Research Paper on:
Italian-Americans And Organized Crime: Stereotype

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of its association with violence, inasmuch as news report after news report finds its members involved in one kind of killing spree or another. There is little support in  disputing that primary to its objective as a self-imposed social overseer, the New York Italian Mafia showcases the violence and power that renders its members fully able to take possession  of whatever they want any way they can obtain it. One might readily surmise that written into their clandestine constitution are the words that give them the power to  obstruct justice, play by their own rules and literally attend to life in any manner they see fit. They have effectively ousted themselves from what is otherwise a civilized  society, utilizing the unsavory tactics of intimidation and fear as a means by which to maintain control until such a time that "as the Mafias actual influence became mythologized, some  guilt-by-ethnic-association was inevitable" (Rolle, 1998, p. 644). That ordinary Italian-Americans are automatically branded with this stereotype when, in fact, they have nothing to do with organized crime speaks volumes  regarding the powerful image their violent counterparts have erected. Popular culture routinely portrays the Italian organized crime as a malignant tumor on the  face of society. After assessing the facts against what popular culture has had to say about the brutalizing collection of Italian gang members, it can easily be argued that  New Yorks Italian Mafia has earned the literary reputation it has worked so feebly to dispel. Not only is this violent group guilty of living an existence that mirrors  such interpretation as brought about by author Mario Puzo, but it has also been quite successful at reaching beyond prison walls and infiltrating society at various levels as a means