mobster

Mobsters are people, particularly in the United States , who are involved in organized crime and are or were members of the Italo-American Cosa Nostra or La Cosa Nostra or the Jewish-American Kosher Nostra .

External definition

This external designation is based on the fact that La Cosa Nostra is also referred to as "the Mob " in the United States. In a broader sense, associates, henchmen and people corrupted by the mafia (unionists, politicians, etc.) are also referred to as mobsters , but they are not members.

For example, the members of the Jewish so-called “ Kosher Nostra ” (e.g. Meyer Lansky ) are referred to as mafiosi ; However, they were not members of the mafia in the narrower sense, but today they are viewed as a frequently associated but independent group. Corrupt trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa can also be described as a mobster ; but he, too, was not a member of any Cosa Nostra "family" or clan - despite the deep and extensive involvement of the entire Teamsters transport workers' union in his day.

Internal designations

Hierarchical structure of a Sicilian mafia clan

In the internal use of the people and groups involved, the use of terms such as mafia , mobster , etc. is unusual. In the American La Cosa Nostra, full members are referred to as “ made man/guy ” (“made man/lad”), “ man of honor ” (“man of honor”) or as “ goodfella ” (meaning “ person of trust”).

In addition, the classic term soldier (" soldier ") is used, which derives directly from the Italian soldato (plural soldati ), a term used by the original Sicilian Cosa Nostra . The US terms also had repercussions on the original designations: After the Second World War , it also became customary in Sicily to call the chief " boss ".

Occasionally other paraphrases for full members such as " one of us " ("one of us") or " a friend of ours " ("a friend of ours") are used. They can hold managerial positions as an underboss , caporegime , or consigliere .

Mobsters in the extended circle of associates are referred to internally as “ wiseguys ” (“know-it-alls”).

web links

Wiktionary: mobster  – explanations of meaning, word origin, synonyms, translations

literature

• Dagobert Lindlau : The mob. Research into organized crime. 1988 (first edition 1987); ISBN 3-455-08659-4
• Jerry Capeci: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. 2002; ISBN 0-02-864225-2
• Carl Sifakis: The Mafia Encyclopedia. 2005; ISBN 0-816-06989-1

itemizations

1. ↑ Annette Langer : Find in arrest: police discover the ten commandments of the mafia . In: Der Spiegel of November 9, 2007.