History Of The Italian-American Mafia
The Italian-American Mafia is embedded in our popular culture. Hollywood movies, books, reality shows, video games—we just can't seem to get enough of the "mob." From Lucky Luciano to The Godfather, from John Gotti to The Sopranos, history has been juxtaposed with fiction to produce a rich national pastime.
Goodfellas, among the greatest American mob films, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall—and continues to pop up in real news headlines.
Of course, the Mafia isn't what it once was: a power structure capable of influencing national politicians and making historic heists at major transportation centers. But the FBI maintains that La Cosa Nostra—the sprawling group originally steered by Sicilian immigrants that we hear about most
often—is the "foremost organized criminal threat to American society." The feds estimate that various Italian Mafia groups have more than 3,000 members scattered throughout the country, with their largest presence in New York, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia.
A recent New Jersey case demonstrated the mob's endurance, as acting state attorney general John J. Hoffman said his investigation into the Lucchese crime family "revealed that traditional organized crime remains a corrosive presence in the US and continues to reap huge profits through criminal enterprises."
VICE reached out to some onetime mobsters like Gambino family soldiers John Alite and Louis Ferrante, along with La Cosa Nostra experts Christian Cipollini and Scott Burnstein, for their take on where the Mafia's at after all these years.
Goodfellas, among the greatest American mob films, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this fall—and continues to pop up in real news headlines.
Of course, the Mafia isn't what it once was: a power structure capable of influencing national politicians and making historic heists at major transportation centers. But the FBI maintains that La Cosa Nostra—the sprawling group originally steered by Sicilian immigrants that we hear about most
often—is the "foremost organized criminal threat to American society." The feds estimate that various Italian Mafia groups have more than 3,000 members scattered throughout the country, with their largest presence in New York, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia.
A recent New Jersey case demonstrated the mob's endurance, as acting state attorney general John J. Hoffman said his investigation into the Lucchese crime family "revealed that traditional organized crime remains a corrosive presence in the US and continues to reap huge profits through criminal enterprises."
VICE reached out to some onetime mobsters like Gambino family soldiers John Alite and Louis Ferrante, along with La Cosa Nostra experts Christian Cipollini and Scott Burnstein, for their take on where the Mafia's at after all these years.