"The police most likely won," one Sicilian told me and told me about the current situation of the mafia in Italy. There is hardly a region in Italy where there is no mafia. It exists both in the south and in the north of the Apennine Peninsula, mafia clans just come from the south, and they prefer to do business in the north of the country, where big money is spinning and it is easier to launder it. Theoretically, the mafia has several regional names, such as "camorra" in Naples, but the essence is the same everywhere. In recent years, most mafia leaders have been imprisoned, they have been imprisoned before, but this did not differ in efficiency. The prison in Naples, where they were previously kept, was called the "Hotel 5 stars" - everything was possible there for money. Now the situation has changed.

Mafia bosses are trying to be kept in prisons in the north, for example, in Milan, where they are not so strong. The conditions of detention have also become much tougher - this is solitary confinement without any connection with the outside world, it is harsh, but effective, Don can no longer manage the clan from here. But the mafia itself has been greatly transformed in recent years, brutal and armed mafiosi are a thing of the past, the lot of the mafia is the economy. But here they, rather, even gained strength. For example, in the Sicilian resort of Trapani, the local mafia is very strong and firmly holds the economy of the commune in its hands. In the very north of Italy, in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, mafiosi from Calabria are actively buying up cafes and restaurants. It's simple, this is how money is laundered - in the tax office, the owner of the bar claims that he sold 100 cups of coffee, but in fact 10. Money from 90 unsold cups becomes clean. Another popular business of the mafia is the big supermarkets on the outskirts of the city, where big money passes and it is easy to launder dirty cash. On the same Sicily, most of the stores of large retail chains belong to mafia clans. That is, the mafia itself is practically invisible, it has been transformed into a criminal financial institution.

In Sicily, the mafia is strongest in large cities - Palermo, Catania, and so on. But there are areas where there is no mafia - these are Ragusa and Syracuse. At the same time, the main income of mafia clans or families remained drug trafficking, weapons and racketeering. True, as I was told, the business is not very aggressive. That is, it is quite possible to ask permission and conduct a similar business in the neighboring area. You can pay with the mafia in any currency and in the regions, for example, by selling drugs in Germany (an active partner of the Sicilian mafia), you can get paid with weapons on the spot and vice versa. A kind of exchange.

Emigrants are also likely to be involved in this business - whether the visitor sells trinkets or sells drugs - his activities are connected and partially controlled by the mafia. The local communities of the same Sri Lankans pay the mafia. Racket hasn't gone away either, if you want to run a business without problems, pay. Not everyone experiences this, but they can. Cafe and shop owners form associations and support each other if one of their members is threatened or their property is damaged. For example, the tourist services office in Palermo or the cafe-bar in Terrasini, with this sticker they inform that they do not pay extortionists.

Another type of business, the results of which I was able to get acquainted with personally, is theft during the construction of roads. There are really bad roads in Sicily, there, of course, the situation is not like ours - somewhere there is a beautiful highway, but somewhere there is a track, no, it’s just that the level of roads throughout the island is about the same and it’s bad, for Europe, at least. A lot of road sections are being repaired, that is, they are fenced, there are a lot of signs, but no work is being done. It is believed that the mafia steals about 50% of the cost of the road and it is in its interests to constantly maintain the condition of the roads in a bad, pre-repair condition. Related to this are the problems with railway communication in Sicily - there are few railways, trains rarely run. The mafia simply does not allow the development of railway transport, since there is not much to steal here or it is difficult to control transportation.

But murders still happen, although their number has dropped dramatically. If in the 70s the mafia in Sicily killed about 300 people a year, now it is 6-7 people over the same period. The police, however, also act harshly. I was told a case when one of the mafiosi was found tied up on the railway tracks, the police took advantage of the situation and accused him of preparing to undermine the railway track.

The Sicilian and Italian mafia is not a fairy tale and the fate of filmmakers, it really exists, and although its clans are not as strong as before, and many have switched to a semi-legal position, it is still dangerous and is constantly being fought against.

on the street of Palermo

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The mafia is a criminal community that originally formed in Sicily in the second half of the 19th century and spread its activities to major cities in the United States and other countries. It is an association ("family") of criminal groups that have a common organization, structure and code of conduct (omerta). Each group works in a specific area.

In recent decades, the word "mafia", used not always out of place, has become commonplace. It came to Russian and many other languages ​​​​from Italy, but even there, in its ancestral home, there are no unambiguous explanations for the origin of the word and the phenomenon it denotes, there are only different assumptions about this. However, the etymology of the word is not as important as the very essence of the mafia. How to treat this organization? Is it really that scary, and were there really “glorious pages” in its rich history that one can rightly be proud of?

