Interesting points by Dr. Anna Sergi on Twitter

1/ One of the perks - and also a disadvantage - of doing research cross country is that you see patterns but not everywhere you can dig deeper into individual circumstances. A THREAD on #mafia #ndrangheta #LCN #Canada #Niagara #NewYork #Hamilton #Buffalo #Toronto etc

2/ first, the #Niagara region is today - criminologically speaking - the most interesting region where #mafia identity is constantly defined, redefined and negotiated. Difficult to pigeonhole in just one box (#ndrangheta #LCN) families from Buffalo to Hamilton have their own.

3/ you can look at them from either a local perspective (the cities) or a global one (North America at the centre). Not because their activities are always global but because their identity might be. Why? Because what you see locally might not be the whole story.

4/ in 2018 I wrote a report for Jane’s Intelligence Review on #mafia families in #NewYork. Among other things that article said: a) that #Buffalo defunct mafia family was alive; originally #LCN the current functioning might adapt to new times. Local Identity IS NOT business

5/ b) the NEW #ndrangheta clans in NY & Canada were pushing for space. These are NOT old Calabrian-descent clans, but current #ndrangheta units in visit to relatives/partners in the area. Problem here - ethnicity is not a good way to identify mafias here!

6/ the #Buffalo families have historically had friends and associates and rivals of various #italian extraction incl. Calabrian-born Musitano, Papalia and of course Luppino-Violi. In this region, ethnicity does not count but behaviour does. It is isomorphism (will be in my book!)

7/ so the current situation is the most hybrid and confused of all: old factions of Sicilian/Calabrian/Italian “mobsters” “behaving” (individually and socially) as American Mafia (#LCN legacies) with or without formal association > these groups keep their local territories

8/ some old Calabrian clans (eg #SidernoGroup) are rekindling their contacts with new Calabrian clans of the #ndrangheta as they are stronger and richer but not all old Calabrian clans might accept that (there were internal feuds and murders - see Italian Op. Acero-Krupy)

9/ these internal fights are not about ethnicity (Calabrian/Sicilian) as they are about behaviours and reach. The fights across clans involves the global sphere; beyond Buffalo and Hamilton, we have Toronto and Montreal and NYC and Italy, Germany, Australia where this resonates.

10/ as the groups in the region are isomorphic there is little differences between Calabrian born Musitano in Hamilton and Sicilian born Rizzuto in Montreal - for the authorities ethnicity is confusing only when inserted as a novelty in the picture

11/ But some current groups of Calabrian-descent in full American mafia behaviour and heritage might wish to use the opportunity to rekindle their Calabrian lineage and relatives elsewhere might want to exploit their foot on the ground in the region. This creates more hybridity.

12/ LAST: current Canadian law enforcement operations show a rise of #ndrangheta led business activities in Eastern North America (drugs, investments). should these clans wish to “settle” what they find is a dense & hybrid scene of “former” mafia identities they cannot ignore.