According to journalist Stefano Vaccara if no politician is indicted during Mafia takedowns, or any link to politics is uncovered, then it’s not Mafia at all but just mere organized crime.

The article below (available in both English and Italian) commented on the 2016 East Coast Enterprise LCN case:

“Mafiosi” Arrested in New York: But Where’s the Mafia?
New York Times and tabloids continue to confuse mobsters with "mafiosi"

https://www.lavocedinewyork.com/en/2016/08/14/mafiosi-arrested-new-york-where-mafia/

Another article, about the recent Gambino-Inzerillo bust in Palermo and along the NY-NJ-Philly corridor, is available only in Italian but basically pushes the same argument.

https://www.lavocedinewyork.com/new...tra-palermo-e-new-york-ma-tutta-mafia-e/

At first I thought they were supposed to be satirical.

The mental gymnastics these commentators do in order to undermine the threat Traditional Organized Crime currently poses on American society is off the roof. Their articles read like something written by a sleazy Mob attorney trying to get his mafioso clients off the hook.

Using Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” as an example of what the Mafia should be is cringe worthy. The author makes a reference to one failed extortion attempt by Tony Soprano as another indication that, after all, he was no mafioso at all. Too bad that he forgets to mention the dozens of times the DiMeo’s successfully meddled with politics and unions throughout the series.

Back to real life:

What happens if no collusion with politics is discovers when mobsters are arrested in Italy then? Should they not be considered members of the Mafia if the case against them it’s only about drugs, whores, bets, murder, etc... and there are no link to politics whatsoever?

There are literally hundreds of Mafia arrests annually (in Italy and elsewhere) where no actual active links to the Political Machine are discovered.

What about the recent ‘Ndrangheta bust in Ontario? No politician was among the arrested and none of the indictees is reported to be connected to a public official/office: does it mean that it’s not real ‘Ndrangheta?

Does his argument apply only to America/Canada?

Lastly, where was he when union members/politicians got busted along with wiseguys, in recent years? (Ex. Dominic Ali’s case in Bay Ridge.)

What about when mobsters on trial receive letters from elected officials claiming they’re good-hearted neighborhood boys? (Ex. Brooklyn borough president Markowitz helping out Joseph Chirico.)

The more I think about it the more it’s clear that this guy is a shill of the Italian-American bourgeois, which is hell bent to push the ethnic-suprematist idea that today’s Italian-Americans are the “Flawless Few” and thus incapable of doing ill.

Or he’s just a Godfather fanboy (perhaps subconsciously) and thus has an overly romanticized idea of the Mafia.

I do agree the old timers were true mafiosi nowadays they are organized crime similar to the Albanians, Russians, Colombians etc..

Zito made the Mayor of Torretta from PHILLY!!!

They can sat all that about the New Yorkers maybe... not the Sicilians...

In fact, I think it was one of the Schiavones who said Cosa Nostra was TOO political. More interested in favors and relationships with politicians than business.....

I disagree, he’s a know-it-all who thinks he’s better suited to label them than the FBI, Italy’s Anti-Mafia Police Force, Canada’s RMPC, Interpol, etc...

Implying that they’re just like any other criminal subculture is incorrect since most of those we bring up on this blog (Albanians, Mexicans, Black Americans, etc...) lack the folklore, shared history and century-old rituals that make the Mafia.

Matter of fact that’s the argument used by mafiosi in order to beat Mafia-association charges in Italy and elsewhere.

The recent “Mafia Capitale” trial in Rome saw many being left off the hook (or receiving shorter sentences) because the judges didn’t see them being linked by a common criminal culture made of affiliation rituals and the like. They were deeply meddled with politics around Rome and elsewhere, but that’s not what the Mafia is exclusively about. At least according to the actual judges and laws.

Not to mention that they are still the most influential in the greater NYC according to local law enforcement agencies:

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/the-five-families?amp



So, even if I were to agree with Vaccara’s point, their influence must also be political, since we know that other criminal subcultures are undeniably wealthier than them (ex. Mexican cartels).

Politics-wise they’re still relevant then.

Meaning that he’s simply devoted to underplay them, for what ever reason.

although political connections are of course typical in mafia-related crimes to be charged with mafia-type association crime other factors are needed... there tons of indictments against italian oc groups with no apparently political links but charged with mafia-type association, and recently even some nigerian groups in italy was charged with it and sentenced, the first time for a foreign group, of course they have not any political connections and they didn't infiltrate local economy like italian oc groups, but according to the police their nationwide coordinate structure with bosses, ranks and ceremonies of initiations, their influence over african community were enough to conteste that crime

^ my point exactly.

structure, history, “folklore” (ex. rituals and ceremonies) are the true indicators of the Mafia, or other Mafia-like criminal subcultures, more so than the activities members are involved in.

Alleged Genovese family mobster accused of “buying” Stratford Democratic politician https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/alleged-genovese-family-mobster-accused-of-buying-stratford-democ