| Cosa Nostra | |
|---|---|
| Type | Criminal Syndicate & Political Party |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Palermo, Sicily |
| Location | Sicily |
| Region served | Central Mediterranean |
| Official languages | Sicilian, Italian |
| Main organ | La Commissione |
| Affiliations | Sicilian Republican Party (Political Wing)
Southern Mafia (Defunct) 'Ndrangheta (Calabria) Camorra (Campania) Sacra Corona Unita (Apulia) The Honoured Society (Australia) |
The Sicilian Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid 19th century in Sicily. Before Doomsday, it was a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. After Doomsday, the Sicilian Mafia emerged as a multifaceted entity that was integrated into public life through their support of the Sicilian Republic. Similar to their pre-Doomsday tendencies, the Mafia under the Sicilian Republic came into conflict with many of its rivals. Today, despite the loss of their priveleged political position, the Mafia has yet to totally abandon its criminal past and continues to have a significant regional criminal presence.
History[]
Pre-Doomsday[]
The Mafia was one of the largest known groups of organized crime in the world. It emerged in the 1800s in Sicily. Sicilian emigration led to Mafia branches being established in many other countries, namely the United States, Canada, and Australia. Usually, the various mobs divide themselves into groups. The leader, or Don, was in charge of all Mafia activity in an area. In the years before Doomsday, the Second Mafia War was winding down and the Mafia was at one of its weakest points in recent history.
Doomsday[]
As with the rest of the world, Doomsday came suddenly for the mob. Once the bombs stopped falling, the Italian government quickly began to fracture and collapse, NATO and their extended allies were destroyed, and the Mediterranean quickly became a contested sea. Luckily, Sicily, the Mafia heartland, escaped the nuclear firestorm that had engulfed the rest of Italy.
Sicily at the time had been embroiled in the Great Mafia War between rival clans. The shock of the attacks put a pause to the fighting, and a few months later the mafia dons managed to overcome their differences. They met in Palermo with leading operatives of Operation Gladio, the clandestine organization that had become the chief institution of the Italian State in Italy, together with a few like-minded politicians. These men worked out a framework in which these different centers of power could cooperate against their common enemies: the Soviets, local leftists, and the social chaos now threatening to engulf Sicily.
Post- Doomsday[]
So the crime syndicates lived on after Doomsday in close cooperation with the Sicilian state. Immediately after Doomsday, the Sicilian Dons assembled to respond to the situation as a unified force. Due to their powerful presence in Sicily, they were able to take advantage of the collapse of the Italian state and cooperate with members of Gladio, corrupt police and military, surviving NATO troops, and sympathetic right-wing politicians to quickly gain control of Sicily. The new hybrid state pledged to maintain stability while subverting local institutions. The clans cooperated as a a "Repubblica di famiglia," formally agreed to in December 1983 when the families that declined to participate were eliminated brutally with state cooperation. The result was a new a new, independent state that, at the time, was one of the only functioning states in Southern Europe.
The new Sicilian republic experienced many successes in its early years. The mob provided a stable, organized entity in Sicily, able to support the aims of the remnants of the Italian military. The quick change in loyalties was largely due to the donation of the resources necessary to provide for the military in its time of crisis, which has infamously been labelled the "General's Bailout" masterminded by Michele Greco. In addition, the hybrid state had the support of the Catholic Church, which now had to operate as a pseudo-independent body after the destruction of the Vatican. The Church was a valuable supporter to maintain, and control, organized religion in the country.
By early 1985, the grace period the Sicilian population granted their new government, and the Mafia itself, ended. A series of small, but significant, political protests occurred, which was followed by the attempted formation of rival political parties who wished to participate in the constitutionally republican governance of the state. However, the Dons, still as unwilling to compromise as before Doomsday, were able to use means both covert and overt to silence political dissent. In addition, the lower ranks of the mob were opened up to incorporate many of the new, useful, and talented members of the former opposition, which helped decrease lingering support for their movements. Sicily held its first postwar elections in 1989. While several parties were allowed to participate, it was never in doubt that the Christian Democrats - now thoroughly aligned with the mafia - would control the parliament.
New Priorities[]
After successfully stabilizing and rebuilding Sicily, the Dons began to debate their next move. Several clans within Cosa Nostra wanted to realign their share of control within the Sicilian republic. Other clans had, in recent years, expanded ties with surviving crime syndicates on the mainland, none of whom had done as well as the Mafia. In order to prevent further internal conflict and capitalize on their strong position, the Dons became leading advocates of extending the republic's control to the mainland. By the time the army and political leaders were convinced to send military forays across the strait, many of the crime families already had a presence in the peninsula.
Families associated with the 'Ndrangheta crime syndicates in Calabria - that is, those who had survived four years of internecine fighting - arranged for calls of assistance to filter over to Sicily from localities in the province. Ironically, these initial false cries for help turned into genuine ones as Calabrians desired the relative prosperity of Sicily. In March of 1987, Sicilian military forces landed in Reggio di Calabria and secured the province by the end of the month. By exploiting ties with other regional crime syndicates, such as the Camorra and Sacra Corona Unita, and a genuine desire for stability from the people of southern Italy, the Sicilian military was able to rapidly march north. By 1988, the Sicilians had marched as far north as Tuscany, which was the first major Italian state that they confronted. They had also seized the city of Venice from the weak Venetian Republic. Most of southern Tuscany was overrun by the more numerous and better equipped Sicilian forces and the offensive ended in December 1988 after the fall of Florence. The Tuscans relocated their capital to Prato and continued to control northern Tuscany, in addition to several districts of northern Florence and an enclave in southern Pisa. The Venetians retreated to Trieste, but continued to control the Veneto mainland.
