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This is a glossary of words related to the Mafia, primarily the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia. administration: the top-level "management" of an organized crime family -- the boss, underboss and consigliere. [1] associate: one who works with mobsters, but has not been asked to take the vow of Omertà; an almost confirmed, or made guy ...
Zips (also Siggies or Geeps) is a slang term in the United States that was especially in use in the early 20th century.It was often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi.
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (Italian: [ˈkɔːza ˈnɔstra, ˈkɔːsa-], Sicilian: [ˈkɔːsa ˈnɔʂː(ɽ)a]; "our thing" [3]), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. It is an association of gangs which sell their ...
Today, especially in Italian-American slang, "goombah" is a term for a companion or associate, especially a friend who acts as a patron, accomplice, protector, or adviser. When used by non-Italians to refer to Italians or Italian-Americans, "goombah" is often derogatory, implying a stereotypical Italian-American male, thug, or mafioso. [3]
The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu ('beak'). To "let someone wet their beak" (Sicilian language fari vagnari u pizzu) is to pay protection money. The practice used to be widespread in Southern Italy, [citation needed] not only by the Sicilian Cosa Nostra but also by the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and the Camorra in Campania.
Structure of a Mafia crime family. In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oath of omertà, the Mafia code of silence and code of honor.
Italian police arrested almost 150 people Tuesday in a major operation against the Sicilian mafia in Palermo, areas of which remain in the grip of powerful Cosa Nostra clans. Warrants were issued ...
The best-known Italian organized crime group is the Mafia or Sicilian Mafia (referred to as Cosa Nostra by members). As the original group named "Mafia", the Sicilian Mafia is the basis for the current colloquial usage of the term to refer to organized crime groups. It along with the Neapolitan Camorra and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta are active ...