FREE ESSAY ON TODAY'S MAFIA

TODAY'S MAFIA

Although many arrests have been made, organized crime and the Mafia are still very active.
Organized crime and its families, particularly the Italian mafia, have increased their
illegal activities significantly over the past few decades. The Mafia and organized crime
go hand and hand, one cannot be spoken without the other. Both of these forms of criminal
actions have been recognized since the late 1800's, and police say it is not disappearing
too fast. (Widener 6)
Migration from Italy, has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics. The
Italian Mafia has always been based on the island of Sicily and the southern mainland
provinces of Calabria and Campania. (Worsnop 273) Traffic in drugs, chiefly heroin,
provides the bulk of the Italian Mafia's revenue from Sicily. Cocaine is becoming more
important, however, as drug lords from Colombia try to expand beyond the Americas. To
gain a foothold in Europe, the Colombians have got to strike deals with the Mafia, which
ironically guards its home turf. (273) 
Italy in general, has added to the crime list of the Mafia for over 100 years. The famous
Al Capone, the Italian-American gangster of the Prohibition era, also known as Scarface
because of a knife cut to his cheek. (Nash 79) He was born Alphonse Capone in 
Naples, Italy, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He left school at an early age and spent
nearly ten years hanging-out with gangs. In the 1920's he took over a Chicago
organization dealing in illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution from the gangster
Johnny Torrio. (80) Convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in
prison, he was released in 1939. After obtaining syphilis, he went on to reside in Miami
Beach, Florida. (80) 
Many Italian families are a major influence on the organized crime melting pot. Families
such as the Colombo's, the Gambino's, the Bannanno's, and the Luchesse's have migrated
from Italy, and play an important role in the organized crime system. (Worsnop 267) The
Colombo family, which consists of approximately 100 members is currently led by Victor
Orena. Victor is currently acting as boss due to the absence of Carmine Persico, who is
serving a prison sentence for racketeering. (268) The Colombo families main activities
include loan sharking, gambling, smuggling, and narcotics. This family guides much of its
attention to the states of Florida and Texas. (Inman E2)
The Gambino Family is the largest Mafia Family in the United States. This family has over
500 members and are located throughout the nation. Although indicted this family is still

managed by John Gotti. Most of the focus of this family is on contracted killings,
gambling, narcotics, and extortion. The focus of this family is nationwide. (E1)
The Bannanno and the Luchesse families do not play as an important role in the organized
crime melting pot as the Colombo and Gambino families do. (Worsnop 279) Both families
combined for about 200 members. The main focus of criminal activity between the families
are counterfeiting and pornography. This mostly spreads throughout most of the
southwestern portion of the U.S. (Inman E2)
Although New York seems to be the place where most Mafia action occurs, many other areas
are influenced by the Mafia. Many people think that the Mafia only exists in New York.
Astonishing enough New York is ranked nineteen out of twenty-five on the list of most
active organized crime cities. Cities like San Jose, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and
Rockford, Ill., rank within the top ten. (Trimble 30) Some major crimes committed in the
smaller cities are credit-card fraud, hijacking, prostitution, and drugs. (30) Some
illegal business fronts include Nightclubs, Fast-food outlets, trucking, and garbage
collection. (30) 
In the international Melting Pot of organized crime, has many different cultures. Such
groups as the Chinese Triads, the 
Japanese Yakuza, and the Vietnamese Gangs, whom all base their sect along the same lines
of the New York Mafia families. (Worsnop 270) The Chinese Triads are secret societies
which were formed to overthrow the Ching Dynasty (Chinese government) in the early
1900's. (270) It was soon reintroduced again in the 1990's. Some of the crimes related to
the Chinese include extortion, gambling, and smuggling of narcotics and aliens. (270) The
Japanese Yakuza was formed after WWII as a rebellion to going to war. (270) It soon
blossomed into a huge cult which is out of control today. Some of its major crimes
include extortion, murder, racketeering, and prostitution. (270) The Vietnamese Gangs are
known as little packs of street thugs. Most participating in these groups are
non-threatening adults with no more power than the average wise-guy. (271) 
Over the last few years some outstanding names have been convicted. The most popular,
probably John Gotti. John Gotti was not a very flashy man, he acted as a regular business
man. (Capeci 3A) John Gotti chose to turn himself in for the life of his brother. John
was taken in for a life sentence of racketeering. When he chose to give his eleven year
reign as the godfather he left Little Nick Corazzo in charge. (3A) Although John Gotti
was kept in Marion Federal Penitentiary in Indiana he was still able to 
run the family underground. (4A)
Organized Crime has been around for over a century. Law enforcement agents, police, and
investigators still cannot get a complete grip on the situation. Although the Mafia is
still a problem today, professionals are convinced that the criminal activitiy has
decreased and continues to decrease as time goes by. (Cook 279) With the knowledge the
police have gathered, and the recurring pattern of crime, organized crime will soon
become a thing of the past. 
Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Thesis: Organized Crime and its families, particularly the Italian Mafia, have increased
their illegal activities (extortion, gambling, murder, racketeering) significantly over
recent times.
Capeci, Jerry, John Gotti agrees to give up Gambino crime family, sources say. New York
Daily News 23 Nov 1996, CD News from Newsbank, Inc.
Jerry Capeci is a columnist for the New York Daily News. Capeci has written over twenty
five articles dealing with the Gambino crime family and the Mafia over his past eight
years with the newspaper. (Daily News web page) Within this article Capeci arrows in
particularly on John Gotti. He explains how Gotti was a regular guy and could not be
separated from any other typical New Yorker. He classifies him (John Gotti) as a
businessman rather than the leader of what is left of the Mafia. Gotti took over the
Gambino crime family in 1985. In 1992 Gotti was arrested for accounts of murder,
attempted murder, and homicide in a New York City restaurant. 
Cook, James. New York City businesses squirm under the heel of the mob. , 8 Jan. 1997.
. Ed. Eleanor Goldstein. Boca Raton, FL: Social Issues Resources Ser., 1997. Crime vol. 1
art. 99.
Cook is a reporter for a newspaper of a city located about thirty miles from New York
City. He has been with the chronicle for six years and writes for them on a consistent
basis. (General newspaper web page) Cook displays the true accounts of the brutal and
meteoric rise of John Johnny-Boy Gotti from a Brooklyn bone breaker to lord of the
Gambino Family. Cook tells that many of the murder attempts are unsuccessful of postponed
due to the police force. He also gives us a synopsis of how Gotti's ways of laundering
money through legitimate NYC businesses caused him to become very suspicious in all
illegal activity cases. 
Inman, William H. The Mob in the Sun Belt. , 26 Jan, 1993: E1+ . Ed. Eleanor Goldstein.
Boca Raton, Fl: Social Issues Resources Ser.,1997 Crime vol., 3 art. 66.
William Inman is a retired Detroit policeman with twenty six years of law enforcement
experience. He did an eighteen month study on the sun-belt region mobsters.(Florida,
Texas, California) Inman states that the Colombo families main activities include loan
sharking, gambling, smuggling, and narcotics. This family guides much of its attention to
the states of Florida and Texas due to its easily accessibility to the southern borders.
Between the Bannanno and Luchesse families the main focus of criminal activity is
pornography and counterfeiting. This spreads mostly throughout the southwestern portion
of the U.S.(Texas, Arizona, New Mexico.)
Nash, Robert. Organized Crime the Whole Story, New York: Da Capo, 1992.
Jay Robert Nash is a three time winner of the American Library Association's Best
reference work award, he also won the Edgar Allen Poe award for one of his encyclopedia
publishing. He currently resides in Chicago. Nash relates most of the Mafia today back to
the famous Al Capone. Born Alphonse Capone he was the head gangster of the Prohibition
stage. In the 1920's he took over a NY organization dealing in illegal liquor, gambling,
and prostitution. Convicted on income tax evasion in 1931 he was sentenced to eleven
years in prison. He was soon released eight years later in 1939, and currently reside in
Miami Beach, Florida.
---. World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime, New York: Da Capo, 
1990.