During the course of this conquest, the Sicilians encountered various paramilitary groups. Some formed behind Sicilian lines as support groups for the Sicilians. Others formed in territories not yet conquered by the Sicilians who were either inspired by their rapid conquests or sought to join them before they arrived. Many of these paramilitias proved their usefulness during the conquest of Tuscany. Back in Palermo, the Dons, seeing the potential usefulness of such militias, began devising a way to formally incorporate them into the Mafia's command structure. Several were officially absorbed into the Sicilian armed forces, while the majority were restructured to form the backbone of new police forces in southern Italy. Recognizing the potential force they had cultivated, the old paramilitary units now provided the mob with a new source of muscle in their newly acquired territory.
As the Sicilians' new territory was secured, the clans continued to expand their operation into southern Italy. Through a power-sharing agreement negotiated by all the families, the regions of Italy were partitioned. Each family continued to answer to the Repubblica di famiglia and coordinate with the government, and their conduct remained bound by the Omertà, but they were allowed to control local operations for their own advantage. This system increased economic competition between the localities as each family sought to bring in the most wealth, but it avoided the political clashes that would have resulted from confining their operations to Sicily.
The Bologna Incident[]
After the successful conquest of Florence, the Sicilian military momentarily paused in order to consolidate their gains and prepare their forces for a future offensive. At this point, most of peninsular Italy was under Sicilian control and the commanders were confident that the rest of Italy could be conquered in short order. In March 1989, the Sicilian military restarted their northward advance expecting, as before, minimal resistance. Back in Sicily, the leadership was busy allocating territory to the clans and demarcating areas of influence in soon to be acquired northern Italy. Advance intelligence reports from agents in northern Italy suggested nothing more than lawless territory and small city-states, with the exception of the Republics of Venice, Genoa, and San Marino. San Marino negotiated a favorable deal with Sicily, which gave Sicily de facto control of their exports and free passage through their territory in November 1989. Expecting minimal resistance until they reached the borders of Genoa and Venice, the Dons, politicians and military brass agreed that the army should continue its push northward.
In April 1989, the Sicilian military had reached the city of Bologna, the first major objective of the campaign. Sicilian intelligence had reported that the city had maintained some level of municipal authority, but was fairly weak and easily conquerable. Expect this, Sicilian units began to encircle the city on April 9, 1989. Suddenly, an unexpected level of resistance appeared and, in several places, the Sicilians were thrown back. Shocked by this development, the generals in charge of the operation immediately order a larger offensive in order to secure the city. As Sicilian troops reached the outskirts of the city, they encountered an incredibly large force, which had arrived over the past few days completely undetected. Thousands of soldiers from Venice, Genoa, and the Alpine Confederation confronted the Sicilian soldiers and slowly drove them back. Over the next week, the shocked Sicilians retreated. This development sent waves through Palermo. While the government was aware of the existence of the Alpine Confederation and their control of northern border territories, no one expected them to actively deploy forces southward to thwart the Sicilian advance. Recognizing their fragile control of southern Italy and lacking the stomach for a full-scale war, the Sicilians pulled back to the Pisa-Florence-Rimini defensive line, deployed more soldiers to the front, and waited. The Dons also chose to withdraw from Venice at this time as Alpine troops were also detected heading towards the city. While many of the more expansionist members of the Mafia argued for continued advancement, a majority of the Dons believed that this was not the time for such a war and expected an Alpine push southward. However, in an unforeseen twist, the Alpines offered Sicily a peace treaty and pulled their forces back northward. While somewhat puzzled by their actions, President Salvo Lima accepted their proposal. The following Treaty of Bologna, as it is widely known, established the Sicilian border slightly north of the Pisa-Florence-Rimini line and the Alpines, along with the unhappy North Italians, gave the Sicilians de facto recognition.
New Leadership[]
The Bologna Incident triggered a major shift in the upper echelons of Sicilian leadership. Before the Incident, the Dons had shown a dangerous level of overconfidence and the warhawks among them threatened the Republic as a whole. The massive intelligence failure to detect Alpine forces before they arrived at Bologna also injured many Dons who were involved in the intelligence services. As a result, during an internal power reshuffling in 1990, many bosses were removed from their positions and a new group rose to power. These included many from the Ndrangheta and other mainland operations. The new leaders saw expansion as important, but a task that must be done carefully as to not endanger the state as a whole. They also wished to give the Sicilian state the chance to cement its gains through economic development, strengthening the military, and gaining the loyalty of the population.
The following fourteen years would be a massive economic development campaign designed to transform Sicily into an industrial nation. While before Doomsday Sicily and Southern Italy was part of one of the world's wealthiest states, these regions had minimal industrial development and remained largely agricultural, compared to highly industrialized northern Italy. Through a combination of state-directed capitalism, regulatory incentives, and the creation of syndicates, the economy quickly achieved growth rates above five percent. Destroyed or abandoned cities across the country were rebuilt, new industrial districts appeared in major population centers, and industries were built virtually overnight. Thanks to the success of these policies, Sicily became the Mediterranean's fastest growing economy, to the envy of their more democratic neighbors. In addition, a number of large Sicilian corporations arose that began aggressively doing business across the Mediterranean. These corporations had varying levels of financial success. In some countries, such as Tunisia, Sicilians achieved a major place within the economy, typically as the largest foreign corporation in the country. Elsewhere, in places such as Malta, initial Sicilian success and harsh business tactics resulted in their expulsion from the country, much to the chagrin of the Siclian leadership. These economic interactions largely came to define Sicilian foreign policy as the Dons focused most of their attention on economic development.
