Corsican mafia

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Corsican Mafia

Founded	1910s
Founding location	Galician mafia

The Corsican mafia is a set of criminal groups originating from

countries.

History

The Union Corse and the French Connection era

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The pre-war

.

In 1947,

Cold War

, both the center-left French government and the US fought against Soviet influence in Marseille, while covertly employing illegal means to further that goal: the Guerini gang was employed to disrupt union and electoral gatherings, back strikebreakers and support US-funded anti-Soviet labor unions.

From the 1950s to the 1960s, the Guerini brother were exempt from prosecution in Marseille. The Guerini brothers smuggled

merchant shipping

company.

From the 1960s to the early 1970s the major Corsican organized crime groups were collectively termed Unione Corse by American law enforcement. During the same era, they organized the French Connection, a massive heroin trafficking operation based in Marseille that sold to the American Mafia.

Modern day

The end of the

).

From the 1980s to the end of the 2000s, violent internal conflicts troubled the Corsican mafia, resulting in around 102 murders on the island of Corsica.^[1]

Today, the Corsican mafia consists of multiple families, allies, and rivals. Known groups in the Corsican mafia are the Venzolasca Gang (nickname in reference to the village of Venzolasca, in northern Corsica, which are from key members of the gang), considered the Brise de Mer successors. The Petit Bar Gang of Ajaccio and the Corsican mob of Marseille are also active.

Corsica has a tradition of banditry and criminality similar to the Italian

, with a multitude of criminal groups made up of a few members to a few dozen members. 25 are awarded according to a 2022 report. Their links with political and economic circles are important, as is their hold on the territory with the racket.

Violence is frequent, Corsica is the region of Europe with the highest homicide rate per inhabitant.^[2] The mafia chief François Chiappe, who inspired "The French Connection", was found dead in Argentina at the age of 88 due to senile dementia.^[3]

Active Groups

• Petit Bar Gang
• Venzolasca Gang
• Mariani Crime Family
• Colonna Crime Family

In popular culture

• The French film A Prophet (2009) shows the gradual rise of a young prisoner, cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison.
• The French television series Mafiosa references a Corsican gang led by a woman.
• In the film
  Frank Lucas after he puts them out of business through his monopoly on the heroin
  trade.
• Mireille Bouquet from the anime series
  Noir
  (2001) is a surviving member of a family once involved with the Corsican mafia.
• An extensive French study called "Les Parrains Corses" by J. Follorou and V. Nouzille explains the history of the Corsican mafia.
• Ian Fleming's James Bond novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service is set against a background of Union Corse activities.
• In the Japanese manga and anime Banana Fish by Akimi Yoshida, a fictionalized version of the Corsican mafia is heavily featured as the villain. In modern times (1980s for the manga and 2010s for the anime) it is run by an international Corsican Foundation and funded by prostitution, money laundering, tax evasion, government corruption, and the focus of the show is on their drug experimentation.

References

Further reading

• OCLC 418390622
  .
• Follorou, Jacques (2013). La guerre des parrains corses. Paris: Flammarion.
  OCLC 835314889
  .
• "Suspected boss of Corsican mob reported dead" - 1 Nov 2006 USA Today
• "Corsicans prisoners faxed free" - 7 June 2001 BBC Online
• Henry Samuel "Future of Paris gambling clubs under threat" - Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2011
• Kim Willsher On Corsica, the intrigue of crime and politics claims another life -The Guardian, 20 October 2012.