INDUSTRY OF VIOLENCE

The adjective mafiusu is possibly derived from the Arabic mahyas meaning "boastfulness". According to the sociologist Diego Gambeta, in 19th-century Sicily, the term mafiusu in relation to people had two meanings: "arrogant bully" and "fearless, proud." In general, there are many options for deciphering this term. The word "mafia" directly in relation to criminal gangs was first voiced in 1843 in Gaetano Mosca's comedy "Mafiosi from Vicaria Prison".

And 20 years later, Antonio Guapterio, prefect of Palermo, used it officially for the first time: in a report to the government, he wrote: "The so-called mafia, that is, criminal associations, has become bolder." Leopoldo Franchetti, who traveled in Sicily and wrote one of the first serious works on the Mafia in 1876, described it as "an industry of violence."

He wrote: "The term 'mafia' implies a class of violent criminals who, in view of the role they play in the life of Sicilian society, claim a special name for themselves, other than simply vulgar 'criminals', as in other countries."

Subsequently, the term "mafia" was also used to refer to any ethnic criminal groups, partly copying the structure of the classic Sicilian mafia (for example, the Mexican, Japanese, Caucasian, Russian, etc. mafia). At home, in Sicily, the mafia has its own name, Cosa Nostra. But there is no complete identity here: Cosa Nostra is always a mafia, but not every Cosa Nostra mafia. In the same Italy, the USA or Japan, there are Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, Sakra, Unita, Yakuza and other national mafias.

GENTLEMEN OR ROBBERS?

The notorious mafia code of conduct, written, according to legend, by one of the "godfathers" of the Cosa Nostra, Salvatore Piccolo, consists of 10 commandments. Here are some:

1. No one can come up and introduce himself to one of our friends. It must be introduced by another friend of ours.

2. Never look at the wives of friends.

3. Your duty is to always be at the disposal of the "family", even if your wife is in labor.

4. Show up for appointments on time.

5. Treat your wives with respect...etc. d.

Agree - it will do as a rule of conduct for a decent gentleman. The commandments of the mafia are by no means advisory in nature, their steady observance is vigilantly monitored by the head of the clan ("family") - Don.

Perhaps, based on this, and also thanks to the efforts of the authors of Hollywood action films, a stable image of a typical mafia has developed. Something like this:

Always dressed in an expensive black suit with white stripes, a wide-brimmed borsalino felt hat on his head, black patent leather shoes on his feet;

Clean-shaven or wears a short foppish mustache;

A long raincoat, under which a Tommy machine gun or a pair of Colts is guessed;

He drives exclusively in a Cadillac, the engine of which never turns off when stopped.

FROM DIRT TO PRINCE AND BACK

Over its almost two-century history, the world mafia has revealed to the world a whole galaxy of dons who have gained wide popularity. The first name that comes to mind at the mention of the mafia is the legendary Al Capone, or Big Al. He was born in 1899 in Naples, the son of a hairdresser. As a boy, he went to America with his family, like many poor Sicilian families of those years. They settled in New York's Brooklyn.

The family was in poverty, barely making ends meet. Soon Capone was in the ranks of the youth gang. Due to his powerful complexion, he was very useful in the endless showdowns of street gangs that traded in robberies and robberies. Having reached the age of majority, Al Capone was noticed by New York mafia boss Frank Ayalé, who a couple of years later handed over the 21-year-old guy to his criminal colleague, Chicago mafia boss Johnny Torrio.

The one in Chicago was in serious trouble with one of the rival clans. Torrio needed a man who could gain a reputation for lawlessness in Chicago and who would be feared not only by the locals, but also by the enemies of the Torrio group. Al Capone went to Chicago with his new boss. It was there that Big Al was born, bringing terror with his strength and incredible cruelty not only to local inhabitants, but also to rival gangsters. Soon he removed his boss, becoming the de facto king of the underworld of Chicago, and maybe all of America.

It got to the point that the President of the United States called Capone "Public Enemy No. 1". Many murders hung on it, but none of them could be proved - there were no witnesses. Then in 1931, Al Capone was arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison, a fine of $50,000 and confiscation of property for tax evasion.

After five years spent in the impregnable Alcatraz prison on the island of the same name in the San Francisco Bay, Capone developed chronic syphilis and mental problems. In addition, in a skirmish with other prisoners, he was stabbed. In 1939, Al Capone was released helpless and sick. Power in Chicago by this time had already been seized by his cronies of yesterday. Abandoned by everyone, he died in 1947 as a result of a stroke.

