Word: mafiosi
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...Traditional Mafia Way The brotherhood that is the Mafia has always operated in secrecy. Sworn to an omertd ? the oath of silence ? in a ceremony of blood and fire, the old-line Mafiosi cultivated their anonymity as the first line of defense against ar rest and prosecution. Despite the publicity caused by Prohibition gangland wars, the Mafia was still able to maintain a cloak of secrecy around its activities. Behind this shield, Mafia leaders gained control of gambling and narcotics, some labor unions and legitimate businesses. When the first systematic crackdowns by law-enforcement agencies started ten years...
...juries, tax investigators and wiretaps. To accomplish his goal, Colombo tapped deepseated, legitimate grievances among Italian Americans and ? shocking editorial writers and Mob capos alike?jumped into press conferences and picket lines. He sought to make Cosa Nostra private once more by turning any derision of Italian Americans?Mafiosi or not?into a cause for public censure. It was a radical notion that more traditional Mafia leaders could not have imagined and, in the end, could not countenance...
...Italian-American Civil Rights League [April 5] an insult to all our people. You portray our defensive organizations as fronts for "La Cosa Nostra" but ignore "La Causa Nostra" (Our Cause). We are sick of being discriminated against, stigmatized, degraded and oppressed in this country, sick of being called Mafiosi, greasers, dumb dagos, guineas and wops. We will not be scapegoats of the WASP gangster establishment, which sees a cure-all for Yankee problems in the persecution of Italian-Americans...
...enforcement officials have long maintained that the Mafia has extensive influence over officials at every level of government in New Jersey. The Mafiosi apparently feel that way too. In lengthy transcripts of bugged Mafia conversations made public last week, New Jersey hoodlums boasted of their power to control and corrupt public officials throughout the state, from the statehouse at Trenton to the smallest municipal police station...
...York City, and nearly 50,000 more commute to Philadelphia. Many of them regard the state as a bedroom and take no interest in state or local government. Among those who are active in local affairs, many are only too willing to coexist with La Cosa Nostra. Mafiosi who can assure peace with labor unions are often respected members of the community. Many otherwise solid citizens seek them out as friends; they either refuse to believe that the Mafia exists or find it exciting to associate with racketeers...