ABSTRACT
The Mafia is an integral part of the culture of much of southern Italy. In three regions in particular, Sicily, Calabria and Campania, local cosche mafiose have constituted the unofficial government for hundreds of years. The Mafia had a number of techniques to "place" their favored candidates. One of the most widely used was the so-called "the number that's not there. Dalla Chiesa's death led to the passage of La Torre's proposed anti-mafia act and to the institution of a 'High Commission for the Struggle against the Mafia', a body whose fine-sounding name could not disguise its limited powers. The Palermo magistrates therefore appeared to have the Mafia on the ropes. By 1986, all its leaders were either in jail or on the run and the forces of law and order, thanks to the revelations of Buscetta and Contorno, had a far greater knowledge than ever before of the personalities and organization of the principal cosche.
