Corsican mafia
| Founded | 1910s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Corsica |
| Years active | 1910s-present |
| Territory | France, Northern Italy, several countries in Latin America and North Africa |
| Ethnicity | Corsicans, Italian Frenchs |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, Weapons trafficking, gambling, drug trafficking, assault, theft, loan sharking, fraud, bankruptcy, blackmailing, bribery, extortion, car bombing, smuggling, infiltration of Politics, kidnapping, money laundering, murder, corruption, tax evasion |
| Allies | American and Russian mafia, Cosa Nostra, Ndrangheta, and Triad |
The Corsican mafia is the collective criminal groups originating from Corsica. The Corsican mafia is one of the most influential organized crime structures in France, also active in many African, Russia and Latin American countries. One of the most important groups of the Corsican mafia is the Brise de Mer gang.[1]
History
The Unione Corse and the French Connection era
For more details on this topic, see Unione Corse.
The Unione Corse was the general name given by American authorities to the major Corsican gangs who organized the French Connection, the heroin trade between France and the U.S. from the 1950s to the early 1970s.[2]
The Corsican mafia today
The end of the French Connection caused the disbandment of many Corsican clans involved in the heroin trade.[3] But the evolution of Corsican Mafia has continued in several illegal activities (hold-up, racketeering, casinos, illegal slot machines, various drug dealing, and prostitution). From the 1980s to the end of 2000s, Corsican mafia was constituted by two major groups; the Brise de Mer, based in Northern Corsica, and the Colonna clan (also named "Jean Jé Colonna's family"), based in Southern Corsica. But since 2007, a violent internal conflict troubled the Corsican mafia, occasioning around 102 murders in the Island. This conflict caused the fall of this two groups and the rise of new Corsican gangs.[4] Today, the Corsican mafia is constituted by a lot of gangs or families, allied or rivals. The Venzolasca gang, the Brise de Mer successors, the "Petit Bar" gang ("Little Bar" in English), the Valinco mobsters and the Corsican mob of Marseille, are the most famous of them.
Criminal activities of the Corsican mafia
- Money laundering
- Racketeering
- Drug trafficking
- Arms trafficking
- Prostitution
- Extortion
- Robbery
- Corporate crime
- Tax evasion
- Contract killing
- Casinos and gambling
- Political corruption
- Usury and loansharking
Popular culture references
- The French film A Prophet (2009) shows the gradual rise of a young prisoner, cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison.
- The French television series Mafiosa references a Corsican gang directed by a woman.
- In the film American Gangster, the Corsican mafia attempt to murder Frank Lucas after he puts them out of business through his monopoly, on the heroin trade.
- Mireille Bouquet from the anime series Noir (2001) is a surviving member of a family once involved with the Corsican mafia.
- A great study about the history of Corsican mafia between 1930 and today "Les Parrains Corses", J. Follorou, V. Nouzille
References
- ↑ Yves Bordenave. "Le gang corse de La Brise de mer perd l'un de ses derniers barons". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ↑ "Mafia corse à Marseille". Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ↑ "Marseille: America's Heroin Laboratory". Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ↑ "Corsica Organized Crime On The Rise". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
External links
- "Suspected boss of Corsican mob reported dead" - 2006 USA Today article
- "Corsicans prisoners faxed free" - 2001 BBC Online article
- "Future of Paris gambling clubs under threat" - 2011 Daily Telegraph article
- "The Corsican Connection today" - 2012 - The New York Times
- -The Observer, Saturday 20 October 2012.
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