The Birth of Organized Crime Immigration and Prohibition

The Birth of Organized Crime

Immigration and Prohibition: 1920’s • 18 th Amendment gave organized crime an opportunity to make a name for themselves by making, selling and transporting liquor • Sicilian Mafia in Italy was under attack by Benito Mussolini – Some escaped to the U. S. • Sicilian Mafia / U. S. Mafia: 2 separate entities – U. S. mob families did adopt old-country practices: Omerta

American Mafia Gets Organized • Late 1920’s: Castellammarse War, NY – Won by Sicilian born Salvatore Maranzano: “capo di tutti capi” (boss of all bosses) – Murdered by Lucky Luciano • Established the Commission

Hierarchy • At the top of “family” was The Boss • 2 nd in command: Underboss • Capos or Captains – Each controlled a crew of 10 or more soldiers – Each soldier had to be a “made” man • Inducted into the family • Bottom were Associates – Not full members

Rituals • Becoming a “made man: ” – Ritual of cutting the hand holding it over a burning picture of a Saint • Must be Italian – Some crime families only required lineage from the father’s side. • Lifetime commitment • Obey Omerta

Mafia’s 20 th Century Dominance • Prohibition repealed in 1933 – Mafia moved beyond bootlegging to illegal gambling, loan-sharking, prostitution rings, and drug trafficking • Mid 20 th Century: 24 crime families w/5, 000 members • FBI was naive to the Mob: very little government intrusion

Taking Down the Mafia • 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act – Allowed prosecutors to go after crime families and their sources of revenue • 80’s & 90’s: Mafiosi who faced life prison sentences broke Omerta and testified against fellow mobsters in exchange for placement in the FBI Witness Protection Program • Italian neighborhoods shifted demographically.