A crime family is a term used to describe a unit of an organized crime syndicate, often operating within a specific geographic territory. The most well-known example of this is the group of Five Families of New York, a group of five distinct units of the Italian-American Mafia operating in each of the five boroughs of New York City. Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... The Five Families are the major crime families of the Italian-American Mafia based in New York City which have dominated traditional organized crime in New York. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... The Mafia is a secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... A borough is a political division originally used in England. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ...

The origins of the term come from the Sicilian Mafia. In the Sicilian dialect, the word cosca, which literally translates into artichoke (a multi-layered vegetable surrounding a vital core), is also used for clan. In the early days of the Mafia, loose groups of bandits organized themselves into associations that over time became more organized, and they adopted the term based on both of its meanings. This article is about the organized crime groups. ... Sicilian (, Italian: ) is the Romance language spoken in Sicily and southern Italy. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Artichokes are three types of vegetables. ... A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. ... The Mafia is a secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ...

As the Mafia was imported into the United States in the late 1800s, the English translation of the word cosca was more at clan or family. The Mafia is a secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Look up translate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The term can be a point of confusion, especially in popular culture and Hollywood, because crime families are not the same as blood families, and not necessarily based on blood relationships. The Godfather films as well as a spate of "Mafia princess" made-for-TV-movies in the late 1980s underscores this confusion. Popular culture, or pop culture, (literally: the culture of the people) consists of the cultural elements that prevail (at least numerically) in any given society, mainly using the more popular media, in that societys vernacular language and/or an established lingua franca. ... ... ... A godparent, in Christianity, is someone who sponsors a childs baptism. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

It should be noted, however, that the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta is purported to be organized along familial lines. Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... The Calabrian Ndrangheta (from the Greek word andragathía for heroism and virtue), pronounced en-drang-ay-ta, is one of the most powerful and ruthless mafia organisations in Italy. ...

Nevertheless, the term stuck, both in the minds of popular culture as well as the national law enforcement community, and eventually began to be used to describe individual units of not only Sicilian gangsters, but those whose origins lie in other parts of Italy (e.g., the aforementioned 'Ndrangheta, the Neapolitan Camorra, etc.). The Calabrian Ndrangheta (from the Greek word andragathía for heroism and virtue), pronounced en-drang-ay-ta, is one of the most powerful and ruthless mafia organisations in Italy. ... The camorra is a mafia-like criminal organization, or secret society, in the region of Campania and the city of Naples in Italy. ...

Sometimes the term is used to describe distinct units of crime syndicates of other ethnic and national origin, such as the Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Tongs and Triads, Colombian drug cartels, and the Eastern European and Russian Mafia. This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers, and should be edited to rectify this. ... Tongs used for cooking or serving food Tongs are gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Eastern Europe is, by convention, a region defined geographically as that part of Europe covering the eastern part of the continent. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Izmailovskaya (Mafia). ...

For a description of the organizational structure of a "typical" Italian-American crime family, please see the article on the Mafia. The Mafia is a secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ...