Abstract:  The presence of Mafia was felt ever since it originated in 9th century on the island of Sicily. Originally this secret society was targeting the wealthy in order to exhume money from them in return for “protection”. With years passed Mafiosi activities evolved into drug trafficking, money laundering, and political influence to control governments; but the basic structure stayed the same including idea of family, strong hierarchical layout, and taking a sacred oath at the initiation. Organized crime posses a threat to international financial markets and can also be damaging to political structures especially in a newly formed governments. But at the same time law enforcement never could easily bring to justice offenders of these kinds of crime.

       

Most people associate the word “mafia” with organized crime. They think right away about the famous Italian Mafia, or more recently about Sopranos. But in reality “mafia” means “refuge” in Arabic language, and has been present in some form since the 9th century. This kind of secret society originated in Sicily when Normans invaded the island, and native tribes were oppressed and forced into labor. To avoid this fate they were forced to move and hide in the hills of Sicily, but with every new invasion those refuges were sought out again. This secret society was at that time mostly intended to unify the natives against their enemies. Its intention was to create a sense of family based on ancestry and Sicilian background. This idea of family was carried through in the structure of the organization, which had a strong hierarchical layout. Even in those times at the head of the organization were the dons or chiefs of a particular village, that answered to dons and chiefs that lived in the capital, Palermo. Another similarity was that members of the organization had to take an oath upon the initiation. This oath contained five basic principles on which the Mafia was, and to this day is, based: ‘Omerta’ code of silence; total obedience to the boss; assistance to any befriended Mafia faction; avenge any attack on members of the Family; avoid any and all contact with the authorities.

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        By 19th century Mafia organization had grown and evolved into a criminally oriented society that defied all laws, except for their own. At that time most common practice of Mafia was asking wealthy people for large sums of money in return for their protection. Of course, the only protection those wealthy people needed was from the Mafia. If they weren’t compliant with the request, themselves or their family members would be targeted. In 1876 Mafia Don Raffaele Palizzolo decided to run for political office and thereby infiltrate the government of Sicily with plans to manipulate it from the inside out. He ...

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