The Mafia Flashcards
Where and when did the mafia rise to prominence?
In early 20th century Sicily
How did the mafia system come about?
Peasants in the economically disadvantaged south resorted to crime, and with no police to control this, the latifundia began employing groups of armed men to control the area
What does mafia mean in Italian?
Swagger
What 5 roles were there in the mafia? (highest to lowest rank)
- Boss
- Underboss
- Capos
- Soldiers
- Associates
What to things had the liberals failed to do in the south?
- Bridge the north/south divide
- Take on the mafia
Why did Mussolini find the mafia so frustrating?
They ignored and dismissed him
Describe the ‘southern problem’ at this time
- Only the powerful were party members; the peasants were politically apathetic
- The peasants saw the mafia having a bigger impact on their lives than the state
- The government tyrannised the south and the fascists were seen as no different to the liberals in this sense
Why is Cesare Mori known as the iron prefect?
Because of his harsh campaign against the Sicilian mafia in the second half of the 1920s
When was the name mafia first officially used?
1865
What was the name of the code of silence the mafia operated under?
Omerta
Why were government attempts to intervene counterproductive?
They alienated the public
How did the mafia increase its political power?
They manipulated elections to install their favoured candidates
How did Mussolini have a confrontation with the mafia in Piana dei Graci?
He was received by the mayor and mafia boss, Cuccia, who told him he did not need the protection of the police as this was his territory. Mussolini responded angrily to this and so Cuccia instructed the residents of the area to not attend Mussolini’s speech
How many Sicilians dodged the WWI draft and fled to the hills?
40,000
What did Mori do to gain notoriety before the fascists came to power?
He hunted down and arrested those who had dodged the WWI draft and turned to banditry. He said that arresting these low level offenders would not solve the issue - this had to be done by taking out the leading figures within the Italian mafia
What happened to Mori in 1924?
His reputation as a man of action led to him being recalled to active service by the minister of the interior and being made a member of the PNF. He would then be appointed to the position of prefect of Trapani
How did Mori see his power increase in 1925?
Mussolini made him prefect of Palermo and gave him special control of the entire island of Sicily with the mission of eradicating the mafia
What did Mussolini say in a telegram to Mori after he became prefect of Palermo?
He said he had carte blanche to reinstate the authority of the state in Sicily. He said that if any laws hindered Mori’s ability to do this, then new laws could be created
Explain Duggan’s idea that Mussolini’s motivations for standing up to the mafia were political rather than personal
The mafia undermined and threatened his power in Sicily, so a successful campaign would legitimise him as leader. Cuccia my have been the final catalyst, but it is naive to think the mafia were not already on his radar. The dictatorship would have been undermined if Sicily was still able to act as a law unto itself
How long did Mori hold the position of prefect of Palermo?
Just under 4 years
How many men did Mori arrest within his first two months as prefect of Palermo?
Over 500
What was the name of the village that Mori occupied in January 1926?
Gangi
What was Mori’s simple approach to tackling the mafia?
He would out-mafia the mafia; with the fascists asserting themselves as the bigger, tougher gang
Describe the brutal siege of Gangi
- Beginning on 1st January, police established a tight cordon with roadblocks of lorries and armored cars, this, combined with the snowy, freezing conditions, prevented the mafia from escaping
- Police and Blackhirts could off communication lines and searched homes for criminals
- Cattle were taken into the town square and publicly slaughtered and women and children were taken hostage in order to encourage the ringleaders to confess
- A town crier walked the streets encouraging the mafioso to hand themselves in
- The balckshirts’ interrogation techniques included forcing suspects to drink castor oil and eat live frogs
How long did the siege at Gangi last?
10 days
Describe the aftermath of the siege at Gangi
- Mori arrived on the last day to ‘liberate’ Gangi with great pomp and fanfare; with bands playing, banners being waved and balcony speeches being made
- Mussolini wrote a telegram of congratulations and promised continued support
- The final tally saw the arrest of 130 mafia fugitives and 300 of their accomplices
What did Mori do in the 4 months following Gangi?
