They assassinate like there’s no tomorrow, blow up limousines and blocks of houses, and leave their enemies dangling from ropes. Whether politics, finance, drug trafficking, tourism or prostitution, the mafia continues to keep a tight grip on things. Of course she has enemies. The only question is who is in the majority, the good guys or the bad guys?
You know the answer. Forget “Scarface“, “The Godfather” and “The Sopranos”. The fat-fingered mafioso who lies in the shade on his Sicilian estate and watches his grandchildren pick tomatoes while puffing on a cigar is dead. Cold-blooded businessmen have taken his place. And defend it vehemently.
Music of the Mafia
At least the Calabrian mafia has a soundtrack to its real life. In the traditional Canto di Malavita (song of a criminal’s life) and Canto de Carcerato (prison song), prisoners sing of their innocence or boast of their deeds in music. Bloodthirsty lyrics, warm-hearted melodies, the vocals have fans, and not just on the evil side. The sampler “La Musica della Mafia” is available in well-stocked record stores.
Giovanni Falcone
The fight against the mafia is a lonely one. Even Italy’s former deputy public prosecutor Giovanni Falcone, who was in charge of 116 employees, complained about a lack of loyalty within his own ranks. The mafia hunter was able to unite judges and criminal investigators from Egypt to the USA and achieve great success – in 1986 he brought about a trial against 400 mafiosi! However, this was later followed by setbacks: Following appeal proceedings, 23 bosses were released. On 18. Falcone died in an assassination attempt in Sicily on May 1992. A bomb with 500 kg of explosives shredded his limousine and left a moon crater on the road.
The profits of the mafia
In 2009 alone, the Italian mafia made a profit of 170 billion euros. By comparison, the global corporation Nestlé achieved a net profit of 7.2 billion euros in the same year.
The most powerful clans
With 4,200 members (most of them related by blood!), the Calabrian ʹNdrangheta is the most powerful criminal organization in Europe. It controls large parts of the global cocaine trade. Cosa Nostra has its headquarters in Sicily, is responsible for keeping heroin flowing internationally and has good contacts with the USA. Cosa Nostra is also a multi-family business (with 3ʹ200 members). Naples’ Camorra makes its money through money laundering, extortion and drug smuggling. The organization is holding its ground with exciting job offers, even though many bosses are already behind bars. Apulia’s Sacra Corona Unita is the youngest offspring of the mafia, founded in 1983. The “Holy United Crown” likes to smuggle in Albanian illegals and has its strength in forced prostitution.
Sweet and sour (Chinese mafia)
The Chinese triads emerged around the turn of the century, founded by farmers and monks. The number of organizations is estimated at 5,000. They deal in narcotics, especially opium, but also regulate human trafficking and are happy when we order Chicken Sweet & Sour. They are considered the most cold-blooded mafiosi of all. Her signature is to tie up the victims before they are executed. Anyone who falls out of favor is killed off. However, the Russian Solutsevskaya Bravta is much more feared. It maintains legal companies and financial enterprises worldwide. The Colombians, on the other hand, dominate the European cocaine trade. And the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza, lives from gambling, extortion of protection money and prostitution. The members can be recognized by their large tattoos.
JFK – campaign aid with consequences
On 20. On January 1, 1961, John F. Kennedy was elected the youngest president of the USA after a neck-and-neck race with Richard Nixon. Tipping the scales: Friend Frank Sinatra used his contacts with the Chicago mafia, especially its boss Sam Giancana, to help JFK win West Virginia in the primaries. This stage victory was decisive in the election. As soon as the Democrat took office, the Cosa Nostra sensed new opportunities with “their” man in office. JFK even planned the removal of Fidel Castro with Giancana. But instead of doing business together, an affront followed: brother Robert Kennedy declared war on organized crime as Minister of Justice. Dallas, 22. November 1963: JFK is shot. Los Angeles, 5. June 1968: Robert Kennedy wants to follow in his footsteps. He is shot at an election campaign event and succumbs to his injuries. The theories about both assassinations are wild, one plausible one: the mafia was taking revenge on its traitors.
