Italian Mafia...

The Mafia in Italy

The precise origins of the term Mafia are believed by some to originate in the 19th century, while others place it much further back in the history of Italy. Whatever the lexical origins of the term, organised crime has existed in Italy for over one hundred years and is today involved not only in common criminal activities, but also has influence in the Italian  government, the judiciary and the political system.

Mafia activities in Italy

The Italian Mafia is perhaps best known for its traditional criminal activities such as extortion and running protection rackets. Today’s Mafia in Italy, however, has become much more sophisticated and has diversified its portfolio of criminal activities. Drug dealing, smuggling, kidnap, people trafficking, prostitution rackets, and the bribery of judges and politicians in Italy are all things that the Mafia deals with. In recent years there have been reports of the younger generation of Mafia leaders in Italy trying to diversify into white collar crime to make more money. Often, the profits of criminal activities carried out by the Italian mafia are re invested in legitimate business enterprises. The Mafia in Italy constitutes a formidable economic force which accounts for approximately 10% of Italy’s GDP. Annual turnover of the Italian Mafia is estimated at around 10 billion Euros.

Organised crime families in Italy

Although the original Mafia in Italy are from Sicily, the problem of organised crime in Italy is something that affects the entire country. Today there are believed to be 4 or 5 main Mafia families operating in Italy and in many cases with criminal enterprises spanning two or three continents. These Mafia families in Italy have up to several thousand members. The main mafia groups in Italy are outlined below.

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