List of the most powerful and powerful mafias in the world.
In tenth place are Jamaicans in Britain who moved to England in the 50s. This ethnic group controls a good share of the arms and drug trade. This mafia does not try to infiltrate government structures, therefore it is not as strong as the others. British police are hesitant to classify Yardie gangs as organized crime because they have no real structure or central leadership
9. Albanian mafia
Albania consists of numerous criminal groups. Their rules have remained unchanged since the 15th century... The Albanian mafia is involved in the trade of white slaves, alcohol and tobacco, controls prostitution, car theft and racketeering. She began her “activities” in the 80s of the last century. Widely represented in the USA and Britain. Distinctive feature is the cruelty used in acts of revenge.
8. Serbian mafia
The Serbian mafia has found its place among the leaders, since it operates in dozens of countries around the world and is associated with drug smuggling, contract killings, racketeering, robberies, control of bets and gambling houses. Interpol lists about 350 Serbian citizens, who are often employees and leaders of the largest drug cartels in the world. Serbian gangsters are also known for intellectual heists, often reenacting Hollywood scenarios, as well as quick and clean executions. Currently there are about 30-40 groups operating in Serbia
7. Israeli mafia
These guys work in the field of banditry in many countries, their main activity is drug trafficking and prostitution. Times have changed, and if previously they were once looked upon with awe because of their ability to protect, today they are ruthless killers who do not think twice before pulling the trigger. The Russian-Israeli mafia has strengthened its political system The United States is so good that even the vaunted American army is beyond the power to knock them out.
6.Mexican Mafia
The Mexican Mafia is a powerful criminal structure in the United States, with roots in the prison world. Originated in the 50s, it was positioned as the protection of Mexicans in US prisons from other criminals and prison guards. The main activities are extortion and drug trafficking. They are prone to quick reprisals against those they dislike and those who do not pay them the tax they set.
5. Japanese Yakuza
The Japanese mafia proudly traces its origins to impoverished samurai nobles, or ronin, as they were called in Japan. Heirs of noble fathers with many children, who sometimes had nothing but a sword, they inherited only the right to carry a sword and even comb their hair like a samurai: shave their forehead and crown, long hair from the back of the head, braid it into a tight braid and stick it on the bluish scalp. Although the Japanese mafia is known throughout the world, Everyday life In these cities it is difficult to spot it right away. Meanwhile, the Japanese mafia numbers one hundred and ten thousand people, while the noisy and violent American mafia numbers only twenty thousand. Considering that the population of the United States is approximately twice that of the Japanese, it is not difficult to calculate that for every Japanese there are eleven times as many professional rapists, robbers and murderers as there are Americans. Areas of activity: racketeering, distribution of prohibited pornography from Europe and America, prostitution and illegal emigration.
The fact that rapidly growing China is rapidly becoming a leader in global development is being talked about all over the world today. But there are also negative sides to this process. As China strengthens its leading position in the global economy, Chinese organized crime will rapidly expand its presence in transnational criminal relations. The “Triads” have already started a “third world war” for their competitors! Having “ridden” the migration processes, the mafia structures of China and the Chinese mafia in other countries have seized leading positions in organizing human trafficking and establishing flows of illegal migration. A Europol report (June 2006) noted that Chinese mafia groups were named leaders in human trafficking in the countries of the European Union. Chinese "triads" have supplanted the home-grown mafia in Japan - the yakuza: the Chinese account for about half of all crimes committed by foreigners.
3. Colombian drug cartels
The Colombian mafia is one of the world's largest suppliers of cocaine. All efforts government authorities still remain in vain, since the bandits’ business is more than successful. The Colombian drug mafia has existed since the mid-60s of the last century. The Medellin and Cali cartels quickly became the world's leading cocaine producers.
2. Sicilian and American Cosa Nostra
Members Sicilian mafia(from left to right), Salvatore Lo Bue, Salvatore Lo Cicero, Gaetano Lo Presti, Giuseppe Scaduto, Antonino Spera, Gregorio Agrigento, Luigi Caravello, Mariano Troia, Giovanni Adelfio and Francesco Bonomo In the 13th century. Sicily was constantly plundered not only by Algerian pirates, but also by detachments of French mercenaries who served the Northern Italian dukes and princes. The organized armed struggle of the islanders against the French began in 1282 under the slogan “Morete alla Francia, Italia anela” (“Die, France - sigh, Italy”); From the first letters of the call, the Sicilians composed a battle cry: “Mafia!” Soon, self-defense units turned into units of professional fighters who began to take tribute from peasants for protection from external enemies. In the 19th century mafia that became unified system, even tried to achieve the separation of the island from Italy and proposed an alliance with Giuseppe Garibaldi, but the troops of the Principality of Piedmont defeated her. At the end of the 19th century. thousands of Sicilians, fleeing poverty and clan wars, moved to America. IN major cities The United States arose Cosa Nostra (“Our Business”) - a network of Sicilian “families” that controlled casinos, smuggling, prostitution, illegal trafficking in alcohol, tobacco and weapons, and also engaged in racketeering. All the "consorteries" of Sicily form a "venerable community", headed by the Capo di tutti Capi, the head of all chapters. Important figures in the mafia structure are also picciotti di ficatu (hitmen), stopalieri (bodyguards), gabellotti (judges) and consiglieri (advisers).
1. Russian mafia
The Russian mafia numbers 500,000 people. Its godfathers control 70% of the Russian economy, as well as prostitution in Macau and China, drug trafficking in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, money laundering in Cyprus, Israel, Belgium and England, car theft, nuclear material trafficking and prostitution in Germany. With the disappearance of the Iron Curtain, the expansion of Russian crime ceased to be controlled and directed, as it was before the collapse of the USSR. The first wave of “export” of crime from the territory of what was then the USSR took place in the early 70s, when Soviet Jews were allowed to leave for Israel. This wave was not comparable to the second - when the USSR collapsed with the collapse " iron curtain" Then the world really appreciated the size of Russian crime, which it called the “Russian mafia.” Russian criminal communities sometimes expressed very specific interests in different countries of the world. Thus, in December 1993, the Western press first mentioned that groups were “shaking” Russian hockey players playing in foreign clubs, the so-called “legionnaires”. The mass of materials on this topic in the press in subsequent years indicated that the “sports racket” had acquired truly industrial proportions. According to some reports, now the Russian criminal community operates in 50 countries around the world. According to American professor Louise Shelley, the ROP has taken $150 billion out of the Russian Federation since 1991. According to other sources - 50 billion dollars, but also a lot.
Since the release of the first list richest people world in 1982, Forbes magazine includes drug lords and gangsters - since organized crime is part of the world economy, these incomes need to be counted. For example, according to The Guardian, the Calabrian mafia 'Ndrangheta became richer in 2013 than Deutsche Bank and McDonald's combined - by €53 billion.
Below are the odious figures of the underworld who made millions and billions - Pablo Escobar, "Shorty", Al Capone, Tony Salerno and others.
John Gotti
New York boss of the Gambino clan John Gotti received two nicknames from the press. “Teflon Don” - for being invulnerable to justice for a long time. And also “Don the Dapper” - for expensive custom suits (Brioni for $2000 and hand-painted silk scarves for $400), careful hairstyle, black Mercedes 450 SL and lavish parties.
Growing up in the South Bronx, Gotti joined the Gambino clan in the 1950s, one of the powerful syndicates involved in gambling, extortion, loan sharking and drugs. The US government suspected that on his way to becoming head of the Gambinos, Gotti eliminated his predecessor Paul Castellano in 1985. An FBI agent who worked on the Gotti case said that "he was the first media don, never trying to hide the fact that he was a superboss." And his large lifestyle and external gloss always provided food for articles in the tabloids.
According to the New York Times, Gotti received between $10 and $12 million in annual income, and the Gambino clan earned more than $500 million a year in the 1980s. Justice did not reach Gotti until 1992, and 10 years later he died in prison.
Shinobu Tsukasa
74-year-old Shinobu Tsukasa leads a yakuza clan called the Yamaguchi-gumi. Fortune listed the Yamaguchi-gumi as one of the five most powerful mafia groups in the world, with annual profits of $6.6 billion. Yamaguchi was founded in the port city of Kobe more than 100 years ago and has 23,400 members. Most of the income comes from drug sales, as well as gambling and extortion.
Shinobu Tsukasa is the sixth leader of the clan in history. In the 1970s, he was sentenced to 13 years for murder with a samurai sword. In 2005 he was jailed for 6 years for possession firearms. In 2015, a split occurred in the Yamaguchi-gumi. According to Tokyo Reporter, most of the group remained with Tsukasa, and 3,000 members formed a new clan led by Kunio Inoue.
Michael Franzese
On Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Mafia Bosses, Michael Franzese was ranked 18th. Franzese, nicknamed “Don Yuppie,” is the son of a bank robber who formed a cartel that was involved in the release of B-movies, the illegal sale of gasoline, scams involving the repair and sale of cars, and fraudulent loans.
Michael Franzese received between $1 and $2 million in income per week. In 1985, the US government charged him with fraud, stripped him of $4.8 million in assets and ordered him to repay $10 million for illegally selling gasoline through shell companies. After eight years in prison and a $15 million settlement, Frances moved to California and decided to capitalize on his criminal past. He has written two books - an autobiography, Blood Covenant, and a business advice book, I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse, as well as sold the rights to a miniseries about his life to CBS. Now the former gangster lives in a $2.7 million house, drives a Porsche, gives interviews to Vanity Fair and gives lectures at universities.
