in [[Marseille]] — the so-called "[[French Connection]]". |
| - | Le [[30 novembre]] [[2004]], plusieurs milliers de manifestants se sont retrouvés dans les rues de [[Naples]], pour protester contre la mafia locale [[Camorra]]. En [[2004]], les règlements de compte entre bandes mafieuses rivales ont fait 119 morts, surtout dans les quartiers défavorisés de [[Scampia]] et de [[Secondigliano]] de cette même ville. Cette guerre mafieuse n'a pas encore atteint **l'ampleur de celle qui avait fait 273 morts pour la seule année [[1981]]. (Source : ''[[Le Monde]]'', {{1er décembre}} [[2004]]). | + | Later, when Turkey began to eliminate its [[opium]] production, he used his connections with the [[Unione Corse|Corsicans]] to open a dialogue with expatriate Corsican mafiosi in [[South Vietnam]]. In collaboration with leading American mob bosses including [[Santo Trafficante Jr.]], Luciano and his successors took advantage of the chaotic conditions in [[Southeast Asia]] arising from the [[Vietnam War]] to establish an unassailable supply and distribution base in the "[[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]]", which was soon funneling huge amounts of Asian heroin into the United States, [[Australia]] and other countries.<ref>The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, by Alfred W. McCoy with Cathleen B. Read and Leonard P. Adams II, 1972, ISBN 0060129018</ref> |
| - | Plusieurs sites Web anti-mafia ont été créés comme [http://www.libera.it/ Libera] et [[Addiopizzo]]. | + | === Maxi Trial and war against the government === |
| + | The [[Second Mafia War]] in the early 1980s was a large scale conflict within the Mafia that also led to the assassinations of several politicians, police chiefs and magistrates. [[Salvatore Riina]] and his [[Corleonesi]] faction ultimately prevailed in the war. The new generation of mafiosi placed more emphasis on "white-collar" criminal activity as opposed to more traditional racketeering enterprises. In reaction to these developments, the Italian press has come up with the phrase ''Cosa Nuova'' ("the new thing", a play on ''Cosa Nostra'') to refer to the revamped organization. | ||
| - | En [[1993]], la commission italienne d'enquête sur les phénomènes mafieux révéla que le principe de fonctionnement de la mafia avait des points communs avec celui de la [[franc-maçonnerie]], pyramidale. | + | The first major ''[[pentito]]'' (a captured mafioso to collaborate with the judicial system) was [[Tommaso Buscetta]] who had lost several allies in the war and began to talk to prosecutor [[Giovanni Falcone]] around 1983. This led to the [[Maxi Trial]] (1986-1987) which resulted in several hundred convictions of leading mafiosi. When the Italian Supreme Court confirmed the convictions in January 1992, Riina took revenge. The politician [[Salvatore Lima]] was killed in March 1992; he had long been suspected of being the main government connection of the Mafia (later confirmed by testimony of Buscetta), and the Mafia was clearly displeased with his services. Falcone and fellow anti-Mafia prosecutor [[Paolo Borsellino]] were killed a few months later. This led to a public outcry and a massive government crackdown, resulting in Riina's arrest in January 1993. More and more ''pentitos'' started to emerge. Many would pay a high price for their co-operation usually through the murder of relatives. For example, Cosa Nostra defector [[Francesco Marino Mannoia|Francesco Marino Mannoia's]], mother, aunt and sister were murdered. <ref>Cosa Nostra by John Dickie </ref> |
| - | {{boîte déroulante début | + | The Corleonesi retaliated with a campaign of terrorism, a series of bombings against several tourist spots on the Italian mainland: the [[Via dei Georgofili]] in [[Florence]], [[Via Palestro]] in [[Milan]], and the Piazza [[San Giovanni in Laterano]] and [[Via San Teodoro]] in [[Rome]], which left 10 people dead and 93 injured and caused severe damage to cultural heritage such as the [[Uffizi Gallery]]. [[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. |
| - | |titre=Personnalités tuées par la mafia italienne | + | |
| - | }} | + | |
| - | *[[Emanuele Notarbartolo di San Giovanni]], homme politique, assassiné à Termini Imerese le {{1er}} février 1893, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Petrosino]] , policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 12 mars 1909, | + | |
| - | *[[Bernardino Verro]], homme politique et syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Corleone le 3 novembre 1915, | + | |
| - | *[[Giorgio Gennaro]], prêtre italien, assassiné à Palerme en 1916, | + | |
| - | *[[Alfonso Canzio]], syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Barrafranca le 13 décembre 1919, | + | |
| - | *[[Nicola Alongi]], syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Palerme le 29 février 1920, | + | |
| - | *[[Stefano Caronia]], archiprêtre italien, assassiné à Gibellina le 17 novembre 1920, | + | |
| - | *[[Sebastiano Bonfiglio]], homme politique et syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Monte San Giuliano le 11 juin 1922, | + | |
| - | *[[Gaetano Guarino]], homme politique, assassiné à Favara le 16 mai 1946, | + | |
| - | *[[Accursio Miraglia]], syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Sciacca le 4 janvier 1947, | + | |
| - | *[[Epifanio Leonardo Li Puma]], homme politique et syndicaliste italien, assassiné à Petralia Soprana le 2 mars 1948, | + | |
| - | *[[Placido Rizzotto]], syndicaliste italien, assassiné à 10 mars 1948, | + | |
| - | *[[Cosimo Cristina]], journaliste italien, assassiné à Termini Imerese le 5 mai 1960, | + | |
| - | *[[Enrico Mattei]], chef d'entreprise, ancien résistant, homme politique, assassiné à Bascapè le 27 octobre 1962, | + | |
| - | *[[Mauro De Mauro]]], journaliste italien, assassiné à Palerme le 16 septembre 1970, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Russo]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 20 août 1977), | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Impastato]] ,journaliste italien, assassiné à Cinisi le 9 mai 1978, | + | |
| - | *[[Filadelfio Aparofu]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 11 janvier 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Mario Francese|Mario Francese]], journaliste italien, assassiné à Palerme 26 janvier 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Giorgio Ambrosoli]], avocat italien, assassiné à Milan le 11 juillet 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Giorgio Boris Giuliano]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 21 juillet 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Cesare Terranova]]magistrat italien , assassiné à Palerme le 25 septembre 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Lenin Mancuso]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 25 septembre 1979, | + | |
| - | *[[Piersanti Mattarella]], homme politique, assassiné à Palerme le 6 janvier 1980, | + | |
| - | *[[Emanuele Basile]], carabinier, assassiné à Monreale le 4 mai 1980, | + | |
| - | *[[Gaetano Costa]], magistrat italien , assassiné à Palerme le 6 août 1980, | + | |
| - | *[[Pio La Torre]], homme politique, assassiné à Palerme le 30 avril 1982, | + | |
| - | *[[Roberto Calvi]], homme d'affaires italien, assassiné à Londres le 18 juin 1982, | + | |
| - | *[[Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa]], général italien, assassiné à Palerme le 3 septembre 1982 avec sa femme, | + | |
| - | *[[Calogero Zucchetto]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 14 novembre 1982, | + | |
| - | *[[Giangiacomo Ciaccio Montalto]] magistrat italien , assassiné à Valderice le 25 janvier 1983, | + | |
| - | *[[Rocco Chinnici]], magistrat italien , assassiné à Palerme le 29 juillet 1983, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Fava]], écrivain, journaliste et dramaturge italien, assassiné à Catania le 5 janvier 1984, | + | |
| - | *[[Beppe Montana]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 28 juillet 1985, | + | |
| - | *[[Antonino Cassarà]], policier italien, assassiné à Palerme le 6 août 1985, | + | |
| - | *[[Michele Sindona]], avocat, assassiné à Palerme le Voghera le 22 mars 1986, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Insalaco]], homme politique, assassiné à Palerme le 12 janvier 1988, | + | |
| - | *[[Alberto Giacomelli]], magistrat italien , assassiné à Trapani le 14 septembre 1988, | + | |
| - | *[[Mauro Rostagno]], sociologue italien, assassiné à Lenzile 26 septembre 1988, | + | |
| - | *[[Antonino Saetta]], magistrat italien , assassiné à Caltanissetta en 1988, | + | |
| - | *[[Rosario Angelo Livatino]], magistrat italien, assassiné à Agrigento le 21 septembre 1990, | + | |
| - | *[[Antonio Scopelliti]], magistrat italien, assassiné à Campo Calabro le 9 août 1991, | + | |
| - | *[[Libero Grassi]], chef d'entreprise italien, assassiné à Palerme le 29 août 1991, | + | |
| - | *[[Antonio Montinaro]], policier italien, assassiné à Capaci le 23 mai 1992, | + | |
| - | *[[Francesca Laura Morvillo]], magistrat italien, assassiné à Palerme le 23 mai 1992, | + | |
| - | *[[Paolo Borsellino]], magistrat italien, assassiné à Palerme le 12 juillet 1992, | + | |
| - | * [[Rita Atria]], témoin de la justice italienne, assassinée à Rome les 26 juillet 1992, | + | |
| - | *[[Giovanni Falcone]], magistrat italien , assassiné à Capaci le 23 mai 1992, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Borsellino]], chef d'entreprise italien, assassiné à Lucca Sicula le 17 décembre 1992, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Aldo Felice Alfano]], journaliste italien, assassiné à Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto le 8 janvier 1993, | + | |
| - | *[[Giuseppe Puglisi]], prêtre italien, assassiné à Palerme le 15 septembre 1993, | + | |
| - | *[[Domenico Buscetta]], repenti italien, , assassiné à Palerme le 6 mars 1995. | + | |
| - | {{boîte déroulante fin}} | + | === 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.<ref>{{it icon}} [http://lnx.casertasette.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=4988 Caserta, revocato 41 bis a figlio Bidognetti: lo dice ancora l'Espresso], Casertasete, January , 2006</ref> 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. | ||
| - | ==Cosa Nostra== | + | 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. |
| - | ===Rituels des Siciliens de la Cosa Nostra=== | + | |
| - | Le rite d’orientation dans la plupart des familles arrive quand un homme devient un associé et, plus tard, un soldat. Comme le décrit [[Tommaso Buscetta]] au juge [[Giovanni Falcone]], le néophyte est réuni avec au moins trois « hommes d’honneurs » de la famille et le plus vieux membre l’avertit que cette « Maison » est signifiée pour protéger le faible contre l’abus du pouvoir ; il pique alors le doigt de l’initié et renverse son sang sur une image sacrée, d’habitude un saint. L’image est placée dans la main de l’initié et liée par le feu. Le néophyte doit résister à la douleur du feu, passer l’image d'une main à l'autre, jusqu’à ce que l’image soit consumée, tout en jurant solennellement de garder la foi avec les principes de la « [[Cosa Nostra]] » en utilisant la formule « pour voir ma brûlure de chair comme ce saint si je ne garde pas mon serment. » [[Joseph Valachi]] fut la première personne à mentionner cela au tribunal. | + | |
| - | Les Siciliens ont aussi une loi du silence appelé l’[[omertà]] : il défend à l’homme de la rue, la femme ou l’enfant de coopérer avec la police ou le gouvernement, sous peine de mort. | + | 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.<ref name=guardian>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1792782,00.html Move over, Cosa Nostra], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 8 Juni 2006</ref> The mafia also have a strong business in extortion big companies as well as smaller ones. It estimates that 7% of Italy's output is filtered off by organised crime. The Mafia has turned into one of Italy's biggest business enterprises with a turnover of more than US$120bn a year.<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Willey | coauthors= | title=Italian Mafia turnover '$120bn' | date=Monday, 22 October 2007, 21:57 GMT 22:57 UK | publisher= | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7057413.stm | work =BBC News | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-23 | language = }}</ref> |