Mafia structures
The cosca: In Sicily there are around 200 cosche, loose mafia groups that supposedly operate without a unifying umbrella organization or recognized leader.the famiglia: The hard core of a cosca usually grows out of a family structure. Consanguinity guarantees reliability and loyalty.the cupola: Is the coordinating link between the cosche. Each group acts autonomously in its own territory. However, the cupola regulates all business in order to avoid competitive situations. The partito: This refers to the mafioso’s contact with officials. Acquittals in court are not uncommon in Sicily. However, they only work via connections to the public prosecutor’s office.
10
In addition to the Bible, Cosa Nostra also has 10 commandments, only they look different:
“Don’t introduce yourself to friends alone. Third parties take care of that.”
“Keep your hands off our friends’ wives.”
“We don’t do business with the cops.”
“We don’t go to taverns or clubs.”
“Always at the disposal of Cosa Nostra. Even if the woman is about to give birth.”
“Agreements are kept categorically.”
“The wife must be respected.”
“If you are asked about something you know, tell the truth.”
“It is forbidden to appropriate money from other families.”
“Anyone who cannot belong to Cosa Nostra: Someone with relatives in the security forces; who has cases of infidelity in the family; who behaves badly and disregards moral values.”
Berlusconi & the Mafia
When villains sing: The Forza Italia party founded by Silvio Berlusconi in 1993 is said to have only come into being with the approval of Cosa Nostra. Blackmailed by the Cosa Nostra, the state negotiated a “truce” with the mafia for years. They gave in on the condition that the mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano was granted immunity. Forza Italia should ensure this. One key witness even claims that Berlusconi approved a series of murders in the early 1990s that were intended to destabilize the system and help him come to power.
How it all began
1865: In Sicily, large landowners join together to form a secret society, the “Onorata Società” (honorable society) is born and with it the term “Mafia”. 1907: The farmer’s son Vito Cascioferro rises to become the first big mafia boss. 1915: In Italy, the Mafia becomes the second power in the state. 1925: Benito Mussolini succeeds in largely suppressing the Mafia using brutal force. 1929: Vito Cascioferro is sentenced to 26 years in prison. In the USA, the Mafia comes to life under Al Capone. 1977: The mafia becomes the most important heroin supplier. 1980: The great mafia war in Palermo claims 1,500 victims. The Corleonesi clan emerges victorious. Today: The Casalesi clan, the most powerful group in the Camorra, suffers a severe setback. In the biggest mafia trial for 20 years, 16 bosses are sentenced to life imprisonment.
Dirty laundry
When a mafioso talks about white shutters, he means coke. “T-shirt” stands for drug samples, “tracksuit” for large drug loads. Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, who was arrested in 2006, also spoke in riddles: When police officers tapped his phone, there was talk of “fresh laundry”, when in fact it was about a new murder contract.
Scarface
Al Capone grows up in Brooklyn as the son of Neapolitan immigrants. He leaves school at 14. Gangster Frankie Yale then takes him under his wing and makes him fit for the streets. Soon Capone controls the entire Chicago underworld. His militarily organized crime syndicate does business with alcohol smuggling, prostitution and gambling. Capone (also known as “Scarface”) is considered unscrupulous and aggressive, but also generous and loyal. Despite his crimes, he is never charged with murder. Ultimately, they will only get him for tax evasion in connection with money laundering. Capone gets eleven years, and is released after eight for good behavior. In 1947, at the age of 48, he died of pneumonia in the presence of his family in Florida.
Destiny determines
In the `Ndrangheta, it is customary for the boss to place a key and a knife next to a newborn child to determine its destiny. If the baby touches the key first, it is destined for the police; if it touches the knife first (which the mother practically shoves into the baby’s hand), it belongs to the mafia.
Silenzio!
Omertà is the mafiosi’s duty of confidentiality. Anyone who violates this is a pentito (repentant) and quickly dead.
Mafiosi also have a love life
If the wife of a mafiosi cheats, she faces terrible consequences. He, in turn, can fuck whoever he wants as long as it’s not another mobster’s wife and he behaves honorably. In other words: sex – only when it’s on top. A real man does not submit. And secondly: no oral sex – active, of course.
Here you can find all the facts about the cult film Pulp Fiction