La Cosa Nostra

"After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." -18th Amendment, Section 1, 1919 Those words initiated the rise of organized crime in America. With the closing of saloons and pubs, speakeasies sprung up like wildflowers around the country. Bootlegging and …

…Gotti, running the business from behind bars, the news has presented the Mafia as an underground business based upon drug smuggling, prostitution, loan sharking, and larceny. Whether it was prohibition, or the wanting of territory, the Mafia has become a part of the American culture. And while most associate the Mob with the Italians, there are mobs of many nationalities active in this country, but it only adds more diversity to the great melting pot.