Both the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo "The Godfather" and the film based on it, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, gained cult status. They created our ideas about the Italian mafia and its actions. But do modern mafiosi really resemble Vito and Michael Corleone?
For Petra Reska, a German student, watching "The Godfather" became an impulse to undertake research. Inspired by Coppola's film, which has already entered the classics of gangster cinema, she went on a trip to Sicily. During this and subsequent journeys, she began to explore the mafia world, inaccessible to the average tourist.
Today, Reski is a well-known journalist and writer. Her recently published book, The Mafia, presents many shocking facts about the activities of contemporary Italian gangsters. And it allows you to check if the world depicted in "The Godfather" still has a lot to do with reality.
Haracz - expenses for financial security
Charging "protection fees" was, along with the profits from gambling and prostitution, one of the sources of the Corleone family's power. The issue of racketeering appeared at the beginning of Vito Corleone's career. The first murder of the famous movie "godfather" was the killing of Don Fanucci, a New York mafioso. Young Corleone decided to take this step after Fanucci tried to "tax" him on the proceeds of the theft. The elimination of the boss earned him respect among the local community. He used it to build up the family business.
The novel by Mario Puzo (pictured) shaped our perceptions of how the mafia operated. However, how well does it describe contemporary Italian criminal organizations? (photo:Heart Times Coffee Cup Studios, license CC BY-SA 3.0).
In his book "Mafia", Reski reports that the phenomenon of tribute collection is still doing well in contemporary mafia circles. Northern Italian companies operating in Calabria do not even report extortion attempts to the police, they just meekly pay the mafia. Extortion is referred to as "security expenses" .
Anti-Mafia organizations are trying to fight this practice by conducting social campaigns encouraging Italians to resist. As you drive through the streets of Palermo, the capital of Sicily, you can see stickers on the garbage cans that read "A nation that pays tribute is a nation without dignity." However, these activities do not bring any spectacular results, at least for the time being. The basis of mafia power is still strong social consent - comments Reski.
The family is the basic cosa nostra cell
When asked about Michael Corleone's affiliation with the mafia, a witness in the trial against him replied: for them it is called family . Indeed, within the Corleone mafia empire, business relationships were often indistinguishable from family relationships.
The Corleone Mafia family seemed indestructible for a long time. And this despite the fact that those closest to Vito's son and heir, Michael, were gradually leaving him. Parents died. His wife had an abortion in secret from him, and then asked for a divorce. He also lost both of his older brothers. Santino, nicknamed Sonny, was killed in an ambush planned, inter alia, by his own brother-in-law. Frederica "Freda" Michael has renounced after he committed treason.
Also today, the family, led by the godfather, remains the basic unit of Cosa Nostra. This is the "bottom" of the mafia hierarchy. The families brought together form the so-called mandamento , that is, circles. Each circumscription is supervised by a provincial commission. At the very top of power, there is a governing body, that is, cupola .
Mafioso and politician - perfect couple
The theme of the mafia's connections with the political sphere is often present in The Godfather. At the communion of the son of Micheal Corleone, one of the guests of honor was a senator. The politician made his godfather a proposal to take over casinos in Las Vegas. However, his offer was rejected. The Nestor of the Corleone family also dreamed of his youngest son becoming governor. This plan was not implemented, but Michael, despite the fact that he did not become a politician, cared for contacts with the authorities just like his father.
The character of Vito Corleone was modeled on real mafia leaders. One of the prototypes of the film godfather was Frank Costello (source:public domain) visible in the photo.
In modern Italy, even politicians holding the highest positions in the state are suspected of having contacts with the mafia. The uncompromising Reski writes bluntly about the connections between these two exciting worlds. He mentions the name of the country's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, several times.
The mafia connections of the former head of the Italian government and his right-hand man Marcell Dell'Utri were revealed to the world by Salvatore Cancemi, a boss belonging to the Porta Nuova family. Cosa Nostra has made a pact with Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. The liaison officer of the organization lived for two years in the former prime minister's estate. He officially managed a horse stud there.
In 2013, a court in Palermo charged Berlusconi with 20 years of association with the mafia. However, it was not them that led to the conviction of a prominent Italian politician. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for abusing power and having sex with a minor.
In Italian politics, accusations of contacts with the mafia are often made. One of the suspected politicians is also former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (source:public domain).
The former prime minister, who is currently banned from running in the elections, also made it much more difficult to detect the links between the mafia and politicians. During his rule, a law came into force which required that a prosecutor could work in the anti-mafia staff for a maximum of eight years. This slowed down the work of these staffs and practically eliminated some prosecutors from the game.
"Holy Family"
Watching the next parts of "The Godfather" it is hard not to notice that the leaders of the Corleone family manifest their religiosity by taking part in numerous Catholic celebrations. While Michael Corleone's campaign to eliminate the leaders of rival mafia families is underway, he himself participates in the baptism of his son. Years earlier, his father, Vito, followed his rival and oppressor ... walking in a procession . Is the mafioso in front of the altar a realistic picture?
The author of "Mafia" emphasizes that the relationship of the mafia with the Church has a rich tradition in southern Italy. In his work, Reski describes the case of an Italian Carmelite who went to the hideout of a boss, wanted in connection with the accusation of participation in 13 murders. The mafioso confessed and received his graduation.
The murderer's confessor could not understand why proceedings were instituted against him. He was aware that he had granted absolution to a man who had been involved in the attacks on the legendary prosecutors Falcony and Borselin. However, he believed that as a clergyman he must help every sinner. And he was not alone in this faith. This is evidenced by a surprising article published in one of the magazines associated with the curia in Palermo. The mafiosi could learn from it that at any time of the day or night they would find a clergyman whom they would listen to and not hand over to law enforcement.
According to Petra Reska, the church and the mafia share a relationship based on blind trust and a desire for conservatism. It can also be said that for mafiosi, faith is an important element of their identity. This is evidenced by the statement of one of them, quoted by the German researcher, who decided to cooperate with the justice system:
Once upon a time, when I was a murderer, I would go to church relaxed . Now that I am a backslider, I can no longer pray with a good conscience.
The "legal" mafia
In five years the operation of the Corleone family will be completely legal - assured his future wife Michael Corleone. He dreamed of breaking with his criminal past all his life. But it took him much more than five years to pursue this goal. And he achieved it only partially. And is the activity of the modern mafia only racketeering, gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution?
One of Ndrangheta's main sources of profit is cocaine trafficking. The Mafia washes the money it earns with "legal" investments. It also supplies the pockets of selected politicians by financing their election campaigns (source:public domain).
Not necessarily. The Neapolitan Camorra is quite legal, controlling many markets - from selling coffee to trading in animal feed. Petra Reski calls Ndrangheta, a criminal organization from neighboring Calabria, "the white collar mafia". Its current bosses are respected businessmen, doctors, politicians. Their biggest problem today is the laundering of drug trafficking money.
This is why the mafia buys pizzerias, hotels and restaurants in Italy and other countries. Investments are officially financed with bank loans. Installments are repaid with cocaine money. Supermarkets and eateries are good places for money laundries. As food goes bad quickly, there are many opportunities for fraudulent bills. An excellent investment is also ... politics. The Mafia pays for its election campaigns to its candidates for parliament. In gratitude, gangster-backed politicians create "appropriate law."
Bibliography
- Blonde against the Mafia, "Newsweek" September 6, 2009
- Petra Reski, Mafia, Bellona 2017.