A roster with the names of some of the most notorious mafia families in the United States would read like a V-I-P List. For these men of infamous renown have been touted as philanthropists and as social activists who have crusaded on behalf of their communities. Yet, their business of racketeering and extortion as well as cold-blooded murder have created a culture of violence that has been one of the most feared menaces of our time. Thus, a look at the most notorious mafia families in the United States would show how greed and graft often coalesces when men bind themselves together to exploit the profit motive.
Organized crime was started in this country during the prohibition era; for, it was then that the profit motive was exploited enmasse by an enslaved demographic of men who sought to make money by any means necessary. These profiteers would create a veritable black market that would be exploited to its’ maximum extent. Bootlegging, prostitution and gambling would be the vehicles through which financial empires could be built. Yet, this relentless approach to make money would engulf the minds of these men in such a way that they would be compelled to protect their own interests.
Thus, during the 1920’s, the streets of America would turn to blood; violence and mayhem would reign supreme in our nation’s inner-cities. In the city of Chicago alone, there would be pandemonium: A man by the name of Al Capone would terrorize that city relentlessly with his kill or be killed philosophy. Capone would come out of Ellis Island and migrate to Chicago and began a reign of terror so fierce that he would become known as public enemy #1.
Yet, Capone’s reign of terror would have no end; also, his continual building of a dynasty would have no rival. His legacy of evil that he created left people hysterical and afraid of him. The only way that the law could bring him to justice was to convict him on income tax evasion.
Another Mafia Family that left its’ mark on society was the Patriarca Crime Family. This family operated during the 1950’s and 60’s and created a financial empire from racketeering and extortion as well as parlayed their operatives with what was needed to sustain their dynasty. However, the Patriarca Crime Syndicate was brought down in 1975 when James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger aka “Whitey” Bulger, served as an informant for the FBI assisting that agency with the task subduing their organization.