Drugs And The Mafia Essay Research Paper

Drugs And The Mafia Essay, Research Paper

The Accuracy of Drugs as

portrayed in the Godfather by Mario Puzo, as opposed to reality

Throughout history Writers have been writing fictional novels based on real

historical events. The Godfather by Mario Puzo is such a book in which Puzo

portrays Mafia life and business starting at the late 40’s. The Corleone crime

Family in this novel is shown having troubles with the other organized crime

syndicates concerning drugs. Many of the other families are pushing the idea

of joining the narcotics market, however the Corleones do not want to

intervene in such a disagreeable business. Much tension forms as mobster wars

starts within the syndicates and most favor drugs.

My purpose of this paper will be to analyze whether Mario Puzo the author of

The Godfather , represents an accurate portrayal of narcotics as a major part

of Mafia business.

As the demand for illegal narcotics rose in the United States, it was the

Mafia who would jump on it as they did all other illegal activities, such as

gambling operations, prostitution, extortion, and loan sharking. The whole

drawback to this was, from where could they get it. Depending on what it was,

it had to be found and brought in from over-seas. From Ecuador they could

obtain opium poppies with which to make heroin, and virtually unlimited supply

of coca leaves, with which to make cocaine from Bolivia and Peru. Plus their

smuggling routes and expertise were solidly established. Hence, the first drug

laboratories were established in Medellin, supposedly with Mafia money (Eddy

and Hugo, 45). The New York Mafia as well as other American crime families,

would buy the drugs from Colombian drug lords. One of the major Colombian

syndicates- commonly referred to as the “Medellin Cartel”. As opposed to

actuality, in the Godfather, poppies, mainly used to make heroin would be

harvested from Turkey (not the major supplier of opium in the 40’s and 50’s),

then processed into heroin in Sicily.

Drugs have been appealing to any crime syndicates since the Chinese crime

world that started way back in the 1800’s. Opium was the number one wanted

drug as wars started by the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1839 to stop the illegal

importation by smugglers form Britain (Britanica, 552). But why wouldn’t any

crime syndicate want to invest in illegal drugs as portrayed in The Godfather.

Heroin these days for example, has been estimated that for approximately

four hours each day three hundred sixty five days a year, four hundred dollars

worth of heroin is sold every minute on one hundred and fifteenth street New

York City resulting in a financial exchange amounting to twenty four thousand

dollars an hour, ninety six thousand a day and six hundred seventy two

thousand dollars a week. Annual gross sales of heroin alone exceed thirty

billion a year.(Messerchmidt, Piers, 220).

Of course many Mafia families would want to wager into such a profitable

business as portrayed in The Godfather, the same is true about real life.

However, in most crime families including the five New York families drugs

were considered to be, as the Corleone’s put it “evil and inappropriate for

the family’s need” and most families in real life agreed to this unlike Mario

Puzo’s novel, in which all the families except the Corleones wanted to enter

drugs.

In 1931, a mob boss in Chicago by the name of Salvatore Maranzano made five

“families” in New York City and five bosses as they called them to lead. The

five in New York would belong to a ruling body, like a council, including such

Chicago mob bosses as Al Capone, and New York bosses like Joe Bonano. La Cosa

Nostra as it was called “this thing of ours”(Roemer, 63). La Cosa Nostra was

set up as the high council, it was in charge and had the last word in all of

the major Mafia activities. La Cosa Nostra particularly the groups in New

York, did not favor drugs they too felt it was not a right business for

organized crime to go in to, it was dirty. Anyone caught dealing drugs or

racketeering drugs, would be shot and killed. In fact, involvement in

narcotics in any way continues to be reason for severe disciplinary action

from leadership should any member be caught. This was proven many times in

the passed. Chris Cardi who was soon to be a “made Man” went where the money

was- into dealing drugs. This was a strict violation of the strict edict of

Tony Accardo(mob boss) and La Cosa Nostra. Chris Cardi Served his sentence

after being caught, on July 14, 1975, he went inside Jim’s Beef Stand at 1620

North River Road in Melrose Park. Two ski-masked Gunmen snuck up behind

Cardi, his wife and three kids. They used .45’s this time. Eight times in the

back, naturally. Then for good measure, while the wife and kids screamed, they

rolled him over and put one in his face. Tony Accardo was pleased

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