| + | ==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 [[Bible|Biblical]] [[Ten Commandments]], they are thought to be a guideline on how to be a good mobster. The commandments are as follows:<ref name="10_cmd">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7086716.stm|title=Mafia's 'Ten Commandments' found|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=[[2007-11-09]]|accessdate=2007-11-10}}<!-- Time, January 31, 1964 --></ref> | ||
| - | ===Mafieux siciliens éminents=== | + | # No-one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it. |
| - | *[[Calogero Vizzini]] (1877-1954), patron de Villalba, il a été considéré comme un des patron de la Mafia les plus influents de Sicile de la fin de la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale à sa mort en 1954. | + | # Never look at the wives of friends |
| - | *Stefano Magaddino (1891-1974), « le grandiose vieil homme de la Cosa Nostra ». Membre originale de la National Commission et a été très éminent dans les villes de Buffalo et de Détroit. | + | # Never be seen with cops. |
| - | *Giuseppe Genco Russo (1893-1976), le patron de Mussomeli, considéré comme l’héritier de Calogero Vizzini. | + | # Don't go to pubs and clubs. |
| - | *[[Michele Navarra]] (1905-1958), le patron de la famille à Corleone de 1930 à 1958. | + | # Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth. |
| - | *[[Salvatore Greco|Salvatore « Ciaschiteddu » Greco]] (1923-1978), le patron de la famille de CIaculli, il était le premier secrétaire de la premier Commission de la mafia sicilienne quand elle a été formée quelque part en 1958. | + | # Appointments must absolutely be respected. |
| - | *[[Gaetano Badalamenti]] (1923-2004), le patron de la Famille de Cisini. | + | # Wives must be treated with respect. |
| - | *Angelo LaBarbera (1924-1975), le patron de la famille de Parleme Centro. | + | # When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth. |
| - | *[[Michele Greco]] (né en 1924), le patron de la Mafia à Croceverde. | + | # Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families. |
| - | *[[Luciano Leggio]] (1925-1993), le patron de la famille à Corleone. | + | # 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. |
| - | *[[Tommaso Buscetta]] (1928-2000), le premier mafioso sicilien a devenir un pentito (informateur) en 1984. (un prédécesseur, Leonardo Vitale, qui s’est donné à la police en 1973, a été jugé comme souffrant de maladie mentale) La preuve de Buscetta a été utilisée ruant le Maxi Procès. | + | |
| - | *[[Salvatore Riina]] (né en 1930), aussi connu comme Toto Riina, il est un des plus fameux membre de la Mafia sicilienne. Il a été surnommé La Bête ou parfois The Short One et il a gouverné la Mafia avec une main de fer dans les années 1980 jusqu’à son arrestation en 1993. | + | |
| - | *[[Bernardo Provenzano]] (né en 1933), le successeur de Riina a la tête de Corleonesi et a été considéré comme un des plus puissants patrons de la Mafia sicilienne. Provenzano était fugitif des la justice depuis 1963. Il a été capturé le 11 avril 2006 en Sicile. Avant sa capture, les autorités avaient essayés de le capturer depuis 10 ans. | + | |
| - | *[[Stefano Bontade]] (1939-1981), le parton de la famille à Santa Maria di Gesu. | + | |
| - | *Leoluca Bagarella (né en 1941), le membre de la famille de Corleone arrêté en 1995. | + | |
| - | *Salvatore Lo Piccolo (né en 1942), considéré comme un des successeurs de Provenzano. | + | |
| - | *[[Salvatore Inzerillo]] (1944-1981), le patron de la Famille à Passo di Rigano. | + | |
| - | *Giovanni « lo scannacristiani »Brusca (né en 1957), qui a été impliqué dans le meurtre de Giovanni Falcone. | + | |
| - | *[[Matteo Messina Denaro]] (né en 1962), considéré comme un des successeurs de Provenzano. | + | |
| - | *Michele Cavataio est mort dans le coup de la Mafia en 1969. | + | |
| - | *Francesco di Boille (né en 1959)"Capo di Tutti Capi" de la famille "di Boille" de Bagheria. | + | |
| - | *Vincenzo di Boille (né en 1940)"Capo di Capi Re" de la précédente famille,et père de Francesco ci-dessus. | + | |
| - | ===Structure de la Cosa Nostra Sicilienne=== | + | ==Prominent Sicilian mafiosi== |
| - | Connu comme la Société Honoraire parmi les mafiosi, la chaîne d’ordre est organisée en une pyramide similaire à une structure d’entreprise moderne. | + | {{see also|List of Sicilian mafiosi}} |
| - | ===Terminologie Traditionnelle=== | + | *[[Vito Cascio Ferro]] Prominent early Don, imprisoned by [[Cesare Mori]]. |
| - | # '''Capo di Tutti i Capi''' (le « Patron de tous les patrons », à savoir Matteo Messina Denaro pour la Mafia Sicilienne et Renato Gagliana pour la Sacra Corona Unita),ainsi que Francesco di Boille envers la Cosa Nostra | + | *[[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. |
| - | # '''Capo di Capi Re''' (un titre de respect donné à un ainé ou un membre retraité, un équivalent devient un membre émérite, littéralement, « Le patron roi des patrons »)à savoir Vicenzo di Boille | + | *[[Stefano Magaddino]] (1891 – 1974), "The grand old man of the Cosa Nostra". Original member of [[The Commission (mafia)|The Commission]] and was very prominent in the cities of Buffalo and Detroit |
| - | # '''Capo Crimine''' («Patron du crime », connu comme Parrain – la tête d’une famille du crime) | + | *[[Giuseppe Genco Russo]] (1893 – 1976), boss of [[Mussomeli]], considered to be the heir of Calogero Vizzini. |
| - | # '''Capo Bastone''' (La tête de battement », connu comme le « Underboss » est deuxième à la tête du Capo Crimine) | + | *[[Michele Navarra]] (1905 – 1958), boss of the Mafia Family in [[Corleone]] from 1930 to 1958 |
| - | # '''Consigliere''' (un conseiller) | + | *[[Salvatore Greco "Ciaschiteddu"|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. |
| - | # '''Caporegime''' (Chef de Régime », un capitaine qui ordonne une équipe d’une dizaine de Sgarriste ou Soldats.) | + | *[[Gaetano Badalamenti]] (1923 – 2004), boss of the Mafia Family in [[Cinisi]] |
| - | # '''Sgarrista''' ou '''Soldati''' (« Soldat », membres de la mafia qui sert principalement comme soldats.) | + | *[[Angelo La Barbera]] (1924 – 1975) boss of the Mafia Family in [[Palermo Centro]] |
| - | # '''Picciotto''' (« Petit homme », un niveau bas qui sert de gros bras) | + | *[[Michele Greco]] (born 1924), boss of the Mafia Family in [[Croceverde]] |
| - | # '''Parrain''' (un membre associé, d’habitude, il n’est pas Italien ou d’ancêtre sicilien.) | + | *[[Luciano Liggio]] (1925 – 1993), boss of the Mafia Family in [[Corleone]] |
| + | *[[Tommaso Buscetta]] (1928 – 2000), Sicilian Mafioso who became a [[pentito]] ([[informant]]) in 1984. Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the [[Maxi-Trials]]. | ||
| + | *[[Salvatore Riina]] (born 1930), also known as Totò Riina is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. He was nicknamed The Beast, or sometimes The Short One ('U Curtu in Sicilian) and ruled the Mafia with an iron hand from the 1980s until his arrest in 1993. | ||
| + | *[[Bernardo Provenzano]] (born 1933), successor of Riina at the head of the [[Corleonesi]] and as such 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.<ref name="topboss">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4898930.stm 'Top Mafia boss' caught in Italy]</ref> Before capture, authorities had reportedly been 'close' to capturing him for 10 years. | ||
| + | *[[Stefano Bontade]] (1939 – 1981), boss of the Mafia Family in [[Santa Maria di Gesù]] | ||
| + | *[[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 Brusca|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]]. | ||
| - | ===Structure de la Mafia Sicilienne=== | + | ==Structure of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra== |
| - | # '''Capofamiglia''' - (Don) | + | Known as the Honored Society among Mafiosi, the chain of command is organized in a pyramid similar to a modern corporate structure.{{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} |
| - | # '''Consigliere''' - (Conseille) | + | |
| - | # '''Sotto Capo''' - (Sous-patron) | + | |
| - | # '''Capodecina''' - (Chef de groupe/Capo) | + | |
| - | # '''Uomini D'Onore''' - ("Homme d'honneur") | + | |
| - | ==Fonctionnement== | + | ===Traditional terminology=== |
| - | La mafia fonctionne sur un modèle d'[[économie]] parallèle ou souterraine. Elle cherche à contrôler les marchés et les activités où l'argent est abondant, circule en numéraire ([[argent liquide]]) et est facile à dissimuler au [[fisc]]. La plupart des activités commerciales usuelles sont utilisées, que ce soit comme paravent à des activités illégales ou comme moyen de [[blanchiment d'argent|blanchiment]] de l'argent récolté. Ces activités recouvrent aujourd'hui les domaines les plus variés : | + | #'''''[[Capo di tutti capi|Capo di Tutti Capi]]''''' (the "Boss of All Bosses", namely [[Matteo Messina Denaro]] for the Sicilian Mafia and [[Renato Gagliano]] for the Sacra Corona Unita){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} |
| + | #'''''Capo di Capi Re''''' (a title of respect given to a senior or retired member, equivalent to being a ''member [[emeritus]]'', literally, "King Boss of Bosses"){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''Capo Crimine''''' ("Crime Boss", known as a Don - the head of a crime family){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''Capo Bastone''''' ("Club Head", known as the "[[Underboss]]" is second in command to the Capo Crimine){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''[[Consigliere]]''''' (an advisor){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''[[Capo (Mafia)|Caporegime]]''''' ("Regime head", a captain who commands a "crew" of around ten ''Sgarriste'' or "soldiers"){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''Sgarrista''''' or '''''Soldato''''' ("Soldier", [[Made man|made]] members of the Mafia who serve primarily as foot soldiers){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}}{{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''Picciotto''''' ("Little man", a low ranking member who serves as an "enforcer"){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | #'''''Giovane D'Onore''''' (an associate member, usually someone not of Italian ancestry){{Fact|September|date=September 2007}} | ||
| - | * contrôle "douanier" des biens et des personnes en entrée et en sortie d'un quartier (pour certains lieux). | + | ===Italian Mafia structure=== |
| - | * ''voto di scambio'' (vote d'échange) : achat de consensus électoral contre les "faveurs" accordées à une partie de l'électorat (ce fut longtemps le cas de la [[DC]]). | + | #'''''Capofamiglia''''' - (Don) |
| - | * la vente d'[[arme]]s. | + | #'''''Consigliere''''' - (Counselor/Advisor) |
| - | * la [[contrefaçon]]. | + | #'''''Sotto Capo''''' - (Underboss) |
| - | * le [[trafic de stupéfiant|trafic de drogue]]. | + | #'''''Capodecina''''' - (Group Boss/Capo) |
| - | * le [[trafic d'êtres humains]]. | + | #'''''Uomini D'onore''''' - ("Men of Honor") |
| - | * le [[vente d'organe|trafic d'organes]]. | + | |
| - | * le [[blanchiment d'argent]]. | + | |
| - | * les [[jeu#Jeux d'argent|jeux d'argent]] ([[pari]]s, [[casino (lieu)|casino]]s ...). | + | |
| - | * le [[proxénétisme]] (bien que la [[prostitution]] soit dépénalisée, voire légale, dans certains pays). | + | |
| - | * le [[racket]] ([[extorsion]] ou "[[pizzo]]"). | + | |
| - | En général, la mafia préfère recourir à l'intimidation, la [[corruption]] ou le [[chantage]] plutôt qu'à la force pour contraindre ceux qui lui résistent. De cette manière elle attire moins l'attention du grand public sur elle. Mais il arrive régulièrement que pour se débarrasser de concurrents, de [[témoin]]s gênants ou de traîtres, les mafias usent de méthodes sanguinaires : guerres de [[gang]]s pour la prise de contrôle d'un territoire ou d'un marché, [[assassinat]] de témoins, de complices ou de juges avant un [[procès]] en sont quelques exemples. | + | == American Cosa Nostra == |
| + | The Italian Mafia continues to dominate organized crime in the U.S. It uses this status to maintain control over much of both [[Chicago]]'s and [[New York City]]'s organized criminal activity, as well as criminal activity in other cities in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and across the country, such as [[Philadelphia]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[New Orleans]], and many others. The Mafia and its reputation have become entrenched in [[United States|American]] [[popular culture]], being portrayed in [[film|movies]], [[television programs|TV shows]], [[advertising|commercial advertising]] and [[video games]]. | ||