In addition to economic development, the Dons also placed a great deal of focus on internal political organization and stabilization. South of the Tiber, most of the population was generally accepting of Sicilian rule and welcomed the stability and prosperity it brought, despite the lack of political freedoms. Further north, the population was more skeptical, and outright hostile in Tuscany, where the Sicilians had conquered areas that had more established governments than in the south. In addition, issues lingered with the Tuscan Republic over the status of their Mirocoli Enclave in Pisa and refugees from the south. In the south, the expansion of the voting franchise allowed for the inclusion of local leading figures in governance in a way that would prevent them from opposing the Dons. Coupled with the economic growth of the 1990s and the growth of police and paramilitary units, these measures largely pacified the southern population.
In Tuscany, the Sicilians constructed an elaborate series of defensive works and border fences to help them police the area. This border became known (to both the Sicilians and their adversaries) as the Famiglia Line for the role that the families played in its construction. It was composed of a border fence stretching from the Tyrrhenian to Adriatic, with an extensive series of fortifications and mobile defenses behind it. It served to both cut off the flow of refugees northward and secure the Sicilian border from future attack. The Famiglia Line was completed in 1996. For occupied southern Tuscany, the Dons chose to adopt a model different from that of the rest of their territory. Instead of dividing up the region among the families, Tuscany would be a joint project. The families' close cooperation mirrored the political arrangements. Tuscany was to be ruled by the special "Tuscan Authority," an semi-autonomous governing body that operated on previous Tuscan laws. Key officials were named by Sicily's central government, while the families were allowed to exert their influence through their corporations. The Authority harshly suppressed any anti-government activity but otherwise allowed the Tuscans to live their lives as they did before the occupation. Nonetheless, refugees attempted to escape any way they could, mostly by sea after the completion of the Famiglia Line. Slowly, the fairly benign occupation led to the creation of a significant pro-Sicilian population within Tuscany, as the Dons had wished.
In the city of Pisa, the Mirocoli Enclave remained a major issue between the Tuscans and Sicilians. The enclave existed because during the Siege of Pisa most of the city's defenders retreated to the walled area around the Piazza de Miracoli and were able to hold out until the Alpine intervention. Their survival greatly angered the Sicilian military leadership who saw their continued existence as a mark of failure. The generals pushed the Sicilian government into a hardline position that led to the blockade of the enclave. With Tuscany having no international support and limited resources, they were unable to find a way around the blockade and were forced to surrender the enclave in 1993. The residents that remained faced the harshest aspects of the Sicilian occupation due to their higher level of opposition to their rule.
War of the Alboran Sea[]
2004 Italy
The election of 2000 brought Paolo Di Stefano to the Sicilian presidency. As a former Ndrangheta boss, Di Stefano signaled two major changes. First, it represented an even more direct connection between the civil government and organized crime. Second, it showed the rise of mainlanders in the Sicilian political system. Furthermore, Di Stefano's narrow margin of victory left the Sicilian elite feeling anxious. He filled his cabinet with hardliners, many of them with connections to crime or espionage, and set about eroding the institutions of democratic and civil government.
Di Stefano's administration also embarked on an aggressive foreign policy. By the early 2000s, Sicily had achieved many of its goals of industrialization and military expansion. Compared to the people of northern Italy and much of the Mediterranean, the Sicilians were prosperous, though so much of their production was focused on the military that Sicilians did not necessarily get to enjoy this prosperity. Hardliners now believed Sicily was prepared to embark on much grander conquests. Plans began as far back as 2000. As Italian nationalists, many wanted to continued their northward expansion and reunite the country, but others, somewhat more pragmatic, realized that the Alpine Confederation and northern states were powerful enough to resist any northward expansion. Instead, they looked beyond Italy. Libya had collapsed after Doomsday and was much further behind in development than Sicily. This made it a tempting target for moving excess population and extracting resources.
Military planning for the operation, known as Operation Scipio after the Roman Consul and governor of Sicily who defeated Carthage, began in mid-2000. The greatly enlarged Sicilian Navy would spearhead the attack followed by a significant amphibious invasion. The invasion was expected to be quick, though the occupation was sure to be a long struggle. The initial invasion took place in the summer and autumn of 2001. Resettlement efforts began early the next year. This effort required the cooperation of Tunisia, whose government was friendly with Di Stefano. The two nations formalized an alliance in 2004.
These actions coincided with developments in Iberia. The Spanish Republic was destabilized in 2003 after the assassination of "Caudillo" Sigfredo Hillers de Luque, who had formed an alliance with Sicily shortly after he came to power in 1994. Rebels, with the support of Pais del Oro, had risen up against the Falangists and occupied several cities, including parts of the Cartagena, the primary port. The remnants of the Falangist government alerted the Sicilians of their difficulties and, after the Pais del Oro intervention, the Dons pledged their assistance. As part of the response, Sicily timed a new operation to coincide with a third offensive in Spain. On May 5th, the Sicilian Armed Forces launched an invasion of Sardinia. Its capital Ghilarza fell on May 13th after a rapid Sicilian advance. The Sicilians proceeded to push westward and occupied the island of Ibiza and helped the Spanish Republic blockade the rest of the Balearic Islands. From Ibiza, the Sicilians forced the PdOr Navy back into the Atlantic and bombarded Parma de Mallorca and Cartagena. With Sicilian assistance, the Falangists were temporarily able to regain control of Cartagena and several other rebel controlled cities.
Pressing their advantage, Sicily sent a flotilla into the Straits of Gibraltar on June 10th. With their capture, the Dons had achieved their goal of establishing Sicilian dominance in the Mediterranean. With control of the Straits, Sicily could now control who entered and exited the Mediterranean. It also gave them several good ports from which to expand their commercial operations. Even during the initial phases of the occupation, Sicilian mafiosi and businessmen began setting up operations in order to capitalize on what was believed to be a now-permanent Sicilian territory. In order to preserve their gains, the Straits were fortified as heavily as possible and Sicilian soldiers were deployed to Spain. Unfortunately, the occupation of Sardinia and Tunisia had tied up a large number of Sicily's soldiers. However, it did not particularly worry the Sicilian leadership because PdOr simply did not have the resources to combat Sicily. Their army was trapped in their coastal enclaves under constant Sicilian bombardment and their navy was crippled and driven out of the Mediterranean. The Dons were expecting to besiege the remaining rebels and PdOr troops until they surrendered, which they did in January 2005.