Anthony Salerno
In 1986, Fortune magazine published a list of the "50 Most Powerful Mafia Bosses." The editor-in-chief explained the appearance of the material by saying that “organized crime is a powerful economic factor" Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno also made the list. Led by a gangster, the Genovese clan (300 people) was involved in racketeering and drugs in New York. According to The New York Times, the clan's influence extended to Cleveland, Nevada and Miami, and its interests also included construction, loan sharking and casinos. Since the 1960s, the clan has earned $50 million a year. Between 1981 and 1985, Salerno imposed a two percent Mafia tax in New York on all contractors pouring concrete for buildings costing more than $2 million. Salerno's real wealth may have been $1 billion.
In 1988, the gangster was sentenced to 70 years for racketeering and concealing illegal income of $10 million a year (the declaration indicated only $40,000 a year). Four years later, at the age of 80, he died in prison.
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar
The income of India's most wanted criminal is estimated by Business Insider at $6.7 billion. Forbes included Kaskar in the list of the most influential people world in 2009, 2010 and 2011 (50th, 63rd and 57th place, respectively). His crime syndicate, D-Company, is blamed for the 1993 and 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and has also been involved in drug and arms smuggling. The US government believes that Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. According to one version, Kaskar is hiding in Pakistan.
Al Capone
Capone - the most famous American gangster. A character named Al Capone appears in 77 Mafia films.
At the time of his death in 1947, his fortune was estimated at $1.3 billion. Capone operated in various criminal spheres - bootlegging, racketeering, murder. In 1929 American government declared him “Enemy No. 1.” Prosecutors repeatedly sentenced Capone to prison, but he was released several months later. As a result, in 1931, Capone was only sentenced for tax evasion - for 11 years. He was to spend most of his sentence in Alcatraz.
In 1939, Capone was released, but his health was poor - he suffered from syphilis and dementia.
In 2012, Forbes conducted an analysis of Capone's former properties. The Chicago four-bedroom house he bought with his first earnings was valued at $450,000, and the Miami Beach mansion where he died in 1947 was valued at $9.95 million.
Griselda Blanco
The Western press called Colombian Griselda Blanco the “Godmother of Cocaine.” Blanco was a key figure in the Miami cocaine trade in the 1970s and 1980s. Even in the male drug business, she had a reputation as a ruthless operator. According to Business Insider, her fortune was approaching $2 billion, however, she was far from the income of Exobar.
A three-time widow whose spouses were rumored to have died at her hands, she named one of her sons Michael Corleone. Its distribution network made tens of millions of dollars and transported about 1,500 kilograms of cocaine a month, according to The Guardian. Before his arrest in 1985 in California, " Godmother" appeared on the list of the most dangerous drug traffickers along with Escobar and the Ochoa brothers. She was charged with 40 to 200 murders in Florida, but death penalty the woman escaped due to a technical error in court: the officer who testified against her was discredited because he had a telephone sex conversation with the secretary in the prosecutor’s office, the Guardian wrote. Blanco was imprisoned in federal prison and deported to Colombia in 2004, where she was shot and killed by a motorcycle killer eight years later.
Khun Sa
Khun Sa, the “Opium King,” was estimated by Business Insider to be worth $5 billion. Born Chang Shifu, the son of a Chinese man and a Shan woman, in the 1960s he changed his name to the pseudonym Khun Sa, which means “Prosperous Prince.” During these years, he led the Burmese army engaged in the cultivation of opium in the Golden Triangle South-East Asia, there were 20,000 men there. In the 1970s and 80s, Sa's army controlled the Thai-Burmese border and was responsible for 45% of the pure heroin entering the US, earning it the title of "the best in the business" by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). data The Economist).
The US government placed a $2 million bounty on the head of the “Opium King.” By the 1990s, the DEA was able to destroy Sa’s trading chain, he moved to Yangon and retired. Currently, opium production in the Golden Triangle has fallen to 5% of the global figure (in 1975 it was 70%).
There are different versions about whether the drug lord saved billions before his death in 2007 - from “lived in luxury”, but “was content with a modest pension.”
Morris Dalitz
Moritz (Moe) Dalitz was one of these legendary gangsters, like Al Capone and Bugzy Siegel. During the Prohibition era, he was involved in bootlegging, and later in the gambling business and real estate. In 1982, Dalitz appeared on the first Forbes list of the richest, along with artist Yoko Ono, actor Bob Hope and mafia accountant Meyer Lansky. Dalitz's fortune was estimated at $110 million, but how much he actually earned remains a question.