| - | ===L’infiltration mafieuse dans l’économie.=== | + | The American Mafia, specifically the [[Five Families]] of New York, has its roots in the Sicilian Mafia, but has been a separate organization in the United States for many years. Today, American Cosa Nostra cooperates in various criminal activities with the different [[Italian organized crime]] groups, such as [[Camorra]], which are headquartered in [[Italy]]. It is wrongly known as the "original Mafia", although it was neither the oldest [[criminal organization]], nor the first to act in the U.S. In 1986, according to government reports, it was estimated that there are 1,700 members of "Cosa Nostra" and thousands of associate members. Reports also are said to include the Italian-American Mafia as the largest organized crime group in the United States and continues to hold dominance over the [[National Crime Syndicate]], despite the increasing numbers of street gangs and other organizations of neither Italian nor Sicilian ethnicity. |
| + | American Cosa Nostra is most active in the [[New York]] metropolitan area, [[Philadelphia]], [[New England]] (see the [[Patriarca crime family]]), [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] (see the [[Detroit Partnership]], and [[Chicago]] (see the [[Chicago Outfit]]), but there are actually a total of 26 Cosa Nostra family cities around the United States[http://www.americanmafia.com/26_Family_Cities.html]. | ||
| - | ====Fonctionnement de l’économie mafieuse.==== | + | === History === |
| - | La base de l’économie mafieuse se situe dans le système de collecte du "[[pizzo]]" : les mafieux imposent aux commerçants des revenus en échange d’une "protection" mais aussi sous peine de voir leurs vitrines brisés et leurs marchandises disparues ou brûlées. Bien qu’elle soit l’une des techniques les plus importantes en matière d’économie mafieuse, les revenus ont des centaines d’origines différentes. Il faut d’abord préciser que l’économie mafieuse se divise en 3 parties : l’économie illégale, légale et légale-mafieuse. Ces trois circuits sont intimement liés. Ainsi, par exemple, les revenus de l’économie illégale ("economia sommersa") permettent de créer de nouvelles entreprises cette fois-ci totalement légales. De même la production peut être légale mais la vente illégale et inversement. Ce sont ces liens étroits qui posent les difficultés énormes qu’affronte le gouvernement italien pour débusquer les entreprises mafieuses, notamment en vérifiant les mouvements et les dépôts bancaires ou les appels d'offre. Le recyclage d'argent sale est une activité à part entière. | + | ====Origins: The Black Hand==== |
| - | On connaît les grandes filières classiques des trafics illégaux : [[drogue]]s, [[arme]]s, [[œuvres d’art]] volées. Mais nous avons aussi à faire à des affaires moins connues tels que le trafic de déchets industriels, la fraude aux subventions alimentaires, les grands travaux d’infrastructure et ainsi de suite. La liste des secteurs est longue voire illimitée cela va du proxénétisme aux contrôles des [[Casino (lieu)|casino]]s, de la fausse monnaie au trafic d’êtres humains mais aussi plus récemment de la cybercriminalité (piratage et détournement de fonds sur [[Internet]]). Tous ces réseaux se sont bien évidemment étendus aujourd’hui au niveau international et même planétaire. | + | {{main|Black Hand (blackmail)}} |
| + | Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York City area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations in poor Italian ghettos to citywide and eventually international organizations. The American Mafia started with the La Mano Nera, "[[Black Hand (blackmail)|The Black Hand]]", extorting Italians (and other immigrants) around New York city. Black Hand gangsters would threaten them by mail if their extortion demands were not met. The threats were sometimes marked with a hand-print in black ink at the bottom of the page. As more Sicilian gangsters immigrated to the U.S., they expanded their criminal activities from extortion to loan-sharking, prostitution, drugs and alcohol, robbery, kidnapping, and murder. Many poor Italian immigrants embraced the Mafia as a possible way of gaining power and rising out of the poverty and [[anti-Italianism]] they experienced in America. | ||
| - | ====Conséquences==== | + | [[Giuseppe Esposito]] was the first known [[Sicily|Sicilian]] Mafia member to emigrate to the [[United States]]. He and six other Sicilians fled to [[New York]] after murdering eleven wealthy landowners as well as the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province. He was arrested in [[New Orleans]] in 1881 and extradited to [[Italy]]. |
| - | D’après un rapport récent, le produit économique des mafias italiennes représenterait environ 15% du [[PIB]] de l’[[Italie]], soit près de 834 milliards d’[[Euro]]s. La mafia n’est plus une entreprise familiale mais est devenue au fil du temps un empire financier de type multinational. | + | |
| - | ===L’infiltration mafieuse dans la [[politique]].=== | + | [[New Orleans]] was also the site of the first Mafia incident in the [[United States]] that received both national and international attention. On [[October 15]] [[1890]], [[New Orleans]] Police Superintendent [[David Hennessey]] was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. The outraged citizens of [[New Orleans]] organized a [[lynch]] mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped[http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2004-03-02/blake.html]. |
| - | La mafia en Sicile représente un électorat important. Par une technique rôdée, elle force la population à voter pour certains partis, certaines personnes. Les politiciens, en échange de cette faveur, garantissent la protection de la mafia et de son commerce une fois au pouvoir. C’est ainsi que des pro-mafias, ou des mafieux même, accèdent à des rangs tels que celui de [[maire]], [[préfet]] ou [[conseiller municipal]]. C’est surtout lorsqu’elle a affaire aux tribunaux que la mafia réclame son soutien aux hommes politiques. Aucune préférence en général n’est remarquée chez les mafieux en matière de partis excepté un anticommunisme fervent. Le parti de la [[Démocratie-chrétienne]] italienne fut largement sollicité par la mafia car elle occupa le pouvoir de [[1947]] à [[1990]] sans discontinuer. A ce titre, le nom de [[Giulio Andreotti]] fut cité plusieurs fois lors de procès, mais aucune preuve n'a pu être retenue contre lui, même si des représentants de la [[DC]] sur place ont été arrêtés. | + | |
| - | ==Lutte contre la mafia== | + | In the 1910s and 1920s in [[New York City]], the Sicilian Mafia developed into the [[Five Points Gang]]. |
| - | Les politiques de lutte contre cette organisation criminelle se heurtent à l'adaptabilité de ces structures souples et décentralisées, capables de délocaliser leurs activités et de diversifier leurs flux financiers sans limites dans le monde entier. Entreprendre des enquêtes transnationales et remonter les multiples filières devient alors un casse-tête pour les juges, d'autant plus que certains pays comme les [[paradis fiscal|paradis fiscaux]] ne font rien pour leur faciliter la tâche. C'est principalement dans cette optique que [[Interpol]] a été créée, elle permet de centraliser les informations pour faciliter la coopération internationale. | + | |
| + | ====The rising: the Prohibition==== | ||
| + | [[Image:LuckyLucianoSmaller.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Lucky Luciano|Charles "Lucky" Luciano]], one of the most famous American bosses]] | ||
| + | Mafia activities were restricted until 1920, when they exploded because of the introduction of the [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]]. | ||
| + | [[Al Capone]]'s Syndicate in the 1920s ruled [[Chicago]]. | ||
| - | ==Autres mafias== | + | By the end of the 1920s, two factions of [[organized crime]] had emerged, causing the [[Castellamarese war]] for control of [[organized crime]] in [[New York City]]. With the murder of [[Joseph Masseria]], the leader of one of the factions, the war ended uniting the two sides back into one organization now dubbed Cosa Nostra. [[Salvatore Maranzano]], the first leader of American Mafia, was himself murdered within six months and [[Lucky Luciano|Charles "Lucky" Luciano]] became the new leader. [[Salvatore Maranzano|Maranzano]] had established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "[[Five Families|family]]" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. [[Lucky Luciano|Luciano]] set up the "[[National Crime Syndicate|Commission]]" to rule their activities. The Commission included bosses from six or seven families. |
| - | Le terme mafia désigne avant tout l'organisation criminelle italienne, mais il est souvent utilisé pour désigner n'importe quelle organisation criminelle structurée, parmi lesquelles : | + | |
| - | === Mafia corse === | + | ====After-war==== |
| - | {{Article détaillé|Mafia corse|Milieu corse}} | + | In 1951, a U.S. Senate Committee, led by Democratic Tennessee Senator [[Estes Kefauver]], determined that a "sinister criminal organization", with ties to the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], also known as the Mafia operated around the [[United States]]. |
| - | ===Mafia italo-américaine=== | + | In 1957, the [[New York]] State Police uncovered a meeting of major American Cosa Nostra figures from around the country in the small upstate [[New York]] town of [[Apalachin, New York|Apalachin]]. This gathering has become known as the [[Apalachin Meeting|Apalachin Conference]]. Many of the attendees were arrested and this event was the catalyst that changed the way law enforcement battles [[organized crime]]. |
| - | {{Article détaillé|Mafia italo-américaine|Cinq familles|Mafia américaine}} | + | |
| - | ===Mafia russe=== | + | In 1963, [[Joe Valachi|Joseph Valachi]] became the first American Cosa Nostra member to provide a detailed look at the inside of the organization. Having been recruited by FBI Special Agents, and testifying before the US Senate McClellan Committee, Valachi exposed the name, structure, power bases, codes, swearing-in ceremony, and members of this organization. All of this had been secret up to this point. |
| - | {{loupe|Mafia russe}} | + | |
| - | ===Mafia chinoise=== | + | Today Cosa Nostra is involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities. These include [[murder]], [[extortion]], [[drug trafficking]], corruption of public officials, [[gambling]], infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor [[racketeering]], [[loan sharking]], [[prostitution]], [[pornography]], [[tax fraud schemes]], and most notably today, [[stock manipulation]] schemes. |
| - | {{loupe|Triades chinoises}} | + | |
| - | ===Mafia japonaise=== | + | ====Union corruption==== |
| - | {{loupe|Yakuza}} | + | [[Image:Jimmy riddle hoffa.jpg|thumb|Jimmy Hoffa]] |
| + | In the mid-20th century, the Mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many labor unions in the United States, notably the [[Teamsters]], whose president [[Jimmy Hoffa]] disappeared and is widely believed to have been murdered. In the 1980s, the United States federal government made a determined effort to remove Mafia influence from labor unions. | ||
| - | ===Mafia albanaise=== | + | === Structure === |
| - | {{loupe|Mafia albanaise}} | + | The Mafia had eventually expanded to twenty-six crime families nationwide in the major cities of the United States, with the center of organized crime based in New York. After many turf wars, the [[Five Families]] ended up dominating New York, named after prominent early members: the [[Bonanno family]], the [[Colombo crime family|Colombo family]], the [[Gambino family]], the [[Genovese family]], and the [[Lucchese crime family|Lucchese family]]. These families held underground conferences with other mafia notables like [[Joe Porrello]] from [[Cleveland]], and other gang leaders, such as [[Al Capone]]. |
