Mafia. The word that continues to make many quake in fear at the mere mention of it. The Mafia is the longest lasting structured crime organization, it's origins dating back to the 1200's. In those early years the Mafia had just consisted of a few strong men trying to make a buck. Since its initial introduction to Italy, and particularly in Sicily, the Mafia has since fostered and grown into a worldwide crime organization.

The origin of the word "mafia" is quite vague. Some experts claim that it came into existence as early as the ninth century, when Arab forces invaded and conquered Sicily. Their Arab rulers oppressed the peasants and many fled to the hills. In Arabic the word "mafia" means refuge. Sicily was subsequently invaded by the Normans in the eleventh century, the French in the twelfth century, the Spanish in the thirteenth century, and suffered from invasions by other nationalities as well. To combat these oppressive invaders, the refugees formed a secret society based on the Sicilian heritage of a sense of family. The organization had a strong hierarchical structure, led by the family heads called "dons." They in turn reported to the "d

After gaining control of Italy's parliament, and thereby in effect, Italy itself, the Mafia moved into other areas of the world, namely the Western Hemisphere. The introduction of the Mafia to the New World is believed to have occurred in the decline of the 1800's when Mafia Don Vito Cascio Ferro arrived in New York after the murder of a banker back in Sicily. More mafiosi followed, finding the New World ripe for the picking. The gathering mass of mafiosi, be it Mafia leaders or just ordinary hired gunmen, were concentrated in the city of New Orleans. This new American branch of the Mafia called themselves La Cosa Nostra, which means The Sicilian Union, or just LCN. The Sicilians trickled in to the United States to join the different mob families that were springing up all across the country until the 1920's. (History of the Mafia, www.wallwin.org) At that time, the floodgates burst open, Sicilians pouring in to cities all over America for back in Italy a new leader had come to power. A man by the name of Benito Mussolini had risen in Italy's government, proclaiming fascism to be the best form of government. Mussolini saw the Mafia as being a threat to his then-fragile holding over Italy and therefore sought to exterminate them. (Mafia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 665-66) As American journalist Claire Sterling states "Mussolini has strangled the monster in his lair". (Cosa non solo nostra, Claire Sterling, 143) Mafia members fled to the growing population of mafiosi in America, which then further extended its tentacles to occupy much of the young nation's illegitimate economy- from defying the Prohibition laws to prostitution. By the early 1900's, every major city in the country had its own Mafia sector. The United States' based Mafia is the organization that is remembered and recalled by storytellers and moviemakers. The most famous Mafia dons were the ones that grew up in America during the turbulent times of the Prohibition era. Alphonse "Scarface" Capone was the forerunner of the American organization, running Chicago in the 1920's with an iron fist. His moneymaker was selling then- illegal alcohol and dealing women. He controlled every aspect of crime in the Chicago area, killing any gangster whom tried creating his own niche there. However, the law finally caught up with Capone, sending him to Alcatraz in 1931 not for murder and extortion, but for tax evasion. Capone set the tone for future Mafia dons to control the economy, to exhibit power, and to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth.

After Capone was sentenced to Alcatraz, the gangster scene shifted to the East Coast. New York became the major Mafia center, producing famous gangsters such as Charles "Lucky" Luciano and the still powerful Gambino and Genovese crime families. Despite its rapid growth and success, there was much internal fighting between the Mafia families. Luciano finally defeated Giussepe Masseria, the first boss of what is now known as the Genovese family, but at great costs. The basic fights were between groups of pure Sicilian blood and those groups of varying ethnicities. In fact two of the most famous Mafia gangsters in the mid- 1900's were Jews- Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and Meyer Lansky. They joined in partnership with "Lucky" Luciano and became very successful, prosperous, and most importantly, powerful mobsters until Siegel's murder in 1947 at the hand of Luciano himself. Siegel had been building the Flamingo, a super casino based in Las Vegas, when he was killed. Within ten years of his death, Las Vegas became the gambling center of the U.S. Lansky continued his gambling operations until the 1970's when he was investigated and going to be charged with tax evasion. He fled to Israel and lived there until his death in 1983. Luciano was sent home in exchange for agreeing to assist the American army in its invasion

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