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Mafia
Mafia
Mafia An international secret society originating in Sicily. In its modern form the Mafia (Italian ‘boldness’) can be said to date from the period 1806–15, when, under British pressure, attempts were being made to break up the huge estates of the Sicilian feudal aristocracy. In the 1880s many Sicilians emigrated to the USA and the Mafia, as Cosa Nostra (Our Business), became established in New York and Chicago. In the 1920s the fascist government in Italy brought Mafia leaders to trial, but some escaped to the USA, where they were active during the
PROHIBITION ERA. After World War II, notably after the opening-up of the former Soviet bloc, Mafia activities spread worldwide, increasingly centred on the drug trade. The Mafia is also involved in organized prostitution, fraud, theft, and kidnapping. In the USA, the Mafia is notable also for its infiltration of legitimate business; for example, in transport, construction, gambling, and fast-food, and its use of these businesses for money-laundering. Mafia members are required to live by a code of silence and eschew all cooperation with legitimate authorities: any violation of this code is severely punished.
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How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in Northern Italy
Magazine article from: Law & Society Review; 6/1/2006; ; 700+ words
; ...organizations-the Sicilian Mafia, the Hong Kong Triads, the Russian Mafia, and the Japanese Yakuza...collectively referred to as "mafias" (Gambetta 1993...functioning mafias. If mafias emerge at a time of...the entrenchment of mafia g
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MAFIA'S NEW CHIEFS, ECONOMIC POWER TARGETED
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 4/1/1990; ; 700+ words
; With leaders of many of the nation's Mafia families now behind bars, law enforcement...legitimate industries and labor unions of Mafia infiltration. "The sun hasn't set on...been studded with a series of successful Mafia prosecutions, with many members of La...
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Mafia takes a hit after crackdown by Italian officials Mob's attacks in early '90s triggered prosecution of Cosa Nostra leaders
Newspaper article from: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 4/26/1998; ; 700+ words
; ...on the take. It's that the Sicilian Mafia's "men of honor" are on the run. One...in Sicily, was milked for years by the Mafia for millions of dollars in contracting...Palermo has become the capital of the anti-Mafia," the city's irrepressible mayor...
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Mafia and Outlaw Stories from Italian Life and Literature.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Italian Culture; 9/1/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...the problem of the Italian mafia as a serious line of inquiry...emergent role of women in the mafia, both as perpetrators and...Catholic Church, Italy's other mafias such as the Camorra, films dedicated to the mafia, or the role of blood symbolism...
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Mafia Women.
Magazine article from: West European Politics; 7/1/1998; ; 700+ words
; ...between the different Mafias and how, for instance...Camorra [Neapolitan Mafia] in contrast to...ultimately guilty of Mafia conspiracy. Siebert...comparison between the Mafias and German Nazism...American and Italian Mafias because she also...women incapable of Mafia crimes because ...
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 "The Economist (US)")
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The Mafia.
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 3/24/1990; 700+ words
; ...Only in southern Italy does the Mafia wield the influence Miss Sterling...will to enforce the law. The Mafia is supposed to make gigantic...that the American and Sicilian Mafias combined enjoy an annual turnover...allegedly one of the Sicilian Mafia's top men in New York, was...
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 "Sunday Business (London)")
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Mafia booms despite crackdown on capos.
Newspaper article from: Sunday Business (London); 1/30/2005; 700+ words
; ...Provenzano and the suicide in jail of the mafia boss considered to be his right-hand...celebration may be premature. Business for the mafia is not only booming, but the arrests do...the criminal business activities of the mafia; last year it was estimated to be E100bn...
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Is the mafia in retreat or in defeat? (Italy)
Magazine article from: The Economist (US); 7/29/1995; 700+ words
; ...then at least of a clear reverse for the Mafia. "There are signs, indeed evidence...prosecutor, "that Cosa Nostra [as the Mafia is often called] is slipping." One of...other things, some of the most spectacular Mafia crimes of recent years. They include the...
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For Mafia, a legacy in concrete Palermo bears architectural scars of mob's influence in building industry
Newspaper article from: The Boston Globe; 8/25/1992; ; 700+ words
; ...there is what people call the city of the Mafia," he said, indicating an area just a...fief -- many people say they can spot a Mafia-made building. They believe it has a...say they can sense what might be called a Mafia esthetic. "When it's a tall building...
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Mafia Said to Be Flaunting Its Power; Assassinations Thwart Italian Government's Efforts to Exert Control
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 8/2/1992; ; 700+ words
; A string of recent Mafia assassinations is intended to sow terror in Sicily...latest in a series of assassinations, blamed on the Mafia, that have claimed Italy's two top anti-Mafia magistrates and a prominent Sicilian politician. The...
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Mafia, The
Encyclopedia entry from: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
Mafia, The The Mafia is an organized...scholars, which revealed the Mafia to have a greater institutional...before. Antecedents of the Mafia date to the late 1800s in Sicily...Self-anointed “ mafias ” filled the breach...
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Mafia
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Mafia , name given to a number of organized groups of Sicilian...and 20th cent. Unlike the Camorra in Naples, the Mafia had no hierarchic organization; each group operated on its own. The Mafia originated in feudal times, when lords hired brigands...
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Mafia, the
Book article from: A Dictionary of Contemporary World History
Mafia, the A clandestine network based on family...persistence and the rapid expansion of the Mafia in liberal Italy after unification (1860...to exercise control. In this sense, the Mafia became Rome's agents in Sicily and other...
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Mafia Capitalism
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Russian History
MAFIA CAPITALISM Mafia capitalism is a term that emerged to describe Russia's economic system...implied parallel goes to the classic protection rackets of the Sicilian mafia, the actual Russian practice was different. In order to reflect this...
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Mafia Incident
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History
MAFIA INCIDENT MAFIA INCIDENT. On 15 October 1890, during a police crackdown on the local Sicilian Mafia, New Orleans chief of police David C. Hennessey was assassinated...
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