The
Mafia (also known as
Cosa Nostra) is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering. Each group, known as a "family", "clan", or "
cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets – usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (
borgata) of a larger city. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them as "mafiosi".
Arrivals..
On June 11th 1900, Giuseppe Morello was arrested along with Colagero Meggiore. They were accused of selling counterfeit money and held on $5000 bail. The arrests had grown out of a Secret Service investigation that began when $5 bills were being passed in Brooklyn and North Beach. Morello and Meggiore were believed to be the suppliers of the money, which was described as ‘being printed on very poor paper with crude workmanship’. However, Morello later walked free from court.
First Mafia War
The First Mafia War was the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy (the Sicilian Mafia has a long history of violent rivalries)
Second Mafia War
In the early 1970s, Luciano Leggio, boss of the Corleon clan and member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission, forged a coalition of mafia clans known as the Corleonesi, with himself as its leader. He initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade. Because Leggio was imprisoned in 1974, he acted through his deputy, Salvatore Riina, to whom he would eventually hand over control. The Corleonesi bribed cash-strapped Palermo clans into the fold, subverted members of other clans and secretly recruited new members.In 1977, the Corleonesi had Gaetano Badalamenti expelled from the Commission on trumped-up charges of hiding drug revenues.In April 1981, the Corleonesi murdered another rival member of the Commission, Stefano Bontade, and the Second Mafia War began in earnest.Hundreds of enemy mafiosi and their relatives were murdered,sometimes by traitors in their own clans. By manipulating the Mafia's rules and eliminating rivals, the Corleonesi came to completely dominate the Commission. Riina used his power over the Commission to replace the bosses of certain clans with hand-picked regents.In the end, the Corleonesi faction won and Riina effectively became the "boss of bosses" of the Sicilian Mafia.
Pasquarella (or Mosoni) Spinelli lived at 239 E109th Street, the nespapers nicknamed her ’ The Hetty Green of Harlem’ due to her supposed wealth. She owned a large stable located at 334 E108th Street, and had interests in several other businesses, including leasing tenements in Harlem and the management of a picture theatre in 2
nd Avenue. The stable was described in the press as ‘a rambling one storey structure, built partially of sheet iron, packing boxes, discarded odds and ends of house wreckage — doors for instance with hinges still on them yet. It is a rabbit warren which shelters two or three junk shops, a wheelwrights, a blacksmiths, a boarding stable and a hay and grain store’. The building later to become known as the ‘Murder Stables’, due to the large number of killings in it’s vicinity.Mr.Meyer Suchowljanski was one of most famous Gangster.
Smuggling
Mafiosi provide protection and invest capital in smuggling gangs.In 1950s and 1960s were difficult times for mafiosi, but in the 1970s their rackets grew considerably more lucrative, particularly smuggling. Smuggling operations require large investments (goods, boats, crews, etc.) but few people would trust their money to criminal gangs. It is mafiosi who raise the necessary money from investors and ensure all parties act in good faith. They also ensure that the smugglers operate in safety.
Murder
Murders are almost always carried out by members. It is very rare for the Mafia to recruit an outsider for a single job, and such people are liable to be eliminated soon afterwards because they become expendable liabilities.
The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering. Each group, known as a "family", "clan", or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets – usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them as "mafiosi".