Dalitz received a significant share of his wealth from the first Las Vegas casinos. In 1949, he co-founded the Desert Inn and Stardust Hotel casinos. In the 1950s, he took part in the emergence of the Paradise Development Company, which built a university and convention center in Las Vegas. In the 1960s, he invested in the $100 million La Costa Resort complex near San Diego, after which he sued Penthouse magazine for $640 million, which wrote that the construction was financed by the mafia. Unlike many of his colleagues with a criminal past, Dalitz lived to old age and in recent years was involved in charity work.
Rafael Caro Quintero and Amado Carrillo Fuentes
Before the star of the drug lord "Shorty" rose in Mexico, two names thundered there - Rafael Caro Quintero (pictured) and Carrillo Fuentes. The head of the Guadalajara cartel, Rafael Quintero, owned a marijuana plantation called Rancho Bufalo. During a police raid in 1984, about 6,000 tons of marijuana were seized at the ranch, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, cost Quintero between $3.2 and $8 billion. The Guadalajara cartel earned $5 billion a year. There were rumors in the Mexican press that Quintero, following Escobar, offered to pay external debt Mexico in exchange for their freedom. The drug lord was sentenced to 40 years in a Mexican prison in 1989, but was released 28 years later.
Second Mexican drug lord– Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez cartel. The Washington The Post estimated his fortune at $25 billion. It is believed that his wealth allowed him long years avoid justice. Fuentes received the nickname "Lord of the Skies" for his extensive fleet (22 aircraft) for transporting cocaine to the United States. Fuentes died in 1997 during plastic surgery by changes in appearance.
Pablo Escobar
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar became the first criminal to appear on the Forbes 100 International Billionaires list in 1987 with an income of $3 billion. He dropped out only after his death in 1993. The Medellin cartel, led by Escobar, had revenues of $7 billion from 1981 to 1986, with the drug lord taking 40% for himself. The cartel received its main wealth from smuggling cocaine into the United States (about 15 tons daily); in the late 1980s it owned 80% of the entire cocaine market in the world. According to Business Insider, Escobar earned $420 million a week; according to other sources, his fortune totaled more than $30 billion.
Every year, the king of cocaine lost about $2.1 billion (10% of revenue) as the money was haphazardly stored in warehouses and abandoned farms, destroyed by mold and rodents. Every month he spent $2,500 on rubber bands to hold bills together. Escobar once burned $2 million to warm his daughter: the family was then hiding in the mountains, and there was nothing to light a fire with. In 1984, the cartel offered to pay Colombia's national debt in exchange for immunity. The Drug Enforcement Administration placed a reward of $11 million on Escobar's head. In 1991, the drug lord made a deal with the Colombian government to build his own La Catedral prison (with a football field and guards chosen by him), which the authorities could not approach closer than 5 km.
The life of the drug lord was so colorful that Netflix released the series “Narcos” dedicated to him in 2015.
Brothers Ochoa and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha
In 1987, along with Escobar, the co-founders of the Medellin cartel, Jorge Luis Ochoa-Vazquez (with an income of $2 billion) and his brothers Juan David and Fabio, who received 30% of the cartel's revenue, were included in the Forbes list of the richest. Ochoa Brothers remained on the Forbes list for another 6 years until they surrendered to the authorities.
The drug lord Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, who lived at the same time, worked both with the Medellin cartel and independently (for example, transporting cocaine from Bogota to the United States disguised as flower deliveries) was also a billionaire. In 1988, Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.3 billion. Gacha remained on the list for two years until he was shot dead by Colombian police.
Joaquin Guzman Loera
In 2009, Mexican drug lord Joaquin “Shorty” Loera Guzman was included in the list of the richest people Planet Forbes with a fortune of $1 billion. In 2012 and 2013, he ranked 63rd and 67th among the most influential people in the world. Strategic Forecasting Inc. and even estimated his wealth at $12 billion. The Sinaloa Cartel under the leadership of Loehr was responsible for 25% of illegal drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States and received revenue of $3 billion. The New York Times, citing data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, writes that the cartel sold more cocaine than Escobar at the peak of his career.
“Shorty” started his business in the early 1990s, transporting cocaine, including in cans of chili peppers (in 1993, Mexican authorities confiscated such a 7-ton cargo). He was declared "Mexico's most wanted man" with a $7 million reward for his capture: $5 million from the United States and another $2 million from Mexico. He was first arrested in 1993, but escaped from prison in 2001. IN last time Mexican intelligence agencies captured Loera in Sinaloa in January 2016. The drug lord was killed by vanity. He was going to make a biographical film about himself and was conducting a casting. In addition, actor Sean Penn flew to "Shorty" for an interview. It is believed that the authorities were able to track the movements of the criminal due to this.
