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Organized crime refer to groups of criminals who create a structured
chain of command where each member has a role and contributes to the
overall strategic goals of the syndicate. Examples include the Mafia,
the Yakuza, drug cartels, and some gangs.
Here are a few things you may not have known about organized crime.
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Here are a few things you may not have known about organized crime.
54. Protection Racket
While it is still debated, one of the theories as to the origin of the word “Mafia” is from the 9th century when Sicily was ruled by Arabs. The term “mafia” is an Arabic slang term referring to safety.53. Snitches Get Stitches
Omerta is a strict mafia code of silence that forbids mafiosos from betraying their fellow mafiosos to the authorities. The punishment for breaking the Omerta is death.52. Don’t Look At Me!
In addition to snitching, Omerta also forbid certain crimes such as kidnapping, theft, and, in some families, the murder of prominent political figures. The reason was that such crimes could draw too much attention.51. Doing God’s Work
There were rituals to becoming a “made man” in the mafia. One of the rituals was baptism, which dates back to the Sicilian mafia’s involvement in protecting the church’s interest following the unification of Italy.
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50. Just A Tiny Prick
Other parts of the ritual included the pricking of a finger (usually the trigger finger), spilling a few drops of blood on a card bearing the likeness of a saint, setting that card on fire, and then passing the card from hand to hand.49. Death First!
These initiations weren’t done until the prospective member had carried out a pre-assigned task, usually a contract killing.48. A Heritage Moment
One of the early requirements to becoming a full member of the Sicilian mafia was ethnicity. You had to be of Sicilian descent. However, that has since been relaxed and now many mafia families allow those with any Italian heritage to join the club.47. An Immigration Problem
The American mafia can be traced back to New Orleans in the 1800s as it was active travel port for Italians. A lot of Sicilians ended up in New Orleans and brought Sicilian-style crime with them.
Slots installed in New Orleans by the Matranga crime family
46. If You Can Make it There…
The New York mafia come to power around the same time as the New Orleans mafia. The Sicilian mafia became the Five Points Gang and other mafia families gained power in East Harlem and Brooklyn.
Biff Ellison, Leader of the Five Points Gang
45. A Drinking Problem
The mafia became a serious problem in the wake of Prohibition. The criminalization of alcohol presented massive business opportunities and resulted in the rise of bootlegging operations and famous names such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano.
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44. Nobody Wanted Tequila?
During the prohibition era, a young Mexican kid smuggled whiskey from Mexico to Texas. That kid was Juan Guerra and he eventually founded the Gulf Cartel, one of the oldest and most powerful cartels in Mexican history.
Juan Guerra
43. It Wasn’t Really For Tax Evasion
Al Capone was one of the most famous mob bosses, ruling the Chicago underworld, and making an estimated $100 million per year. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t pay his taxes and got eleven years for tax evasion, the longest tax evasion sentence ever given.42. Back Had Back
Capone’s nickname was “Scarface,” from the scars he earned by telling a woman she had a “nice ass” in front of her violently protective brother.41. Tickle Those Ivories… Or Else
Capone once kidnapped Jazz pianist Fats Waller and made him perform at his birthday party. Waller left three days later drunk and thousands of dollars richer, which is better than how most kidnapping victims end up.40. Safe Space
In 1986, 30 million people tuned their TV’s to Geraldo Rivera’s TV special “The Mystery Of Al Capone’s Vault” to witness the opening of one of Al Capone’s secret safes. To the disappointment of the audience, the only things inside were empty moonshine bottles, dirt, and the end of Geraldo Rivera’s career.
Gerlado Rivera in the vault
39. A Regular Schindler
Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano got his start after winning $244 in a game of dice, quitting his job, and forming a gang that ran a protection racket for Jewish youth.
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38. May the Odds…
The origin of Luciano’s nickname ,’Lucky’, is unknown but theories include the fact that, in twenty years, he was arrested 25 times and yet never jailed, had his throat slashed but survived, or simply a mispronunciation of his surname.
Lucky’s mug shot
37. Get Out of Jail Free-ish
Luciano was eventually caught for “compulsory prostitution” and sentenced to 50 years in state prison. He was released after assisting with US war efforts in Sicily. After his release, he was deported to Italy.36. Who’s the Boss?
