The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (Italian: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa -], Sicilian: [ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː (ɽ)a]; "our thing" [3]), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century.

Feb 17, 2025 · The Sicilian Mafia is made up of a coalition of criminal organizations—called “families” or “clans” in English and cosche (singular, cosca) in Italian—which engage in extortion, smuggling, gambling, and the mediation of disagreements between other criminals.

Oct 29, 2009 · From this history, the Sicilian Mafia emerged as a collection of criminal clans or families. Did you know? The Sicilian Mafia is one of four major criminal networks currently based in...

La Cosa Nostra evolved from the Sicilian Mafia and is one of the foremost organized criminal threats to American society. Translated into English it means “this thing of ours.”

It is a common belief that the Mafia began in Sicily, primarily through the first major rulers and power-hungry groups that occupied the island. The only thing that we know for sure is the records of their existence dating into the early 19th century.

Feb 11, 2025 · Italian police have arrested 181 people in a crackdown on the Sicilian mafia. Authorities launched a series of raids early on Tuesday, detaining suspected members of the mafia for alleged crimes including attempted murder, extortion, drug trafficking and more.

Mar 6, 2025 · Mafia, hierarchically structured society of criminals of primarily Italian or Sicilian birth or extraction. The term applies to the traditional criminal organization in Sicily and also to a criminal organization in the United States.

This article traces the origin of the Sicilian Mafia, its development and growth in the United States, and American and Italian law enforcement responses to it. The Sicilian Mafia was founded in Sicily by elements of the Camorra, a crime organization established in Naples, in the early 1800's.

The Sicilian Mafia was less active during the era of Fascist Italy and it was fought by Benito Mussolini's government. In June 1924, Mussolini instructed Cesare Mori to eradicate the Mafia from Sicily and on October 25, 1925, appointed Mori prefect of the Sicilian capital, Palermo.

The Sicilian Mafia and Camorra throve, and still do, in Italy’s corrupt political culture. They worked the system and mastered its intricacies, subverted politicians, police, and judges by bribes or threats, and bent them to their will until organized crime became a state within the state. The Fascists did not share power or tolerate ...