There are many criminal groups in the world, which, due to their high organization and large numbers, have come to be called the mafia. With the most powerful and brutal mafias this post will introduce you to the world.
Sicilian mafia
It has been active in Sicily since the beginning of the 19th century, becoming at the beginning of the 20th century international organization. Initially, the organization was engaged in the protection of owners of orange plantations and nobles who owned large land plots, mostly from themselves. These were the beginnings of racketeering. Later, Cosa Nostra expanded its area of activity, becoming a criminal group in all respects. Since the 20th century, banditry has become the main activity of Cosa Nostra.
Russian Mafia
This is officially the most feared organized crime group. Former FBI special agents call the Russian mafia "the most dangerous people on the ground". In the West, the term “Russian mafia” can mean any criminal organization, both Russian itself and from other states of the post-Soviet space, or from the immigration environment in non-CIS countries. Some people get hierarchical tattoos, often use military tactics and carry out contract killings.
Mexican Mafia (La eMe)
This gang is an ally of the Aryan Brotherhood from the south coast of the United States. Known for her active involvement in the drug trade. Gang members are easily identified by a special tattoo in the form of a black hand located on the chest.
The Mexican Mafia was created in the late 50s by members of a Mexican street gang incarcerated in Deuel Prison, located in Trici, California. The gang was founded by thirteen Mexican-Americans from East Los Angeles, several of whom were members of the Marawila gang. They called themselves Mexicanemi, which translates from the Nahuatl language as “the one who walks with God in the heart.”
Yakuza
The Yakuza are organized crime syndicates in Japan, similar to the triad in other Asian countries or the Western mafia. Nevertheless, social organization and the way the yakuza work is very different from other criminal groups: they even have their own office buildings, and their actions are often and completely openly written about in the press.
One of the iconic images of the Yakuza is their intricate, colorful tattoos all over their bodies. The Yakuza use a traditional method of manually injecting ink under the skin, known as irezumi, as a form of proof of bravery as the method is quite painful.
Chinese Triad
The triad is a form of secret criminal organizations in China and the Chinese diaspora. Triads have always had common beliefs (belief in mystical meaning numbers 3, which is where their name comes from). Currently, triads are known primarily as mafia-style criminal organizations common in Taiwan, the United States and other Chinese immigration centers, specializing in drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
"Triad" is one of the most patriotic mafias. During international events, militants guarantee the safety of foreigners, and during the SARS outbreak they even announced a $1 million bonus to a doctor who finds a cure for this disease.
Hell's Angels (USA)
One of the world's largest motorcycle clubs, with its chapters (branches) all over the world. It is included, along with Outlaws MC, Pagans MC and Bandidos MC, in the so-called “Big Four” outlaw clubs and is the most famous among them. Law enforcement A number of countries call the club a “motorcycle gang” and accuse them of drug trafficking, racketeering, trafficking in stolen goods, violence, murder, etc.
According to the legend posted on the official website of the motorcycle club, during the Second World War, the American Air Force had the 303rd heavy bomber squadron called “Hell’s Angels”. After the end of the war and the disbandment of the unit, the pilots were left without work. They believe that their homeland betrayed them and left them to their fate. They had no choice but to go against their “cruel country, get on motorcycles, join motorcycle clubs and rebel.”
Mara Salvatrucha
Eta is involved in many types of criminal business, including trafficking in drugs, weapons and people; robberies, racketeering, contract killings, kidnappings for ransom, pimping, car thefts, money laundering and fraud.
Many street vendors and small shops located in the Mara Salvatrucha territories pay the gang up to half of their income for the opportunity to work. Many Salvadorans living in the United States are also forced to pay MS-13; if they refuse, the bandits will mutilate or kill their relatives in their homeland.
Montreal Mafia Rizzuto
The Rizzuto are a crime family that is primarily based in Montreal but operates in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. They once merged with families in New York, which ultimately led to the mafia wars in Montreal in the late 70s. Rizzuto owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate in different countries. They own hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, construction, food, service and trading companies. In Italy they own companies producing furniture and Italian delicacies.
Mungiki (Kenya)
This is a Kenyan political-religious group, banned since 2002, reviving traditional African religion. Originated in the wake of the Mau Mau uprising. Gained fame due to massacres and clashes with the police.
Mungiki considers itself a religious group that advocates for the preservation of traditional "African way of worship, culture and way of life." Its adherents pray, turning their faces towards Mount Kenya. They also practice vows and sacrifices.
Despite the fact that world states are desperately fighting criminal gangs, the latter continue their illegal activities and are not even going to retreat. The mafia keeps you in fear, instills horror and lives by its own rules and laws, heartless and cruel, failure to comply with which often leads to death.