“Capo di tutticapi” is an Italian phrase meaning “boss of all bosses,” the title given to only the most powerful of mafia dons. The English equivalent was “Godfather.”35. The Mount Rushmore of Crime
Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, and Salvatore Maranzano are a few of the dons that have been referred to by this title at one point or another.
Vito Genovese
34. A Family of Families
Lucky Luciano was the creator of the Commission, an organization of the bosses of the Five Families in New York. Those involved in the Commission were to have an equal say in mafia matters. This also created open lines of communication between the families to create some sort of order between the organizations and also to deal with those who disrupt that order.33. Killing the Messenger
Joseph Colombo started the Italian-American Civil Rights League to protest the depiction of Italians as mobsters. He was also the head of the Colombo Crime Family. We guess he wasn’t ready for his close-up.
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32. That’s Show Business
Colombo managed to get all instances of the word “Mafia” removed from the movie The Godfather. He also managed to get a bunch of his mob buddies into the film as extras.31. Once You Go Black
Gregory Scarpa Sr. of the Colombo crime family was such a racist that he refused to get blood from a blood bank for fear of getting African-American blood. He ended up getting blood from a fellow mobster who just happened to have HIV.30. Family Tree
The Godfather’s Corleone crime family was inspired by the Borgias from Renaissance Italy and the Bonanno crime family, one of the Five Families that were part of the Commission.29. This is Bonannos
In the 1960s, Joseph Bonanno tried to seize control of the Commission and his failure resulted in fighting within the family and the Bonnanos being kicked off the Commission.28. Mississippi Burning
In 1964, the FBI recruited Gregory Scarpa, a Mafia Capo, to uncover information on the murders of civil rights activists by the KKK. He found the location of the bodies by pistol whipping a Klansman until he talked.27. Bottoms Up
In 1970, the US created a law called the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act that allowed leaders of organized crime to be prosecuted for the crimes of their underlings. Prior to this, mob bosses typically only got dinged for minor crimes.26. Can I Get a Witness
The Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC) was also established in 1970. This allowed the federal government to relocate and protect potential witnesses who might otherwise have suffered unfortunate “accidents”.
US Marshals with a protected witness
25. Location Location Location
The first breach of WITSEC happened nearly 40 years after it was established in 2009. US Marshal John T. Ambrose revealed the location of a former hitman for the Chicago mob to a close family friend who had mob ties. Ambrose got four years for his crime.24. In Like Flynn
Back in the 1970s, there was a Detroit street gang called the Errol Flynns who became known for their flamboyant outfits, the first widespread use of gang signs, and their own dance. Unfortunately, they were also known for extortion, robbery, and drug trafficking. Their flamboyancy was though of as particularly dangerous as it attracted impoverished youths to a life of crime.23. Look Out Radioactive Man!
The Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) has been sending people who owe them money to do cleanup work in the still-radioactive Fukushima. It could be a massive backfire if any of those people develop superpowers instead of radiation poisoning.22. All Pinky, No Brain
The Yakuza had a ritual called Yubitsume where they would chop off part of one’s pinky finger as punishment. The idea was that removing that part of the finger made gripping a samurai sword impossible and weakened him in battle. You’d think they’d update their rituals after the invention of the gun.
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21. Better Than a Hole in the Head
Frank Sinatra was the liaison between the Chicago mafia and the Kennedy family who helped JFK get Union support for his election. After JFK failed to live up to his promises as a president, Sinatra was forced to play 8 straight nights at the crime boss’ club as punishment.20. The Oddfather
In order to avoid prosecution, Vincent Gigante, a New York Mafia boss, spent 30 years wandering Greenwich Village in his pajamas and pretending to be crazy. To be fair, pretending to be insane for 30 years is pretty insane.19. A Shot to the Pinballs
Citing the robbery of American children’s hard-earned dimes and nickels, pinball was illegal in some American cities for over thirty years. As a result, there was a mafia that would operate an illegal pinball machine business.18. In Russia, Tattoo Needle You
When filming Eastern Promises, Viggo Mortensen went to dinner at a Russian restaurant while still sporting some of the fake tattoos he had to play his character, a Russian mobster. Apparently the restaurant fell silent as people noticed his tattoos which to the Russian Mafia are like their resume, depicting specialities and rank. Let’s just say he got very good service that evening.17. Can You Hear Me Now?!
