THE SICILIAN MAFIA

ORIGIN / HISTORY

The Sicilian Mafia also known as simply the MAFIA and frequently referred to by its own
members as Cosa Nostra an Italian Mafia – terrorist – type organized crime syndicate originated
in the region of Sicily, dating back to the 19th century.

In 1861, Sicily became a province of recently unified Italy. However, chaos and crime
reigned across the island as the fledgling Italian government tried to establish itself. In the 1870’s,
Roman officials even asked Sicilian Mafia clans to help them by going after dangerous,
independent criminals’ bands; in exchange, officials would look the other way as the Mafia
continued its protection shakedowns of landowners. The government believed this arrangement
would be temporary, lasting just long enough for Rome to gain control; instead, the Mafia clans
expanded their criminal activities and further entrenched themselves in Sicilian politics and the
economy. The Mafia became adept at political corruption and intimidated people to vote for certain
candidates, who were in turn beholden to the Mafia. Even the Catholic Church was involved with
Mafia clans during this period, according to Raab, who notes that the church relied on Mafiosi to
monitor its massive property holdings in Sicily and keep tenant farmers in line. In order to
strengthen themselves, the Sicilian clans began conducting initiation ceremonies in which new
members pledged secret oaths of loyalty.

The Mafia’s influence in Sicily grew until the 1920’s, when Prime Minister Benito
Mussolini came to power and launched a brutal crackdown on mobsters, who he viewed as a threat
to his Fascist regime. However, in the 1950’s, the Mafia rose again when mob-backed construction
companies dominated the post-World War II building boom in Sicily. Over the next few decades,
the Sicilian Mafia flourished, expanding its criminal empire and becoming, by the 1970’s, a major
player in international narcotics trafficking.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE / SIZE

It is estimated that the Sicilian Mafia have 3,500 to 4,000 core members with 100 clans,
with around 50 in the city of Palermo alone.

RITUALS

They rely on the old-fashioned ritual ceremony. The elements of the ceremony are made
deliberately specific, bizarre, and painful so that the event is both memorable and clear, and the
ceremony is witnessed by a number of senior mafiosi. The participants may not even care about
what the symbols mean, and they may indeed have no intrinsic meaning. The real point of the
ritual is to leave no doubt about the mafioso's new status so that it cannot be denied or revoked on
a whim.

Nota Bene: “Mafiosi” is a member of a Mafia. Mafiosi of equal status sometimes call each other
"compare", while inferiors call their superiors "padrino". "Compare" means "comrade", while
Padrino" is the Italian term for "godfather".
CODE OF OMERTA

Omertà is a code of silence and secrecy that forbids mafiosi from betraying their comrades
to the authorities. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be
murdered. Mafiosi generally do not associate with police (aside perhaps from corrupting individual
officers as necessary). For instance, a mafioso will not call the police when he is a victim of a
crime. He is expected to take care of the problem himself. To do otherwise would undermine his
reputation as a capable protector of others (see below), and his enemies may see him as weak and
vulnerable.

The need for secrecy and inconspicuousness deeply colors the traditions and mannerisms
of mafiosi. Mafiosi are discouraged from consuming alcohol or other drugs, as in an inebriated
state they are more likely to blurt out sensitive information. They also frequently adopt self-
effacing attitudes to strangers so as to avoid unwanted attention. Most Sicilians tend to be very
verbose and expressive, whereas mafiosi tend to be more terse and subdued. Mafiosi are also
forbidden from writing down anything about their activities, lest such evidence be discovered by
police.

To a degree, mafiosi also impose omertà on the general population. Civilians who buy their
protection or make other deals are expected to be discreet, on pain of death. Witness intimidation
is also common.

COMMANDMENTS

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
honorable conduct for a mafioso.

1. No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person
to do it.
2. Never look at the wives of friends.
3. Never be seen with cops.
4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected. (probably refers to formal rank and authority.)
7. Wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police,
anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't
hold to moral values.
 II

MAJOR ACTIVITIES

1. Racketeering – obtaining money by illegal enterprise usually involving intimidation.

2. Illegal drug trade – it is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture,
distribution and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws.
3. Murder – unlawfully killing a person especially with malice
4. Contract killings –it is a form of murder in which one party hires another party to kill
an individual or a group.
5. Extortion – the act or practice on obtaining something through force or intimidation
especially money or other property.
6. Intimidation – to cause fear to a person.
7. Loan sharking - – it is an action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates
of interest.
8. Assault – it is a violent physical or verbal attack towards a person.
9. Smuggling – it is an act of importing or exporting secretly contrary to the law and
especially without paying duties imposed by law.
10. Political corruption - is the use of powers by government officials or their network
contracts for illegitimate private gain. It’s form of corruption may vary, but include
bribery, extortion, cronyism. Nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling,
graft and embezzlement. And it may also facilitate criminal activities such as drug
trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking, though it is not restricted to these
activities.
11. Terrorism – it is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.
12. Prostitution - is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or
colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as “the world’s oldest
profession” in the English – speaking world. A person who works under this field is
called a prostitute and is a type of sex worker.
13. Money laundering - is the process of making large amount of money generated by a
criminal activity, such as drug trafficking appear to have come from a legitimate
 source; is the illegal process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by
passing it through a complex sequence of banking transfers or commercial transactions.
14. Firearm trafficking – it is an illegal trading of firearms.
15. Fraud – it is an act of deceit, trickery and misrepresenting in order to induce another
part with something of value or to surrender a legal right.
16. Kidnapping – it is seizing and detaining or carry away by unlawful force or fraud and
often with a demand for ransom.
17. Robbery - it is the action of taking property unlawfully from a person or place by force
or threat of force.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS

1. Camorra
2. ‘Ndrangheta
3. American Mafia
4. Sacra Corona Unita
5. Corsican Mafia
6. Mexican Drug Cartels