In an unexpected move, Pais del Oro assembled a broad international coalition composed of the Celtic Alliance, Rif Republic, and Portugal. This development captured the world's attention and shocked the Dons, none of whom expected such a grand coalition to form against them. After many debates, most realized that their chances for victory were slim and began to divest themselves from the operation. Corporate operatives and mafiosi were recalled from the occupied territories and they were further militarized. The Dons were willing to give up these territories, but were not going to do so without costing the coalition.
In late July, coalition naval units began engaging Sicilian forces in the Atlantic Ocean. Slowly, the coalition was able to retake the Straits and sailed towards Spain. Sicilian commanders ordered army units to maintain control of the Straits in order to evacuate their personnel. Unfortunately, the over-eagerness of Di Stefano's hardline administration would result in substantial lost investments in the Straits. Once the Straits were evacuated, the president ordered a withdraw to Ibiza where it was decided they would hold until the coalition arrived.
By the time the coalition had landed on the Spanish coast, the Dons had long ago realized that they could not win this war with their forces tied up in the occupation of Sardinia and Tunisia. They had decided to engage in a series of delaying actions, which were designed to slowly drain the enemy force. Throughout the winter and spring of 2006, a series of surprise air strikes were conducted against coalition forces in Spain, who had been lulled into a false sense of security due to the Sicilian withdrawal, which resulted in hundreds of deaths. In addition, the Sicilian Navy constantly harassed the coalition and successfully used swarm tactics to take down several ships.
In mid 2006, coalition forces had arrived at Ibiza, only to find that the island was abandoned by the Sicilians but was covered with mines and other booby traps. In addition, mines off the coast caused the loss of several ships, mostly transports. The Dons had decided to cut their losses and simply abandon the island. Their intelligence reports relayed that a continued offensive towards Sardinia was doubtful at best. They also hoped the casualties from conquering Ibiza would further persuade them to not push forward. In July 2006, negotiations began with the Sicilians in order to end the conflict. These negotiations dragged on until mid-2007, when peace was finally achieved. Sanctions against Sicily ended in December of that year as well.
While the Dons had failed to seize the Straits of Gibraltar, their control of Sardinia and Tunisia was secure. In addition, they had proven their military superiority over most of their neighbors, which helped their international position somewhat. The Dons now set about rebuilding and improving their military for the inevitable next war, while developing Tunisia and Sardinia into fortresses against any westward assault against Sicily.
An Uneasy Peace[]
The War of the Alboran Sea had established Sicily's position as the dominant power in the Mediterranean, which scared many of their neighbors and faraway powers in South America and Oceania, which were beginning to take an interest in Mediterranean trade. This growing infamy was soon met with many unforeseen reactions. On September 27th, 2007, the Atlantic Defense Community was formed as a direct counter to Sicilian strength. While publicly, the Sicilian government said little in reaction to this development, privately great concern swept through their ranks. None of the Sicilian leadership expected such a reaction to their actions. Several of the most powerful nations in Europe had aligned against them, which would obviously make any future expansion much more difficult. For the moment, the internal Sicilian leadership became paralyzed between various factions vying to control the future direction of Sicilian policy. Some argued for appeasing the hostile forces, both those in northern Italy and those out in the Atlantic. Others wanted to maintain an aggressive stance and continue the republic's bid for Mediterranean supremacy.
In 2008, Sicily's direction was decided. Di Stefano and his administration withdrew en masse from the Christian Democratic Party, which had hitherto been the main institution of civil society through which the dons and their allies had operated. They formed a new party, called Fiamma Sociale d'Azione (Social Flame of Action). This marked the end of the last pretense of parliamentary rule. Di Stefano could now pursue his aggressive policies unimpeded by the party establishment.
These efforts began in November 2008 with the announced tightening of patrols in the Lampedusa Corridor. The Sicilian and Tunisian navies fanned out across the Mediterranean's central passage and began interdicting all commercial traffic to search for weapons. The Dons saw this as an opportunity to assert their dominance of the sea and prevent their rivals from obtaining weapons, including Rhodope in Bulgaria, which was importing arms from the Atlantic - the Sicilians supported Rhodope's rival Vidin. However, the Expansionists underestimated the growing importance of Mediterranean shipping lines to the world. The seizures provoked a violent reaction from the ADC, Alpine Confederation, and ANZC, which forced the Dons to back down and end the policy after only three weeks. This second miscalculation greatly disturbed the Dons and resulted in another series of power jockeying within the Sicilian leadership, though Social Flame was able to maintain its dominance.
Second Sicily War[]
Italy 2011
By late 2009, Social Flame still dominated Sicilian leadership and believed they were now ready to go on the offensive once more. The ADC was preoccupied with the Saguenay War in North America and significant assistance from the Celtic Alliance Nordic Union was considered doubtful. These circumstances left Greece, Cyrenaica País de Oro, Portugal, Corsica, and the Rif Republic as potential challengers, in addition to the possible threat from Northern Italy. Social Flame accurately believed that only Greece, and to a smaller extent the IPA, represented a significant threat to Sicily. Nonetheless, the possibility of the end of the Saguenay War or increased ADC involvement in the war meant that the war would have to end very quickly in order to achieve victory. According to initial battle plans, Cyrenaica (which, besides its own forces, hosted a detachment of Greek soldiers) and the Ionian Islands would have to be taken within four to five months. This would have, in all likelihood, forced the Greeks out of the war. Some within the Sicilian ranks also hoped for a Turkish invasion of Greece in the east, there was insufficient Turkish interest in going to war. If the invasion proceeded according to the timetable, the Dons believed that with the full force of the Sicilian military focused against Northern Italy and the Western Mediterranean, it could preserve its conquests and keep any ADC relief force at bay.
