The mob/mafia in the 1920's

             The Mafia, a secret criminal organization that retains great economic and political control in society, dates back to Sicily's middle ages. In the late nineteenth century many immigrants from Sicily flourished to the United States, thus beginning the Mafia's influence in many of its major cities. Members of the organized crime groups were required to take an initiation oath that included five basic principles, upon which the mafia was (and still is) based on:
             1. A code of silence – Never to "rat out" any mafia member. Never to divulge any mafia secrets even if they were threatened by torture or death.
             2. Complete obedience to the boss – Obey the boss's orders, no matter what.
             3. Assistance – To provide any necessary assistance to any other respected or befriended mafia faction.
             4. Vengeance – Any attacks on family members must be avenged. "An attack on one is an attack on all."
             5. Avoid contact with the authorities.
             Bosses were the men who ran the Mafia in the area in which they belonged. Charles Luciano and Benjamen Siegel, the top two bosses of their time, teamed up with a non-Mafia member, Meyer Lansky, to form one of the most powerful groups of contract killers. Charles Luciano started his own prostitution racket and gained total control of prostitution in Manhattan by 1925. In 1929 he was kidnapped, beaten, and stabbed severely with an ice pick, but miraculously survived. He was maintained "omerta", a vow never to reveal any Mafia secrets or members under penalty of death or torture. He became known as "The Boss of the Bosses".
             During 1920-1933, Prohibition sparked a large amount of Mafia activity. This Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol. The Mafia dominated the trade in bootleg liquor, and gained power of loan sharking, gambling, and prostitution. Each year,
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