The 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. There are several Mafia type organizations operating in Southern Ontario and based in Windsor, and they are mostly at war with each other, though some alliances do exist. Although the crimes committed by the various groups are not generally limited each tends to focus on a specific area.

1. The Sicilian Mafia, also known as simply the Mafia and frequently referred to by members as Cosa Nostra, is a Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate originating in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or cosca. Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighborhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi.

   The Mafia has controlled everything from the street corner drug trade to the highest levels of government, but tend toward Money Laundering and Smuggling. Glorified by movies and television, hounded by law enforcement officials, marked for death by their enemies, mobsters live violent and often brief lives. The Mafia at its core is about one thing -- money. Still, there are secret rituals, complicated rules and tangled webs of family loyalty.

   The Windsor Mafia is no exception. The Windsor Mafia is run by the Coccus Crime Family which has very strong ties to the Rizzuto Crime Family. Specifically Windsor is jointly run by Tony 'the Rock' Coccus and his twin sister Jenny 'the Hard Place' Rizzuto. The Coccus Family runs a multitude of both Criminal and legitimate businesses (Coccus Paving, Caesar's Casino are examples.

2. The Velovskor Meir (World of Thieves or Russian Mafia) Also known as the Red Mafia or Bratva(Brotherhood). They are the most vicious of the Crime Organizations and are involved primarily is weapons and Drug Trafficking, Prostitution, Money Laundering, and the smuggling of Alcohol.

   The Windsor arm of the Bratva is run mainly by 2 men, Ivan Darachev and Vladimir Ivankov. Although they will at times ally with other organizations such as the Italian Mafia or Colombian Drug Cartel, they primarily wish to remain solitary.

3. Japanese Mafia calls itself Yakuza: Assasins, Hi-tech crime. Very loose alliance with the Bratva.
4. Chinese Mafia Tong: Human and Drug Trafficking (Opium).
5. Vietnamese mafia Triad: Prostitution and Human Trafficking. Allied with the Chinese.
6. Irish Mob: Drug Trafficking, and Illegal Trade Unions, Assasinations. Often Allied with the Italian Mafia.
7. Greek Mafia: Organized Beggers, Theft, Drug Trafficking, Prostitution. Often Allied with the Italian Mafia
8. Polish Mob - Kielbasa Posse: Gun running, Armed Robbery, Drug Trafficking, Extortion, Car Theft, Credit Card Fraud and Fencing Allied with the Bratva.
9. Mexican Cartel: Human and Drug Trafficking(Heroin, Marijuana)