Did you know that the mafia was once an exclusively rural phenomenon in Sicily? Only by the end of the 19th century, the powerful Italian mafia clans moved to the cities, because it was there that now a lot of money was made - in construction, drug smuggling, in gambling houses, in politics …
LET'S GO
So, one of the branches of the Italian criminal world was called the Mafia. Perhaps the word has survived in Sicily since the days when it was an Arab territory. In Arab law, there was a concept that meant the protection of ordinary people from the lawlessness of the authorities. The word was very reminiscent of "mafia". The word came into widespread use in 1862-1863, when a play based on the play by Giuseppe Rizzotto "Mafiosi from the governorship" was staged with a resounding success at the Palermo theater.
The common people treated the mafia with a mixture of fear, respect and admiration. This is understandable, the organization maintained strict order in the land of Sicily, forgotten by God and the authorities. In addition, the mafiosi had a kind of code of honor, which prescribed very strict conditions for the interaction of members of the organization with each other and with the outside world. Interestingly, at the dawn of its history, the mafia was an exclusively rural phenomenon. Gradually, the archaic village mafia was modernized, adapting to new conditions. By the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the leading Italian mafia clans for the most part moved to cities, where they established close ties with the police, judicial officials, with politicians …
DEATH TO THE SPEAKER
The Mafia has special organizational and even ritual forms, has a strict hierarchical structure, which consists of clans that make up a united council. The mafia is headed by the supreme council (domes) and its head. The mafia hierarchy is as follows: Boss - the head of the clan; Consigliere - the boss's closest advisor; Caporegime - the head of a separate cell; Regime is a mafia cell. Anyone who wants to join the ranks of the mafia will have to be thoroughly tested - even a presidential candidate does not pass this! A newcomer approved by the clan must accept the main requirements of the organization - for example, about mutual responsibility and silence (the law on "omerta"), about unquestioning execution of orders. It is necessary to comply with these laws on pain of death. In fact, they made the mafia almost invulnerable.
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FIGHT IS NOT EQUAL
The fight against the mafia has always been very difficult. After all, this is a fight against family communities, they are called "family". All members of the large clan entered and are now: father and mother, brothers and sisters, uncles, brother-in-law and wives … Of course, their crimes have no witnesses! After all, a mother cannot testify against a son, and a brother against a brother. Never, under any circumstances, a member of the mafia, who gave her an oath of allegiance, could not open his mouth, because for this not only him will be punished with death - the whole family! Perhaps the very first violation of the Omerta law was the testimony of one of the mafia leaders Tommaso Buscetta, given in 1984. Then a hostile family exterminated almost all of his relatives, and he took revenge by cooperating with justice. As a result, in 1985, the most important process in the history of Italy took place - hundreds of mafiosi went to jail. And the clan war began. How many lives this terrible massacre claimed! It is in the movies that they look charming and noble - remember the heroes of "The Godfather" or "Octopus"? And in real life they - killers, animals, and the names of Maranzano, Giuseppe Masseria, Joe Bonanno, Frank Ayelo, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano and others - will be remembered as a bad dream.
DARK CHARM
In the 1950s - 1960s of the last century, the Italian government, under pressure from democratic forces, began an official fight against mafia crime; a special body was even created - Antimafia. On account of his arrests of a number of major leaders of the criminal organization. However, it was not possible to plant all the "heroes" to this day. The Italian mafia has not stopped its activities today. Moreover, she enters into an alliance with various political forces. From time to time, scandals flare up around the names of prominent politicians who are accused of having links with the mafia, but this has usually not been proven. Mafia organizes terrorist acts and attempts on the lives of politicians, prosecutors and judges. The authorities carry out "cleansing" operations, but a holy place is never empty. When the "boss of bosses" Bernardo Provenzano, who has been wanted for 30 years, was arrested, Nino Giuffre took his throne, however,then they seized him too … But their organization is still alive, someone again rules the ball. Yes, the supreme leader of the mafia Toto Riina is in prison, he has two life sentences. Yes, in Palermo, 26 major mafiosi have been sentenced for murder. However, these are positional battles. The final preponderance of the state's forces in the confrontation with the mafia has not yet been observed. According to the Italian intelligence services, approximately 250,000 people are involved in organized crime in southern Italy. And tens of thousands are its supporters, and 70% of Sicilian entrepreneurs still pay tribute to the mafia …The final preponderance of the state's forces in the confrontation with the mafia has not yet been observed. According to the Italian intelligence services, approximately 250,000 people are involved in organized crime in southern Italy. And tens of thousands are its supporters, and 70% of Sicilian entrepreneurs still pay tribute to the mafia …The final preponderance of the state's forces in the confrontation with the mafia has not yet been observed. According to the Italian intelligence services, approximately 250,000 people are involved in organized crime in southern Italy. And tens of thousands are its supporters, and 70% of Sicilian entrepreneurs still pay tribute to the mafia …
Ulyana Zelova