Mafia

The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as La Cosa Nostra (variously translated as This Thing Of Ours or Our Thing), is the name for a secret, criminal organisation which evolved in mid 19th century Sicily, and led to an offshoot on the East-Coast of the United States emerging during the late 19th century with the waves of Italian immigration to that country.

References

• {{Web reference | title=New Orleans, LA | work=AmericanMafia.com 26 Mafia Cities - New Orleans, LA | URL=http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/New_Orleans.html | date=June 19 | year=2005}}
• Dickie, John (2004). Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-82434-4