Sicilian Mafia

When mafia threatens democracy: research shows ordinary people are less honest in countries hit by organised crime

Retrieved on:

Monday, July 24, 2023

We’ve found that organised crime can undermine the civic honesty of ordinary, law abiding people.

Key Points:

We’ve found that organised crime can undermine the civic honesty of ordinary, law abiding people.
Civic honesty means adhering to shared moral norms that characterise actions such as tax evasion, bribery or welfare fraud as unacceptable.
We wanted to explore if the presence of organised crime was a factor in this variability.

83 countries

To test this, we used an index of global organised cime to rate the influence of criminal groups in different countries and regions on a scale of 1 to 10.
We paired this index with survey data from more than 128,000 people in 83 countries from two large-scale research studies investigating beliefs, opinions and values.
Data for these two measures were available from eight African countries, 13 countries in the Americas, 26 Asian nations, 34 European nations and two in Oceania.

Corruption undermines civic honesty

We found that citizens tended to be less inclined towards civic honesty in countries where organised criminal groups were more widespread.
Therefore, how much people trust institutions should be linked to their civic honesty.
In countries such as Italy, Mexico and Russia, the association between civic honesty and political trust was weaker or even non-existent.
Knowing how much trust a person has in institutions therefore tells you little or nothing about what they think about civic honesty.

Total takeover

If people had a greater trust in public institutions, they were more likely to show a lower level of civic honesty.
This seemingly paradoxical outcome could be attributed to criminal groups successfully co-opting the state, thereby subverting the nature and moral responsibilities of institutions.

Crime as a democratic issue

Organised criminal groups can play a part in altering societal norms by undermining the moral authority of public bodies.
An insidious erosion of the social contract can follow, shifting norms away from the principles of civic honesty.
The unchecked growth of organised crime doesn’t merely lead to more illegal activities and lower public security, it threatens the very fabric of our democracies.

New Podcast and Video Series View from Mulberry Street Goes Deep Inside the World of the Ultimate Mob Lawyer

Retrieved on:

Thursday, July 14, 2022

BROOKLYN, N.Y., July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --View from Mulberry Street (URL to Buzzsprout ), a new podcast and video series launching tomorrow (July 15th), will take audiences on a wild ride alongside host Mathew J. Mari, dubbed "the ultimate Mob lawyer."

Key Points:

With a focus on bare knuckle anecdotes not legalese, it will entertain a broad swath of podcast listeners and viewers.
From the streets to the courthouse this is a story never told from such an inside view.
Audiences will be hooked on this real-life storyteller and justice warrior as he gives his view from Mulberry Street.
View from Mulberry Streetwill offer unfolding tales of crime and justice on the streets of New York.All episodes are available on YouTube as a video Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

Europe must act as a single country against organised crime

Retrieved on:

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Organized crime, Law enforcement in Europe, Agencies of the European Union, Crime, Transnational organized crime, Articles, Mafia, Tax evasion, Eurojust, Cafiero, Sicilian Mafia, Money laundering

Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho has called on Europe to act as a single country against organised crime, with enhanced monitoring systems and immediate judicial responses.

Key Points:

Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho has called on Europe to act as a single country against organised crime, with enhanced monitoring systems and immediate judicial responses.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted an online conference on "The economic impact of organised crime and money laundering How does the COVID-19 crisis aggravate the problems?
", to call for an alliance of all components of civil society and institutions against this social and economic scourge.

Federico Cafiero de Raho: the mafia takes advantage of the economic crisis

The guest of honour at the event, Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho, explained how the phenomenon of mafias infiltrating the legal economy started in Italy back in the 1980s.
Organised crime infiltrates public procurement through a well-established system of consortia, involving entities with different identities but directed by the mafia.
During a pandemic, tourism and catering activities become easy prey: Mafias are prepared to offer their money to entrepreneurs who are most in difficulty.
By means of false invoicing or other false documentation, they infiltrate businesses that need support, blend in and help that business to resume and move forward.