IN modern world exists a large number of criminal clans that are under the patronage of their mastermind and leader. Often these crime bosses creating true empires of the underworld.
Feeling their impunity, they intimidate not only representatives of government agencies, but also ordinary serene residents. This article presents the ten most influential and ruthless mafiosi, whose names are known throughout the world and who have forever gone down in the history of the mafia.
Al Capone
Al Capone (1899 - 1947) is a legendary mafioso, whose name inspired fear not only in the government, but literally in the whole world. He went down in history as the most famous gangster. Despite the fact that he had Italian roots, this did not stop him from engaging in racketeering, bootlegging, drugs and gambling on American soil. In addition, he is the founder of the concept of “racketeering”.
When Al Capone was still a young man, he and his parents had to leave their native lands and move to America, where he worked hard in a candy store, a bowling alley, and even in a pharmacy. But despite his fatigue from a hard day’s work, he spent almost every night in entertainment venues, since night look life was the most acceptable and attractive for him.
While earning his living at a billiards club, he once insulted a woman who, as it turned out, was the wife of a criminal named Frank Galluccio. A scuffle broke out, from which a scar from a knife wound remained on the gangster’s left cheek. This moment changed him radically. Over time, the mafioso developed skillful skills in handling edged weapons, and the daring nineteen-year-old youth was invited to join the “Gang of Five Smoking Barrels.”
Al Capone became famous for his integrity, cruelty and heartlessness. His first major crime was the murder of seven influential mafiosi at that time, who were subordinate to Bugs Moran. However, he was too cunning and smart to fall into the hands of justice.
He was never punished for all the crimes he committed, but he still ended up in prison for tax evasion. He was jailed for five years. Upon leaving prison, the legendary mafioso contracted syphilis after spending the night with a courtesan. However, he died at the age of forty-eight from pneumonia. He is survived by his wife, May Josephine Coughlin, and his son, Albert Francis Capone.
Lucky Luciano
Charles Luciano (1897-1962) was born in Sicily, but as a teenager he moved with his family to America, as they say, in search of a better life. Since childhood, he hung out mainly with street hooligans; apparently, he liked such company more. Perhaps such hobbies and preferences of little Charles Luciano contributed to his becoming one of the most famous gangsters in the world.
At the age of eighteen, Luciano received prison term for drug distribution. During the period of prohibition in the United States, he was part of the "Gang of Four", which was actively involved in smuggling alcohol. His youth was spent in poverty, but in his adult life he swam in millions of dollars, which, naturally, were earned by crime.
In 1931, a gangster created the "Big Seven", which included bootleggers. Its main activity was the illegal distribution of alcohol. Over time, Charles becomes the leader of Cosa Nostra and absolutely the entire sphere of the criminal world comes under his full control. He received his nickname "Lucky" after he almost died after being tortured by Maranzano gangsters.
At the hospital he received sixty stitches, so for everyone he became “lucky.” This one of the most legendary mafiosi was able to get rid of dozens of his competitors in just one day, which allowed him to become the sole owner of New York. In 1936, Luciano received thirty-five years in prison for pimping, but after some time he was released and deported to his homeland. In 1962, his heart stopped - according to the official version, it was a heart attack.
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar (1949-1993) - drug lord No. 1, who had Colombian roots and became famous for his cruelty. He was able to create a huge drug empire that supplied incredible quantities of cocaine throughout the world. His first youthful “job” was illegal: he stole tombstones and, erasing the inscriptions, resold them to resellers.
From an early age, Pablo strove for “easy money” and he received it for selling cigarettes and drugs, and also made “fake” ones. lottery tickets. As he got a little older, he began to earn big by engaging in car theft, robbery, racketeering and even kidnapping. By the age of twenty-two, Escobar had become an authority figure in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The mafioso earned his first billions as the head of a drug cartel. The poor people of Medellin loved and revered Pablo Escobar because they received from him, although inexpensive, their own housing. By 1989, he had more than $15 billion in his account. More than a thousand people were killed on his orders. In 1991, the gangster went to prison, but a year later he was able to escape. In 1993, Pablo Escobar was shot and killed by a sniper during a police assault.
John Gotti
The name of John Gotti (1940-2002) was on the lips of every New Yorker. Despite the “dark deeds” he committed, the police were unable to accuse him of even one of them. Gotti was always one step ahead, which is why he earned the nickname “Teflon Don.” He was also often called the “Elegant Don” because he loved to dress beautifully and stylishly.
John was a rather resourceful gangster who was able to rise from poverty to unheard of wealth and became the leader of the Gambino family, removing the previous boss, Paul Castellano. His activities included car theft, theft, racketeering and murder.
