afia, the gangster succeeds by stealing money rather than working hard (Comeau, 2000). Thus Gardaphe argues that the American fascination with the mafia lies in its connection between criminality and capitalism. The gangster is often portrayed merely as a particularly ruthless businessman or entrepreneur (Comeau, 2000). GardapheÆs argument is supported strongly by the literature of researchers who have studied the portrayal of the Italian mafia in the 1950s.
In her essay titled ôRomanticizing the mafia,ö Megan Sharp argues that the American post-World War II television audience was first introduced to the idea of an Italian mafia during the 1950 Kefauver Committee hearings. That year, Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee chaired the Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce (Sharp). This committee was officially charged with determining the extent to which ôcorrupting influencesö were using the facilities of interstate commerce to conduct illegal activities. Most importantly, its hearings were televised nationally, which offered the American audience its first
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