43 Facts About Sicilian Mafia

Sicilian Mafia, simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily and dating to at least the 19th century.

Sicilian Mafia revealed that American mafiosi referred to their organization by the term cosa nostra.

Sicilian Mafia has used other names to describe itself throughout its history, such as "The Honoured Society".

The central activity of the Sicilian Mafia is the arbitration of disputes between criminals and the organization and enforcement of illicit agreements through the use of violence.

Over a century later, Diego Gambetta concurred with Franchetti's analysis, arguing that the Sicilian Mafia exists because the government does not provide adequate protection to merchants from property crime, fraud, and breaches of contract.

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Sicilian Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas.

The Sicilian Mafia, or rather the essence of the Sicilian Mafia, is a way of thinking that requires a certain line of conduct such as maintaining one's pride or even bullying in a given situation.

The Sicilian Mafia was seen as an enterprise, and its economic activities became the focus of academic analyses.

However, these two paradigms missed essential aspects of the Sicilian Mafia that became clear when investigators were confronted with the testimonies of Sicilian Mafia turncoats, like those of Buscetta to Judge Falcone at the Maxi Trial.

Sicilian Mafia began as an extralegal force in the 19th century, during the reign of the Bourbons of Naples, and coinciding with Sicily's transition from feudalism to capitalism.

Early Sicilian Mafia was deeply involved with citrus growers and cattle ranchers, as these industries were particularly vulnerable to thieves and vandals and thus badly needed protection.

The Sicilian Mafia maintained funds to support the families of imprisoned members and pay defense lawyers.

The Sicilian Mafia threatened and undermined his power in Sicily, and a successful campaign would strengthen him as the new leader, legitimizing and empowering his rule.

Sicilian Mafia believed that such suppression would be a great propaganda coup for Fascism, and it would provide an excuse to suppress his political opponents on the island since many Sicilian politicians had Mafia links.

Charges of Sicilian Mafia association were typically leveled at poor peasants and gabellotti, but were avoided when dealing with major landowners.

Sicilian Mafia did not permanently crush the Mafia as the Fascist press proclaimed, but his campaign was very successful at suppressing it.

Sicilian Mafia bosses reformed their clans, absorbing some of the marauding bandits into their ranks.

The Sicilian Mafia had connections to many landowners and murdered many socialist reformers.

In 1956, two Sicilian Mafia-connected officials, Vito Ciancimino and Salvatore Lima, took control of Palermo's Office of Public Works.

The Sicilian Mafia Commission sided with Di Pisa, and the La Barberas were outraged.

Sicilian Mafia activity fell as clans disbanded and mafiosi went into hiding.

The Sicilian Mafia Commission was dissolved; it did not re-form until 1969.

Sicilian Mafia mafiosi moved to the United States to personally control distribution networks there, often at the expense of their US counterparts.

Heroin was often distributed to street dealers from Sicilian Mafia-owned pizzerias, and the revenues could be passed off as restaurant profits.

Sicilian Mafia initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade.

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Salvatore Lima, a close political ally of the Sicilian Mafia, was murdered for failing to reverse the convictions as promised.

Choice to hit cultural and church targets was partly to destabilize the government, but because the Sicilian Mafia felt that the Roman Catholic Church had abrogated an unwritten hands-off policy toward traditional organized crime in Southern Italy.

Sicilian Mafia halted the policy of murdering informants and their families, with a view instead to getting them to retract their testimonies and return to the fold.

Sicilian Mafia restored the common support fund for imprisoned mafiosi.

The Sicilian Mafia preferred to initiate relatives of existing mafiosi, believing them to be less prone to defection.

Sicilian Mafia alleges that Cosa Nostra had direct contact in 1993 with representatives of Silvio Berlusconi who was then planning the birth of Forza Italia.

Sicilian Mafia allegedly considered taking over a news publication with his criminal proceeds.

Sicilian Mafia's tenure is frequently short: elections are yearly, and he might be deposed sooner for misconduct or incompetence.

Sicilian Mafia serves as an impartial adviser to the boss and mediator in internal disputes.

Sicilian Mafia is almost always required to commit murder as his ultimate trial, even if he doesn't plan to be a career assassin.

Since the 1950s, the Sicilian Mafia has maintained multiple commissions to resolve disputes and promote cooperation among clans.

One of the first accounts of an initiation ceremony into the Mafia was given by Bernardino Verro, a leader of the Fasci Siciliani, a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration which arose in Sicily in the early 1890s.

Sicilian Mafia was brought into a room where several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger, and a piece of paper bearing the image of a saint.

Sociologist Diego Gambetta points out that the Sicilian Mafia, being a secretive criminal organization, cannot risk having its recruits sign application forms and written contracts which might be seized by the police.

In November 2007, Sicilian police reported discovery of a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo, thought to be guidelines on good, respectful, and honourable conduct for a mafioso.

Sicilian Mafia showed this map in meetings with other senior mafiosi to explain how he thought the Palermo families should be re-organized as part of a peace settlement in the wake of a Mafia war.

Sicilian Mafia violence is most commonly directed at other Sicilian Mafia families competing for territory and business.

Sicilian Mafia's power comes from its reputation to commit violence, particularly murder, against virtually anyone.