Name for an association of criminal groups, sometimes bound by a blood
oath and sworn to secrecy. The Mafia first developed in Sicily in feudal
times to protect the estates of landlords, who did not live on their estates.
By the 19th century it had become a network of criminal bands that dominated
the Sicilian countryside. The members were bound by "Omerta", a rigid code
of conduct that included avoiding all contact and cooperation with the
authorities. The Mafia had neither a centralized organization nor a hierarchy;
it consisted of many small groups, each autonomous within its own district.
By employing terrorist methods against the peasant electorate, the Mafia
attained political office in several communities, thus acquiring influence
with the police and obtaining legal access to weapons. The Fascist government
of Benito Mussolini succeeded in suppressing the Mafia for a time, but
the organization emerged again after World War II. Over the next 30 years
the Mafia became a power not only in Sicily but all over Italy as well.
The Italian government began an anti-Mafia campaign in the early 1980s,
leading not only to a number of arrests and sensational trials, but also
to the assassination of several key law-enforcement officials in retaliation.
Public outrage was tempered by the arrest of the involved Mafia leader
in 1993, Salvatore Riina (In the picture guarded by Italian Soldiers).
Beginning in the late 19th century, some members of the Mafia emigrated
to the United States. They soon became entrenched in American organized
crime, especially in the 1920s during Prohibition. After the end of Prohibition
in 1933 put an end to most illegal production and distribution of alcohol,
the Mafia moved into other areas, such as gambling, "protection" for money,
prostitution, and, in recent years, drugs. Links with the Italian Mafia
were also maintained. As in Italy, prosecution of reputed Mafia leaders
in the United States increased in the 1980s and 1990s.
