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Being that our topic is the American Mafia, they heavily influenced the prohibition and sale of illegal alcohol during the 1920’s. The American Mafia controlled most of the illegal alcohol trade from the early 1920’s to early 30’s. After the investigation of the St. Valentine’s Day massacre had begun, word got out to the public and had everyone second guessing the prohibition. Because of the massacre, the government went ahead and ended the prohibition in 1933. The ending of the prohibition was the best thing to do at the time, because if liquor was still illegal, the mafia would still be in control and gang violence would only rise. After prohibition ended, the Mafia focused on illegal gambling, loan-sharking, and prostitution rings. The Mafia also interfered in labor unions and legitimate businesses, including construction, garbage collection, restaurants and nightclubs, and the New York garment industry. They raked in enormous profits through kickbacks and protection shakedowns.  The Mafia influenced government and law officials by bribery and intimidation tactics. The government was not able to do anything about the American Mafia until the 1980s and 1990s when they used tough anti-racketeering laws to convict top ranking mobsters. Even after the incarceration and death of mafia leader Al Capone in 1947, and the ending of the prohibition in 1933, the American Mafia was still in control of a lot of territory. In these territories they were in control of large prostitution rings and most of the police force from that area on their payroll.

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http://www.history.com/topics/mafia-in-the-united-states

This website contains a plentiful amount of information pertaining to my group's topic(American Mafia). It also provides visuals, such as, videos and pictures. The website is also a very reliable source, so you won’t be left with Wikipedia facts from a guy named Big Joe. With that being said, why does this website feel the need to shove ads down my throat like I’m Alice Paul? By no means am I trying to be an insensitive, blogging, hipster who talks crap in your niece’s youtube comments, but for the love of god, stop! Every time you go to this website you get ads up and down your screen. Just when you think it's safe to scroll down,after clicking the smallest X button the world has ever seen, you get hit in the face with more ads! I came here to research the American Mafia, not subscribe to a website with the header, “12 crazy sick life hacks you need to try right now!”

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http://www.prairieghosts.com/valentine.html

So, besides the fact that this website looks like it's been made by an edgy, over emotional, teen going through quite the phase, this website's information is valid. This website lowkey scares me. I don't know if it's the contrast of colors, or the extremely disturbing pictures. My little brother could make a better looking website this. All of their information is crammed into the middle of the page, with countless edgy book ads including titles that sound like bad ghost stories. Not to mention, that this website didn’t even use the Oxford comma in their title.

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https://the-mafia.weebly.com/mafia-in-america.html

Finally a website that doesn’t cram 30 plus ads down your throat. Without the distraction of clicking out of more ads than Chris Farley has rolls, or more bullets than 50 Cent took to the chest,  I was actually able to focus on the information provided. The website layout is pretty basic and not really much to complain about. It’s nice to see a website that just hands you the information and not try and get you to subscribe to something. So far this is the best website so far that pertains to my group’s topic. I would’ve liked to see a little more pictures but all in all this is one of the better websites that I’ve found so far.

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For centuries, Sicily was ruled by a long line of foreign invaders, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French and Spanish. The residents of Sicily formed groups to protect themselves from the occupying forces, as well as from other regional groups of Sicilians. These groups, became known as clans or families. They developed their own system for justice and retribution, carrying out their actions in secret. By the 19th century, small private armies known as “mafie” took advantage of the frequently violent, chaotic conditions in Sicily and extorted protection money from landowners. The term Mafia came from a Sicilian-Arabic slang expression that means,“acting as a protector against the arrogance of the powerful”. From this history, the Sicilian Mafia emerged as a collection of criminal clans or families. The American Mafia came to power in the 1920s during the Prohibition era after the success of Italian-American neighborhood gangs in the booming bootleg liquor business. By the 1950s, the Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra, Italian for “Our Thing”) had become the biggest organized-crime network in the United States. Like the Sicilian Mafia, American Mafia families were able to maintain their secrecy and success because of their secrecy, as well as their ability to bribe and intimidate public officials, business leaders, witnesses and juries. For these reasons, law-enforcement agencies were unsuccessful at stopping the Mafia during the first part of the 20th century. It was only during that 1980’s and 1990’s that law enforcement was really able to crack down on the American Mafia.

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Boss (n.) Sometimes referred to as Father, Godfather or Uncle in the old tradition, the boss is the leader of the Mafia Family.

Capo Dei Capi (n.) The leader of all leaders or boss of bosses. The most powerful Mafia boss to whom all others defer. Some know this as the Capo di capi or the Capo di tutti capi.

Grease (v.) Bribe. A police officer or politician who takes money in exchange for allowing crime to continue is "bought."

Ice (v.) Another term for murder. Also refers to a delaying tactic, as in "keep him on ice."

Junk (n.) Narcotics. A drug trafficker is said to be in the "junk business."

Numbers (n.) A lottery game that has been a money-maker for American Mafiosi since the U.S. Civil War.

Shake Down (v.) Obtain money or other concessions from businesses or individuals by using intimidation or extortion.

Swag (n.) Stolen goods.

Wiseguy (n.) A "made" member of a Mafia organization.

Zu Also Zio (n.) The term, translated "uncle," is one of affection and respect for a senior member of the underworld.

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https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs

Gang violence affects the world today, because gangs are very similar to Mafias. Gang violence is a major issue today, much like Mafia violence was back in the 1920s.

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https://youtu.be/BJ-gYx7hXZg

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https://vault.fbi.gov/Al%20Capone/Al%20Capone%20Part%2029%20of%2036/view

This document talks about Paul Ward and the downfall of Al Capone. Paul Ward is the guy who got Al Capone on tax evasion. It contains news article clippings and, letters about the incident. October 13th 1931, gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion and fined $80,000, signaling the downfall of one of the most notorious criminals of the 1920s and 1930s.  I find it comical that Al Capone was the leader of a mafia, and the only thing they could try him for was tax evasion. Despite countless led murders, tax evasion was what brought him to his downfall. I guess you could say Al is the realest gangster to ever live.

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This is an article exposing the mafia’s illegal prostitution ring and illegal sale of alcohol. With more focus towards how the women were treated by Capone and the rest of his gang. As the articles header states, women to the mafia were more like slaves just used to bring in money for Capone and his crime family. It also talks about the countless murders that the crime family committed. Personally the mafia is disgusting. I don’t really understand how anyone could treat another human being like this. This is an example of propaganda that people used to try and shut down the mafia.

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This photograph is the famous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall. What is left of the wall is on display at the Las Vegas Mob Museum. The missing bricks were sold by George Patey to various collectors before his death. I find it very creepy that men were shot and killed against this wall, and now their blood is put on display. It just seems a bit macabre that their brains and blood are left on a wall for people to take pictures of. I even came across a picture of a guy posing in front of the wall. This was very eerie to see someone make a travesty out of this massacre.