Has the American mafia ever had any influence over large banks? It is said that the American mafia used the teamsters pension fund as a bank. The Italian mafia has long been in control of many big banks in Italy but the same can’t be said for America as banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan always appeared to be too big and powerful for the American mafia to really penetrate and milk a lot of cash from. I believe that the Italians’ ability to work so well in these type of sectors has enabled them to make as much money as they are making today(Billions of dollars). If an American mob boss was a silent partner in a large investment fund and had controlling interest then he would be incredibly wealthy much like the Sicilians, ndrangheta and Camorra members who generate billions.