Mafia
Identification Criminal organization that traces
its history back to immigrant ethnic groups,
usually of Italian descent, and that operates
illegal businesses or corrupt legal enterprises in
many American cities
The serious challenge mounted by various law-enforcement
agencies to the Mafia’s ability to conduct criminal activities
and continue its involvement in a number of legitimate in-
dustries changed the landscape for organized crime during
the 1990’s. Mafia leaders were forced to enter into partner-
ships with other organized crime groups and engage in some
activities they had avoided in the past.
A veteran New York City crime reporter once re-
ferred to the 1990’s as “the twilight of the Mob.” For
more than a hundred years, the organization that
had its roots in the Italian immigrant communities
of the late nineteenth century had been a major
criminal force in American cities, conducting crimi-
nal operations, causing serious problems for legiti-
mate businesses, and often injecting a sense of fear
into communities where it had notable influence.
Mafia “families,” normally working independently
but often joined in loose alliances to maximize their
ability to generate profits by agreeing to limit com-
petition among themselves, had operated until the
1970’s with little real threat from conventional law-
enforcement agencies.
In 1970, however, the federal government passed
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organiza-
tions (RICO) Act, which made it a crime simply to be
involved in certain illegal activities. Under RICO,
government prosecutors could prosecute Mafia
leaders as well as those who actually committed
crimes at their direction. Additionally, stiff penalties
for individuals convicted under this law, as well as
longer sentences imposed for a number of crimes
committed by subordinates in the organization,
helped to break down the notion ofomertà. For de-
cades this “code of silence” had virtually guaranteed
leaders immunity from prosecution, since under-
lings would simply accept jail sentences—which
were usually brief—rather than testify against their
bosses. RICO was used successfully during the
1980’s, especially in New York City, where U.S. attor-
ney Rudolph Giuliani mounted a campaign against
all five of the major crime families in the city.
Government Crackdown The tone for the 1990’s
was set early in the decade when federal agents ar-
rested John Gotti, the flamboyant head of New York
City’s Gambino crime family. Gotti was convicted of
murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in
prison. Prosecutors were able to get convictions
against Gotti and others because they had finally
convinced Mafia members to testify for the govern-
ment in exchange for reduced sentences for crimes
they may have committed. Additionally, the govern-
ment began making extensive use of sting opera-
tions in which Mafia members were caught red-
handed.
During the 1990’s, heads of Mafia groups in New
York, as well as in other American cities such as Bos-
ton, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, New
Orleans, and Kansas City, began feeling intense pres-
sure from federal agencies. Among the more nota-
ble figures sent to prison was Vincent “The Chin”
Gigante of New York’s Genovese family, considered
by many the most influential of New York’s crime
bosses. Even though leaders who remained free
tried to keep a low profile and restrain activities of
their subordinates, law-enforcement officials kept
up the pressure. A coordinated national effort
launched in 1996 by the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion (FBI) resulted in the arrest and conviction of
hundreds of Mafia members and the seizure of mil-
lions of dollars in assets. By the end of the decade,
membership in the Mafia had declined by as much
as eighty percent.The New Face of Organized Crime In addition to
pressure from law enforcement, Mafia leaders be-
gan seeing their traditional territories and business
activities threatened by new criminal gangs, often
with international ties. Many of these gangs were en-
gaging in activities the Mafia had largely avoided,
such as white-collar crime or drug trafficking. When
pressure from law enforcement began making it
more difficult for Mafia groups to continue realizing
significant profits from traditional businesses such
as prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, or bid rig-
ging of government or private contracts for con-
struction and transportation, leaders found them-
selves forced to consider new criminal activities or
partnering with groups already carrying on such
trade. As a result, while the number of Mafia mem-
bers declined during the decade, those who re-
mained within the organizations across AmericanThe Nineties in America Mafia 545