mafioso

Mafioso is a member of a mafia, an organized crime group that operates through a formal or informal hierarchy and engages in illegal activity. The term originates from Italian and is commonly associated with the Italian-American and Sicilian mafias, including La Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta, the Camorra, and the Sacra Corona Unita.

A mafioso is typically part of a structured network led by a boss, with an underboss, a consigliere, and one or more capos who supervise soldiers. In some traditions, non-members may be publicly involved as associates but lack full status.

Core activities include protection rackets, extortion, illegal gambling, loan sharking, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and control of labor unions or legitimate businesses. The organization relies on secrecy and loyalty, often summarized by the code of omertà.

Membership ethics and initiation vary, but the overarching aim is to preserve the group's power and wealth, while avoiding law enforcement.

Law enforcement agencies worldwide pursue mafiosi under anti-organized crime statutes; in the United States, the RICO Act provides tools to prosecute networks; in Italy, specialized police and prosecutors target mafia structures with informants and investigations.

Outside real-world law, the term is widely used in media and scholarship to describe both historical and contemporary figures, as well as fictional characters, with varying degrees of accuracy.