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La Cosa Nostra Essay

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La Cosa Nostra

The name La Cosa Nostra aka LCN for short refers to a group of American (with Italian backgrounds) crime brotherhoods which have been in existence in America since the early '20s. This group has other named like the outfit, the mob, the office or simply the Italian Mafia. For over 75 years, specifically during the period of Prohibition and the early '90s, no criminal group held more power than the LCN. In fact, the name was a very popular representation of organized crime. Lately however, the LCN's operations have been greatly impaired by the law and its agencies and it now finds itself in a battle of supremacy with several other organized crime brotherhoods (Finckenauer, 2001).

Hierarchy and Structure

The system of hierarchy which the LCN works with is similar to the official structure used in several legitimate companies. The head of the hierarchy is the God-father or boss, then the under-boss, the advisor or Consigliere, next is the Caporegime also referred to as the Captain or simple Capo, next are the soldiers and lastly the associates.

The God-father is the overall head of the brotherhood and is in charge of promulgating principles and laws, guiding the business processes of his organization and he is entitled to a fixed percent of every income that comes into the group. The God-father is also in charge of appointing his second-in-command, the under-boss whose job is to convey all the new policies and decrees from the God-father to the members and also convey information and news from the members back to the boss. The under-boss also coordinates the captains and is a stand-in for the main boss in case of incarceration, sickness or any other similar event and occupies the position for a while or fully, depending on the severity of the situation and he becomes the new God-father (Don, 2010).

Several members of the family trust the Consigliere above all others because he is sort of an advisor for the brotherhood and he is the go-to guy for solving all external and internal differences. He is always present for meetings and he tries his best to advertise the business of the brotherhood as legitimate. In some cases, the Consigliere could be a highly connected political and legal personality, or could be a professional, with in the legal field or in stocks and he tries his best to keep himself uninvolved in any shady activities (Don, 2010).

The Captain or Caporegime has the duty of monitoring a small group of soldiers who might number around six to nine. He is expected to strictly follow all the laws promulgated by the God-father. The Captain position is attained via an election after which the winner is formally inducted into the organization. All the members of the LCN apart from the associates are formally recognized by the God-father and his second-in-command. Another duty of the Captain is the development of new strategies for increasing the revenue of the brotherhood and he coordinates the weekly or monthly payment of the God-father from the profit accrued (Don, 2010).

The least ranking class of the LCN is that of the soldier. Despite this, there are a number of crucial criteria…


Sample Source(s) Used

References

Don, D. (2010, September 12). Structure of the New York Italian Mafia. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2010/09/structure-of-new-york-italian-mafia.html

Finckenauer, J. O. (2001). La cosa nostra in the United States. National Institute of Justice.

Lubasch, A. H. (2001, July 16). POLICE REPORT MOB INFILTRATION OF BUSINESSES. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/17/nyregion/police-report-mob-infiltration-of-businesses.html

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