Seeking a way to obtain a more internationally acceptable casus belli to begin the war, the Dons decided to let someone else start it. On October 11th, 2009, the Sicilian Navy attacked a Greek freighter off the Cyrenaican coast under the pretenses that it was carrying weapons to rebels in Tunisia. As expected, the rather hot-headed Greeks responded by immediately declaring war. Sicilian and Tunisian military forces now deployed. The Libyan and Ionian offensives soon stalled due to higher-than-expected Greek resistance. In March 2006, the northern Italian states formed the Association of the Free Italian States and entered the war against Sicily, opening up another front. These developments prevented Sicily from reaching its objectives in time, and, as expected, the Saguenay War ended in April and additional ADC forces began to move towards the Mediterranean.
On June 14th, the ADC managed to successfully land on Sardinia, opening up yet another front against Sicily. At this point, many of the Dons were becoming frantic. The advances had stalled and were now fighting on four separate fronts. Popular dissent towards the war was quickly quieted, but the Sicilian leadership was still wary of the possible outcome. The northerners were slowly advancing as well, though increased reinforcements enabled them to be pushed back. In September, the ADC began their invasion of Tunisia, which coincided with a mass uprising led by the Tunisian Freedom Army, a rebel group that had managed to evade the authorities. The war dragged into the Winter of 2010 with Sicilian forces being ejected from the Ionians and Sardinia, followed by a Greek invasion of Lecce.
By December, Sicily was engaged in a slow, grinding retreat on all fronts. In a sudden leadership shakeup, most ministers of the Social Flame of Action were overthrown in a more traditional Mafiosi succession. They were replaced by Christian Democrats who wished to end the war. The war had cost Sicily far too much territory, weakened its armed forces, and put major strains on its economy, to the dismay of many of the mafia families. Thankfully, the ADC and IPA, over Greek objections, agreed to the Sicilian truce on December 15th, 2010.
Reflection[]
Since the end of the Second Sicily War, the Sicilian Mafia has engaged in a period of internal reflection in order to address the problems that led to their defeat and chart a course for the future. After the war ended, there were shakeups in many of the major Mafia families. The marriage of mafia outlook and expansionist military policy had failed spectacularly, so those who had orchestrated this marriage, even those in the upper leadership, were purged. Bosses and underbosses who threatened the stability of the state lost their lives. The purges continued until August 2011, which resulted in the rise of a much calmer, level-headed leadership. While the crime families purged, reforms were imposed to restore stability, civil control and accountability to the government. The mafia would perhaps always be able influence politicians and public policy, but the era of the "mafia state" was at an end.
Sicily's new government sought to improve its diplomatic relations and gain allies - or at least end its status as an international pariah. The new mafia leadership mostly backed this effort, citing the need to use more subtle means to achieve their objectives. On the other hand, hardliners continued to argue for the need to push for more direct control of Italy, Tunisia, and Libya. They also looked further abroad to Turkey beginning in 2007, hoping to expand their ties to the eastern Mediterranean.
Structure[]
Organization[]
Hierarchy of a Cosa Nostra clan.Cosa Nostra is not a monolithic organization, but rather a loose association of groups known alternately as "families", "cosche", "borgatas" or "clans" (despite the name, their members are generally not related by blood). A clan is led by a "boss" (capofamiglia or rappresentante), who is aided by one or more underboss (a sotto capo) and supervised by one or more advisers (consigliere). Under the command of each underboss are groups (decina) of about ten "soldiers" (soldati or operai). Each decina is led by a capodecina (or sometimes caporegime). Before Doomsday, the soldiers were typically the visible, street component of the mob. However, after Doomsday, the decina has grown into a very diverse position. Today, the soldai can range from paramilitary soldiers to political operatives to corporate employees.
The actual structure of any given clan can vary. Despite the name decina, they do not necessarily have ten soldiers, but can have anything from five to thirty. Some clans are so small that they don't even have decinas and capodecinas, and even in large clans certain soldiers may report directly to the boss.
The boss of a clan is typically elected by the rank-and-file soldiers (though violent successions do happen). Before Doomsday due to the small size of most Sicilian clans, the boss of a clan had intimate contact with all members, and did not receive much in the way of privileges or rewards as he would in larger organizations (such as the larger Five Families of New York of the pre-Doomsday American Mafia). However, with the massive expansion that occurred post-Doomsday, some of the intimacy within the organization has disappeared. The tenure of bosses is also frequently short: elections are yearly, and he might be deposed sooner for misconduct or incompetence, though there has been a recent trend of extended stays in power in order to maintain stability and continuity of leadership.
The underboss is usually appointed by the boss. He is the boss' most trusted right-hand man and second-in-command. If the boss is killed or imprisoned, he takes over as leader.
The consigliere ("counselor") of the clan is also elected on a yearly basis. One of his jobs is to supervise the actions of the boss and his immediate underlings, particularly in financial matters (e.g. preventing embezzlement). He also serves as an impartial adviser to the boss and mediator in internal disputes. To fulfill this role, the consigliere must be impartial, devoid of conflict of interest and ambition.
Other than its members, Cosa Nostra makes extensive use of "associates". These are people who work for or aid a clan (or even multiple clans) but are not treated as true members. These include corrupt officials and prospective mafiosi. An associate is considered by the mafiosi nothing more than a tool, someone that they can "use", or "nothing mixed with nil."
