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I get several emails every week asking me variations of the question "How did the mafia come to power here in America?" I have an opinion (based on fact, of course) as to how this happened and why it happened.

There were several different factors that contributed to the growth of organized crime in America. The interesting thing about this is that all of the factors just happened to appear at once, creating a perfect environment for the birth of a nationwide, organized criminal power with political connections.

It began in the neighborhoods. The turn of the century was a time of a great amount of immigration to America for the Irish, Italian, and Jewish in particular. Since everyone moved here together, naturally, they lived together, so Irish neighborhoods, Italian neighborhoods, and Jewish neighborhoods grew from this among others. These ethnic neighborhoods appeared in major cities, like New York and Chicago, during the turn of the century (I will clarify myself and say last century since we have now had another turn of a century). This close-knit living situation established solidarity among these peoples, particularly since they were in an unfamiliar country. Italians came from a country with an oppressive government to a country where they knew no one except other Italians. They were minorities living in the ghettos and thus were at the bottom of the socio-economic scale. They were often harassed by police officers. This fostered an "Us Against Them" attitude.

Now some of these Italian immigrants were mafiosi who had come from the old country to America for one reason or another, so they continued their criminal activities here. Due to the solidarity in the neighborhoods, these mafiosi could conduct their illicit business in their neighborhoods and could count on being warned of a stranger's approach by the people of the neighborhood. This fact is illustrated in Underboss, by Peter Maas. In it Sammy "The Bull" Gravano tells a story of walking with his father as a child by a mob social club and seeing the gangsters outside. Young Sammy asks his father about the sharp dressed men, and his father replied something to the effect of "Those men are bad people, but they are our bad people." The mafiosi were considered by the people of the neighborhood to be the neighborhood's policemen. The people would come to the mafiosi with problems that needed to be solved, and the mafiosi would solve them. As a result, street crime was and continues to be very low in mob controlled areas.

While gangs had some control, it was mostly confined to specific neighborhoods, until the 1920s. With prohibition in 1920, the government paved the road for organized crime the way it is today. By outlawing alcohol, the government took away something that a vast number of citizens were used to having, thus, even though it was outlawed, it wasn't considered bad in the mind of the average citizen. However, since it was illegal, only those willing to commit crimes were making money off of it.

Even though it was illegal, people continued to drink, so the gangsters took the profits rather than the government. Gangsters accumulated great wealth as a result of bootlegging and started buying their own trucks and hauling liquor to other parts of the country. As a result of this, they necessarily made connections with gangsters in other cities and established cross-country alliances. Their wealth also continued to grow due to this nationwide expansion of business. As an example of the kind of money made during this period: when Al Capone took control of his gang, it was making over $100 million a year (this is when he got control; it grew much bigger under his control). Also, Joe Kennedy's family, generations later, is still living off of his fortune (he made his money and political connections from bootlegging and rumrunning, in case you were unaware). You must also keep in mind that this kind of money was being made in the 1920s and 1930s, when much of the country was dirt poor. Imagine how much money that would be today. Can you imagine what $100 million would buy in the 1930s. I'll tell you -- everything and everyone. Politicians, judges, lawyers, cops, and others in lofty positions were put on gang payrolls, which made the gangs invulnerable.

In 1931, Sal Maranzano cemented La Cosa Nostra by linking Italian gangs from several major cities together. One reason the Italians cornered the market and prospered when the other ethnic gangs of the time did not was their use of violence. It was often said that, while the Jews had the money, the Italians held the power of life and death. For example, everyone knew that Meyer Lansky was the financial genius, but he still answered to Charles "Lucky" Luciano.

Today, these things are embedded in society. Relationships with powerful officials are passed down from one official leaving office to the new man taking his place, and La Cosa Nostra's wealth continues to grow.