Italian Mafia

The Italian Mafia originally started in the mid-19th century in Sicily. The Sicilians called it the Cosa Nostra, meaning "our thing". It is said that the men of the Italian mafia, those who are a part of Cosa Nostra and daily risk their lives for their families, do not feel the need to name their organization anything. The Sicilians, those who were not a part of the Cosa Nostra, believed that the men were role models and protectors. Several men and women referred to the Cosa Nostra as honorable, noble and generous.

In the late-19th century, it began to spread to the United States, mostly towards the East Coast region. New York became one of the capital states in the U.S. for the Italian mafia; the Bonanno family, the Colombo family, the Gambino family, the Genovese family, and the Lucchese family. The mafia continued to spread out through the United States to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and several other places.

Most of the Italian mafia's Capo di Tutti Capi - the boss of all bosses - have been put behind bars or are currently in the process of being indicted. While that means the Underboss has taken over, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has a myriad of ideas and ways to bring down the Italian mafia. Many hope this happens, seeing as how they have become more criminal since the organization first began, but there are a few people in the world who still look up to these Uomimi D'onore - "men of honor" - and hope that their reign continues.

Italian Mafia: a criminal organization; a criminal secret society.

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