But Big Al is just one of the many famous godfathers of the goat nostra. No less popular was at one time Vito Casho Ferro, usually referred to as Don Vito. This well-dressed handsome man with aristocratic manners perfected the hierarchical system of the mafia. He also introduced the concept of u pizzu - the right to trade, which is received from the mafia, (of course, not for free) not members of the clan. Don Vito gave the mafia an international dimension, going to New York in 1901 and establishing contacts with local mafiosi.

At the same time, he was so active that after Vito returned to Sicily, a mafia fighter, New York policeman Joe Petrosino, also arrived here. However, he was immediately shot dead in one of the city squares of Palermo. Suspicion fell on Don Vito, but one of the members of the Sicilian parliament at the trial swore to Saint Mary that at the time of the murder the accused was at his dinner.

And yet in 1927, Cesare Mori, nicknamed the Iron Prefect, managed to put Don Vito behind bars for a long time. When Sicily came under aerial bombardment in 1943 ahead of the Allied invasion, the prison was immediately evacuated. By a strange accident, everyone was evacuated except for Vito, which was later attributed to extreme haste. The famous head of the mafia died a week later in his cell from exhaustion.

BENEFITS ABOVE ALL

But the Italian mafia did not only rob and racketeering. It happened to her to take part in historical events. On May 4, 1860, in Sicily, under the rule of the head of the so-called Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, an uprising broke out against the king. The mafia, already a serious force, refrained from participating for the time being, waiting to see where the scales would tip.

It is not known how the fate of both Sicily and the mafia would have developed if it were not for Giuseppe Garibaldi, who landed on the island at the head of a Red Shirt detachment. The rebels, and now the mafiosi, joined him and, by joint efforts, overthrowing the ruler of the island, Francis of Bourbon, brought the national hero of Italy to power. However, the mafia understood that any strong power would interfere with its activities. Therefore, occupying leadership positions, the mafiosi forced Garibaldi to leave the island and created all the conditions for their subsequent hegemony not only in Sicily, but also in other regions of Italy.

ENEMY NUMBER ONE

In the entire history of the Italian mafia, there was only one person who managed to seriously rein it in and at the same time stay alive. And that man was Benito Mussolini. Mussolini came to power in 1922 after the well-known March on Rome. A fascist regime was established in the country. A year later, Mussolini decided to visit Sicily. He was accompanied by the same Iron Prefect Cesare Mori.

Arriving on the island and seeing the number of guards ensuring his safety, Duce quickly realized the seriousness of the situation on the mafia estate. At that time, the power here actually belonged to a certain Don Ciccio, who made a big mistake by turning to Mussolini in an over-familiar manner. Soon the poor fellow was in jail. Obviously, the mafia, being a strong and organized structure, was dangerous for the young fascist state.

Mussolini could not at that time allow the presence of any other force in the country. As a result of the drastic measures taken, some of the mafiosi were shot, and the surviving bosses sat underground. Only Vito Genovese (aka Don Vitone) managed to ingratiate himself with the Duce by supplying drugs to his son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano.

But when Vito realized that the Nazis did not have long to be in power, he immediately went over to the side of the American troops invading the country, becoming an interpreter for a US Army colonel. And yet he ended his days in prison - a very common end of a career for a man of his kind.

As a result of the persecution of the mafia during the Nazi era, the flow of mafiosi to the United States increased sharply, where many Sicilians settled at the end of the 19th century, so the newcomers had something to cling to.

WINNERS ARE NOT JUDGED?

It was 1943. World War II is in full swing. Having successfully completed the defeat of the German-Italian troops in North Africa, the Western allies were preparing to invade Europe. After analyzing the situation, Sicily was chosen as a springboard for further advancement deep into the continent. The joint operation of the British and American troops, codenamed "Husky", was being prepared in the strictest confidence in order to ensure the effect of surprise.

Meanwhile, on the territory of the United States itself, the “fifth column” was working with might and main, in every possible way sabotaging the shipment of military cargo to Europe. Back in February 1942, the transatlantic liner Normandie was set on fire. The sabotage was attributed to immigrants sympathetic to the Nazi regime - dock workers of Italian origin working in the port of New York. Counterintelligence, knowing who was the true owner of the port, turned to Joe Lanza, a well-known racketeer in the port docks, for help, demanding that he clean up his household.

He, in turn, hinted that he could carry out an anti-sabotage operation only together with his boss, Charlie Luciano (aka Lucky Luciano), while serving a 50-year sentence in an American prison. The knights of the cloak and dagger had no choice but to agree.

