The Rise and Fall of the Italian Mafia

La Cosa Nostra and the "Five Families" of which the surrounding area of New York City is comprised has drastically altered the culture in the region; transforming industries with brute force and attracting much public attention. Hollywood focuses on glamorizing the Mafioso lifestyle, distracting from the true nature of organized crime. Over the past decade, the key opportunities have been utilized by the Italian Mafia, resulting in a powerful behind-the-scenes dominance over many aspects we may not expect. "It's gonna be a Cosa Nostra."

"The Honored Society, or Mafia, as it was less often called, was a vast criminal brotherhood that had developed in Palermo and western Sicily independently of the Camorra of Naples." They developed on the East Coast, mainly in Manhattan, but weren't a force to be reckoned with until the 1920s. Prohibition in the U.S. intensified the public's thirst for liquor, and Mafioso Carlo Gambino, Joe Bonanno, Lucky Lusiano, and Tommy Lucchese immediately took advantage of this by quickly building stills, warehouses distribution centers, and trucking companies. These bosses made millions on the outcry for booze, and society as a whole began to rely on them for basic needs such as this. Such an operation also needed many laborers, and the crime families recruited as many immigrant workers and strong men as they could possibly hire. When prohibition ended, however, almost all gave up the liquor business and set their sights on other business.

The illegal businesses that the Mafia is especially invested in are: bootlegging, the distribution