It so happened that the mafia is called any criminal groups or gangs, groups of participants in money fraud, smugglers. The governments of all states are trying to fight them, but members of the mafia organizations carry out their criminal activities, no matter what. Their circles have their own laws and rules, they are cruel and self-willed.
And today in the criminal world there are also organized groups, headed by authorities. They conduct illegal business, persuade business owners and representatives of government agencies to obey, they manage to evade criminal pen alties, they are rich and fearless. The most famous mafiosi have gone down in history, their names are known all over the world and still inspire fear and horror.
Everyone knows that the motherland of the mafia is Sicily. It was in sunny Italy that such a phenomenon as the mafia was born. The most famous Italian mafiosi are still on everyone's lips.
Racketeer
Al Capone was born in Italy in 1899. At a young age, his parents brought him to America. In the United States, Al Capone worked in a bowling alley, in a pharmacy and even in a candy store during the day, and visited entertainment venues at night. So, once working in a billiard club, he had a fight with a woman. As it turned out later, she was the wife of Frank Galluccio. A fight ensued between Al Capone and Frank, during which he received a wound on his cheek from a knife. It is believed that this is the very turning point in his life.
At the age of 19, he is accepted into the 5 Gun Gang. His first atrocity was the murder of 7 authoritative leaders at once, who were subordinate to Bugs Moran. And for committing this and other criminal acts, he was not punished before the court. But still he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion. He served only five years of them and was released.
Al Capone is the most famous mafia. The whole world trembled on his behalf. He was involved in racketeering, drugs, bootlegging, gambling and murder. He was very cruel and heartless. The police failed to catch him and lacked evidence and grounds to put him in jail. In 1947 he fell ill with pneumonia and died at the age of 48.
The Godmother - La Madrina
There were women in the mafia world. Maria Licciardi is a native of Italy born in 1951. She was the leader of the "Licciardi" clan in Naples. Maria entered the women's list of the most famous mafiosi in the world. When two brothers and a spouse were put behind bars, she took onassume the role of leader of a powerful group. It was she who was able to unite several mafia families and expand the drug market.
In 2001, Maria was arrested for fraudulently recruiting underage girls into prostitution.
Lucky
Charles Luciano was born in 1897 in Sicily into a poor family. When he was a young man, his family moved to live in America to arrange life in a new way. As a child, he was a street bully, bad company always surrounded him.
At the age of 18, he was sentenced to prison for drug dealing. When the sale of alcohol was banned in the States, he was in a smuggling organization for the supply of alcohol. So, by breaking the law, he turned from a beggar into a millionaire. It should be noted that at the time when the “dry law” was introduced in the USA, the most famous mafiosi of all time were untwisted and rose on the bootlegger.
At 34, the mafia organizes the "Big Seven", which included smugglers. Thus, Charles becomes the leader of the Cosa Nostra clan, which, in turn, subjugates the entire criminal structure of the United States.
Luciano was nicknamed "Lucky" - he was lucky because he was on the verge of death after being tortured by Maranzano gangsters.
Lucky Luciano today tops the list of the most famous mafia in America. He killed 10 leaders of rival criminal structures in a day. This made him the rightful owner of New York. And also, he created the Five Families of NewYork", "National Syndicate". In 1936 he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for pimping. While in prison, Lucky still retained his authority, and continued to give orders from the cell. Soon he was released ahead of schedule, and then sent to his homeland in Italy. In 1962, the mafia had a heart attack, from which he died.
Gambler
Meer Lansky was born in the Russian Empire in 1902. At the age of 9 he moved with his parents to New York. There he met Charles Luciano. Lansky was the leader and authority of the underworld, in no way inferior to Lucky. He was engaged in the smuggling of alcohol, opened illegal bars and bookmakers. Meer successfully developed gambling in America. And he was also able to conduct and control affairs in other countries. So, the most famous Russian mafia becomes one of the most influential leaders of the US criminal circle.
The police began to closely monitor him and collect facts of crimes, so he decided to move to Israel. Two years later he had to return back to America. He never suffered punishment, he lived up to 80 years. In 1983, he died of cancer.
Drug lord
Pablo Escobar was born in Colombia in 1949. In his youth, he was engaged in the theft of tombstones, erased the inscriptions from them and resold them. From childhood, he was engaged in drug and cigarette speculation, and also forged lottery tickets. Growing up, he moved on to bigger deals - car theft, robbery, racketeering.and even kidnapped people. Already at the age of 22, Pablo becomes an authority in the criminal districts.
This is the most famous mafioso - the drug lord. He was incredibly cruel, and his drug empire was able to supply cocaine anywhere in the world. By his 40s, he was a billionaire through drug sales. He was involved in the murder of one thousand people. In 1991 he was arrested and a year later he escaped from prison. In 1993, Pablo was shot dead by a sniper.
Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino is the founder and leader of the Gambino mafia empire. As a teenager, he traded in theft and extortion, later he also became involved in smuggling.
The Gambino crime family consisted of 40 groups, these most famous mafiosi kept in fear and had power over the largest cities in America. It should be noted that Carlo himself was not involved in drug trafficking, he loved gambling, put people on the "counters", "protected" the business. And he got into prison once in 1938 for 2 years for tax evasion. Died of a heart attack at 74.
Albert Anastasia
Albert was born in 1902. He was part of the Gambino family. He organized his criminal gang "Murder Corporation". The gangsters of this group killed more than 700 people. The murderers did not leave witnesses, so Anastasia remained unpunished. But in 1957, Albert ordered the assassination of Carlo Gambino.
Elegant Don
John Gotti was born in 1940. He grew up in a poor family with many children,he had 12 sisters and brothers. Even in childhood, he falls under the influence of gangster Aniello Dellacroce.
John Gotti was a member of the Gambino family, and later replaced its boss, Paul Castellano. His name terrified and feared the whole of New York. But, like many other mafiosi, despite numerous crimes, he managed to evade criminal punishment.
He was nicknamed "Elegant Don" for his impeccable taste in dressing. Gotti got rich on theft, he was engaged in racketeering, car theft and murder of people. Next to John was always Salvatore Gravano, whom Gotti considered his reliable friend. But in 1992, Salvatore, whom Gotti trusted so much, hands him over to the police. The court for all his "dark deeds" sentenced him to life imprisonment. He died of cancer in 2002.
Banana Joe
Joseph Bonanno Born in 1905 to a poor family in Italy. At the age of fifteen, he lost his parents and moved to the United States. At the age of 26, Joseph organizes the Bonanno crime family. He was the leader of this group for 30 years of his life. During the leadership of the clan, he becomes a multimillionaire, which has not been in history. "Banana Joe" decided to leave crime in order to calmly retire in old age. But at 75, he was still arrested for illegal real estate sales. Served 14 months in prison and died in 2002 when he was 97.
The Godfather
Listing the names of the most famous mafiosi and clans, it is necessary to note the Genovese family and its organizer - Vincent Gigante. He was born in 1928 inNew York. From the age of 9, he drops out of school and goes into professional sports - boxing. At the age of 17, he begins to commit the first crimes. In one of the authoritative criminal groups, he becomes the leader - the "Godfather", and then an adviser.
In 1981, Vincent organizes the Genovese family. This mafioso is a cruel and unbalanced person. I could go for a walk at night in one dressing gown. Thus, he created the opinion of a mentally ill person about himself. So, he hid from the police for 40 years. In 1997, the court nevertheless decided on imprisonment for 12 years. Even while behind bars, Vincent managed to commit criminal acts. In 2005, his heart gave out and he passed away.
Big man
Marat Balagula was born in 1943 in Odessa. At the age of 34, he moved to America, where he joined a group led by Yevsey Agron. Russia's most notorious mafiosi have fled to the United States after being imprisoned in search of a good life, or to avoid lengthy criminal pen alties in their country.
In 1985, after the murder of Yevsey Agron, Balagula becomes the leader of the clan. He successfully established relationships with families such as Cosa Nostra, Genovese, Luchese. He organizes the gasoline business. Then, scrolling through the scam with credit cards of citizens for a huge amount, he comes across to the police. But he doesn't have to go to jail. He is released on bail of $500,000 and Marat flees to South Africa. After 4 years, he is still arrested for 8 years. He gets another 14 years for tax evasion.
Godfather of the Russian mafia
Vyacheslav Ivankov - nicknamed Yaponchik - was an authoritative kingpin of the 90s. Vyacheslav was born in 1940. He committed his first crime at the age of 25. Then he falls under the influence of Gennady Korkov, nicknamed Mongol. So, Yaponchik begins to engage in extortion, blackmailing underground millionaires, collectors and blackmailers. They, in turn, do not want to go to the police in order not to talk about their illegal income, so they obeyed and paid the money.
In 1974, Ivankov gets involved in a fight in which one of the criminals dies from a bullet. Vyacheslav will end up in Butyrka (Butyrka prison), where he receives the status of a thief in law. Jap sat on the bunk more than once. And while in prison, he had to prove his authority: he fought with fellow inmates, he was given a tougher punishment. There was an assassination attempt on him, but he died in 2009 in a hospital from cancer.
The most famous mafiosi, as a rule, did not do criminal acts themselves, but gave orders to other members of the gang. That is why the police could not find evidence for criminal punishment. Often, the police know the leaders of the gangs by sight and sometimes do not even try to catch them and convict them of anything. Today, many films are made about the mafia. Gangsters are idealized, admired and tried to imitate their mannerisms.
They say that in Russia all crime bosses are legalized. To date, Mexican, Colombian and Asian groups are flourishing.