Going to a deal with one of the leaders of the underworld, they hoped to pay off only by transferring Luciano to a more comfortable prison and henceforth not resorting to his help. As soon as the mafia got down to business, everything fell into place. Spies were caught, the perpetrators punished, sabotage stopped. Everyone was satisfied.

But soon the Americans again had to bow to the leaders of the underworld. For a successful, with minimal losses, the Sicilian operation, the Allies needed accurate topographical data of the area and the support of the local population. Well, who, if not Sicilian immigrants, could provide such information. And who, if not mafia bosses, could influence the locals. The lucky guy was made an offer he couldn't refuse. This deal radically changed the course of further events in Europe, and the fate of Luciano himself.

With his help, contacts were instantly established with the Sicilian dons, for whom the news of the impending overthrow of Mussolini became a balm for the soul. They have involved all devoted people in the cause. The most accurate topographic maps of the area where the allied forces were to land were drawn, and a network of spies was established.

Even the ruler of all Sicily, Calogero Vizzini, Don Calo, as he was called, was involved in the case. On June 14, 1943, on the 5th day after the successful landing of the Allies, an American aircraft appeared in the sky over the town of Villalba, which is located near Palermo, on both sides of which a huge letter L was inscribed.

It was clearly visible to all residents of the city. A package was thrown from the plane. The people who unrolled it found a handkerchief with an embroidered letter L, exactly the same as on the plane. It was a sign. A sign that Lucky Luciano says hello to his countrymen and tells them that the time has come to act. Thus began the liberation of Sicily from the Nazis and at the same time the revival of the mafia.

In May 1945, the New York State Special Service Commission released Lucky from prison early and deported him to Italy, the country of the resurgent mafia. There, this professional in his field, until the last days of his life, led the international criminal "Syndicate", which by the 50s of the 20th century entangled the whole world with its threads. And Luciano himself, who lived safely until 1962, was solemnly buried as a national hero.

Anatoly BUROVTSEV, Konstantin RISHES

Etc).

Etymology [ | ]

Until now, the origin of the word "mafia" (in the early texts - "maffia") has not been precisely established, and therefore there are many assumptions of varying degrees of certainty.

The Italian MP Leopoldo Franchetti, who traveled in Sicily and wrote one of the first authoritative accounts of the Mafia in 1876, described the latter as an "industry of violence" and defined it as follows: "The term Mafia implies a class of violent criminals, ready and waiting for themselves a name that would describe them, and, in view of their special character and importance in the life of Sicilian society, they are entitled to another name, different from the vulgar "criminals" in other countries. Franchetti saw how deeply the Mafia was ingrained in Sicily society and realized that it was impossible to put an end to it without a fundamental change in the social structure and institutions of the entire island.

Story [ | ]

The mafia was formed during the period of lawlessness and weakness of state power structures in Sicily during the reign of the Bourbon dynasty and the post-Bourbon period as a structure that regulates relations in Sicilian society (at the same time, a similar criminal structure of the Camorra is being formed in Naples). However, the socio-political prerequisites for the emergence of the mafia appeared long before that.

Arrests of mafia leaders in Italy[ | ]

Italian internal affairs bodies have been fighting the mafia with varying degrees of success for many decades. In November 2009, the Italian police arrested the second most important leader of the Sicilian mafia, Domenico Racciuglia. According to the Minister of the Interior of Italy, Roberto Maroni, this dealt one of the hardest blows to the mafia in recent years. Earlier, in October 2009, the Italian police managed to detain three of the most important leaders of the Camorra - the Pasquale brothers, Salvatore and Carmine Russo.

Typical "family" structure[ | ]

• Don(ital. don, ital. capomafioso) - the head of the family. Receives information about any "case" committed by each member of the family. Don is elected by vote capo. In the event of a tie in the number of votes, the Don's henchman. Until the 1950s, all family members generally participated in voting, but later this practice was abandoned because it attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies.
• underboss, or assistant(eng. underboss) - the "deputy" of the don, the second person in the family, who is appointed by the don himself. The henchman is responsible for the actions of all capos. In the event of the arrest or death of a don, the henchman usually becomes an acting don.
• Consigliere(Italian consigliere) - family adviser, a person whom the don can trust and whose advice he listens to. He serves as an intermediary in resolving disputes, acts as an intermediary between the don and bribed political, trade union or judicial officials, or acts as a representative of the family at meetings with other families. The consigliere, as a rule, does not have its own "team", they usually have only one "soldier" under their command. Despite this, they still have significant influence in the family. However, the consigliere usually also has a legitimate business, such as practicing law or working as a stockbroker.
• Caporegime(ital. caporegime), capo, or captain- the head of a "team", or "combat group" (consisting of "soldiers"), which is responsible for one or more types of criminal activity in a certain area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe city and monthly gives the boss a part of the income received from this activity ("sends a share") . There are usually 6-9 such teams in a family, and each of them has up to 10 soldiers. The kapo is subordinate to an assistant or to the don himself. The introduction to the kapo is made by an assistant, but the kapo is personally appointed by the don.
• Soldier(eng. soldier, ital. regime) - the youngest member of the family who was "introduced" into the family, firstly, because he proved his usefulness to her, and secondly, on the recommendation of one or more capos. Once selected, a soldier usually ends up on the team whose capo recommended him.
• Partner in crime(eng. associate) - not yet a family member, but already a person endowed with a certain status. He usually acts as an intermediary in transactions for the sale of, for example, drugs, acts as a bribed representative of a trade union or businessman, etc. Non-Italians are usually not accepted into the family and almost always remain in the status of accomplices. When a "vacancy" appears, one or more kapos may recommend that a useful accomplice be promoted to soldier. In the event that there are several such proposals, and there is only one vacancy, the don selects the candidate.

