Russian mafia hands down. they are nothing compare to the italian mafia.

Rudick, I don't understand. The Russians are the strongest hands down but still they are nothing compared to the Italians?

what do you mean with 'hands down'?

I think he means "no question about it." Not like they have strong hands. :p

The Italian Mafia is the strongest mafia, and the strongest organized crime group period.

Why do you say the Russians are more powerful, Rudik?

You know something we don't?

Let me reply to all of your questions. First of all when I say hand down that means there is no one better then them. Second of all the Russian Mafia controls the whole country. Why do you think thier economy is so horrid. Im not even russian but I still say that.

Originally posted by Rudik, posted 29 May, 2004 02:08 AM:

Ummmmm, ok, the Russian Mafia is the strongest Mafia hands down, but they are nothing compared to the Italian Mafia?

Bah, look at their country and the shambles it's in...I don't see how they can be considered "stronger" than the Italian-American mafia...

"Strongest" can be defined in several ways: money, political power, social force, fear factor, etc.--sometimes a combo. And let's not forget that "Mafia" is a term lazy journalists apply to all crime groups, whether or not they're organized or related to any real "Mafia." That said:
--The collapse of the USSR created a power vacuum that put hundreds of billions of rubles of property, development rights and other economic bonanzas up for grabs. It was like a combination of the US Wild West and Robber Baron eras. The men who succeeded weren't necessarily criminals previously, nor did they always head gangs. But they were ruthlessly lawless in acquiring incredible amounts of economic and political power. Often they formed armed gangs--almost militias--to protect them. And some ethnics (like Chechens, Armenians, Khazaks, etc.) formed gangs to run rackets. For a period of time, Russian criminals were among the world's wealthiest, but things have calmed down somewhat, and most of these guys are now "respectable" by Russian standards. The so-called Russian Mafia in the US isn't anywhere near as powerful as some think--they pull off some imaginative rackets and control a section of Brooklyn, NY, but that's about it.
The Sicilian Mafia has never been as wealthy as the US Mafia at its peak because Sicily was always poorer and more rural than the US. But those guys absolutely controlled Sicily politically and socially, ruling by favors and fear. Mussolini drove them underground, but they came back with a vengeance after WWII. At one point they controlled an Italian Prime Minister (Andreotti). But the lunatic excesses of the Corleonese brought about a huge government and popular backlash that not long ago sent more than 300 to prison. They're down--probably not out, but not nearly as powerful.
The US Mafia has been under constant attack for more than 30 years by a combination of RICO and drug indictments. They still have influence among labor unions and in some industries, but they aren't much of a force to be reckoned with.

For my money, the Chinese Triads are probably the world's most powerful "organized crime" groups. I put it in quotes because in some areas, they're indistinguishable from supposedly legitimate business and government interests.

I can tell you that the russians are more ruthless then the italian mob. If there was a rat or a problem with someone the italian mob would take them out. But the russians would kill that person and their whole family.

^ Someone sometime someplace said that annoying quote... "an Italian will kill you, a Russian will kill you and your family." Whoever it was knows nothing of organized crime. And believe me... the Russians are NOT more ruthless than the Italians. Because there still remains some of the honor that built Cosa Nostra, perhaps they seem less murderous. In an all out war, the Italian Mafia would crush the Russian Mafia.

And by the way... many posters refer to the Italian Mafia in America as seperate from the mafia in Italy and Sicily. Sure they are seperate to a degree, and grow apart as time goes by and has went by, but really they are the same entity. Italian-American mafia still stems from the old country, and there are connections between them all. It is more accurate to say that the Italian-American mob is a group of families, and the mob in Italy is just comprised of other families.

Just as throughout mafia history, different Sicilian "mobs" were infact all the Italian mafia, but seperate families, if you will.

The Italian Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra, is comprised of the Italian-American Mafia and the mafia in Italy.


Also, the Chinese Triads have big business in Asia, but what would happen in a war with Cosa Nostra? I wasn't aware they had much power in the States. ALthough I know that Chinatown is next to Little Italy in New York, and I think the Triads are there. They don't seem to have any desire to mess with Cosa Nostra.

According to a documentary about the American/Italian mafia, they controlled as much money as the 10 largest corporations in America. This was in the 30-40th. I dont know very much about this subject, but couldnt this Mafia, during this period, be labeled the strongest. After all, we all know that they controlled a bunch of polititians, and this was during the RICO times etc...