ABSTRACT
This chapter distinguishes between traditional and non-traditional organized crime and explains about the origins of the criminal group known as the Mafia. It aims to understand the role of outlaw motorcycle gangs in the illegal drug trade and also to understand the role of youth gangs in the drug trade as well as to learn the origins of prison gangs and their involvement in the illicit drug trade. The Sicilian Mafia has established itself as Italy’s premier criminal group through corruption, assassination, extortion, and manipulation. The Pizza Connection illustrates a working relationship between Sicilian and United States–based Mafia operatives and their “common interests” in drug trafficking and money laundering. There is little doubt that some individuals linked with Italian-dominated criminal organizations in both the United States and Sicily have been involved in large-scale drug trafficking, as we have seen in the case of the Pizza Connection.