"Ten Commandments"[ | ]

According to other sources, the Ten Commandments do not have a traditional history and were written by Lo Piccolo himself as an instruction to the younger generation.

American mafia[ | ]

In the late 19th century, all four branches of the Italian mafia took root on the East Coast of the United States. In Italy in -1945, the mafia, represented by the authoritative boss of the BAC in both the USA and Sicily, actively helped the anti-fascists and the Anglo-American troops. The influence of the Italian mafia in the USA reached its highest point in the middle of the 20th century. The tandem of the mafia and trade unions in In the mid-1950s, he forced the government to make concessions to the latter.Since the 1960s, the mafia in the United States has been in fierce competition with organized crime groups of African Americans, Mexicans, Colombians and Chinese, and has maintained contacts with Slavic organized crime groups and the Aryan Brotherhood.

FBI investigations in the 1980s significantly reduced her influence. Currently, the mafia in the United States is a network of criminal organizations in the country, using their position to control much of the Chicago and New York criminal business. She also maintains links with the Sicilian mafia.

The current structure of the Italian-American mafia, which in general repeats the Italian one, as well as the ways of its activities, were largely determined by Salvatore Maranzano - "boss of bosses" (Killed by Lucky Luciano six months after his election). The latest trend in family organization is the emergence of two new "positions" - Street Boss(eng. street boss) and family messenger(eng. family messenger), - introduced by the former boss of the Genovese family, Vincent Gigante.

Criminal communities in various countries of the world[ | ]

Italian communities[ | ]

Leading Organizations[ | ]

Other organizations[ | ]

Italian American communities[ | ]

• " Detroit partnership" (eng.) (eng. Detroit partnership)
• " Chicago organization" (eng.) (eng. Chicago Outfit)
• Cleveland "family"
• Purple Gang of East Harlem ("The Sixth Family")
• "Family" from Buffalo
• "Family" Buffalino
• DeCavalcante family (New Jersey)
• "Family" from Los Angeles
• "Family" from New Orleans
• Family from Pittsburgh
• "Family" from St. Louis
• "Family" Trafficante
• Philadelphia "family"

Other ethnic communities[ | ]

• Azerbaijani mafia (USA, Europe, Russia, Turkey)
• Armenian mafia (see Armenian Power) (United States, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Africa,)
• (Russia, Europe)
• Colombian drug cartels: Medellin Cartel, Cali Cartel, North Valley Cartel
• Mexican mafia (Mexico, USA). Not to be confused with Mexico's drug mafia: Tijuana Cartel, Juárez Cartel, Golfo Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, Los Setas, etc.
• Salvadoran Mafia (Countries of North and Central America)
• OPG (Russia) - Balashikha, Luberetskaya, Orekhovskaya, Solntsevo, Chechen and other organized crime groups.
• Triad (China)
• (Turkey, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Balkans, Austria, England, USA)
• (Ukraine), (USA), (Europe)
• Yakuza (Japan)
• Raskola (Papua New Guinea)
• Premany (Indonesia)

Influence on popular culture[ | ]

The mafia and its reputation are firmly rooted in American popular culture, being depicted in movies, television, books, and magazine articles.

Some see the mafia as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being" - "the mafia is the awareness of one's own worth, the great idea of ​​individual power as the sole judge in every conflict, every clash of interests or ideas" .

The Italian mafia appeared in the Deadly Warrior show where they fought the Yakuza.

