More commonly known as the American Mafia, this high profile crime syndicate is an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia. It finds its roots in New York’s lower east side with the start of Italian immigration to the States. Although the media usually refers to it as the “mafia,” neither the Sicilian nor American Mafias have any formal name for themselves and simply go by “cosa nostra” meaning ‘our thing’ in Italian. Known for its ruthless code of conduct, if a member breaks any rules, the punishment is almost always death, and usually it is executed by those closest to the offender.