| + | *'''[[Crime boss|Boss]]'''—The head of the family, usually reigning as a dictator, sometimes called the [[crime boss|don]] or "godfather". The Boss receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family. Depending on the Family, the Boss may be chosen by a vote from the Caporegimes of the family. In the event of a tie, the Underboss must vote. In the past, all the members of a Family voted on the Boss, but by the late 1950s, any gathering such as that attracted too much attention.<ref>Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia''. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002</ref> | ||
| + | *'''[[Underboss]]'''—The Underboss, usually appointed by the Boss, is the second in command of the family. The Underboss is in charge of all of the Capos, who are controlled by the Boss. The Underboss is usually first in line to become Acting Boss if the Boss is imprisoned or dies. | ||
| + | *'''[[Consigliere]]'''—The Consigliere is an advisor to the family. They are often low profile gangsters that can be trusted. They are used as a mediator of disputes or representatives or aides in meetings with other Families. They often keep the Family looking as legitimate as possible, and are, themselves, legitimate apart from some minor gambling or loan sharking. Often Consiglieres are lawyers or stock brokers, are trusted and have a close friendship or relationship with the Don. They usually do not have crews of their own, but still wield great power in the Family. They are also often the liaison between the Don and important 'bought' figures, such as politicians or Judges. | ||
| + | *'''[[Caporegime]]''' (or Capo)—A Capo (sometimes called a [[Captain]]) is in charge of a crew. There are usually four to six crews in each family, possibly even seven to nine crews, each one consisting of up to ten Soldiers. Capos run their own small family, but must follow the limitations and guidelines created by the Boss, as well as pay him his cut of their profits. Capos are nominated by the Underboss, but typically chosen by the Boss himself. | ||
| + | *'''[[Soldier]]'''—Soldiers are members of the family, and can only be of Italian background. Soldiers start as Associates that have proven themselves. When the books are open, meaning that there is an open spot in the family, a Capo (or several Capos) may recommend an up-and-coming Associate to be a new member. In the case that there is only one slot and multiple recommendations, the Boss will decide. The new member usually becomes part of the Capo's crew that recommended him. Sometimes a soldier will be called a ''button man,'' because, in theory, when a capo presses a button, someone dies. They are also called ''made men,'' who have ''made their bones,'' by committing a murder in front of Mafia witnesses. This ensures the soldier's reliability: he will never testify against a man who could testify against him. Being made is the beginning but not the end of a Mafia career. (The definitions of ''made man'' and ''making one's bones'' are inferred: Most books on the Mafia—fiction or nonfiction—assume these terms but never define them.) {{Fact|date=September 2007}} | ||
| + | *'''[[Associate]]'''—An Associate is not a member of the mob, and an Associate's role is more similar to that of an errand boy. They are usually a go-between or sometimes deal in drugs to keep the heat off the actual members. In other cases, an associate might be a corrupt [[labor union]] delegate or businessman.<ref>Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia''. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002</ref> Non-Italians will never go any further than this. However, occasionally an associate will become powerful within his own family, for example Joe Watts, a close associate of [[John Gotti]]. | ||
| + | The American Mafia's organizational structure and system of control were created by Salvatore Maranzano (who became the first "capo di tutti capi" in the US, though he was killed after holding the position for only six months, by Lucky Luciano). | ||
| - | ==Voir aussi== | + | Most recently there have been two new positions in the family leadership: the family messenger and [[Street Boss]]. |
| - | === Mafieux célèbres === | + | These positions were created by former Genovese leader [[Vincent Gigante]]. |
| - | * [[Al Capone]] | + | |
| - | * [[Lucky Luciano]] | + | |
| - | * [[Vito Genovese]] | + | |
| - | * [[Tommaso Buscetta]] | + | |
| - | * [[Salvatore Riina]] | + | |
| - | * [[Bernardo Provenzano]] | + | |
| - | * [[John Gotti]] | + | |
| - | * [[Vito Corleone]] (Fictif) | + | |
| - | * [[John Abruzzi]] (Fictif) | + | |
| - | ===Liens internes=== | + | Each faction was headed by a ''caporegime'', who reported to the boss. When the boss made a decision, he never issued orders directly to the soldiers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the chain of command. In this way, the higher levels of the organization were effectively insulated from incrimination if a lower level member should be captured by law enforcement. This structure is depicted in [[Mario Puzo]]'s famous novel ''[[The Godfather (novel)|The Godfather]]''. In ''[[The Godfather: Part II]],'' These links are called "buffers": they provide what the [[intelligence community]] calls [[plausible deniability]]. |
| - | * [[Crime organisé]] | + | |
| - | * [[Blanchiment d'argent]] | + | |
| - | * [[Parrain (mafia)|Parrain]] | + | |
| - | === Notes et références === | + | === Rituals === |
| - | <references /> | + | |
| - | ===Bibliographie=== | + | The initiation ritual emerged from various sources, such as Catholic confraternities and [[Freemasonry|Masonic Lodges]] in mid-nineteenth century Sicily<ref name="initiation">"Mafia's arcane rituals, and much of the organization's structure, were based largely on those of the Catholic confraternities and even Freemasonry, colored by Sicilian familial traditions and even certain customs associated with military-religious orders of chivalry like the Order of Malta." [http://www.bestofsicily.com/mafia.htm The Mafia] from [http://www.bestofsicily.com bestofsicily.com]</ref> and has hardly changed to this day. The Chief of Police of Palermo in 1875 reported that the man of honor to be initiated would be led into the presence of a group of bosses and underbosses. One of these men would prick the initiate's arm or hand and tell him to smear the blood onto a sacred image, usually a saint. The oath of loyalty would be taken as the image was burned and scattered, thus symbolising the annihilation of traitors. This was confirmed by the first [[pentito]], [[Tommaso Buscetta]]. |
| - | * ''Mafia S.A. : Les Secrets du crime organisé'' ; William Reymond, Flammarion, 2001 | + | |
| - | * ''Histoire de la mafia des origines à nos jours'' ; Salvatore Lupo , Flammarion, 2001 | + | |
| - | * ''Cosa Nostra : un siècle d'histoire'' ; Eric Frattini, Flammarion, 2003 | + | |
| - | * ''Le monde des mafias, géopolitique du crime organisé'' ; [[Jean-François Gayraud]], Odile Jacob, sep 2005 | + | |
| - | * Raoul Muhm , Gian Carlo Caselli : Die Rolle des Staatsanwaltes - Erfahrungen in Europa ; Il ruolo del Pubblico Ministero - Esperienze in Europa ; Le role du Magistrat du Parquet - Expériences en Europe ; The role of the Public Prosecutor - Experiences in Europe ; Vecchiarelli Editore Manziana (Roma) 2005, ISBN: 88-8247-156 - X | + | |
| - | * ''Histoire de la Mafia'' ; Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci, Editions complexe, 1994 | + | |
| - | * ''Les liens du sang'' ; Antonio Nicaso et Lee Lamothe, Les éditions de l'homme, 2001 | + | |
| - | * ''Cosa Nostra. Histoire de la mafia sicilienne de 1860 à nos jours'' ; John Dickie, Buchet Chastel, 2007 | + | |
| - | * ''Les Dernières années de la mafia ; Marcelle Padovani, Gallimard, 1987 | + | |
| - | * ''La Mafia Imprenditrice(langue:Italien), L'éthique mafieuse et l'esprit de capitalisme ; [[Pino Arlacchi]], il Mulino/Contemporanea 2,1983 | + | |
| - | ===Filmographie=== | + | A ''hit'', or [[assassination]], of a [[made man|"made" man]] had to be preapproved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would ''go to the mattresses'' — rent vacant apartments and have a number of soldiers sleeping on mattresses on the floor in shifts, with the others ready at the windows to fire at members of rival families. |
| - | Le [[cinéma]] est très riche en film sur la mafia, parmi les plus marquants on peut citer : | + | |
| - | * "[[Un'altra storia]]", un film de Marco Battaglia, Gianluca Donati, Laura Schimmenti, Andrea Zulini, un documentaire sur le parcours électoral de Rita Borsellino, la soeur de Paolo, le juge assassiné par la mafia en 1992. | + | ====Symbolism in murders==== |
| - | * La trilogie du ''[[Le Parrain (film)|Parrain]]'', de [[Francis Ford Coppola]] (qui, très ironiquement est tournée par des studios appartenant à la Cosa Nostra américaine), inspiré de la vie de [[Vito Genovese]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Les Affranchis]]'', de [[Martin Scorsese]], inspiré de la vie de [[Henry Hill]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Casino (film)|Casino]]'', de Martin Scorsese | + | |
| - | * ''[[Donnie Brasco]]'', de [[Mike Newell]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Un nouveau Russe]]'', film franco-russe de [[Pavel Lounguine]], ''prix du Jury'' au [[Festival de Cognac]], titre original : ''Олигарх'' [Oligarkh]) | + | |
| - | * ''[[Il était une fois en Amérique]]'', de [[Sergio Leone]] | + | |
| - | * ''L’Escorte'' de [[Ricky Tognazzi]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Cent Jours à Palerme]]'' de [[Giuseppe Ferrara]] avec [[Lino Ventura]], inspiré de la vie du Général [[Dalla Chiesa]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Mean Streets]]'' de [[Martin Scorsese]] | + | |
| - | * ''I cento passi'' (Les cent pas) de [[Marco Tullio Giordana]] avec [[Luigi Lo Cascio]], inspiré de la vie de [[Giuseppe Impastato]] | + | |
| - | * ''[[Les Infiltrés (film)|Les Infiltrés]]'', de [[Martin Scorsese]] | + | |
| - | * ''White Heat'', un film de 1949 mettant en vedettes James Cagney | + | |
| - | * ''Bugsy'', un film sur Bugsy Siegel mettant en vedette Warren Beatty. | + | |
| - | * ''Prizzi’s Honor'', un film de Mafia mettant en vedette Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner et William Hickey. | + | |
| - | * ''The Untouchables'' (titre français: ''Les Incorruptibles) , film portant sur Eliot Ness et les Intouchables, un groupe de loi organisé pour combattre l’organisation d’Al Capone. | + | |
| - | * ''[[Mafia La trahison]]'' de [[John Gotti]], realisé par [[Thaddeus O'Sullivan]] avec [[Philip Baker Hall]], [[Debi Mazar]], [[Adam J. Roth]], [[Tom Sizemore]], [[Nicholas Turturro]], [[Abe Vigoda]], [[Frank Vincent]]. | + | |
| - | * ''Carlito’s Way'' (titre français: ''L'impasse''), 1993. Mettant en vedette Al Pacino, Sean Penn et Penelope Ann Miller. Un film de Brian DePalma. Un film sur Carlito Brigate (Pacino), un gangster qui est sauvé d’une sentence lourde par son avocat Dave (Penn) qui essaye de se repentir et partir de la vie criminelle, mais malheureusement il est aussi immergé dans sa façon de s’en sortir (Note : Brigante est en fait un gangster portoricains avec les connexions à la Mafia, plus qu’un autre membre). | + | |
| - | * ''Gotti'', un film d’[[HBO]] sur l’ancien chef récemment décédé de la famille Gambino. | + | |
| - | * ''A Bronx Tale'', basé sur les mémoires de l’acteur CHazz Palminteri, est l’histoire d’un patron (Palminteri) dans le Bronx qui se lie d’amitié avec le fils d’une classe ouvrière d’un père Italien (Robert DeNiro). | + | |
| - | * ''Raging Bull'', une histoire vrai sur le grand boxeur Jake LaMotta parmi une atmosphère de gangster, aussi joué par Robert DeNiro et réalisé par Martin Scorsese. | + | |
| - | * ''The Freshman''. Histoire d’un jeu étudiant, Matthew Broderick qui obtient un travail pour un vieil homme Sicilien, Marlon Brando, qui est suspecté d’être un parrain de la mafia. | + | |
| - | * ''Analyze This'' et sa suite ''Analyze That'', comédies mettant en vedette Robert DeNiro et Billy Crystal. | + | |
| - | * ''A History of Violence'' à propos d’un propriétaire d’une cantine de l’Indiana qui rencontre les membres de la Mafia qui se dit un vieil « ami ». | + | |
| - | * ''Townies'' (2006) a propos d’un gangster de Charlestown au Massachusetts. | + | |
| - | A la [[télévision]], on peut citer notamment | + | * There are many symbolic deeds done during certain gangland executions that are requested by the don. For allowing [[Joseph Pistone]] into the [[Bonanno crime family]] caporegime [[Dominick Napolitano]] had his hands severed. Later during the attempted murder of [[Joseph Ianuzzi]] this is what [[Tommy Agro]] attempted to do. |