In film and television[ | ]

• Crime stories (TV series, 1986-1988)

There is no person in the world who has not heard of Italy. A beautiful country ... It surprises us with the architecture of the Vatican, citrus plantations, warm climate and gentle sea. But one more thing made this country popular all over the world - it's the Italian mafia. There are many large criminal groups in the world, but none arouses such interest as this one.

History of the Sicilian Mafia

Mafia is a purely Sicilian name for independent criminal organizations. Mafia is the name of an independent criminal organization. There are 2 versions of the origin of the word "mafia":

• It is an abbreviation of the motto of the riot "Sicilian Vespers" of 1282. Left from the time when Sicily was the territory of the Arabs, and meant the protection of ordinary people from the ruling lawlessness.
• The Sicilian mafia takes its roots from the XII century. sects of the followers of St. Francis di Paolo. They spent their days praying, and at night they robbed the rich and shared with the poor.

There is a clear hierarchy in the mafia:

1. CapodiTuttiCapi is the head of all families.
2. CapodiCapiRe is a title given to the head of a family who has retired from business.
3. Capofamiglia is the head of one clan.
4. Consigliere is a consultant to the head. Has influence on him, but is devoid of serious power.
5. SottoCapo is the second person in the family after the head.
6. Capo is a mafia captain. Subdues 10 - 25 people.
7. Soldato is the first rung on the mafia career ladder.
8. Picciotto are people who want to be part of a group.
9. GiovaneD'Onore - friends and allies of the mafia. Often, not Italians.

Commandments of the Cosa Nostra

The "top" and "bottom" of the organization rarely intersect, they may not even know each other by sight. But sometimes the "soldier" knows enough useful information for the police about his "employer". The group had its own Code of Honor:

• Clan members help each other under any circumstances;
• An insult to one of the members is considered an insult to the entire group;
• Unquestioning obedience;
• The "family" itself administers justice and its execution;
• In case of betrayal by any of the members of his clan, he and his entire family are punished;
• A vow of silence or omerta. It is a ban on any cooperation with the police.
• Vendetta. Revenge is based on the principle of "blood for blood".

In the XX century. interest in the Italian mafia was shown not only by the police, but also by artists. This created a kind of romantic halo about the life of a mafia. But do not forget that, first of all, these are cruel criminals who profit from the misfortunes of ordinary people. The mafia is alive now, because it is immortal. Only changed a little.

Corleone family

Thanks to the novel "The Godfather", the whole world learned about the Corleone family. What kind of family is this and what do they have to do with the real Sicilian mafia?

The Corleone family (Corleonesi) was indeed at the head of the entire Sicilian mafia (Cosa Nostra) in the 80-90s of the XX century. They gained their power during the Second Mafia War. Other families underestimated them a little and in vain! The Corleonesi family did not stand on ceremony with the people who interfered with them; they had a huge number of murders on their conscience. The loudest of them: the murder of General Dalla Chiesa and his wife. General Chiesa is the prototype of the famous Captain Katani from the TV series Octopus.

In addition, there were many more high-profile murders: Communist Party leader Pio La Torre, family traitor Francesco Maria Manoia and his family, as well as very high-profile murders of competitors: the leader of the Riesi clan, Giuseppe Di Cristina, nicknamed "Tiger" and Michele Cavataio, nicknamed "Cobra" . The latter was the instigator of the first mafia war in the sixties of the twentieth century. The Corleone family dealt with him very easily. In addition to brutal murders, the Corleone family was famous for its well-organized and extensive mafia network.

Don Vito Corleone

Fictional character from The Godfather! who led the Corleone clan in Italy and the United States. The prototype of this character was Luciano Leggio, Bernardo Provenzano, Toto Riina, and Leoluca Bagarella - the famous leaders of the Corleone family.

Sicilian mafia today

Significant efforts are being made to eradicate such a phenomenon as the Sicilian mafia. Every week in Italy there is news about the arrest of another representative of the mafia clan. However, the mafia is immortal and still has power. More than a third of all illegal business in Italy is still controlled by representatives of Cosa Nostra. In the 21st century, the Italian police achieved significant success, but this only led to the fact that the conspiracy in the ranks of the mafiosi intensified. Now this is not a centralized group, but several disparate clans, the heads of which communicate only in exceptional cases.

Today, in Cosa Nostra, about 5,000 participants and seventy percent of Sicily's businessmen still pay tribute to the mafia.

Tour in the footsteps of the Sicilian Mafia

We offer a guided tour in the footsteps of the Sicilian mafia. We will visit the most iconic places of Palermo and the family nest of the Corleone family: the town of the same name. .