Next to him was always his most reliable person, as he thought, Salvatore Gravano. However, it was he who handed his mentor over to the FBI in 1992. John Gotti was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. He died of cancer in his cell in 2002.
Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino is probably the most mysterious mafioso. He was the founder and leader of one of the most powerful American criminal empires, the Gambinos, to which he devoted his entire life. Also in adolescence Gambino began to engage in extortion and theft. Over time, bootlegging also became one of his hobbies.
At the peak of its prosperity, his brainchild consisted of forty teams that kept major American cities under control and fear. In 1932, he married his cousin, who gave him four children.
Throughout his life, Carlo Gambino was involved in illegal gambling, loan sharking and protection rackets. However, his scope of activity did not include selling drugs, as he considered this business dangerous and attracting unnecessary attention. In 1938, he received a twenty-two month prison sentence for tax evasion. In 1976, the mafioso died in his own bed from heart attack. At that time he was 74 years old.
Meir Lansky
Meir Lansky was born in 1902 in Grodno into a Jewish family. At the age of nine, he and his parents moved to New York, where he met Charles Luciano, who significantly influenced his future fate.
For decades, Lansky occupied a leading position among important American crime bosses. When the so-called “Prohibition Law” was in effect in America, Meir Lansky was involved in the sale and transportation of alcohol. Over time, he founded a whole system of bookmakers and illegal bars.
For many years, the mafioso developed the gaming business in the United States. Between 1950 and 1962, Meir was constantly monitored by the FBI, so he decided to temporarily move to Israel on a two-year visa. Naturally, the American police demanded that the criminal be handed over to them, but in vain.
After two years, he had to leave the country, but he had no other way but to return to the United States - other countries refused to accept him. The charges against the mafioso were dropped, but his foreign passport was revoked, so he could not leave America. Last years Meir Lansky spent his life in Miami, where he died in 1983 from cancer.
Joseph Bonanno
A mafioso named Joseph Bonanno (1905-2002) was one of the most influential leaders in American world crime. He was only fifteen years old when he became an orphan. Joseph comes to the United States, naturally, illegally, where he quickly finds like-minded people for illegal activities.
In 1931, he founded the influential Bonanno crime family, which was under his control for thirty years. He was also known by the nickname "Banana Joe". Once Bonanno became the richest gangster in history, he decided to retire in order to quietly meet his old age.
In 1983, he was arrested on suspicion of real estate speculation and sentenced to five years in prison, however, given that the convict was seventy-five years old at the time, the sentence was reduced to fourteen months. The legendary mafioso died among his family in 2002 from heart failure, at the age of ninety-seven.
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia (1902-1957) - leader of the Gambino family, which inspired fear and horror with its ruthlessness and cruelty. Also under his control was a group called “Murder Corporation,” which was responsible for more than 700 deaths. Each of these crimes remained unpunished, since all the witnesses disappeared somewhere without a trace.
His mentor was Lucky Luciano, whom he listened to in everything and to whom he was completely devoted. Often, Albert carried out the orders of his leader, which included eliminating the bosses of other criminal clans. In 1957, on the orders of Carlo Gambino, he was killed in a barbershop.
Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante - mafioso, under whose control absolutely everyone was big cities America, but his “lair” was located in New York. At the age of nine, he began to practice boxing professionally, completely abandoning schooling. From the age of seventeen, Gigante took an active part in carrying out various types of crimes.
Being a member of one of the influential groups, he achieved the status of “Godfather”, after which he became a consolere. In 1981, Vincent became boss of the Genovese family. His special and incomprehensible habit for many was walking around the city at night in a robe. In principle, the mafioso himself was a rather inadequate and aggressive person.
However, as it turned out later, this behavior was an ordinary simulation of mental disorders, thanks to which he managed to avoid prison for forty years. But still, in 1997, the gangster fell into the hands of justice and he was sentenced to twelve years. While serving his sentence, Vincent Gigante continued his criminal activities until 2005. He died of a heart attack.
Heriberto Lazcano
For many years, the criminal acts of one of the most merciless and brutal Mexican criminals, Heriberto Lazcano, remained unpunished. At the age of seventeen, he enlisted in a specialized squad dedicated to fighting drug cartels. However, a few years later he became a member of one of them, going over to the side of drug dealers.
Over time, Lazcano founded his own drug cartel, Los Zetas, which quickly became authoritative and one of the largest in Mexico. He became famous for his terrible and ruthless murders of not only competitors, public figures, officials and police, but also children and women.
That is why he was given the nickname "Executioner". More than 47,000 people were killed during the massacre. However, Mexican residents were able to put their fears behind them when Heriberto Lazcano was killed in 2012.
