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Mafia
[ mah-fee-uh; especially British, maf-ee-uh ]
noun
- the Mafia, a hierarchically structured secret organization allegedly engaged in smuggling, racketeering, trafficking in narcotics, and other criminal activities in the United States, Italy, and elsewhere.
- Usually mafia. any criminal organization viewed as similar to the Mafia:
The movie concerns a low-life gambler who borrows money from the French mafia for a seat at a high-stakes poker game.
- Often mafia. any small but powerful or influential group in an organization or field; an inordinately prominent and controlling clique:
It was difficult to be the only woman involved in this macho, musical mafia.
- (in Sicily)
- mafia, a popular attitude of hostility to legal restraint and to the law, often manifesting itself in criminal acts.
- a 19th-century secret society, similar to the Camorra in Naples, associated with this attitude toward law and crime.
Mafia
/ ˈmæfɪə /
noun
- the Mafiathe Mafia an international secret organization founded in Sicily, probably in opposition to tyranny. It developed into a criminal organization and in the late 19th century was carried to the US by Italian immigrants
Mafia
- A criminal organization that originated in Sicily and was brought to the United States by Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century. The Mafia is also called the Syndicate, the Mob, and the Cosa Nostra (Our Thing). The Mafia built its power through extortion (forcing tradesmen and shopkeepers to buy Mafia protection against destruction) and by dominating the bootlegging industry (the illegal production and distribution of liquor) during Prohibition . Members of the Mafia often lead outwardly respectable lives and maintain a variety of legitimate businesses as a front, or cover, for their criminal activities, which include extortion, gambling, and narcotics distribution.
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Mafia1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Mafia1
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Example Sentences
If they aren’t exposed and discredited, we may witness the rise of a new Mafia.
It wasn’t just his having mentored with Roy Cohn, the infamous Mafia lawyer, or rubbed shoulders throughout his career with guys like Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno.
Magashule does have a bit of a dirty reputation, with the book Gangster State comparing him to a Mafia don.
Like the Mafia Dons of old, they will be brought down by the IRS for their financial crimes.
For those who have forgotten their Mafia history, that’s the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
In the Latino community the legacy of the Mexican Mafia spans multiple generations.
The Mexican Mafia run their empire from the penitentiary to the streets of LA.
Robert Morrill, a former gang detective and author of The Mexican Mafia/The Story, said there is little the authorities can do.
Much like the TV show Breaking Bad, the Mexican Mafia are real life methamphetamine kingpins.
As described by its inventor, there is an Honest team and a Mafia team that compete against each other.
The Mafia is more ancient and has a direct ancestry for nearly a thousand years.
Anyhow, he defied the Mafia, laid in a stock of revolvers and rifles, and rallied his friends around him.
The Mafia might almost be called a universal conspiracy against law and order.
Either the Cammoristi, or the Mafia, or some such organisation.
Don't act this way with these people, because they are all of the (Mala-vita) Mafia and will do you harm in an instant.
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