Omerta Is Now Mafia History

Now a days it seems that flipping or turning rat is all the rage among mobsters for shorter sentences and one way tickets into the observe protection program. The one time honored mafia code of silence known as Omerta is a thing of the past. But the fact of the matter is the old school mobsters who bemoan the loss of omerta never had to confront the lengthy prison sentences like the mobsters of today. With changes in federal sentencing laws, repeat offenders prosecutions, and the RICO act prison terms for convicted mobsters has become much more lengthy.

For years across the country the Mafia was like the fourth branch of government and its rackets protected and many of its acts ignored. already when a mobster was ultimately indicted the judicial system was notoriously lenient against them. In the 19702s a study was conducted by the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Crime which looked into situations involving organized crime figures by the 19602s and produced some shocking results. The Committee found that the acquittal and dismissal rates against racketeers was five times that of other defendants and in New York over 44% of indictments against organized crime members were dismissed by the Supreme Court. And already when mobsters were convicted in many instances the defendants were let off with suspended sentences.

So maybe it is a lot easier for the old school mobsters to claim to be men of honor when their honor was seldom challenged. But now that the feds have begun the fight against organized crime and mobsters facing more time in prison maybe already the old time mobsters would turn rat. Because long gone are the days of worse case scenario of a mobsters getting at three to five year stretch that he could use as a badge of honor once released among his fellow mobsters. So like everything else things change and that is also true in the world of the Mafia.

Now examples of mobsters flipping are becoming more and more abundant and the trend doesnt seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. Like the case last year when two members of the Genovese crime family flipped and testified against then acting boss Arthur Nigro for the 2003 mob hit on New England capo Adolfo Bruno. The Genovese family had long been admired among organized crime families for the without of turncoats and ability to stay under the radar but already they were not immune to the times changing. Just recently Gambino crime family turncoat Michael Mikey Scars DiLeonardo who was known was king of the rats was let out of prison after he testified multiple times against his fellow mobsters.

The loss of omerta has brought with it a downward spiral of the mafia across the country with already the mighty five families of New York seeing its strength decrease. The once powerful American Mafia has seen its ranks falter from within giving the feds the edge it needed. Many believe the Mafias glory days are a thing of the past and although it has not been dismantled completely it will never be the same.