Mexican cartels have been kidnapping phone technicians and forcing them to build the cartels their own private cell phone network.
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16. Racial Inequality
Even though they only make up <0.1% of the prison population, the Aryan Brotherhood Gang is responsible for 18% – 25% of all homicides in the federal prison system.
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Dear reader,
Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!
Want to get paid to write articles for us? We also have a Loyal Contributor Program, where our beloved users can create content for Factinate in a Word Document format. If we publish your articles on www.factinate.com, we will happily pay you for your time and effort. Our Loyal Contributor program is a vehicle for infusing our readers’ passion into our content. Please reach out to us for more details, style guidelines, and compensation information at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your interest!
Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!
Warmest regards,
The Factinate team
15. Reading Rainbow
The Aryan Brotherhood has a list of required reading for prospective members that includes Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” and Neitzche’s “Beyond Good and Evil.” Sometimes, they throw in “The Cat in the Hat” just for funsies.
I think I saw this guy in the library once.
14. Oopsies
Attempting to shut down MS13, a gang that originated in Los Angeles, illegal members were deported to their home countries. Those members ended up gaining territory in their home countries and now MS13 has over 100,000 members worldwide and is one of the largest and deadliest gangs in the world.13. Not So Artful Dodger
In 2011, a California gang member was arrested for driving with an expired license with police noticed a chest tattoo that depicted details of an unsolved murder. He was questioned, ended up confessing, and was convicted. The gang member’s nickname is chopper and a peanut is slang for an opposing gang member That’ll teach him not to wear a shirt.12. Magic Eraser
There are several charities out there that specialize in removing gang tattoos so that former members can have a fresh start. But people who tattoo the name of their ex-girlfriends onto their chest? They’re on their own.
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11. But Who Polices the Police?
Two policemen who worked in the NYPD’s organized crime unit were secretly hitmen for the Mafia, and used their positions to commit crimes on behalf of their bosses.
Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, NY police turned mafia hitmen
10. Run the Jewels
A Serbian gang called The Pink Panthers managed to steal over 300 million euros worth of jewels and gold in a series of complex and audacious heists. One criminologist referred to their crimes as “artistry.”
Hole drilled into safe in a Pink Panther robbery
9. Just for Kicks
A major gang war between the Mexican Mafia and the Californian Nortenos was reportedly started in San Quentin prison which has caused over 30 deaths. The dispute was about a pair of stolen shoes.8. A Helluva Drug
Columbian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar reportedly made $200 in profit for every $1 of investment. Too bad he wasn’t publicly traded.7. A Bit of a Stretch
Escobar had so much cash coming in that his monthly bill for the rubber bands he used to hold the stacks of banknotes together was $2,500.
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6. En Fuego
Escobar had so much money that he once burned $2 million in crisp banknotes just to keep his family warm when they were on the run.5. Fantasy Football
Pablo Escobar and fellow drug lord El Mexicano once made a $2 million bet on a soccer game. They each picked their favorite players and flew them in for a private game.4. A Horrible Call
After a match between a soccer team that Escobar owned and one of their rivals, it was rumored that one of the refs had been bought off. Escobar ordered his assassination, which was dutifully carried out.3. Four out of Five Lines
At the height of his power, Escobar reportedly owned 80% of the world’s cocaine business and was making $420 million a week.2. If You Can’t Trust a Death Squad…
Los Zetas, known as one of Mexico’s most ruthless cartels, started as a contingent of Mexican Special Forces Operators were hired by the Gulf Cartel to serve as their death squad. They later decided to go up against their employers as independents, forming Los Zetas.
Los Zetas members in handcuffs and confiscated weapons
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1. Sunday Schooled
Richard Kuklinski, a Mafia hitman, once gave his victim “a half hour to pray to God… God never showed up… and that was that.”
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