The Italian-American Mafia began in the early 20th century. It increased due to probation and illegal activities. It's manly in New York and Chicago, after probation ended, they took up illegal gambling, drug dealing, while getting involved in unions and construction companies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The mafia committed violent crimes, notorious members such as John Gotti and Al Capone fascinated audiences and became part of pop culture. During the latter part of the 20th century, the government used laws to convict high-ranking mobsters and weaken the mafia. However, it is still in operation today. During the 1920s, when the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned the sale and transportation of alcohol, American gangs entered the moonshine trade and transformed into criminal enterprises, experts in smuggling, money laundering and corruption of police and other public officials. Meanwhile, the Mafia in Italy, which had been thriving since at least the mid-19th century, was under attack from boss Benito Mussolini. Some Sicilian mobsters fled to the United States, where they became involved in smuggling and became members of the American Mafia. The Mafia in the United States and Sicily were separate entities, although the Americans adopted some very important old school traditions, code of conduct and secrecy that prohibited cooperation with any federal or state law. The American Mafia crime family was organized around a group led by a boss, who ruled with authority and received a cut of every lucrative operation undertaken by a member of his family. The second in command was the underboss and below him were the captains, who each controlled a crew of 10 or more soldiers. At the bottom of the chain were associates, people who worked or did business with the family but were not actual members. Becoming an official member of a mafia family traditionally involved an initiation ceremony in which a person performed rituals such as pricking their finger. drawing blood and holding a burning image of a patron saint while swearing an oath of loyalty. Italian heritage was a prerequisite for one and men often, but not always, had to kill before they could become members. Becoming a member of the mafia was supposed to be a lifelong commitment and each mobster swore to obey the all-important code of loyalty and silence. Mafiosos also had to follow other rules, including never attacking each other and never cheating with another member's girlfriend or wife. Charles “Lucky” Luciano and his allies, including crime boss Meyer Lansky, were at the top of the New York crime scene. They were the victors in a gangster war in New York between old Italian and Sicilian mafia bosses who had moved to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Older bosses focused on settling old grudges, not money. The winning Luciano-Lansky faction focused entirely on making money and killing anyone who got in their way. Luciano was also responsible for energizing the nine-member commission. This change of direction and the activation of the commission is described as the American Mafia. New York City was divided between five crime families, with.