Despite the fact that Hollywood tirelessly uses images of the mafia, which have long become a cliché, there are still illegal groups in the world that control industry, engage in smuggling, cybercrimes and even form global economy countries
So where are they located and which ones are the most famous in the world?
Yakuza
This is not a myth, they exist and, by the way, were among the first to make significant efforts to help after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The traditional areas of interest of the Yakuza are underground gambling, prostitution, drug trafficking, arms and ammunition trafficking, racketeering, production or sale of counterfeit products, car theft and smuggling. More sophisticated gangsters engage in financial fraud. Members of the group are distinguished by beautiful tattoos, which are usually hidden under clothes.
Mungiki
This is one of the most aggressive sects in Kenya, which arose in 1985 in the settlements of the Kikuyu people in the central part of the country. The Kikuyu gathered their own militia in order to protect the Maasai lands from government militants who wanted to suppress the resistance of the rebellious tribe. The sect, in essence, was a street gang. Later in Nairobi they were formed large detachments who took up local racketeering transport companies transporting passengers around the city (taxi companies, car parks). They then switched to waste collection and disposal. Each slum resident was also obliged to pay representatives of the sect a certain amount in exchange for quiet life in your own shack.
Russian Mafia
This is officially the most feared organized crime group. Former FBI special agents call the Russian mafia "the most dangerous people on Earth." In the West, the term “Russian mafia” can mean any criminal organization, both Russian itself and from other states of the post-Soviet space, or from the immigration environment in non-CIS countries. Some get hierarchical tattoos, often use military tactics and carry out contract killings.
Hell's Angels
Considered an organized crime group in the United States. This is one of the world's largest motorcycle clubs (Hells Angels Motorcycle Club), which has an almost mythical history and branches all over the world. According to the legend posted on the official website of the motorcycle club, during the Second World War the American Air Force had a 303rd heavy bomber squadron called “Hell’s Angels”. After the end of the war and the disbandment of the unit, the pilots were left without work. They believe that their homeland betrayed them and left them to their fate. They had no choice but to go against their “cruel country, get on motorcycles, join motorcycle clubs and rebel.” Along with legal activities (sales of motorcycles, motorcycle repair shops, sale of goods with symbols), the Hells Angels are known for illegal activities (sale of weapons, drugs, racketeering, control of prostitution, and so on).
Sicilian Mafia: La Cosa Nostra
The organization began its activities in the second half of the 19th century, when the Sicilian and American mafia were the strongest. Initially, Cosa Nostra was engaged in the protection (including the most brutal methods) of owners of orange plantations and nobles who owned large plots of land. By the beginning of the 20th century, it had turned into an international criminal group, whose main activity was banditry. The organization has a clear hierarchical structure. Its members often resort to highly ritualistic methods of revenge, and also have a number of complex rites of initiation for men into the group. They also have their own code of silence and secrecy.
Albanian mafia
There are 15 clans in Albania that control most of Albanian organized crime. They control drug trafficking and are involved in human and weapons trafficking. They also coordinate the supply of large quantities of heroin to Europe.
Serbian mafia
Various criminal gangs based in Serbia and Montenegro, consisting of ethnic Serbs and Montenegrins. Their activities are quite diverse: drug trafficking, smuggling, racketeering, contract killings, gambling and information trading. Today there are about 30-40 active criminal gangs in Serbia.
Montreal Mafia Rizzuto
The Rizzuto are a crime family that is primarily based in Montreal but operates in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. They once merged with families in New York, which ultimately led to the mafia wars in Montreal in the late 70s. Rizzuto owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate in different countries. They own hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, construction, food, service and trading companies. In Italy they own companies producing furniture and Italian delicacies.
Mexican drug cartels
Mexican drug cartels have existed for several decades; since the 1970s, some Mexican government agencies have been facilitating their activities. Mexican drug cartels intensified after the collapse of the Colombian drug cartels - Medellin and . Currently the main foreign supplier of cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine in Mexican drug cartels dominate the wholesale illicit drug market.
Mara Salvatrucha
Slang for "Salvadoran Stray Ant Brigade" and often shortened to MS-13. This gang lives mainly Central America and is based in Los Angeles (though they operate in other areas of North America and Mexico). According to various estimates, the number of this brutal crime syndicate ranges from 50 to 300 thousand people. Mara Salvatrucha is involved in many types of criminal businesses, including drug, arms and human trafficking, robbery, racketeering, contract killings, kidnapping for ransom, car theft, money laundering and fraud. A distinctive feature of the group's members are tattoos all over their bodies, including on the face and inner lips. They not only show a person’s gang affiliation, but also, with their details, tell about his criminal history, influence and status in the community.
Colombian drug cartels
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