"Cosa Nostra"

MAFIA and COSA NOSTRA: how did it start

Salvatore Maranzano
''Everything started with him: Salvatore Maranzano: an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in the United States. While similar to its Sicilian origins, the American Mafia's modern organizational structure was created by Salvatore Maranzano in 1931. All inducted members of theMafia are called "made" men. This signifies that they are untouchable in the criminal underworld and any harm brought to them will be met with retaliation.''

Creation of "Cosa Nostra"
In the early 1970s, Luciano Leggio was boss of the Corleone clan and a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission, and he forged a coalition of mafia clans known as the Corleonesi with himself as its leader. He initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade.'The Commission, is still reported to exist today, though its current membership is composed of only the bosses of the Five Families and the Chicago Outfit. Its activities have receded from public view as a matter of necessity, like much of the Mafia in general.'

"Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class..."

~ Al Capone