Same author as above. In this award winning text Nash reveals all of the background
information on over 2,500 organized crime criminals. Joe Bannano illegally entered the
U.S. in 1924 from Havana, Cuba. Soon Joe went to NY to help deals with Al Capone. After
nearly being captured for racketeering he fled to Sicily in 1938. Soon he returned back
to the U.S. to be arrested in 1941 for attempted murder and counterfeiting. Thomas
Lucchese was born in Palermo Sicily in 1900. He was also popular in the 1920's for his
work with the famous Lucky Luciano. Soon he was arrested for extortion, theft, and
murder. While in jail a brain tumor was discovered on the left side of his brain and he
died in 1967.
Ragle, Larry. Crime Scene, New York: Avon Books, 1995.
One of the nation's top criminalist, Larry ragle has investigated countless high-profile
homicides during his 35- year career as a forensic scientist. In the Crime Scene, Ragle
displays the tactics used to trace back to the killers of Lucky Luciano, Vito Genovese,
and George Nelson. Luck Luciano was getting of a plane in Naples, when a stray bullet
struck him in the lower spine. The way the murderer was found was by the fingerprint left
on the shell that the bullet came out of. When the person was loading the gun their
fingerprints got on the bullet. Genovese, and Nelson were similar cases. Both of these
criminals were murdered in their prison cells. Vito and George were killed in a brawl in
the prison courtyard. 
Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York: Smithmark, 1992.
Carl Sifakis is a crime reporter and writer. Before he became a freelance writer, he
worked for the UPI, and the Buffalo News. He is the author of The Catalog of Crime as
well as several other books on crime-related issues. Sifakis lives in NYC. Biographies of
some 1,000 gangsters, swindlers, assassins, cutthroats, prostitutes, and leg-breakers.
There are detailed descriptions of various types of crimes; explanation of con-games and
swindles. It also displays the way of the histories of law enforcement agencies, and
federal agencies.
Trimble, Alan, Top Sicilian Mafia boss gives evidence. Reuters 
23 Aug. 1996. CD News from Newsbank, Inc.
Trimble is an editor for the Rueters Magazine out of Washington D.C. Although New York
seems to be the place where the most Mafia action occurs, many other areas are influenced
by the Mafia. People think The Mafia only exists in New York. Ironically enough NYC ranks
19 out of 25 cities for the most Mafia action. Cities like San Jose, Kansas City,
Milwaukee, and Rockford Ill., rank within the top ten. The smaller cities deal with
credit-card fraud, hijacking, prostitution, and gambling. Also, many illegal business
frons include fast food restaurants, nightclubs, bars, and car dealerships.
Wiedner, Sandra. A deal America must Refuse., April 1986: 22+ . Ed. Eleanor Goldstein.
Boca Raton, FL: Social Issues Resources Ser.,1997 Crime vol., 3 art. 19.
Wiedner is a writer for the American Legion, a very prestigious magazine dealing with law
enforcement. She writes how the Mafia and organized crime run hand and hand, one cannot
go without the other. Both of these forms of activity have been around since the late
1800's, and police say it is not disappearing too fast. She also says that the migration
from Italy has brought over many Italian criminals and crime tactics which does not help
the American police departments.
Italy in general, has added to the crimelist of the Mafia for over a hundred years.
Worsnop, Richard, Mafia Crackdown. 27 March 1992. . Ed. Eleanor Goldstein, Boca Raton,
FL: Social Issues Resources Ser., 1997. Corrections vol.4, art.86.
Richard Worsnop has been a police officer for over seventeen years. He has worked on many
occasions side by side with the FBI on Mafia cases. He will retire in early 1998, and
reside in Florida. Worsnop says that the Italian Mafia has always been based on the
island of Sicily and southern tip of the mainland. Traffic in drugs, chiefly in heroin,
provides the bulk of the Mafia's revenue from Sicily. Cocaine is uprising more and more
each year. Many Italian families are an influence on the Mafia. Such families as the
Colombo's, the Bannanno's, the Luchesse's, and the Gambino's. All migrated from Italy and
play a huge role in the American crime problem. Although, the Bannanno and Luchesse
families do not play as strong of a role as the Gambino and Colombo families.