Cosa Nostra

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Cosa Nostra, literally translated into English, means "this thing of ours." It is a United States-wide alliance of criminals, linked through both familial and conspiratorial ties that is dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. The Cosa Nostra, or LCN as it is known by FBI agents, consists of different "families" or groups that are generally arranged geographically and engaged in significant and organized racketeering activity. It is also known as the Mafia, however this term is also used to describe other organized crime groups.

In 1986, according to government reports, it was estimated there are 1,700 members of the "La Cosa Nostra" and thousands of associate members. Reports also are said to include the Italian-American Mafia as the largest organized crime group in the United States and continues to hold dominance over the National Crime Syndicate, despite the increasing numbers of street gangs and other organizations of non-Italian or Sicilian ethnicity.

Cosa Nostra may also be used to refer to the Sicilian Mafia or a certain crime family (not necessarily the whole organization).

Cosa Nostra is most active in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, New England, Detroit, and Chicago but has members in many other major cities around the country and also participates in international criminal activities.

1 History
2 Structure
3 See also
4 External Links

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History

Although Cosa Nostra has its roots in Italian Organized Crime (IOC), it has been a separate organization for many years. Today, Cosa Nostra cooperates in various criminal activities with the different IOC groups which are headquartered in Italy. However, Cosa Nostra alone is the foremost organized criminal threat to American society.

Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Sicilian Mafia member to emigrate to the United States. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering eleven wealthy landowners, the chancellor, and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province. He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and extradited to Italy. New Orleans was also the site of the first Mafia incident in the United States which received both national and international attention. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed and with it rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. The outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped.

The American Mafia has undergone many changes. From the Black Hand gangs around 1900 and the Five Points Gang in the 1910s and 1920s in New York City, to Al Capone's Syndicate in 1920s Chicago. By the end of the 1920s, two factions of organized crime had emerged causing the Castellamarese war for control of organized crime in New York City. With the murder of Joseph Masseria, the leader of one of the factions, the war ended uniting the two sides back into one organization now dubbed Cosa Nostra. Salvatore Maranzano, the first leader of Cosa Nostra, was himself murdered within six months and Charles "Lucky" Luciano became the new leader. Maranzano had established Cosa Nostra code of conduct, set up the "family" divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. Luciano set up the "Commission" to rule Cosa Nostra activities. The Commission included bosses from six or seven families.

In 1951, a U.S. Senate Committee, led by Democratic Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, determined that a "sinister criminal organization" also known as the Mafia operated around the United States.

In 1957, the New York State Police uncovered a meeting of major Cosa Nostra figures from around the country in the small upstate New York town of Apalachin. This gathering has become known as the Apalachin conference. Many of the attendees were arrested and this event was the catalyst that changed the way law enforcement battles organized crime. This war continues today.

In 1963, Joseph Valachi became the first Cosa Nostra member to provide a detailed look at the inside of the organization. Having been recruited by FBI Special Agents, and testifying before the US Senate McClellan Committee, Valachi exposed the name, structure, power bases, codes, swearing-in ceremony, and members of this organization. All of this had been secret up to this point.

Today Cosa Nostra is involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities. These include murder, extortion, drug trafficking, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, prostitution, pornography, tax fraud schemes, and most notably today, stock manipulation schemes.

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Structure

Boss - The head of the family, usually reigning as a dictator. The Boss receives a cut of every operation taken on by every member of his family. The Boss is chosen by a vote from the Caporegimes of the family If there is a tie, the Underboss must vote.
Underboss - The Underboss, usually appointed by the Boss, is the second in command of the family. The Underboss is considered the Captain that is in charge of all of the other Capos, who is controlled by the Boss. The Underboss is usually first in line to become Acting Boss if the Boss is imprisoned.
Consigliere - Consigliere is an advisor to the family. They are often low profile gangsters that can be trusted. They often keep the family looking as legitimate as possible, and are, themselves, legitimate apart from some minor gambling or loan sharking.
Caporegime (or Capo)- A Capo is in charge of a crew. There are usually four to six crews in each family, possibly even seven to nine crews, each one consisting of up to ten Soldiers. Capos run their own small family, but must follow the limitations and guidelines created by the Boss, as well as pay him his cut of their profits. Capos are nominated by the Underboss, but typically chosen by the Boss himself.
Soldier - Soldiers are members of the family, and can only be of Italian or Sicilian background. Soldiers start as Associates that have proven themselves. When the books are open, meaning that there is an open spot in the family, a Capo (or several Capos) may recommend an up-and-coming Associate to be a new member. In the case that there is only one slot and multiple recommendations, the Boss will decide. The new member usually becomes part of the Capo's crew that recommended him.
Associate - An Associate is not a member of the mob, but more of an errand boy. They're usually a go-between or sometimes deal in drugs to keep the heat off of the actual members. Non-Italians will never go any further than this.

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