Gangs vs. Mafia

Gangsnoun

plural of gang

Mafianoun

A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.

Mafianoun

A crime syndicate.

Mafianoun

A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.

Mafianoun

An entity which attempts to control a specified arena.

‘the digital mafia’; ‘the literary mafia’;

Mafianoun

see maffia, maffioso.

Mafianoun

a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

Mafianoun

a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

Mafianoun

any tightly knit group of trusted associates

Mafia

A mafia is a type of organized crime syndicate whose primary activities are protection racketeering, arbitrating disputes between criminals, and brokering and enforcing illegal agreements and transactions. Mafias often engage in secondary activities such as gambling, loan sharking, drug-trafficking, prostitution, and fraud.