The Mafia is a secret society that originally came about in Sicily. The purpose for the Mafia was to unite the Sicilian natives, who fled from Arab and French invaders. The Normans captured Sicilians and changed their farms into estates. Thousands fled to the hillside. In the fifteenth century Sicily was invaded again, this time by the Spaniards. They brought with them punishment and torture. The Sicilian peasants sought the protection of the mafia strongholds. The mafia was a symbol of a patriotic society to Sicily. The society created a hierarchy of dons who were the heads of different mafia families. They said the top don always lived in Palermo. (Dirks)

By the 19th century, the Sicilian Mafia had grown larger, more powerful, and more criminally oriented. The Mafia not only became powerful in Sicily, but all over Italy as well. The Italian gov

By 1924, the migration of Mafia members from Italy into America rose because Mussolini was intending to rid Italy of this secret society. As years went by the members of the Mafia were getting involved in politics. The more the members became involved in politics, the more their power expanded. The Mafia obtained political office in many communities and by doing this they acquired influence with the police and obtained legal access to weapons. Even though the Mafia had influence with the police, Omerta, a rigid code of conduct that included avoiding all contact and cooperation with the authorities, bound the members. The only authority figure they were allowed to cooperate with was the Catholic Church. (http://mafiasite.8m.com/structure.htm )

The Sicilian Mafia was different from any other Mafia in a number of ways. The European Mafia was founded on a sense of loyalty and respect for culture, family and the Sicilian heritage. The Sicilian Mafia was based on the belief that justice, honor and vengeance are for a man to take of, not for the government to take care of. It is up to each of us not to look the other way, but be aware that there are really no victimless crimes.

ernment began an anti-Mafia campaign in the 80's. The anti-Mafia campaign lead to number of arrests and trials, but also many enforcement officials were assassinated in the heat of rage.

By the 1980's the U.S Mafia invested billions of its illegal money from gambling, prostitution, and epically drug trafficking into legitimate business that produced even more profits. Today the mafia in the U.S is still rich and powerful. Today, the mafia works with non-Sicilian criminals who are members of the same crime cartel known as the Syndicate.

During the 1920's there were five powerful gangs in America. The five powerful gangs were Joe "The Boss" Mass

Some common words found in the essay are:
Black Hand, Sotto Capo, Italy America, Arab French, Syndicate Mafia, John Gotti, Cosa Nostra, Sicilian Mafia, Italy Italian, Pittsburgh Families, sicilian mafia, five powerful gangs, protection racket, powerful gangs, commission based, western commission, five powerful, castellammarese clan, dirty guys, anti-mafia campaign, eastern commission,
Approximate Word count = 1253
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)