History of the Mafia

Early Period

Origins

The Sicilian Mafia originated hundreds of years ago as a kind of protection society during the Spanish occupation of Sicily, although some claim that the term, if not the organization itself, can be traced back to the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, when the Sicilians threw off the yoke of French occupation. The locals felt they could not trust the Spanish law-enforcement officials, and so formed their own protection societies, which later developed into the mafia.

"Mafia" was the name of a specific society in Sicily. Several similar organizations developed in parallel to the Mafia on mainland Italy, such as Ndrangheta in Calabria, Sacra corona unita in Apulia, and Camorra in Naples. See List of Mafia-like organizations.

Immigration to the United States

Sicilian immigrants brought the Mafia with them to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century waves of migration. Newly arrived Italian immigrants often spoke no English and settled in the same districts of American cities as other Italians. Many Americans were suspicious and mistrustful of recent immigrants, especially those with a limited command of English. Some Italians felt that they could not rely on the often corrupt and prejudiced local law-enforcement officials for protection, and turned to the mafiosi instead.

The Castellammarese War

Main article: Castellammarese War

The Castellammarese War (1930-1931), so called because many of one side's participants were originally from Castellemmare del Golfo in Sicily, resulted when powerful Sicilian Mafioso Don Vito Cascio Ferro sent men to America with the mission of seizing control of the American Mafia, then known as "The Black Hand" (Italian: Manonera), from the established "mainlanders". Salvatore Maranzano, perhaps the only university-educated Mafioso, met with Joseph Bonanno, Joseph Profaci, and Stefano Magaddino, all from Castellemmare del Golfo, in New York and aligned themselves against the powerful Joe "The Boss" Masseria.

Tensions between the two factions began to escalate in 1928, but widespread violence did not break out until the spring of 1930. Masseria's side had an edge in numbers at first, but he was growing old and unable to effectively run his family. Lucky Luciano, Masseria's top lieutenant, was recruited by Maranzano, but he refused to join and was severely beaten, then hung up by his thumbs while tied to a tree in a remote section of Staten Island's South Shore and left to die. But Luciano survived, and this tale is generally cited as the origin of his nickname "Lucky."

Luciano later reconciled with Maranzano, and the two had Masseria killed; in all about 60 mafiosi perished between the time the war began and Masseria's murder. Don Ferro had been arrested by Benito Mussolini's regime in 1929. Maranzano thus became the only "capo di tutti capi", or "boss of all the bosses", in the history of the Mafia.

Maranzano called a meeting of powerful Mafia figures. He appointed five mobsters as bosses of units which would later develop into the Five Families of the Commission, headed by Joseph Bonanno, Tom Gagliano, Lucky Luciano, Phil and Vincent Mangano, and Joseph Profaci. Unapproved killings of made men were abolished, and discussion of the Mafia with anyone not involved was forbidden under penalty of death. It is also believed that the term La Cosa Nostra, meaning This Thing Of Ours, was coined during this time.

Only a few months later, Maranzano grew suspicious of his newly-appointed family bosses and made a list of them and other top capos to be assassinated. Before he could carry out his plans, though, Luciano received word of his own impending assassination, and had Maranzano killed in his office. Concomitant executions of approximately 40 Maranzano supporters occurred in various American cities, as far west as Chicago.

The Five Families Era

Luciano renounced the title of "capo di tutti capi". He said there should be no "boss of bosses", but that ultimate power should reside in The Commission, the heads of the Five Families.

FBI Investigations

The Bonanno family was infiltrated in the late 1970s by undercover FBI agent "Donnie Brasco", leading to 120 convictions and the near-extinction of the Bonanno faction.

However, boss Joe Massino rebuilt the family, until his own conviction on numerous charges in July of 2004.