talians have immigrated to America, and many of these came to escape the Mafia only to find it transplanted along with the immigrants. The early markets for the Mafia were the ethnic ghettoes of recent immigrants from Italy, but these have disappeared. The Mafia was historically a family affair, but the family tradition has weakened in the Mafia today as the strict discipline and tight organization of the mob have moderated. The federal government plays a strong role in the control of organized crime, for the incidence of interstate activity is high among the syndicates. Jurisdiction is only one reason for the involvement of the federal government, however, the other being that the presence of any significant organized crime in a region necessarily means local criminal justice has been corrupted in some degree:
The major role of federal enforcement against organized crime is as a liberator of local law enforcement. Federal agents can strike at organized crime that has paralyzed local police. Federal action can place loca
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