Division[]
After Doomsday, the Sicilian Mafia began of slow process of expansion in order to fill the new legal economic and political roles it was forced to adopt to govern the new Sicilian state. As a result of this expansion, the Mafia slowly divided into three interconnected, but distinct, divisions. The first division was the creation of the Mafia's political wing: originally forming part of the infrastructure of Christian Democratic Party; in the 2000s breaking off to form the Social Flame of Action, a party whose mafia ties were even stronger; and since 2011 consisting of operatives within numerous parties on the political right and center.
The second division arose with the expansion of the Sicilian private sector as the Mafia emerged from the criminal erworld to lead many of the state-owned and private corporations that were formed after the foundation of the Republic, and these new corporate elite are known as the oligarchs. The final wing of the Mafia is the original, criminal Mafia, which is often referred to as the "true" Mafia. All three Mafias are interwoven through a complex organizational structure that stretches across each Mafia family. Each family is a microcosm of the larger Sicilian state through their own division into three wings. The entirety of the greater Mafia continues to be controlled by the central Sicilian Dons. The unity of the clans has been more difficult to maintain since 2011 but leaders still attempt to form a united front.
Sicilian State[]
The mafia have had a complex and shifting relation with the state. In the emergency government of the 1980s, certain families combined their resources with those of the Italian intelligence services to help them resist Soviet attacks, in return for which the state helped the families eliminate their rivals. During the late 80s and 90s, civil rule expanded gradually. The republic came to have three branches, like most governments: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is comprised of the Executive Council, the Cabinet, and the national bureaucracy. The legislative branch is represented by the Sicilian Parliament. The judicial branch is composed of a number of courts that decide on issues from appeals to constitutionality. A number of official positions were reserved for members and associates of the clans, the distribution of these offices organized in a hierarchical fashion similar to that of the clans. Council-style governance reflects the same interfamily dynamics that maintains the order between the clans.
Under the second emergency government of the 2000s, Sicily became a single party, authoritarian republic. All political power in Sicily was controlled first by the Christian Democrats, then by Social Flame of Action, and the party hierarchies were in turn were answerable by the bosses of the Cosa Nostra.
The return of multiparty rule since 2011 forced the clans to adapt. Their members still have roles at the highest level of government, but their ties to the state are less direct and less explicit than they were before the Second Sicily War.
Leadership[]
The upper leadership of the Sicilian Mafia control the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Republic, and numerous economic entities. While all these assets have their own separate chains of leadership, they all ultimately lead back to the central Mafia leadership. The central leadership is composed of a handful of powerful family bosses who are colloquially known as the Dons. Collectively, they are known simply as "the Commissione", though they are also referred to, somewhat cynically, as the "Board" in a reference to their corporate-style governance. Before Doomsday, the Mafia lacked any true central leadership and merely had commissions, known as commissione or cupola, that promoted cooperation and regulated disputes on a provincial or regional basis. After Doomsday, the level of cooperation between the different clans grew exponentially and soon a national commission was established. Like provincial commissions, the Commissione was composed of various family bosses on a provincial basis. As the Mafia expanded, it expanded to include leaders outside the traditional criminal Mafia. Today, the Commissione is composed of 20 capofamiglia who exercise significant control over Sicilian society and sole control of the traditional criminal Mafia, though there are other mechanisms to restrain and monitor their actions.
While the Commissione is the leading body within the Sicilian Mafia, its influence is exerted through several legitimate bodies for the governance of the Sicilian Republic. Several members of the Commissione hold positions on the Executive Council, the leading political body in the Republic. Member can also, jointly or separately, hold positions on the National Security Council, which controls the military, or the cabinet, which decides domestic policy. In order to manage the vast corporate interests the Cosa Nostra controls, several members of the Commissione sit on the boards of the syndicates, industry-wide governance bodies that direct all economic entities within a given industry. Typically, a single member of the Commissione will be designated the president or chairman of a given syndicate and the other board positions will go to leaders or former leaders of corporations within the syndicates or to high-ranking members of the involved clans.
Beyond the Dons, Sicilian politics are heavily influenced by several powerful interest groups known as blocs. Typically, these blocs represent syndicates, public corporations, private corporations, provincial and municipal political interests, and the military. Each of these groups constantly vie for money and influence in the Sicilian government. These blocs will also give support to, or be supported by, various Dons who tend to support their views. The blocs involve themselves in all aspects of public policy, including foreign policy, and in recent years have grown to greater prominence in the upper echelons of Sicilian leadership.
Policies[]
During the Mafia's years in power, Sicily was a parliamentary republic in which the criminal organization operated as a kind of shaddow government, essentially an authoritarian oligarchy that exerted power through its own structures and hierarchy. In many ways, the organization of the republic reflected that of a large-scale corporation, leading many to call it a re-imagination of a corporate state. Despite expectations of criminal brutality and inefficiency, the Mafia worked within well-organized and properly managed state that achieved a remarkable level of economic development, even if its at the expense of other nations and the liberties of their citizens. This drive was reflected in their economic and foreign policies.
Domestic Policy[]
Taking lessons from their criminal past, a policy of political repression was adopted by the Dons and their allies in 1985. Political opposition was repressed through a combination of overt state action, with subversive underground operations, and bribes and other corrupt practices. To an extent, this continues today. Potentially disruptive political individuals pushed into the corporate world, Mafia-associated political youth groups, or the Mafia itself. These policies have been highly successful in stifling dissent throughout Sicilian-controlled territories. In the 90s, these policies met with more difficulty as more areas beyond the far south were incorporated into the republic. The solution was more overt repression and the end of parliamentary rule. In the 2000s, foreign operatives increasingly funded in political opposition groups and otherwise sought to interfere in Sicilian politics, particularly in Tuscany.