Photo of the Sicilian mafia

In conclusion, a few photos of the mafia

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He was known as the Godfather of Sicily, one of the most powerful people in Italy, a brutal mafia boss who received 26 life sentences and excommunication
Below is a brief biography of this powerful Italian crime boss:

In Italy, Toto Riina was buried - the head of Cosa Nostra, the "boss of all bosses", one of the most influential mafiosi in the world. Providing the "roof" of his empire, he promoted friends to the main posts in the country and in fact brought the entire government under control. His life is an example of how vulnerable politics is to organized crime.

Salvatore (Toto) Riina died in a prison hospital in Parma at the age of 87. On account of this man, who headed Cosa Nostra in the 1970s and 90s, dozens of political assassinations, ruthless reprisals against businessmen and competitors, several terrorist attacks. The total number of his victims goes to many hundreds. The world media write about him today as one of the most brutal criminals of our day.

Wife and son Salvatore Riina at his funeral

The paradox is that at the same time Toto Riina was one of the most influential politicians in Italy. Of course, he did not participate in the elections. But he ensured the election of his "friends" and financed their promotion to the highest positions, and "friends" helped him to do business and hide from the law.

Like the protagonist of Mario Puzo's novel and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Toto Riina was born in the small Italian town of Corleone. When Toto was 19 years old, his father ordered him to strangle a businessman whom he took hostage, but failed to obtain a ransom. After the first murder, Riina served six years, after which he made a resounding career in the Corleone clan of the Sicilian mafia.

In the 1960s, his mentor was the then "boss of all bosses" Luciano Leggio. Then the mafia took an active part in the political struggle and the mountain stood for the far right.
In 1969, a convinced fascist, a friend of Mussolini and Prince Valerio Borghese (it is in his Roman villa that admiring tourists crowd today) started a full-fledged coup. According to its results, ultra-rightists were supposed to come to power, and all communists in parliament were supposed to be physically destroyed. One of the first people contacted by Prince Borghese was Leggio. The prince needed three thousand militants to seize power in Sicily. Legjo doubted the plan's feasibility and dragged his feet with a final answer. Soon the conspirators were arrested, Borghese fled to Spain, the putsch failed. And Leggio, until the end of his days, boasted that he did not give his brothers to the putschists and "saved democracy in Italy."

Another thing is that mafiosi understood democracy in their own way. Possessing almost absolute power on the island, they controlled the outcome of any election. “The orientation of Cosa Nostra was to vote for the Christian Democratic Party,” one of the clan members recalled at the trial in 1995. “Cosa Nostra did not vote for either the communists or the fascists.” (quote from Letizia Paoli's Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime Italian Style).

Not surprisingly, the Christian Democrats regularly won majorities in Sicily. Party members - usually natives of Palermo or the same Corleone - held posts in the government of the island. And then they paid their mafia sponsors with contracts for the construction of housing and roads. Another native of Corleone, Vito Ciancimino, an oligarch, Christian Democrat and good friend of Toto Riina, worked in the mayor's office of Palermo and argued that "since the Christian Democrats get 40% of the vote in Sicily, they are also entitled to 40% of all contracts."

However, there were also honest people among the members of the party. Once in Sicily, they tried to curb local corruption. Toto Riina invariably shot such dissidents.

The mafia economy worked well. In the 1960s, generally poor Sicily experienced a building boom. “When Riina was here, everyone in Corleone had a job,” complained a local old-timer to The Guardian journalist who visited Corleone immediately after the death of the godfather. “These people gave everyone a job.”

An even more promising business in Sicily was the drug trade. After the defeat of the Americans in Vietnam, the island became the main transport hub for the transportation of heroin to the United States. In order to seize control of this business, Riina cleared all of Sicily from competitors in the mid-1970s. In just a few years, his militants killed several hundred people from other "families".

Relying on fear, the “godfather” organized exponentially brutal reprisals. So, he ordered the 13-year-old son of one of the mafiosi to be kidnapped, strangled and dissolved in acid.

In the late 1970s, Riina was recognized as the "boss of all bosses". By this time, the political influence of the Sicilian mafia had reached its peak, and the Christian Democrats had effectively become the pocket party of Cosa Nostra. “According to the testimony of members of criminal gangs, between 40 and 75 percent of Christian Democrat MPs were mafia-paid."- Letizia Paoli writes in her investigation. That is, Riina put under control the largest political force in Italy. The Christian Democrats were in power for about forty years. Party leader Giulio Andreotti became prime minister seven times.

Stills from the 2008 Italian film Il Divo about Giulio Andreotti

The connection between the bosses of Cosa Nostra and Giulio Andreotti was carried out by one of the representatives of the party elite, Salvatore Lima. In the Sicilian mafia, he was considered "their white collar". His father himself was an authoritative mafioso in Palermo, but Lima received a good education and, with the help of his parent's "friends", made a party career. Becoming the right hand of Andreotti, at one time he worked in the cabinet, and at the time of his death in 1992 he was a member of the European Parliament.