| - | * ''[[Un flic dans la mafia]]'' créée par ''[[Stephen J. Cannell]]'' | + | * As in the murder of [[Lucchese crime family]] soldier [[Bruno Facciola]], a dead [[canary]] was stuffed inside his mouth after he was shot to death. |
| - | * ''[[Les Soprano]]'', créé par [[David Chase]] | + | * A mobster who was thought to be skimming from gambling profits was shot dead and found with a twenty-dollar bill shoved into his rectum. |
| - | * ''La Mafia'' (titre original, ''La Piovra'', c'est-à-dire ''La Pieuvre'') de [[Damiano Damiani]]. Feuilleton de télévision italien par Luigi Perelli d’après les histoires de Sandro Petraglia est la série la plus vaste et dramatique sur la Mafia se frayant sur plus de 10 séries et 60 heures. | + | * [[Frank Abbandando Jr.]] gave a powerful capo in the [[Colombo crime family]] the middle finger and although his life was spared, his middle fingers were severed by a dull knife and sent to him preserved in vinegar. |
| - | * ''Mafiosa - le Clan'' | + | |
| - | * ''[[Oz]]'', une série de [[HBO]] à propos d’une prison ou tous les détenus italiens sont des Mafiosi gérant des affaires illégales à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de la prison. | + | |
| - | * La télé série ''[[The Simpsons]]'' incorpore l’extension de la ville fictive de Springfield dans des épisodes occasionnels; son meneur, Fat Tony est doublé par Joe Mantegna. | + | |
| - | ===Jeux vidéo=== | + | ===American Mafia Families by city=== |
| - | On retrouve également la mafia dans plusieurs jeux vidéo : | + | Note that the Mafia has members, associates, and families in others cities as well. The organization is not limited to these cities. Many of these families have influence in other cities also. |
| - | * [[Mafia (jeu vidéo)|Mafia]], sorti en [[2002]] pour [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]],[[PlayStation 2]],[[Xbox]] et sur [[GameCube]] a été développé par une équipe tchèque. Le joueur est placé dans la peau d'un homme qui adhère à la mafia italo-américaine des [[années 1930]], dans une ville semblable à [[Chicago]]. | + | |
| - | * [[Grand Theft Auto]] et ses suites, le héros du jeu travaille pour les [[triades chinoises]], les ''[[Yakusa]]'' japonnais et la [[mafia italo-américaine]]. | + | *[[Buffalo crime family|Buffalo family]] |
| - | * [[Le Parrain (jeu vidéo)|Le parrain]], sorti en 2006, est un jeu vidéo qui retrace l'histoire du film ''[[Le Parrain (film)|Le Parrain]]''. | + | *[[Chicago Outfit]] |
| - | * [[Yakuza (jeu vidéo)|Yakuza]], jeu se déroulant dans un Tokyo réaliste, le héros y travaille pour les ''[[Yakuza]]''. | + | *[[Cleveland crime family|Cleveland family]] |
| - | [[Catégorie:Crime organisé]] | + | *[[Kansas City crime family|Kansas City family]] |
| - | [[Catégorie:Crime organisé italien]] | + | *[[Los Angeles crime family|LA family]] |
| + | *[[New England]]-[[Boston]], ([[Patriarca crime family|Patriarca family]]) | ||
| + | *[[New Jersey]] ([[DeCavalcante crime family|DeCavalcante family]]) | ||
| + | *[[New Orleans crime family|New Orleans family]] | ||
| + | *The [[Five Families]] of [[New York]] ([[Genovese Crime Family|Genovese family]], [[Gambino Crime Family|Gambino family]], [[Lucchese Crime Family|Lucchese family]], [[Bonanno Crime Family|Bonanno family]], [[Colombo Crime Family|Colombo family]]) | ||
| + | *[[Northeastern Pennsylvania]] ([[Bufalino Crime Family|Bufalino family]]) | ||
| + | *[[Omaha crime family|Omaha family]] | ||
| + | *[[Philadelphia]] ([[Scarfo crime family|Scarfo family]]) | ||
| + | *[[Pittsburgh crime family|Pittsburgh family]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Prominent Italian American mafiosi=== | ||
| + | ''See also: [[List of Italian American mobsters]].'' | ||
| + | <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Al Capone Mafia.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Al Capone]] --> | ||
| + | *[[Al Capone]] 'Scarface': (1899-1947) Prohibition Chicago Boss. | ||
| + | *[[Charles Luciano]] 'Lucky': (1897-1962) New York Boss. Founder of Modern American Mafia. First Boss of the [[Genovese Family]]. | ||
| + | *[[Joe Bonanno]] 'Joe Bananas': (1905-2002) First Boss of the [[Bonanno Crime Family|Bonanno Family]]. | ||
| + | *[[Carlo Gambino]] 'Don Carlo': (1902-1976) Boss and expander of the [[Gambino crime family]]. Seen by some as the Chairman of the [[Mafia Commission|Commission]] since 1957. | ||
| + | *[[Gaetano Gagliano]] 'Tommy': (1884-1951) First Boss of the [[Lucchese Family]]. | ||
| + | *[[Vincent Mangano]]: (1888-1951) First Boss of the [[Gambino Family]]. | ||
| + | *[[Joe Profaci]]: (1897-1962) First Boss of the [[Colombo Family]]. | ||
| + | *[[Joe Valachi]] 'Joe Cargo': (1903-1971) First Mafioso to turn informer. | ||
| + | *[[Paul Castellano]]: (1915-1985) Gambino Boss. Assassinated on the orders of John Gotti. | ||
| + | *[[John Gotti]] 'The Dapper Don': (1940-2002) Gambino Boss. Famous for flamboyance and his media friendly attitude. | ||
| + | *[[Henry Hill (mobster)|Henry Hill]]: (1943-present) Mob turncoat immortalized in the film ''[[Goodfellas]]''. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Law enforcement in the United States== | ||
| + | === Joint projects of the U.S. government and the Mafia=== | ||
| + | On very rare occasions, the United States government has conspired with organized crime figures to [[assassinate]] foreign heads of state. In August 1960, Colonel Sheffield Edwards, director of the [[CIA]]'s Office of Security, proposed the assassination of [[Cuba]]n head of state [[Fidel Castro]] by mafia assassins. Between August 1960 and April 1961, the CIA, without the help of the Mafia (who had taken the money and done nothing), pursued a series of plots to [[poison]] or shoot Castro (CIA, [http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/bayofpigs/chron.html Inspector General's Report on Efforts to Assassinate Fidel Castro], p. 3, 14). Those allegedly involved included [[Sam Giancana]], [[Carlos Marcello]], [[Santo Trafficante, Jr.]], and [[John Roselli]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Law Enforcement and the Mafia=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | In several Mafia families, killing a state authority is forbidden due to the possibility of extreme police retaliation. In some rare strict cases, conspiring to commit such a murder is punishable by death. The Jewish mobster [[Dutch Schultz]] was reportedly killed by his Italian peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill New York City prosecutor [[Thomas Dewey]]. The Mafia has been known to carry out hits on law enforcement in its earlier history. New Orleans police officer [[Joe Petrosino]] was shot by Sicilian mobsters in the United States. A statue of him was later erected across the street from a Luchhese hangout.<ref>''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | The [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act|RICO Act]] of the 1960s made it a crime to belong to an organization that performed illegal acts, and it created programs such as the [[witness protection program]]. The Act only began to come into frequent use during the late 70's and early 80's. Charges of [[racketeering]] convicted scores of mobsters including 2 of New York's Godfathers ([[Anthony Corallo]] and [[Carmine Persico]]) during the [[Commission Case]] in 1985 (Although one of the convicted [[Anthony Salerno|Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno]] was thought of as the [[Genovese crime family|Genovese]] Godfather he was only the Underboss). The Act continued to be used to great effect up to the end of the 20th century and hurt the Mob severely. The establishment of the [[United States Organized Crime Strike Force]] made it more possible to find and prosecute the Mafia. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The [[United States Organized Crime Strike Force]] was established in the 1970's by a joint congressional effort led by [[Robert Kennedy]]. The [[United States Organized Crime Strike Force|Strike Force]] was under the Office of the the Inspector General in the [[Department of Labor]]. It was disbanded at the National Level, but continues at the state and local level today. It was jointly responsible for investigating and eventually helping to bring down high level Mafiosos such as [[Joseph Aiuppa]] of the the Chicago Outfit, [[Anthony Salerno]] of the Genovese Family of New York and [[Paul Castellano]] of the Gambino Family. Also the [[United States Organized Crime Strike Force|Strike Force]] took down and cleaned up much of the [[Organized Crime]] in [[Teamsters for a Democratic Union|The Teamsters]] across the country, | ||
| + | |||
| + | However the Mafia is still the dominant organized crime group in the United States, despite the success of RICO. According to Selwyn Raab, author of ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires'', after [[9/11]] the FBI has redirected most of its attention to finding terrorists, which contributed to a resurgence of Mafia activity in the U.S. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[List of Mafia crime families]] | ||
| + | * [[List of criminal organizations]] | ||
| + | * [[The Sixth Family]] | ||
| + | * [[Camorra]] | ||
| + | * [[Mafia-Camorra War]] | ||
| + | * [[Five Families]] | ||
| + | * [[Gang]] | ||
| + | * [[Gangster]] | ||
| + | * [[Italian organized crime]] | ||
| + | * [[Omertà]] | ||
| + | * [[Vendetta]] | ||
| + | * [[Organized crime]] | ||
| + | * [[Timeline of organized crime]] | ||
| + | * [[Crime in New York City]] | ||
| + | * [[Yakuza]] ("Japanese Mafia") | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | {{reflist|2}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | *Arlacchi, Pino (1988). ''Mafia Business. The Mafia Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-285197-7 | ||
| + | *Chubb, Judith (1989). [http://www.holycross.edu/departments/history/tmcbride/mafia1.htm The Mafia and Politics], Cornell Studies in International Affairs, Occasional Papers No. 23. | ||
| + | *Dickie, John (2004). ''Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia'', London: Coronet ISBN 0-340-82435-2 | ||
| + | *Gambetta, Diego (1993).''The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection'', London: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-80742-1 | ||
| + | *Servadio, Gaia (1976), ''Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day'', London: Secker & Warburg ISBN 0-436-44700-2 | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External links== | ||
| + | * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6108916.stm Gangs turn Naples into battleground] | ||
| + | * [http://www.italymob.com/ Site of Italian Mafia] (Russian) | ||
| + | * [http://www.centroimpastato.it/otherlang/finmafiaen.php3 The financial mafia. The illegal accumulation of wealth and the financial-industrial complex] by Umberto Santino, in "Contemporary Crises" 12, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, September 1988, pp.203-243 | ||
| + | * [http://www.holycross.edu/departments/history/tmcbride/mafia1.htm The Mafia and Politics], by Judith Chubb, Cornell Studies in International Affairs, Occasional Papers No. 23, 1989. | ||
| + | * [http://www.russianspy.org/2006/10/24/italy-enraged-by-russia%e2%80%99s-putin-risky-mafia-joke/ Italy Enraged by Russia’s Putin Risky Mafia Joke], by RussianSpy.org, October 2006 | ||
| + | * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6157528.stm BBC News - Rome hosts major anti-mafia forum] - [[17 January]] [[2006]] | ||
| + | * {{PDFlink|[http://www.isnie.org/ISNIE99/Papers/bandiera.pdf Competing for Protection: Land Fragmentation and the Rise of the Sicilian Mafia]|97.3 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 99670 bytes -->}}, by Oriana Bandiera, London School of Economics, August 1999 | ||
| + | * [http://camorraecamorristi.napolionline.org Camorra, the neapolitan mafia] {{it icon}} | ||
| + | * [http://www.gangrule.com Gangrule, American mafia history] | ||
| + | * [http://www.bestofsicily.com/mafia.htm The Mafia in Sicilian History] | ||
| + | * [http://www.nicaso.com Mobwatcher] {{it icon}} | ||
| + | * [http://www.sisde.it/Gnosis/Rivista4.nsf/ServNavigE/26 American Cosa Nostra] {{it icon}} | ||
| + | * [http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/article_cosa_nostra_history_sicilian_mafia.htm Cosa Nostra - Rebranding the Mafia] | ||