Beyond the political repression, Sicily also, ironically, has one of the strictest legal codes in the region. Many crimes, particularly those that once formed the backbone of the Mafia, have been declared illegal in the new Sicilian state and are strictly prosecuted. While this does not stop the government from using certain criminal tactics thanks to a series of "Exceptional Security" laws, the total number of crimes has dropped dramatically from before Doomsday.
Economic Policy[]
In line with their criminal nature and their connections to the political right, the Sicilian Dons promote an ultracapitalistic economic policy with the goal of generating revenue at all cost. As a result, those who deal, legally and illegally, with the Sicilians recognize them as some of the most determined and effective businessmen in the world. Legally, many Sicilian firms, some privately controlled with others directly controlled by the Cosa Nostra, have pursued in successful trading with states throughout the world, however, after the First Sicily War, their activities were severely limited in Europe and the Mediterranean due to mass boycotts or government bans. Nonetheless, their legal business adventures continue uninterrupted with the SAC, Soloville, and a growing number of nations beyond Europe.
Thanks to their ruthless brand of capitalism, very few things are illegal in Sicily. A variety of exotic drugs, prostitution, and other products and services that most governments declare contraband are widely available in the Repubblica di famiglia. As a result, a unique form of tourism has been nurtured by the Dons to encourage a variety of people to come to Sicily. However, all these products and services are strictly regulated by the Sicilian government to ensure the smooth flowing of business and the stability of society.
Sicily's economic success was a result of the economic reforms and massive investment that occurred during the 1990s. The economic reforms were modelled on the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno from the 1950s, but the modern reforms experienced greater success because corruption was reoriented to the service of the state, and state and crime leaders coordinated their actions so as not to interfere with one another. Land reform, tax incentives, and beneficial regulation were all key to the rapid development of Sicily. It also generated the high-tech manufacturing Sicily needed to become a modern industrial power.
Foreign Policy[]
The Sicilian Mafia has always emphasized self-dependence and that philosophy has affected Sicilian foreign policy. As a result, Sicily has been a fairly isolationist nation with little interest in the opinion of other nations. While Sicily's agricultural and industrial self-sufficiency has enabled this to be a successful economic policy, it has led to a somewhat confrontational foreign policy. Driven by a ruthless economic drive and carefully managed internal political disputes, the Dons pushed the extension of the republic's control into the whole of Italy, which led to conflict with many of its neighbors. These same factors led to Sicilian conquests of Tripolitania, Sardinia, and most of mainland Italy and its later loss of territory in the Second Sicily War. Nonetheless, the Dons continue to seek to reacquire territories which they consider rightfully theirs, such as Sardinia and mainland Italy, while relinquishing claims on economically draining territories.
Sicily also has an active policy of promoting and assisting foreign political parties with pro-Sicilian views. When possible, funding or organizational support is given. These efforts are meeting with various success. In Tuscany, for example, Sicilian efforts are meeting with greater success because of the significant, pro-Sicilian population. Collectively, these efforts are aimed at destabilizing enemy states or reducing their hostility to Sicily in order to gain allies in any future war.
Criminal Activities[]
Despite their diversification into the politics and international business, the Cosa Nostra still continues their traditional criminal activities. Many of the criminal activities they practiced within their territory have become official state practices, so many of these activities have been exported outside Sicily. Since Doomsday, the international criminal profile of the Mafia has rapidly grown and today they are one of the world's largest criminal enterprises.
Drug Trade[]
Since Doomsday, the international drug trade has proven to be the largest and most profitable criminal enterprise for Sicily. Although the trade took a hit after Doomsday disrupted major supply lines and destroyed the major consumers, the drug trade rebounded in the 1990s with the re-establishment of global trade and the growth of new consumers. Once it rebounded, Sicily began the mass production of a variety of drugs, ranging the generally legal tobacco to heroin and methamphetamines. In addition, the Cosa Nostra reached out to suppliers stretching from Mexico to Afghanistan. The Cosa Nostra has established itself as one of the largest drug cartels in Europe during the late 1990s They were also able to establish a presence in North America, through the Southern Mafia, before their destruction. After the War of the Alboran Sea, it was been severely weakened by a series of crackdowns across the Mediterranean and Europe, which have made its operations much more difficult. Today, it is also facing stiff competition from a number of newer competitors across the world.
Smuggling[]
Mafiosi provide protection and invest capital in smuggling gangs. Smuggling operations require large investments (goods, boats, crews, etc.) but few people would trust their money to criminal gangs. It is mafiosi who raise the necessary money from investors and ensure all parties act in good faith. They also provide more specialized smuggling equipment, such as semi-submersibles and fully submersible vehicles that can pass almost undetected through naval patrols. They also ensure that the smugglers operate in safety.
Mafiosi rarely directly involve themselves in foreign smuggling operations. When they do, it is usually when the operations are especially risky. In this case, they may induct smugglers into their clans in the hope of binding them more firmly. For example, this is the case with heroin smuggling, where the volumes and profits involved were too large to keep the operations at arm's length. More recently, the Mafia has tried to stay as indirectly involved as possible to avoid attention from the recent crackdowns on their operations. Nonetheless, Sicilian smuggling operations in Europe and North Africa have been severely compromised. Most Sicilian smuggling now occurs in North America thanks to its base in Louisiana, though these operations are very small and typically involve various small city-states outside major nations.
