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Word: presinaci (lookup in dictionary) (lookup stats)
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...Calabrian village of Presinaci, whose 100-odd mud-floored houses swarm with flies, black pigs and naked children, the Mafia leaders, in his telling, were a loutish collection of bullyboys dedicated to thievery, twisted honor and senseless violence. But the ritual they practiced was ominous with medieval significance. One night in 1941 Serafino Castagna was taken to a dimly lit hut for induction into the order. His arm was ritually slashed and his blood sucked by all the members present. With his wound still throbbing, he took the oath: "I swear by our noble ancestors, the Spanish Knights Osso, Mastrosso...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: ITALY: The Blood of the Mafia | 7/29/1957 | See Source »

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