Part one of term paper
The Mafia is a secret criminal organization that wields great economic and political control over large segments of Sicilian society and operates both criminal and legitimate enterprises in the United States. It is believed to have originated during Sicily's late Middle Ages, beginning as separate bands of strong-arm enforcers hired by local ...

Part two of term paper
... relationship that is assumed when a man becomes a member) and by the Mafia code of omerta, which requires absolute silence about Mafia activities and absolute obedience to the hierarchical Mafia authority. Until recent years--and despite the efforts of the Italian Fascists to destroy the organization in the 1920sand '30s--the Mafia flourished in the Sicilian countryside. When the Fascists fled Sicily during the Allied invasion of World War II, the Mafia--the only remaining governing structure--wor ...