Mussolini Mafia Influence

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The mob’s influence in New York City reached further than the docks. Mobsters easily controlled small locally owned businesses, as they were more vulnerable targets compared to the large corporations. Mobsters could extort money and resources from these businesses at any time they desired as small business owners were “intimidated by the mafia” . Mobsters physically threatened business owners if they failed to pay their ‘mob tax’, failed to obey orders or failed to give mobsters access to the businesses resources . This was called labor racketeering. The FBI defines labor racketeering as “the domination, manipulation, and control of a labor movement in order to affect related businesses and industries” . Controlling small businesses helped…show more content…
Sicilians would form cosche’s (clans) to ensure that corrupt tyrants did not oppress their interests . Mussolini’s regime was no different to the past tyrants . Mussolini’s fascist ideologies did not coincide with the islands Mafia traditions. Mussolini was aware that the Mafia had an extraordinary influence on Sicily’s historical discontent for the national government . Mussolini’s antagonism toward the Mafia was sparked by the insulting reception he received on a visit to Sicily in 1924 . Mussolini appointed Cesare Mori as a special prosecutor to remove the Mafia from Sicily as they were “hindering Sicily’s “progressive evolution” ” . The Sicilian Mafia was in Mussolini’s way from having totalitarian control. Mori would imprison ‘Men of Honor’ on the flimsiest charges . ‘Men of Honor’ could not rebel for any longer as the Mussolini-Mori suppression proved to be severe, imprisoning thousands of Mafiosi . The severe suppression that the Mafiosi faced propelled them to consider a move to America. Mafiosi would find it difficult to immigrate to America as the United States halted unlimited entry to the United States through the legislation of the National Origins Act . Sicilian mobsters had little difficulty in sneaking into the US and used connections with established Sicilian gangs to sneak into the US . The illegal immigrants of Sicily played an influential role in the rise…show more content…
Those words were made law in 1920 by the Volstead Act. The United States Government believed that this law would decreased the amount of crime in the country and keep America on course to return to its ‘white roots’. The United States Government was way off the mark with this, Prohibition gave opportunities for up and coming bosses of the underworld for a chance to make some money and rise to the top of the underworld. “Prohibition was the mother of organized crime” . Prior to Prohibition, Italian gangsters were amongst the least respected organizations of organized crime. The Italian gangs were near the bottom of the underworld” and were clearly behind the Jewish and Irish crime syndicates. Lead by Giuseppe Morello in the early 1900s, The Morello family barely survived on “petty extortion, horse thievery and insurance fraud”. The Morello Family was a prime example of how insignificant Italian gangs were in the underground of New York City. Historically lucrative illegal industries such as prostitution were “hitting hard times“ . Italian gangs needed an industry where they could manipulate and conquer. Bootlegging essentially kept the dying Italian Mobs of New York City alive and made “The Italian gangs… an emerging force in bootlegging during Prohibition” . Mobs knew right away that prohibition was an opportunity for the gangs to shine by creating an underground
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