| + | * [http://www.mafia-news.com/ mafia-news.com] | ||
| + | * [http://www.angelfire.com/blog/organizedcrime/italian.html American Organized Crime - La Cosa Nostra] | ||
| + | * [http://www.fanabala.com/ Italian Mafia Terms Defined] | ||
| + | * [http://www.americanmafia.com/26_Family_Cities.html The 26 Original American Mafia Families- AmericanMafia.com] | ||
| + | *[http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/mafiamon.htm FBI Mafia Monograph] | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Sicily]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Italian American history]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Organized crime groups]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Anti-communism]] | ||
| + | [[Category:History of the Italian Mafia|Mafia]] | ||
| + | [[Category:Organized crime terminology]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | <!-- interwiki --> | ||
| [[ar:مافيا]] | [[ar:مافيا]] | ||
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| [[bs:Mafija]] | [[bs:Mafija]] | ||
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| - | [[eo:Mafio]] | ||
| [[es:Mafia]] | [[es:Mafia]] | ||
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| [[fa:مافیا]] | [[fa:مافیا]] | ||
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| - | [[he:מאפיה (פשע מאורגן)]] | + | [[ko:마피아]] |
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| [[id:Mafia]] | [[id:Mafia]] | ||
| [[it:Mafia]] | [[it:Mafia]] | ||
| - | [[ja:マフィア]] | + | [[he:מאפיה (פשע מאורגן)]] |
| [[ka:მაფია]] | [[ka:მაფია]] | ||
| - | [[ko:마피아]] | ||
| [[lt:Mafija]] | [[lt:Mafija]] | ||
| + | [[hu:Maffia]] | ||
| [[mk:Мафија]] | [[mk:Мафија]] | ||
| [[ms:Mafia]] | [[ms:Mafia]] | ||
| [[nl:Maffia]] | [[nl:Maffia]] | ||
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| [[sv:Maffia]] | [[sv:Maffia]] | ||
| [[ta:மாஃப்பியா]] | [[ta:மாஃப்பியா]] | ||
| [[th:มาเฟีย]] | [[th:มาเฟีย]] | ||
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| [[uk:Мафія]] | [[uk:Мафія]] | ||
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Version actuelle
Modèle:Pp-semi Modèle:Otheruses1 The Mafia (also known as La Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia<ref>Omerta in the Antipodes, Time, January 31, 1964</ref> during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration (see also Italian diaspora). In North America, the Mafia often refers to Italian organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian organized crime. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory..."<ref name="definition">The mafia, by Domenico Airoma</ref>
The Sicilian Cosa Nostra is a loose confederation of about one hundred Mafia groups, also called cosche or families, each of which claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city, though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its monopoly of violence. For many years, the power apparatuses of the single families were the sole ruling bodies within the two associations, and they have remained the real centers of power even after superordinate bodies were created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s (the Sicilian Mafia Commission).<ref name=paoli>Review of Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods by Klaus Von Lampe</ref>
Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, Giuseppe Pitrè, at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."<ref name="mafia">Giuseppe Pitrè, Usi e costumi, credenze e pregiudizi del popolo siciliano, Palermo 1889 </ref>
Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection for the poor and weak. As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, Calogero Vizzini, stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love." Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honour, or even social responsibility: an attitude, not an organization. Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso, because that word meant honourable, noble, generous.<ref>Arlacchi, Mafia Business, p. 181</ref><ref>Dickie, Cosa Nostra, p. 183</ref>
Sommaire |
Etymology
There are several theories about the origin of the term. The Sicilian adjective mafiusu may derive from the Arabic mahyas, 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.<ref name="mafiusu">This etymology is based on the books Mafioso by Gaia Servadio; The Sicilian Mafia by Diego Gambetta; and Cosa Nostra by John Dickie (see Books below).</ref>
According to the Sicilian ethnographer Giuseppe Pitrè, the association of the word with the criminal secret society was made by the 1863 play I mafiusi di la Vicaria (The Beautiful (people) of Vicaria) by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca, which is about criminal gangs in the Palermo prison.<ref>Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, p. 136</ref> The words Mafia and mafiusi (plural of mafiusu) are never mentioned in the play, and were probably put in the title because it would add local flair.
The association between mafiusi and criminal gangs was made by the association the play's title made with the criminal gangs that were new to Sicilian and Italian society at the time. Consequently, the word "mafia" was generated from a fictional source loosely inspired by the real thing and was used by outsiders to describe it. The use of the term "mafia" was subsequently taken over in the Italian state's early reports on the phenomenon. The word "mafia" 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."<ref name=gambetta137>Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, p. 137</ref> He 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.<ref name=servadio42> Servadio, Mafioso, p. 42-43</ref>
The real name: Cosa Nostra
According to some mafiosi, the real name of the Mafia is "Cosa Nostra" ("Our thing"). Many have claimed, as did the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, that the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other Mafia defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, said the same thing. According to them, the real thing was "cosa nostra". To men of honour belonging to the organization, there is no need to name it. Mafiosi introduce known members to other known members as belonging to "cosa nostra" (our thing) or la stessa cosa (the same thing), meaning "he is the same thing, a mafioso, as you". Only the outside world needs a name to describe it, hence the capitalized form "Cosa Nostra".
Cosa Nostra was first used, in the early 1960s, in the United States by Joseph Valachi, a mafioso turned state witness, during the hearings of the McClellan Commission.<ref>Their Thing, Time, August 16, 1963</ref><ref>Killers in Prison, Time, October 4, 1963</ref><ref>"The Smell of It", Time, October 11, 1963</ref> 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 an article to the term, calling it 'La Cosa Nostra'. In Italy the article 'la' is never used when the term refers to the Mafia.
Other Names
The Mafia has used many other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as The Honoured Society. Mafiosi are known among themselves as Men of Honour.
Rituals of Sicilian Cosa Nostra
The orientation ritual in most families happens when a man becomes an associate, and then, a soldier. As described by Tommaso Buscetta to judge Giovanni Falcone, the neophyte is brought together with at least three "men of honor" of the family and the oldest member present warns him that "this House" is meant to protect the weak against the abuse of the powerful; he then pricks the finger of the initiate and spills his blood onto a sacred image, usually of a saint. The image is placed in the hand of the initiate and lit on fire. The neophyte must withstand the pain of the burning, passing the image from hand to hand, until the image has been consumed, while swearing to keep faith with the principles of "Cosa Nostra," solemnly swearing "may my flesh burn like this saint if I fail to keep my oath." Joseph Valachi was the first person to mention that in court.
The Sicilians also have a law of silence, called omertà; it forbids the common man, woman or child to cooperate at all with the police or the government, upon pain of death.
History of Sicilian Cosa Nostra
Origins
It has long been debated whether the mafia has medieval origins. Deceased pentito Tommaso Buscetta thought so, whilst modern scholars now believe otherwise. It is possible that the "original" mafia formed as a secret society sworn to protect the Sicilian population from the threat of Catalan marauders in the fifteenth century. However, there is very little historical evidence to suggest this. It is also feasible that the "Robin Hood" origins, which are closely intertwined with the Sicilian outlaw Salvatore Giuliano, were perpetuated by the earliest known mafiosi as a means of gaining goodwill and trust from the Sicilian people. This origin states that the Mafia is a means for righteous rebels to defend the people against oppression, Roman and Northern Italian control, and outside invasion.
After the Revolution of 1848 and the revolution of 1860, Sicily had fallen to complete disorder. The earliest mafiosi, at that time separate, small bands of outlaws, offered their guns in the revolt. Author John Dickie claims that the main reasons for this were the chance to burn police records and evidence, and to kill off police and pentiti in the chaos. However, once a new government was established in Rome and it became clear that the mafia would be unable to execute these actions, they began refining their methods and techniques over the latter half of the nineteenth century. Protecting the large lemon groves and estates of local nobility became a lucrative but dangerous business. Palermo was initially the main area of these activities, but the Sicilian mafia's dominance soon spread over all of western Sicily. In order to strengthen the bond between the disparate gangs and so ensure greater profits and a safer working environment, it is possible that the mafia as such was formed at this time in about the mid-19th century.
Mafia after the unification of Italy
From 1860, the year when the new unified Italian state first took over both Sicily and the Papal States, the Popes were hostile to the state. From 1870, the Pope declared himself besieged by the Italian state and strongly encouraged Catholics to refuse to cooperate with the state. Broadly speaking, in mainland Italy, this did not lead to violence. Sicily was strongly Catholic, but in a strongly tribal sense rather than in an intellectual and theological sense, and had a tradition of suspicion of outsiders. The friction between the Church and the state gave a great advantage to violent criminal bands in Sicily who could claim to peasants and townspeople that cooperating with the police (representing the new Italian state) was an anti-Catholic activity. It was in the two decades following the 1860 unification that the term Mafia came to the attention of the general public, although it was considered to be more of an attitude and value system than an organization.
The first mention in official law documentation of the 'mafia' came in the late 1800s, when a Dr. Galati was subject to threats of violence from a local mafioso, who was attempting to oust Galati from his own lemon grove in order to move himself in. Protection rackets, cattle rustling and bribery of state officials were the main sources of income and protection for the early mafia. Cosa Nostra also borrowed heavily from masonic oaths and rituals, such as the now famous initiation ceremony.
Fascist era
During the Fascist period in Italy, Cesare Mori, prefect of Palermo, used special powers granted to him to prosecute the Mafia, forcing many Mafiosi to flee abroad or risk being jailed.<ref>Mafia Trial, Time, October 24, 1927</ref><ref>Mafia Scotched, Time, January 23, 1928</ref> Many of the Mafiosi who escaped fled to the United States, among them Joseph Bonanno, nicknamed Joe Bananas, who came to dominate the U.S. branch of the Mafia. However, when Mori started to persecute the Mafiosi involved in the Fascist hierarchy, he was removed, and the Fascist authorities proclaimed that the Mafia had been defeated. Though the mafia was weakened, it had not been defeated as claimed. Despite his assault on their brethren, Mussolini had his admirers in the New York Mafia, notably Vito Genovese (although he was from Naples and not from Sicily).
