Mafias of the World

 

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Of late, the Indian news media have been abuzz with names like Tillu Tajpuria, Anil Dujana, Vikas Dubey, Sundar Bhati, Atiq Ahamad, Mukhtar Ansari, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Anand Mohan Singh. Some of them accused or convicted, many killed, while one of them walks out of the jail because of his connections in high places. The media uses terms like Bahubali, mafia don or gangster indiscriminately to describe them. In common parlance, all of them are gundas.

The gunda is, in fact, an entry level freelancer thug. He may or may not rise to become a gangster before reaching the status of a mafia don. A gangster is the next level of the hierarchy. He is part of a group of criminals who plan and execute crimes like looting banks, indulging in blackmail, contract killing and kidnapping, etc. Both the gunda and the gangster often act as on-the-ground carriers of drugs and contraband, and work as hired guns of a mafia don.

The wannabe mafia don starts off as a local bully, turns to small-time crimes, and then becomes an intern of sorts with the more experienced and powerful local gangsters. This trajectory is epitomized by India’s first Mafia don Karim Lala – a migrant from Afghanistan. He worked in the Bombay Docks for a while. Later, he joined a gang of Pathans who worked as recovery agents for Marwari and Gujrati moneylenders, landlords and business owners. Soon he became the Pathan Gang’s leader. His gang became notorious for illegal takeover of private properties, running gambling and illicit liquor dens, kidnapping, protection rackets, and contract killing. Thus, he became the first Don of India’s nascent mafia world.

Varadarajan Mudaliar and Haji Mastan followed Karim Lala. They also started their underworld careers as petty thieves in the docks. India’s present number one mafia don, Dawood Ibrahim, started committing fraud, theft, and robbery while still in his teens. Later on, he founded the infamous D-Company in partnership with his brother, Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar. Today, he is one of the most wanted criminals in the world.

But how did the term “mafia don” gain currency? There is an interesting history behind it all.

The Story of Mafia’s Rise and Spread

The Mafia story may have its roots in Italy, but its global dimensions were acquired with the Italian migration to United States of America.

Sicilian Mafia

The Sicilian Mafia is the most infamous criminal group, immortalized in many movies and other media. The Mafia began in Sicily in the early 19th century, but they extended their operation to American soil soon after.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, waves of Italians flocked to America in search of a better quality of life. Most of them were uneducated but law-abiding. But there were criminal elements, too, who turned New York into America’s crime capital. Most of these criminals were from Sicily. Sicily was ruled by a long line of foreign invaders. The occupying forces were often hostile. So, the Sicilian people unified to defend themselves. They formed groups that morphed into clans, which had their own justice and retribution system. This became a part of the Sicilian crime world’s DNA, which was carried to the United States.

When prohibition was enforced in the United States during the 1920s, bootlegging became a lucrative business. Various criminal gangs joined this booming criminal activity, which was dominated by gangs of Americans belonging to Italian ethnic groups. Soon, smuggling, money-laundering, bribery and blackmail became part of the sophisticated and powerful gangs of the Sicilians’ crime network. As we all know, Sicily is in Italy and is the birthplace of some of the most vicious mafia families in the world. When Benito Mussolini’s regime cracked down on these gangs, they migrated to the United States, where they found the environment better suited to their activities.

Twenty Italian Mafia families from across the United States formed a central organization called the “Commission”. New York had five main Mafia families, while other cities had only one each. The Commission’s role was to set policies and mediate disagreements among these families.

Hierarchies

Typically, each American Mafia crime family was organized around a hierarchy headed by a boss, (see illustration below). He ruled with unquestioned authority and received a cut of every money-making operation taken on by any member of his family. Second-in-command was the underboss and below him were the capos, or captains, who each controlled a crew of soldiers. Each family also had an advisor. One had to be an Italian to be part of the Mafia family. Becoming a member of the Mafia was a lifetime commitment, and each Mafiosi swore to obey omerta, the all-important code of loyalty and silence.

The Lesser Mafia/Gangsters of America

Crips & Bloods

Founded in the late 1960s, the Crips are a group of Afro-American youth. They have over 800 fractions nationwide and around 35 thousand active members. Soon after, the Bloods came into existence. The feud between these two criminal groups lasted for decades, and it’s still going strong.

Irish Mob 

The Irish Mob initially began in 1800 as a group of street gangs doing protection and bootlegging in port cities like Manhattan, Boston, and Montreal. The Irish Mob eventually went into politics and the police department. This infiltration opened the door into the high society for them. Thanks to the political power, many of its members became celebrities.