Europe's responses

According to Mr Cafiero de Raho, the anti-money laundering system in Europe is very advanced, but not in all countries.
The prosecutor points the finger at countries that can be defined, including in Europe, as tax and regulatory havens.
In some of them, financial centres have been set up that act as fully-fledged off-shore countries, fostering the laundering and accumulation of illicit capital.
Mr Cafiero de Raho praised the coordinating role played by Europol and Eurojust as regards police and judicial cooperation.

Other contributions

The COVID-19 crisis provides an opportunity to combat dirty money from organised crime in all its forms.
However, what is lacking is the cooperation aspect between police and prosecutors, which would be absolutely indispensable, he added.
In Germany, there is a lack of data, research, of general awareness of the dangers, and of funding.
Ernesto Ugo Savona, Director of the Transcrime research centre at the Catholic University of Milan, identified three main challenges.
The second is the mass use of artificial intelligence and big data for the collection of real data.
Finally, monitoring the impact of organised crime, so-called crime proofing, taking into account the consequences of legislation.

What Can Business Leaders Learn From Biker Gangs, Drug Cartels & Mobsters?

Retrieved on:

Monday, January 11, 2021

Articles, Crime, Transnational organized crime, Gangster, Cartel, Sicilian Mafia, Organized crime, Mafia, Drug cartel, Organizational culture, Brand

For-profit, not-for-profit, lawful, and unlawful, all types of organizations must be relentless in highly competitive and constantly evolving environments.

Key Points:

For-profit, not-for-profit, lawful, and unlawful, all types of organizations must be relentless in highly competitive and constantly evolving environments.
Violence and fraud aside, what can legal businesses and law-abiding leaders learn from observing these "mobsters" and their organizations?
Successful criminal enterprises construct their four pillars to create high-performance teams with a long-term focus, enduring corporate cultures, and strong brands.
In Relentless, we get a fascinating window into the murky world of organized crime from the Mafia to drug cartels and find that the same holds true.

Author’s Novel Brings Family History with Mafia to Life

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Organized crime, Video games, Creative works, Action-adventure games, Mafia, Open world video games, Windows games, Sicilian Mafia, Consigliere, Mafia: Definitive Edition

After the tragic death of his eight-year-old daughter, he believed God had punished him for living a life of crime.

Key Points:

After the tragic death of his eight-year-old daughter, he believed God had punished him for living a life of crime.
In the mafia, no one leaves alive, and the Consigliere to the Don is no different than anyone else.
Her perspective provides readers an insider's view of life within the mafia that has never been told before.
Ms. Masotto artfully weaves relatable elements of the human experience with the harsh reality of mafia life.

Groundbreaking Book Details When Mafia Controlled Gay Bars

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Organized crime, Gay bar, Social groups, Sicilian Mafia, Human sexuality, Gay liberation, LGBT community, Peppermint Lounge

Mr. Crawford illustrates how the gay bars historically were integrated into the Mafia rackets.

Key Points:

Mr. Crawford illustrates how the gay bars historically were integrated into the Mafia rackets.
Jukebox king Alfred Miniaci funded dozens of gay bars and other joints controlled by the Mafia in the 1950s and 1960s, including the Peppermint Lounge.
Gay bars were profit centers for all the Mafia families.
Indeed, the Mafia hijacked gay liberation for political cover and used so-called Auntie Gays the Uncle Toms of the gay community as frontmen for their bars to evade suspicion.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse: 2K Announces Mafia: Trilogy

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Mafia: Trilogy physical edition will release in full on August 28, and is currently only planned for release in select EMEA and Asia regions.

Key Points:

The Mafia: Trilogy physical edition will release in full on August 28, and is currently only planned for release in select EMEA and Asia regions.
(For full release details, please refer to the Mafia: Trilogy fact sheet .)
Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, and Mafia III: Definition Edition are also available for purchase individually.
Developed by Hangar 13, Mafia: Trilogy, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, and Mafia III: Definitive Edition are rated M for Mature by the ESRB.