The post-war revival
After Fascism, the Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in World War II and the U.S. occupation. The United States used Italian connections of American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other Mafiosi, who had been imprisoned during this time in the U.S., provided information for U.S. military intelligence and used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing troops. Furthermore, Luciano's control of the ports prevented sabotage by agents of the Axis powers.<ref name="luciano">"The wartime collaboration of Sicilian-born Salvatore "Lucky" Luciano with the United States Navy may have made the Allied invasion of Sicily smoother than it otherwise would have been, but the Iron Prefect's enforcement of the Duce's laws had already made most mafiosi sympathetic to the American cause, or at least hostile to the Fascist one." The Mafia from bestofsicily.com</ref>
Some say that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, precursor to the CIA, deliberately allowed the mafia to recover its social and economic position as the "anti-State" in Sicily, and with the U.S.-mafia alliance forged in 1943, this became the true turning point of mafia history and the new foundation for its subsequent 60-year career.[citation needed] Others, such as the Palermitan historian Francesco Renda, have argued that there was no such alliance. Rather, the mafia exploited the chaos of post-fascist Sicily to reconquer its social base. The OSS indeed, in its 1944 "Report on the Problem of Mafia" by the agent W. E. Scotten, pointed to the signs of mafia resurgence and warned of its perils for social order and economic progress.
An alleged additional benefit (from the American perspective) was that many of the Sicilian-Italian Mafiosi were hard-line anti-communists. They were therefore seen as valuable allies by the anti-communist Americans, who allegedly used them to root out socialist and communist elements in the American shipping industry as well as wartime resistance movements and postwar local and regional governments in areas where the Mafia held sway.[citation needed]
According to drug trade expert Dr. Alfred W. McCoy, Luciano was permitted to run his crime network from his jail cell in exchange for his assistance. After the war, Luciano was rewarded by being released from prison and deported to Italy, where he was able to continue his criminal career unhindered. He went to Sicily in 1946 to continue his activities and according to McCoy's landmark 1972 book The Politics of Heroin in South-East Asia, Luciano went on to forge a crucial alliance with the Corsican Mafia, leading to the development of a vast international heroin trafficking network, initially supplied from Turkey and based in Marseille — the so-called "French Connection".
Later, when Turkey began to eliminate its opium production, he used his connections with the Corsicans to open a dialogue with expatriate Corsican mafiosi in South Vietnam. In collaboration with leading American mob bosses including Santo Trafficante Jr., Luciano and his successors took advantage of the chaotic conditions in Southeast Asia arising from the Vietnam War to establish an unassailable supply and distribution base in the "Golden Triangle", which was soon funneling huge amounts of Asian heroin into the United States, Australia and other countries.<ref>The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, by Alfred W. McCoy with Cathleen B. Read and Leonard P. Adams II, 1972, ISBN 0060129018</ref>
Maxi Trial and war against the government
The Second Mafia War in the early 1980s was a large scale conflict within the Mafia that also led to the assassinations of several politicians, police chiefs and magistrates. Salvatore Riina and his Corleonesi faction ultimately prevailed in the war. The new generation of mafiosi placed more emphasis on "white-collar" criminal activity as opposed to more traditional racketeering enterprises. In reaction to these developments, the Italian press has come up with the phrase Cosa Nuova ("the new thing", a play on Cosa Nostra) to refer to the revamped organization.
The first major pentito (a captured mafioso to collaborate with the judicial system) was Tommaso Buscetta who had lost several allies in the war and began to talk to prosecutor Giovanni Falcone around 1983. This led to the Maxi Trial (1986-1987) which resulted in several hundred convictions of leading mafiosi. When the Italian Supreme Court confirmed the convictions in January 1992, Riina took revenge. The politician Salvatore Lima was killed in March 1992; he had long been suspected of being the main government connection of the Mafia (later confirmed by testimony of Buscetta), and the Mafia was clearly displeased with his services. Falcone and fellow anti-Mafia prosecutor Paolo Borsellino were killed a few months later. This led to a public outcry and a massive government crackdown, resulting in Riina's arrest in January 1993. More and more pentitos started to emerge. Many would pay a high price for their co-operation usually through the murder of relatives. For example, Cosa Nostra defector Francesco Marino Mannoia's, mother, aunt and sister were murdered. <ref>Cosa Nostra by John Dickie </ref>
The Corleonesi retaliated with a campaign of terrorism, a series of bombings against several tourist spots on the Italian mainland: the Via dei Georgofili in Florence, Via Palestro in Milan, and the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured and caused severe damage to cultural heritage such as the Uffizi Gallery. 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.<ref>Modèle:It icon Caserta, revocato 41 bis a figlio Bidognetti: lo dice ancora l'Espresso, Casertasete, January , 2006</ref> 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.<ref name=guardian>Move over, Cosa Nostra, The Guardian, 8 Juni 2006</ref> The mafia also have a strong business in extortion big companies as well as smaller ones. It estimates that 7% of Italy's output is filtered off by organised crime. The Mafia has turned into one of Italy's biggest business enterprises with a turnover of more than US$120bn a year.<ref> Willey , David
. " Italian Mafia turnover '$120bn' " , BBC News , Monday, 22 October 2007, 21:57 GMT 22:57 UK . Retrieved on 2007-10-23 . </ref>
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 mobster. The commandments are as follows:<ref name="10_cmd"> Mafia's 'Ten Commandments' found
. BBC News (2007-11-09)
. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. </ref>
- 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's 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.
Prominent 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.
- Stefano Magaddino (1891 – 1974), "The grand old man of the Cosa Nostra". Original member of The Commission and was very prominent in the cities of Buffalo and Detroit
- 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 1930 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 (born 1924), boss of the Mafia Family in Croceverde
- Luciano Liggio (1925 – 1993), boss of the Mafia Family in Corleone
- Tommaso Buscetta (1928 – 2000), Sicilian Mafioso who became a pentito (informant) in 1984. Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the Maxi-Trials.
- Salvatore Riina (born 1930), also known as Totò Riina is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. He was nicknamed The Beast, or sometimes The Short One ('U Curtu in Sicilian) and ruled the Mafia with an iron hand from the 1980s until his arrest in 1993.
- Bernardo Provenzano (born 1933), successor of Riina at the head of the Corleonesi and as such 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.<ref name="topboss">'Top Mafia boss' caught in Italy</ref> Before capture, authorities had reportedly been 'close' to capturing him for 10 years.
- Stefano Bontade (1939 – 1981), boss of the Mafia Family in Santa Maria di Gesù
- 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.
Structure of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra
Known as the Honored Society among Mafiosi, the chain of command is organized in a pyramid similar to a modern corporate structure.[citation needed]
Traditional terminology
- Capo di Tutti Capi (the "Boss of All Bosses", namely Matteo Messina Denaro for the Sicilian Mafia and Renato Gagliano for the Sacra Corona Unita)[citation needed]
- Capo di Capi Re (a title of respect given to a senior or retired member, equivalent to being a member emeritus, literally, "King Boss of Bosses")[citation needed]
- Capo Crimine ("Crime Boss", known as a Don - the head of a crime family)[citation needed]
- Capo Bastone ("Club Head", known as the "Underboss" is second in command to the Capo Crimine)[citation needed]
- Consigliere (an advisor)[citation needed]
- Caporegime ("Regime head", a captain who commands a "crew" of around ten Sgarriste or "soldiers")[citation needed]
- Sgarrista or Soldato ("Soldier", made members of the Mafia who serve primarily as foot soldiers)[citation needed][citation needed]
- Picciotto ("Little man", a low ranking member who serves as an "enforcer")[citation needed]
- Giovane D'Onore (an associate member, usually someone not of Italian ancestry)[citation needed]
Italian Mafia structure
- Capofamiglia - (Don)
- Consigliere - (Counselor/Advisor)
- Sotto Capo - (Underboss)
- Capodecina - (Group Boss/Capo)
- Uomini D'onore - ("Men of Honor")
American Cosa Nostra
The Italian Mafia continues to dominate organized crime in the U.S. It uses this status to maintain control over much of both Chicago's and New York City's organized criminal activity, as well as criminal activity in other cities in the Northeast and across the country, such as Philadelphia, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and many others. The Mafia and its reputation have become entrenched in American popular culture, being portrayed in movies, TV shows, commercial advertising and video games.
The American Mafia, specifically the Five Families of New York, has its roots in the Sicilian Mafia, but has been a separate organization in the United States for many years. Today, American Cosa Nostra cooperates in various criminal activities with the different Italian organized crime groups, such as Camorra, which are headquartered in Italy. It is wrongly known as the "original Mafia", although it was neither the oldest criminal organization, nor the first to act in the U.S. In 1986, according to government reports, it was estimated that there are 1,700 members of "Cosa Nostra" and thousands of associate members. Reports also are said to include the Italian-American Mafia as the largest organized crime group in the United States and continues to hold dominance over the National Crime Syndicate, despite the increasing numbers of street gangs and other organizations of neither Italian nor Sicilian ethnicity. American Cosa Nostra is most active in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, New England (see the Patriarca crime family), Detroit (see the Detroit Partnership, and Chicago (see the Chicago Outfit), but there are actually a total of 26 Cosa Nostra family cities around the United States[1].
History
Origins: The Black Hand
Mafia groups in the United States first became influential in the New York City area, gradually progressing from small neighborhood operations in poor Italian ghettos to citywide and eventually international organizations. The American Mafia started with the La Mano Nera, "The Black Hand", extorting Italians (and other immigrants) around New York city. Black Hand gangsters would threaten them by mail if their extortion demands were not met. The threats were sometimes marked with a hand-print in black ink at the bottom of the page. As more Sicilian gangsters immigrated to the U.S., they expanded their criminal activities from extortion to loan-sharking, prostitution, drugs and alcohol, robbery, kidnapping, and murder. Many poor Italian immigrants embraced the Mafia as a possible way of gaining power and rising out of the poverty and anti-Italianism they experienced in America.
Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Sicilian Mafia member to emigrate to the United States. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering eleven wealthy landowners as well as the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province. He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and extradited to Italy.
New Orleans was also the site of the first Mafia incident in the United States that received both national and international attention. On October 15 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. The outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped[2].
In the 1910s and 1920s in New York City, the Sicilian Mafia developed into the Five Points Gang.
The rising: the Prohibition
Mafia activities were restricted until 1920, when they exploded because of the introduction of the prohibition. Al Capone's Syndicate in the 1920s ruled Chicago.
By the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged, causing the Castellamarese war for control of organized crime in New York City. With the murder of Joseph Masseria, the leader of one of the factions, the war ended uniting the two sides back into one organization now dubbed Cosa Nostra. Salvatore Maranzano, the first leader of American Mafia, was himself murdered within six months and Charles "Lucky" Luciano became the new leader. Maranzano had established the code of conduct for the organization, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. Luciano set up the "Commission" to rule their activities. The Commission included bosses from six or seven families.
After-war
In 1951, a U.S. Senate Committee, led by Democratic Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, determined that a "sinister criminal organization", with ties to the USSR, also known as the Mafia operated around the United States.
In 1957, the New York State Police uncovered a meeting of major American Cosa Nostra figures from around the country in the small upstate New York town of Apalachin. This gathering has become known as the Apalachin Conference. Many of the attendees were arrested and this event was the catalyst that changed the way law enforcement battles organized crime.
In 1963, Joseph Valachi became the first American Cosa Nostra member to provide a detailed look at the inside of the organization. Having been recruited by FBI Special Agents, and testifying before the US Senate McClellan Committee, Valachi exposed the name, structure, power bases, codes, swearing-in ceremony, and members of this organization. All of this had been secret up to this point.
Today Cosa Nostra is involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities. These include murder, extortion, drug trafficking, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, prostitution, pornography, tax fraud schemes, and most notably today, stock manipulation schemes.
Union corruption
In the mid-20th century, the Mafia was reputed to have infiltrated many labor unions in the United States, notably the Teamsters, whose president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared and is widely believed to have been murdered. In the 1980s, the United States federal government made a determined effort to remove Mafia influence from labor unions.