Witnesses claimed that the Italian prime minister was well acquainted with Toto Riina and once even kissed the godfather on the cheek - as a sign of friendship and respect. Giulio Andreotti was repeatedly brought to trial for connections with the mafia and for organizing the murder of journalist Mino Pecorelli, who revealed these connections, but each time he got away with it. But the kiss story always pissed him off - especially when director Paolo Sorrentino re-told it in his movie hit Il Divo. “Yes, they invented it all,” the politician explained to The Times correspondent. - I would kiss my wife, but not Toto Riina!
With such high-ranking patrons, the “godfather” could organize high-profile murders and clean up competitors without fear of anything. On March 31, 1980, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Sicily, Pio La Torre, proposed to the Italian parliament a draft law to combat the mafia. It for the first time formulated the concept of organized crime, contained a requirement for the confiscation of property of mafia members, and provided for the possibility of prosecuting "godfathers".

However, the Christian Democrats, who controlled parliament, bombarded the draft with amendments in order to delay its adoption as much as possible. And two years later, the car of the indefatigable Pio La Torre was blocked in a narrow alley of Palermo near the entrance to the headquarters of the Communist Party. The militants, led by Toto Riina's favorite killer Pino Greco, shot the communist from machine guns.

The next day, General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was appointed prefect of Palermo. He was called upon to investigate Mafia activities in Sicily and the godfathers' connections with politicians in Rome. But on September 3, Chiesa was killed by the killers of Toto Riina.

These demonstrative murders shocked all of Italy. Under pressure from the indignant public, the parliament nevertheless passed the La Torre law. However, it was not easy to apply it.

The amazing thing: the "boss of all bosses" Toto Riina was wanted since 1970, but the police just shrugged. In fact, she always did. In 1977, Riina ordered the assassination of the head of the Carabinieri of Sicily. In March 1979, on his orders, the head of the Christian Democrats in Palermo, Michele Reina, was killed (he tried to break the corrupt system of power on the island). Four months later, Boris Giuliano, the police officer who caught Riina's men with a suitcase of heroin, is killed. In September, a member of the Commission for the Investigation of Mafia Crimes was shot dead.

Subsequently, when the “godfather” was nevertheless handcuffed, it turned out that all this time he lived in his Sicilian villa. During this time, he had four children, each of whom was registered in accordance with all the rules. That is, the authorities of the island knew perfectly well where one of the country's most wanted criminals was located.
In the 1980s, Riina unleashes a campaign of large-scale terror. The corrupt government is so weak that it cannot resist the "godfather". Another series of political assassinations is followed by a large-scale terrorist attack, a train bombing that killed 17 people. But that wasn't what killed him.


Toto Riina's empire collapsed from within. Mafioso Tommaso Buscetta, whose sons and grandsons died during the intra-clan war, decided to hand over his accomplices. His testimony was taken by magistrate Giovanni Falcone. With his active participation in 1986, a large-scale trial of members of Cosa Nostra was organized, during which 360 members of the criminal community were convicted, another 114 were acquitted.

The results could have been better, but even here Riina had her own people. Presiding over the trial was Corrado Carnevale, a native of Palermo, nicknamed "The Killer of Sentences". Carnevale dismissed every accusation he could, picking on minutiae like a missing seal. He also did everything to commute the sentences of the convicts. Thanks to his connivance, most of Riino's soldiers were soon released.

In 1992, Giovanni Falcone and his fellow magistrate Paolo Borsalino were blown up in their own cars.

A riot almost broke out in Sicily. The newly elected president, Luigi Scalfaro, was pushed out of the Palermo Cathedral by an angry mob and was about to be lynched. Scalfaro was also a member of the Christian Democratic Party, whose ties to Toto Riina had long been an open secret.

On January 15, 1993, the "godfather" was finally arrested in Palermo and has since experienced many trials. In total, he was given 26 life sentences, and at the same time was excommunicated from the church.

Simultaneously with the career of Riina, the history of the Christian Democratic Party of Italy also ended. All its leaders, including Giulio Andreotti, went to court, many went to prison.

Andreotti

Andreotti himself was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but the sentence was later overturned.
In 1993, the party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections, in 1994 it disintegrated.

Toto Riina survived his empire by 23 years, becoming the main symbol not only of the entire Italian mafia, but also of a system in which one bandit can subjugate the government of a European country to his interests.