I usually don’t get into conspiracy theories but does anyone else think it was suspicious how Kennedy got assassinated only a month after the Valachi hearing which his own brother headed(he also got assassinated later on). I don’t think Kennedy or his brother actually worked with the mafia but I do think their dad did(their dad was a shitty person). Their experiences with their dad and being from a Irish community probably gave them much more knowledge about the mafia and how organized crime worked more so then your average wasp American who didn’t deal with it as often. Their communities were the most plagued by these groups and many in the younger generations(like JFK and Robert) within those communities wanted to start distancing themselves from this and getting rid of it from their communities(notice how Kennedy depicted himself as just American and try to make Catholics and Irish appear assimilated. The mafia hurt that and many within their own communities knew that). Honestly the mafia probably thought they finally got “one of there boys in the White House” not realizing their intentions towards them and felt like they were “traitors” once they went after them(rats and perceived traitors have always been the most hated people in many American communities. The only group that is hated more in the American criminal world is pedos).

Think about it, the mafia had ties to CIA, FBI, law enforcement, politicians, and Cuban exiles(mafia was pissed at Kennedy over lost of Cuba to communism because Havana was supposed to be original Las Vegas. Mafia had heavy ties with the batiste regime and even worked with CIA to train Cuban exiles in retaking the place for them). They had resources and knowledge to do a lot. If you have people in FBI, CIA, and law enforcement it wouldn’t be that hard to know the president movements or plans(think Dallas. They also been training at assassination methods while trying to figure out how to kill Castro). Notice how the government went after the mafia hard after the assassination of Kennedy. I think the government had a “O shit!” movement when they found out a bunch of criminals just killed the president but couldn’t admit it to the public openly because people would figure out those people have been in the government for years and government actually worked with them at times(imagine public reaction to this especially during the 60s). Government was covering its own ass but knew something had to be done since the mafia overstepped itself. The 60s and 70s had a lot of infighting within the US government. You had the CIA and FBI having issues with each other. You also now have Italian and Irish mafia who now have international connections due to ties to Europe(Irish mafia/IRA isn’t good for British relations). The Italian mafia right now still brings heroin into the US through its connections with the Sicilian mafia who gets it from the Middle East.

From the House Select Committee on Assassinations wrote: "The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that the national syndicate of organized crime, as a group, was not involved in the assassination of President Kennedy, but that the available evidence does not preclude the possibility that individual members may have been involved". They basically contradicted themselves in this statement and no one picked up on it at the time. They nearly admit the mafia is involved. If you can’t preclude individual mafia member from being involved in the plot that means you can’t preclude his whole mafia either. Their statement is a oxymoron and complete bullshit. I think the Kennedy assassination and 60s prove that US could arguably be called a mafia state or one heavily influenced by it. The Irish mafia here was sending weapons and funding to the IRA openly in Boston. They literally had donation things at Boston pubs for the IRA. One of the reasons US might have cut back on immigration from Ireland and Italy in the 60s was probably because they feared newly arrived people from there would keep feeding into the mafia here.

If you want American mafia state Cuba is a good bet if they don’t fall to communism. If you want one in US itself or more blatant one have JFK and his brother being more like their dad with the mafia and have Cuba stay under Batista/mafia control. Or even have Kennedy dad stay in better health much longer. He is definitely the type to politic behind his kids back and push them into doing certain things if he was still physically able to at the time(he lost his voice in 61 right?). American government and politicians care greatly about appearances. For example, when Kennedy won election many thought their should be a recount due to possible dirty or illegal voting practices. But Nixon said no because he thought it would make the US look bad especially with the Cold War going on. He could have easily pushed for a recount. These groups are extremely backhanded but clever. They went on that long without the US government even having a clear idea about them. The only reason they failed is because they got too obvious when people from their own communities started going after them. There is a reason many American Hollywood movies depict Italian and Irish Americans going undercover to take down the mob. It is because many did in real life especially the more assimilated they became. Why do you think mobsters are often depicted like more old school Italian or Irish people “straight off the boat” while the one who is a cop or undercover is depicted as much more American. Think of George Stone from untouchables or the younger Irish characters in the departed. Then compare them to their older Irish and Italian counterparts on how they are depicted.
 
Could efforts to fight mob control keep Howard Hughes and his Mormon muscle sane?
Despite his ocd he took a large role in otl could a more alert, rational industrialist really get the job done?

Could you elaborate on Howard Hughes and his "efforts to fight mob control"?
 
He brought three casinos, installed his mormon flunkies, who kicked out skimmers and created the family friendly image Vegas has now.
 
He brought three casinos, installed his mormon flunkies, who kicked out skimmers and created the family friendly image Vegas has now.

Thanks. I knew Hughes had those Mormon boys working for him, but I wasn't aware that they were invovled in running casinos, nor that they instigated the moral clean-up in Vegas.
 
Would more liberal immigration laws help? Like the US not putting a great amount of restrictions up in the 1800 and 1900 century? Wouldn’t the Irish and Italian mafia stay stronger with the continued influx of poor from the homeland to help feed into its numbers more? If the US doesn’t restrict the Chinese at all from coming here could you have some triads pop up and start selling opium within the US? Or the US allows more Slavs and Russians to come here where they start their own mafias? The US works with these mafias heavily during the Cold War in hopes they can undermine the eastern bloc and the Soviets for them? The US is pretty much willing to work with anyone who isn’t communist
 
Perhaps the US adopts a similar stance to Japan's (former) relation with the Yakuza. The whole "organized criminals keep the otherwise uncontrollable petty criminals in line and out of sight" mentality.
 
