In North America, it is often colloquially referred to as the Italian Mafia or Italian Mob, though these terms may also apply to the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other organized crime groups in Italy or ethnic Italian crime groups in other countries. However, the organization gradually evolved into a separate entity partially independent of the original Mafia in Sicily, and it eventually encompassed or absorbed other Italian immigrant and Italian-American gangsters and Italian-American crime groups (such as the American Camorra) active in the United States and Canada that were not of Sicilian origin. The organization's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia (or Cosa nostra) groups from Sicily operating in the United States, as the organization initially emerged as an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia (known also as Cosa nostra by its members) formed by Italian immigrants in the United States. The organization is often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra ( Italian pronunciation:, "our thing" or "this thing of ours") and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra ( LCN). The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. Occasionally the Albanian mafia and Russian mafia Various street gangs (such as the and Latin Kings)
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Various motorcycle gangs (such as the Hells Angels, Outlaws and Pagans) Various independent Italian-American gangs (such as the 10th & Oregon Crew, Purple Gang, South Brooklyn Boys, and Tanglewood Boys)
![modern day mafia 4 modern day mafia 4](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~FQAAOSwpoJi6JZ8/s-l400.jpg)
Other criminals of any ethnicity are employed as "associates"Īrson, assault, bribery, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, extortion, fencing, fraud, illegal gambling, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, pornography, prostitution, racketeering, robbery, smuggling, theft, weapons trafficking United States in the Northeast, Midwestern cities, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Florida, with smaller operations elsewhere in the USįactions in Canada in Southern Ontario and Montrealįull members ( made men) are of Italian descent American Mafia FoundedĬhicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and various other East Coast cities in the United States
![modern day mafia 4 modern day mafia 4](http://wiki.wodgotham.com/images/5/58/Vito_by_kartjeeva-cc.jpg)
For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation). For the criminal society in Sicily first known as the Mafia, see Sicilian Mafia. This article is about the Italian-American criminal organization in the United States and Canada.