Structure
The Mafia had eventually expanded to twenty-six crime families nationwide in the major cities of the United States, with the center of organized crime based in New York. After many turf wars, the Five Families ended up dominating New York, named after prominent early members: the Bonanno family, the Colombo family, the Gambino family, the Genovese family, and the Lucchese family. These families held underground conferences with other mafia notables like Joe Porrello from Cleveland, and other gang leaders, such as Al Capone.
- Boss—The head of the family, usually reigning as a dictator, sometimes called the don or "godfather". The Boss receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family. Depending on the Family, the Boss may be chosen by a vote from the Caporegimes of the family. In the event of a tie, the Underboss must vote. In the past, all the members of a Family voted on the Boss, but by the late 1950s, any gathering such as that attracted too much attention.<ref>Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002</ref>
- Underboss—The Underboss, usually appointed by the Boss, is the second in command of the family. The Underboss is in charge of all of the Capos, who are controlled by the Boss. The Underboss is usually first in line to become Acting Boss if the Boss is imprisoned or dies.
- Consigliere—The Consigliere is an advisor to the family. They are often low profile gangsters that can be trusted. They are used as a mediator of disputes or representatives or aides in meetings with other Families. They often keep the Family looking as legitimate as possible, and are, themselves, legitimate apart from some minor gambling or loan sharking. Often Consiglieres are lawyers or stock brokers, are trusted and have a close friendship or relationship with the Don. They usually do not have crews of their own, but still wield great power in the Family. They are also often the liaison between the Don and important 'bought' figures, such as politicians or Judges.
- Caporegime (or Capo)—A Capo (sometimes called a Captain) is in charge of a crew. There are usually four to six crews in each family, possibly even seven to nine crews, each one consisting of up to ten Soldiers. Capos run their own small family, but must follow the limitations and guidelines created by the Boss, as well as pay him his cut of their profits. Capos are nominated by the Underboss, but typically chosen by the Boss himself.
- Soldier—Soldiers are members of the family, and can only be of Italian background. Soldiers start as Associates that have proven themselves. When the books are open, meaning that there is an open spot in the family, a Capo (or several Capos) may recommend an up-and-coming Associate to be a new member. In the case that there is only one slot and multiple recommendations, the Boss will decide. The new member usually becomes part of the Capo's crew that recommended him. Sometimes a soldier will be called a button man, because, in theory, when a capo presses a button, someone dies. They are also called made men, who have made their bones, by committing a murder in front of Mafia witnesses. This ensures the soldier's reliability: he will never testify against a man who could testify against him. Being made is the beginning but not the end of a Mafia career. (The definitions of made man and making one's bones are inferred: Most books on the Mafia—fiction or nonfiction—assume these terms but never define them.)[citation needed]
- Associate—An Associate is not a member of the mob, and an Associate's role is more similar to that of an errand boy. They are usually a go-between or sometimes deal in drugs to keep the heat off the actual members. In other cases, an associate might be a corrupt labor union delegate or businessman.<ref>Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002</ref> Non-Italians will never go any further than this. However, occasionally an associate will become powerful within his own family, for example Joe Watts, a close associate of John Gotti.
The American Mafia's organizational structure and system of control were created by Salvatore Maranzano (who became the first "capo di tutti capi" in the US, though he was killed after holding the position for only six months, by Lucky Luciano).
Most recently there have been two new positions in the family leadership: the family messenger and Street Boss. These positions were created by former Genovese leader Vincent Gigante.
Each faction was headed by a caporegime, who reported to the boss. When the boss made a decision, he never issued orders directly to the soldiers who would carry it out, but instead passed instructions down through the chain of command. In this way, the higher levels of the organization were effectively insulated from incrimination if a lower level member should be captured by law enforcement. This structure is depicted in Mario Puzo's famous novel The Godfather. In The Godfather: Part II, These links are called "buffers": they provide what the intelligence community calls plausible deniability.
Rituals
The initiation ritual emerged from various sources, such as Catholic confraternities and Masonic Lodges in mid-nineteenth century Sicily<ref name="initiation">"Mafia's arcane rituals, and much of the organization's structure, were based largely on those of the Catholic confraternities and even Freemasonry, colored by Sicilian familial traditions and even certain customs associated with military-religious orders of chivalry like the Order of Malta." The Mafia from bestofsicily.com</ref> and has hardly changed to this day. The Chief of Police of Palermo in 1875 reported that the man of honor to be initiated would be led into the presence of a group of bosses and underbosses. One of these men would prick the initiate's arm or hand and tell him to smear the blood onto a sacred image, usually a saint. The oath of loyalty would be taken as the image was burned and scattered, thus symbolising the annihilation of traitors. This was confirmed by the first pentito, Tommaso Buscetta.
A hit, or assassination, of a "made" man had to be preapproved by the leadership of his family, or retaliatory hits would be made, possibly inciting a war. In a state of war, families would go to the mattresses — rent vacant apartments and have a number of soldiers sleeping on mattresses on the floor in shifts, with the others ready at the windows to fire at members of rival families.
Symbolism in murders
- There are many symbolic deeds done during certain gangland executions that are requested by the don. For allowing Joseph Pistone into the Bonanno crime family caporegime Dominick Napolitano had his hands severed. Later during the attempted murder of Joseph Ianuzzi this is what Tommy Agro attempted to do.
- As in the murder of Lucchese crime family soldier Bruno Facciola, a dead canary was stuffed inside his mouth after he was shot to death.
- A mobster who was thought to be skimming from gambling profits was shot dead and found with a twenty-dollar bill shoved into his rectum.
- Frank Abbandando Jr. gave a powerful capo in the Colombo crime family the middle finger and although his life was spared, his middle fingers were severed by a dull knife and sent to him preserved in vinegar.
American Mafia Families by city
Note that the Mafia has members, associates, and families in others cities as well. The organization is not limited to these cities. Many of these families have influence in other cities also.
- Buffalo family
- Chicago Outfit
- Cleveland family
- Kansas City family
- LA family
- New England-Boston, (Patriarca family)
- New Jersey (DeCavalcante family)
- New Orleans family
- The Five Families of New York (Genovese family, Gambino family, Lucchese family, Bonanno family, Colombo family)
- Northeastern Pennsylvania (Bufalino family)
- Omaha family
- Philadelphia (Scarfo family)
- Pittsburgh family
Prominent Italian American mafiosi
See also: List of Italian American mobsters.
- Al Capone 'Scarface': (1899-1947) Prohibition Chicago Boss.
- Charles Luciano 'Lucky': (1897-1962) New York Boss. Founder of Modern American Mafia. First Boss of the Genovese Family.
- Joe Bonanno 'Joe Bananas': (1905-2002) First Boss of the Bonanno Family.
- Carlo Gambino 'Don Carlo': (1902-1976) Boss and expander of the Gambino crime family. Seen by some as the Chairman of the Commission since 1957.
- Gaetano Gagliano 'Tommy': (1884-1951) First Boss of the Lucchese Family.
- Vincent Mangano: (1888-1951) First Boss of the Gambino Family.
- Joe Profaci: (1897-1962) First Boss of the Colombo Family.
- Joe Valachi 'Joe Cargo': (1903-1971) First Mafioso to turn informer.
- Paul Castellano: (1915-1985) Gambino Boss. Assassinated on the orders of John Gotti.
- John Gotti 'The Dapper Don': (1940-2002) Gambino Boss. Famous for flamboyance and his media friendly attitude.
- Henry Hill: (1943-present) Mob turncoat immortalized in the film Goodfellas.
Law enforcement in the United States
Joint projects of the U.S. government and the Mafia
On very rare occasions, the United States government has conspired with organized crime figures to assassinate foreign heads of state. In August 1960, Colonel Sheffield Edwards, director of the CIA's Office of Security, proposed the assassination of Cuban head of state Fidel Castro by mafia assassins. Between August 1960 and April 1961, the CIA, without the help of the Mafia (who had taken the money and done nothing), pursued a series of plots to poison or shoot Castro (CIA, Inspector General's Report on Efforts to Assassinate Fidel Castro, p. 3, 14). Those allegedly involved included Sam Giancana, Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, Jr., and John Roselli.
Law Enforcement and the Mafia
In several Mafia families, killing a state authority is forbidden due to the possibility of extreme police retaliation. In some rare strict cases, conspiring to commit such a murder is punishable by death. The Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz was reportedly killed by his Italian peers out of fear that he would carry out a plan to kill New York City prosecutor Thomas Dewey. The Mafia has been known to carry out hits on law enforcement in its earlier history. New Orleans police officer Joe Petrosino was shot by Sicilian mobsters in the United States. A statue of him was later erected across the street from a Luchhese hangout.<ref>Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires</ref>
The RICO Act of the 1960s made it a crime to belong to an organization that performed illegal acts, and it created programs such as the witness protection program. The Act only began to come into frequent use during the late 70's and early 80's. Charges of racketeering convicted scores of mobsters including 2 of New York's Godfathers (Anthony Corallo and Carmine Persico) during the Commission Case in 1985 (Although one of the convicted Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno was thought of as the Genovese Godfather he was only the Underboss). The Act continued to be used to great effect up to the end of the 20th century and hurt the Mob severely. The establishment of the United States Organized Crime Strike Force made it more possible to find and prosecute the Mafia.
The United States Organized Crime Strike Force was established in the 1970's by a joint congressional effort led by Robert Kennedy. The Strike Force was under the Office of the the Inspector General in the Department of Labor. It was disbanded at the National Level, but continues at the state and local level today. It was jointly responsible for investigating and eventually helping to bring down high level Mafiosos such as Joseph Aiuppa of the the Chicago Outfit, Anthony Salerno of the Genovese Family of New York and Paul Castellano of the Gambino Family. Also the Strike Force took down and cleaned up much of the Organized Crime in The Teamsters across the country,
However the Mafia is still the dominant organized crime group in the United States, despite the success of RICO. According to Selwyn Raab, author of Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires, after 9/11 the FBI has redirected most of its attention to finding terrorists, which contributed to a resurgence of Mafia activity in the U.S.
See also
- List of Mafia crime families
- List of criminal organizations
- The Sixth Family
- Camorra
- Mafia-Camorra War
- Five Families
- Gang
- Gangster
- Italian organized crime
- Omertà
- Vendetta
- Organized crime
- Timeline of organized crime
- Crime in New York City
- Yakuza ("Japanese Mafia")
References
- Arlacchi, Pino (1988). Mafia Business. The Mafia Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-285197-7
- Chubb, Judith (1989). The Mafia and Politics, Cornell Studies in International Affairs, Occasional Papers No. 23.
- Dickie, John (2004). Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia, London: Coronet ISBN 0-340-82435-2
- Gambetta, Diego (1993).The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection, London: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-80742-1
- Servadio, Gaia (1976), Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day, London: Secker & Warburg ISBN 0-436-44700-2
External links
- Gangs turn Naples into battleground
- Site of Italian Mafia (Russian)
- The financial mafia. The illegal accumulation of wealth and the financial-industrial complex by Umberto Santino, in "Contemporary Crises" 12, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, September 1988, pp.203-243
- The Mafia and Politics, by Judith Chubb, Cornell Studies in International Affairs, Occasional Papers No. 23, 1989.
- Italy Enraged by Russia’s Putin Risky Mafia Joke, by RussianSpy.org, October 2006
- BBC News - Rome hosts major anti-mafia forum - 17 January 2006
- Modèle:PDFlink, by Oriana Bandiera, London School of Economics, August 1999
- Camorra, the neapolitan mafia Modèle:It icon
- Gangrule, American mafia history
- The Mafia in Sicilian History
- Mobwatcher Modèle:It icon
- American Cosa Nostra Modèle:It icon
- Cosa Nostra - Rebranding the Mafia
- mafia-news.com
- American Organized Crime - La Cosa Nostra
- Italian Mafia Terms Defined
- The 26 Original American Mafia Families- AmericanMafia.com
- FBI Mafia Monographar:مافيا
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