The History of the Italian Mafia in America - Research Paper Example

The Mafia, on which ‘The Godfather’ is based, is not genuinely Italian in nature but the end product of Italian Mafia when it was assimilated into the melting pot that is America (Glenn). The end product was La Cosa Nostra or the American Mafia (Fbi.gov/hq/). While La Cosa Nostra {LCN} was very active in America for nearly three-quarters of the 20th century, its power and control over criminal activities in the country declined since the 1970s due to relentless and inspired FBI pressure.

The significant easing of FBI pressure in the post 9/11 era has contributed to the resurgence of the LCN. Since its origin in the 1800s, the Italian Mafia has spread all over the world, earning the reputation of the most well-known criminal organization ever known to mankind. It currently boasts of a $ 100 billion annual criminal activity global turnover. There were 4 Italian Mafia groups that infiltrated the United States in the late 1800s – The Sicilian Mafia, The Camorra {also called Neapolitan} Mafia, The ‘Ndranghetta {also known as Calabrian} Mafia and the Sacra Corona Unita {also called United Sacred Crown} Mafia.

The range of criminal activities handled by the 4 groups included trafficking in illegal drugs {particularly heroin}, passing illegally acquired money through legitimate businesses or bank accounts, illicit gambling, dishonest exploitation of politicians, murder, obtaining money or information by using force or threats, abduction, obtaining money by fraud, forgery, penetrating legitimate business organizations, setting off bombs and illegal sale of weapons. Out of the 4 Italian Mafia groups, three had, and still have, relatively low profiles in the United States.

The Camorra presently has 200 affiliates, the ‘Ndranghetta has between 100 to 200 members concentrated mostly in New York and Florida and the number of Sacra Corona Unita members is very few.