Hell’s Angels 

Formed after World War 2, the Hell’s Angels are connected to various mobs worldwide. Many of their members had been arrested for various criminal activities. Police organizations have listed the Hell’s Angels as one of the four biggest motorbike gangs.  

Mafias in the 20th-Century

When Prohibition was abolished in 1933, the Mafia spread tentacles to other forms of crime, which included gambling, loan sharking, and prostitution. For acquiring societal acceptability, the Mafia families often ran legitimate businesses like construction, restaurants, transportation, and garments. Of course, they found, kickbacks, shakedowns and labor unions extremely lucrative. That these Mafia families not only survived but actually flourished speaks volumes against the effectiveness of governance in America during those times. The levels of corruption were such that the Mafia could bribe and browbeat public officials and business leaders, along with witnesses and juries in court cases.

The Fall of Mafias

In 1970, the United States woke up to the necessity of curbing the Mafia when its Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. It empowered prosecutors to go after crime families and their sources of revenue, both legal and illegal. During the 1980s and 1990s, the RICO laws were used to convict many high-level mobsters. Some Mafiosi, faced with long prison sentences, broke the once-sacred code of omerta and testified against their fellow mobsters for a place in the federal witness-protection program. As a result, Mafia membership declined.

By the start of the 21st century, the American Mafia was a shadow of its former self. However, the Mafia remains active in some of its traditional ventures as loan-sharking and illegal gambling. Their involvement in labor unions and legitimate industries, such as construction, haven’t been eliminated.

Mafia outside of the United States

The Triad

The Triad dates way back to the 18th century. At first, they were a group of secret societies driven underground by British colonists. They have survived the Communist Chinese government’s pressures and have a sophisticated network of drug dealing, prostitution, and forging money. The Triad members have a rigorous code of conduct. Triad organizations have a strong international presence and are one of the most feared criminal organizations.

The Russian Mob 

The Russian Mafia is one of the most well-organized criminal groups. It dates back to the 18th century of Czarist Russia. Unlike the Triad, the Russian Mafia developed even further under Communist rule, infiltrating government institutions. Many Russian mafia factions have successfully meddled in politics, business, and black markets worldwide. The operatives in the Russian Mob, also known as thieves-in-law, are recognized by their cryptic tattoos and enforcing way of doing business.

The Cali Cartel 

The Cali Cartel is one of the wealthiest drug cartels in history. It originated in the late 1970s when cocaine smuggling was flourishing. Its operators were primarily out of Colombia, but they had a long international reach. Cali wasn’t solely organized around a central figure. Its independent structure caused its success in the drug market. Now extinct, this criminal group left a massive impact on the drug trade.

The Mexican Cartels 

The Mexican cartels are highly organized and well-armed. Several Mexican cartels found themselves involved in bloody territorial disputes. The disputes escalated into gang wars, taking a heavy toll on human lives. Still, they remain a powerful paramilitary criminal force that has huge stakes in Mexico’s politics and public works. Their discipline and brutality make them a force to be reckoned with.

Yakuza

The Yakuza’s origins date back to the 17th century, which makes it one of the oldest criminal organizations. The Yakuza has one of the strictest honor codes with draconian punishment for any mistake. The power of the Yakuza is divided between four dominant clans. The reach of the Yakuza is enormous, and they are so integrated into the society that the Japanese economy would probably collapse without them.

The Indian Mafia: The D-Company 

India is a vast country with mindboggling ethnic, economic, social, and geographical diversities. This poses a strong challenge to those in charge of governance, while providing opportunities for crime to proliferate. Today, there are many crime syndicates operating in different states. The deadliest being the D-Company.

Run by Dawood Ibrahim, D-Company is a massive and violent syndicate with its fingers in large-scale fraud, extortion, and even terrorist activities. D-Company spread its tentacles worldwide, including in Bollywood. Smuggling and gun-running is its major business. It reputedly supplied weapons to Osama-bin-Laden’s Al Qaida.

How India Tackles the Mafia

There are several laws legislated by the central government and individual states to fight crimes like human and drug trafficking, landgrab, blackmail, etc. However, their execution is poor, and selective. There are well-known cases of police encounters that can be described as borderline cases of extra-judicial killings.

Clearly, there is a need for a streamlined justice-dispensation system that will help fight the crime without vitiating the average person’s faith in the rule of law.