Prostitution[]
While it was more popular with the American Mafia, the Sicilian Mafia has also expanded their prostitution rings. Within Sicily, prostitution is legal and all of the major clans operate brothels, which are under strict government supervision to ensure their smooth and safe operation. Outside Sicily, the families will often contract with local gangs to provide the capital and organization for brothels in exchange for a share of the brothels. These foreign brothels typically produce a profit, but more importantly provide an important base for Sicilian intelligence operatives. While many of their brothels in more developed areas have been shut down, operations in poorer countries or in larger urban areas are still in operation and serve a much less substantial intelligence purpose than in the past.
Protection Racketeering[]
The traditional occupation of the Sicilian Mafia, protection racketeering, has seen a major decline since Doomsday. Mafia control of their own state has precluded the need for protection racketeering by the Cosa Nostra itself. However, it did see growth in Tunisia after the War of the Alboran Sea due to the sudden surge of Cosa Nostra personnel into the country. With the expansion of the Mafia, various families have deployed operatives across the Mediterranean, or any region with a significant Italian population. While these cells have had varying amounts of success, protection racketeering has been a significant component of their foreign operations.
Vote Buying[]
Outside Sicily, the Mafia engages in vote buying operations. Vote buying serves to either remove political opposition to Sicilian economic activity or gain their specific political advantages with relevant states. Currently, Sicilian gangs are focused on establishing a larger support base in Tripolitania, Sardinia, and Tuscany to compensate for their loss of those territories.
International Branches[]
North America[]
Thanks to Sicilian immigration, Mafia branches arose in the United States and Canada during the late nineteenth century. It rapidly grew in the Italian urban ghettos that arose during the mass immigration before World War I and quickly established itself as one of the largest criminal organizations on the continent. The American Mafia was the most prominent group on the continent and was largely based in the American Northeast, Chicago, and Florida. The smaller Canadian Mafia also rose to become a significant criminal organization in eastern Canada and Vancouver. These branches were decimated after Doomsday as most of their operatives were based in the major cities of North America, which were destroyed in the nuclear strikes. It is believed that surviving members of the American and Canadian Mafias may have reformed their organizations on a much smaller scale, but neither organization has regained the prominence they had before Doomsday.
Since Doomsday, at least one significant Mafia offshoot has arisen on the North American continent. In Louisiana, a group known as the "Southern Mafia" has arisen. It does contain some original Mafia members, along with other non-Italian members. They were very active in the State of Louisiana and repeatedly attempted to overthrow the existing government. While the Sicilians were somewhat concerned by their repeated use of terrorism and desire for violent seizure of power, their concerns was not great enough to prevent their cooperation with them. The Southern Mafia represents a gateway for Sicilian criminal expansion into North America. Operatives were sent to Louisiana in the early 1990s in order to open up the drug trade between Sicily and North America. In exchange, the Sicilians have helped refine the Southern Mafia's operations, which made their 1997 coup attempt possible. Unfortunately, the coup attempt, which was done against the advice of the Sicilians, was an abysmal failure and resulted in the complete destruction of the organization. Nonetheless, Sicilian operatives, who refrained from participating in the coup, remained in place and in control of the drug and moonshine trade in Louisiana, with the Sicilians in direct control. Using their operatives in the region and contracting with other gangs, the Sicilians have managed to establish a small, permanent presence in the region. With a foothold in North America being established, the Sicilians used it to establish connections in other North American nations, since their presence in Louisiana is difficult to maintain due to the massive popular efforts directed against the Mafia in general. By 2011, operations have been expanded to several other North American survivor states.
Australia[]
Like North America, many Italians also immigrated to Australia during the late 1800s and early 1900s. However, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra never established a major foothold there. Another Italian criminal organization, the 'Ndrangheta, which is based in Calabria did have a branch there though. The 'Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra had close ties before Doomsday and after Doomsday these ties were greatly strengthened. The 'Ndrangheta has now largely been incorporated into the Cosa Nostra. Once connections with Australia were re-established, operatives from the 'Ndrangheta were sent to re-establish their links with their Australian branch, the Honoured Society. While Doomsday interrupted the Honoured Society's operations, their operatives and leadership survived. The kept the organization going, and it came to occupy an important niche in the rebounding Australian economy. Contact with the original 'Ndrangheta spurred interest within the organization, but so far has yet to result in any major expansion of the organization. Operatives have been sent in an attempt to reignite the organization in order to expand Sicilian control of the drug trade in southeast Asia and Oceania.
Reputation[]
Due to their extensive criminal operations pre-Doomsday, the Sicilian Mafia was a rather infamous organization before their rise to even greater international prominence. Known around the world for their successful criminal enterprises and branches across the world, the Cosa Nostra was probably the world's most infamous criminal syndicate. After Doomsday, many of the world's major criminal organizations collapsed, became brigands, or remained in the criminal underworld. However, the Mafia is the world's major exception. Unlike their other criminal counterparts, they rose to a position of power within one of the world's most powerful states. This has caused their traditional criminal reputation to transcend into the areas of international politics and business. As a result, Sicily is widely regarded as a pariah or mob state. Many regard the mafia as fascist, though this is an incomplete description. While the mob certainly made common cause with authoritarian nationalists, they lack the fascists' desire to dominate all aspects of a person's life. Ironically, while political freedoms are virtually non-existent, Sicilian economic and personal freedoms are extensive, to a point that many actions that are legal in Sicily, such as prostitution, exotic drugs, and violent business practices, are illegal in most other countries. In addition to their criminal reputation, the Mafia has gained a reputation of unabashed expansionism through their extensive conquests and claims on all of Italy, Libya, and other areas of the Mediterranean. While modern Sicilian expansionism has little basis in cultural superiority like traditional imperialism, it is based on the traditional rational of national security, pride, and opportunity. The Dons largely see the post-Doomsday power vacuum as an opportunity to seize control of as much territory and wealth as possible, and position Sicilians at the top of the Italian hierarchy for the first time since ancient Magna Graecia.