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Mafia members in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The Mafia (also known as the Mob or La Cosa Nostra), is a real-life criminal secret society, which also appears in the Grand Theft Auto series.
Real-life Summary
The Mafia is a real-life secret criminal society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily, Italy. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States during the late 19th century following waves of immigration. In the United States, the Mafia often refers to Italian-American organized crime in general, rather than just Sicilian American organized crime. Each Mafia family is lead by a don, as well as the don's second-in-command, the underboss, and a consigliere.
The organization's name derives from the Italian adjective mafiusu, which roughly translates to swagger, boldness, or bravado. In the 19th century, when used to describe a man, the adjective could mean "fearless", "enterprising" or "proud", while in reference to a woman it would mean "beautiful" or "attractive".
In the Grand Theft Auto series
The Mafia has appeared in almost every game in the Grand Theft Auto series, usually as an antagonistic group. The Mafia organizations seen in the games are most often parodies of various pieces of media about the Mafia, such as the 1972 crime film The Godfather, or the 1999-2007 crime drama television series The Sopranos.
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, members of a Mafia are also seen in Caligula's Palace acting as casino security guards. Like other casinos in Las Venturas, they are programmed to behave like police officers in which the player will gain one-star wanted level if they aim a weapon at them or fire a gun inside the casino while two if they continue to retaliate against security and kills them with a gun. They also hold their pistols with two hands, like police officers.
The Mafia Families
3D Universe
In the 3D Universe games, there are four Mafia families present in the storyline, three of them being part of the "Liberty Families" organization. The Liberty Families also plays a large role in all 3D Universe games, prominently in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
An unidentified Mafia family, simply referred to as the Mafia, also appears in Grand Theft Auto Advance. They are heavily implied to be the Leone Family due to their meetings happening at Momma's Restaurante.
The Vercetti Gang is a street gang structured to resemble a Mafia family by former Forelli Crime Family member Tommy Vercetti, however it is not considered a "real" Mafia family. However, the gang is referred to as a mafia in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by The Truth, who mentions that Dwaine and Jethro had their business bought out by "The Mob".
Name | Leader(s) | Members | Based | Appearances |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sicilian Mafia | Uncle Leone | Massimo Torini (deceased) | Sicily (presently) Liberty City (briefly) |
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories |
Liberty Families
HD Universe
In the HD Universe games, there are five Mafia families operating in Liberty City who holds seats in The Commission (inspired by the real-life Five Families and the real-life The Commission).
It is unknown if the Pegorino Crime Family from the State of Alderney gets a seat in The Commission or is just about to by the event of Grand Theft Auto IV. Pegorino seems happy when he rings Niko if the player decides to do the deal with Dimitri Rascalov, though this could be because he thinks he will be able to buy a place in The Commission with the money he earns from the deal.
In Grand Theft Auto V, Enzo Bonelli is described as an ex-mafia guy turned real estate developer, however it is not specified which Mafia family from which American state he was affiliated with.
Mafia Structure
Trivia
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, there is code in the game that shows the Mafia was able to own gray-colored territory. They can still be made visible by using the Territory Glitch which may cause them to appear at random spots on the map. The Mafia patrol their turfs driving Admirals, Sentinels and Feltzers.