He did the same thing in another region, scoring 150 more arrests, including the high profile mafioso Don Vito, who was sent to prison for a previous murder charge
What did some mafia members who had been on the losing end of feuds do?
Voluntarily cooperated to ensure immunity and exact revenge
How many suspects had been arrested by 1928?
11,000, 10% of whom were convicted and imprisoned
What was the benefit of using en masse trials?
- It publicly humiliated the mafia
- It encouraged cooperation, as anyone accused was unlikely to be found in these unfair trials
What did Mori think was the only way to defeat the mafia?
To forge a direct bond between the southern people and the state, so they didn’t feel they needed to perform favours for middle men to gain as a reward what should be granted to them as their right
Why did Mori use mafia-like tactics to humiliate the mafia?
He thought that if he could exhibit a strong central authority to rival the mafia, then the people would see that the mafia was not their only option for protection
What happened at the show trials and public rallies Mori organised?
Leading mafiosos were cowed into showing support for the fascists
What happened in Palermo in 1926?
There was a ceremony where 1,200 estate owners were required to swear an oath of allegiance while a Catholic mass was performed and fascist hymns were played
Who was Mussolini particularly happy to see locked up by Mori?
His Piana dei Greci enemy Don Francesco
Give an example of Mori’s uncompromising processes in dealing with the mafia?
When he imprisoned Ortoleva without trial for helping someone steal a donkey
Who did Mori’s inquiries reveal that the mafia had colluded with?
Members of the state and the fascist party
What was the main contributor to Mori’s dismissal?
The large amount of paperwork needed to prepare for the trials of the 11,000 people he arrested
What three crucial things happened in the aftermath of Mori tackling the mafia?
- The Sicilian murder rate sharply declined
- The fascist propaganda machine proudly announced that the mafia had been defeated
- Landowners were able to increase the legal rents on their lands
Why did Mori’s reign come to an end in 1929?
His support within the fascist party began to wane
How did the fascist party justify the dismissal of Mori?
By claiming that the murder rate had declined and most of the mafia families had been broken up
What happened to Mori in 1928?
Mussolini appointed him a senator, but he was relieved of this duty a year later
What did mafia turncoat Calderone say about Mori’s campaign?
‘The mafia hardly existed any more’
Give the name of a mafioso who managed to flee to a different country?
Joseph Bonanno
Why were the press forbidden from reporting on crime in Sicily?
To hide the fact that the mafia had not been eradicated completely
What had Mori’s campaign failed to address?
The societal problems that led to the existence of the mafia in the first place
When was the mafia able to return to prominence?
During the allied occupation of Sicily during WWII
How did tackling the mafia actually worsen societal problems in the south?
Because landlords were able to increase rent by extortionate amounts
Why did the AMGOT help the mafia return to power?
Because they needed the support of local elites in order to govern; the mafia had high standing and were willing to collaborate because of the persecution they had suffered at the hands of the fascists
What does postwar journalist Pantaleone say about the mafia
They were reduced to to a few scattered groups and could have been eradicated completely if the social problems were dealt with. The allied government and return to democracy allowed them to regain their former power
How does Newark criticise Mori’s tactics?
He says that they targeted the small time criminals and left the big timers relatively unscathed; thus driving the mafia underground but not removing it
What does Chubb say about the mafia?
Fascism succeeded in stamping out the mafia by offering a better substitute. It monopolised power and the use of violence but failed to address the socio-economic conditions that had allowed the mafia to flourish in the first place; this allowed the mafia to re-emerge after fascism fell
What does Almirante claim is to blame for the mafia’s return to power?
Argued that Sicily had actually been transformed by the destruction of the mafia. However, the imposition of anti-fascism, leading the people to believe everything the fascists had done was wrong, and the return of mafiosos who had fled to America, led to the return of the mafia