Perhaps the US adopts a similar stance to Japan's (former) relation with the Yakuza. The whole "organized criminals keep the otherwise uncontrollable petty criminals in line and out of sight" mentality.
America actually does kind of have stuff like that. In cities where crime is extremely bad the cops will not care about people doing more petty crimes unless they have a camera on them(they can’t just let you go for weed if they are on film). Cops in New Orleans and some southern cities often refused to go to some areas because they are so bad. My police buddy had to arrest a mother because her 5 year old son somehow got a AR15 hidden in the project apartment and accidentally shot his 3 year old sister with it. He has seen the aftermath of people who have been intentionally burned alive. Once he even told me how this guys eyes popped out of his head after being shot in the head in a odd way(the bullet curve at impact). Cops who have to deal with that on a regular basis don’t normally arrest petty criminals unless pressured too. If you seen the aftermath of a torture some kid smoking weed or drinking just seems stupid to go after. In New Orleans the cops will often only do something if you steal something or start a fight but drinking or smoking blunt isn’t cared about much by them.
 
I think the Great Depression era is ripe for possibilities here. You've got the tail end of prohibition, meaning most of the US's "traditional" mob outfits are pretty flush with cash, assuming they're not dead. If they were smart, which many of them were, they saw the writing on the wall and "diversified their holdings" before prohibition ended; meaning they'll still have a reliable cash flow, whether or not said cash flow was as great as bootlegging. But nonetheless, they've got cash, business connections, and an organization always looking for new ways to make big money, at a time when most people are struggling big time (I mean...it's the Great Depression...enough said).

What's needed to help them get more powerful, among other things, is an even less stable government. Maybe FDR's assassinated early on, Garner isn't up to handling the economy and coming troubles in Europe and Asia. Things get worse and worse, and the mob (continuing to grow in size & influence thanks to the economy) provides lots of people, even those outside their specific ethnic communities, with opportunities for employment. Whether they're pushing dope on the streets, loading boxes onto trucks & into warehouses, or whatever else the mob might need assorted manpower for, they're involved with these criminal elements and start to associate them with the best chance for economic advancement. At the same time, with a growing sense of support from the community, they attach themselves to local elected officials and political machines (or run/build their own); now they have a lock on power in several forms. Of course, once the authorities are firmly in their pocket, the need for support from the general public can be minimized (if only by the brute force of state sanctioned violence). They can do as they please, making money hand over fist as they expand into every market from corner grocery stores, to shipping companies, radio and tv stations, to luxury casinos, and grease the palms of anyone who can be corrupted, and executing anyone who can't.
 
So in the end the us becomes more like Sicily.
Perhaps some labor leader, Hoffa, Meany, becomes the Salvatore Giuliano, of this story.
 
According to Wikipedia,



So with this pretty simple definition in mind, your challenge is to turn the United States into such a polity up to the present day with a POD/PODs anytime after 1900. It's not necessary for it to be just one organized criminal outfit controlling the country, in fact it'd probably be more interesting and more plausible if there was some sort of tenuous power sharing arrangement between multiple groups.

And while I recognize that many people feel our current political system is already deeply criminal (a feeling I don't disagree with), it's hard to argue that the United States of 2019 is controlled by a group like the Cosa Nostra, the Sinaloa Cartel of Mexico, or the Russian Bratva. I'm looking for a widespread, overt kind of cooperation between the United States government and criminal elements, to the extent that said elements play power broker in important elections, functions of government, and even military decisions.

Some likely candidates for consideration:

  • The Italian American Mafia, otherwise known as the mob or La Cosa Nostra (Italian for "This thing of ours"), which rose to prominence during prohibition after establishing a virtual monopoly on the bootlegging of alcohol in many areas. While prone to counterproductive violence, the mob nonetheless became a powerful entity within the United States in the mid-to-late 20th century through their control of labor unions. They remained somewhat of an urban legend, and a danger largely ignored by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, until their activities came under close scrutiny following the Apalachin Meeting of 1957, and the McClellan Hearings in 1963. Since the 1970s, the mob has largely fallen from power after being dealt a serious blow by the RICO Act, developed to curb the power of criminal organizations.
  • The Jewish Mafia, similar to their Italian counterparts in terms of origin and activities, largely focusing on racketeering, bootlegging, and narcotics. Never quite as romanticized as Cosa Nostra, but no less includes important figures such as Arnold Rothstein who shaped the nature of organized crime in the United States. Again, quoting from Wikipedia: "According to crime writer Leo Katcher, Rothstein 'transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity by hoodlums into a big business, run like a corporation, with himself at the top.' According to Rich Cohen, Rothstein was the person to see during prohibition (1920–1933) if one had an idea for a tremendous business opportunity, legal or not. Rothstein "understood the truths of early 20th century capitalism (hypocrisy, exclusion, greed) and came to dominate them". According to Cohen, Rothstein was the 'Moses of Jewish gangsters', a rich man's son, who showed the young and uneducated hoodlums of the Bowery how to have style. Lucky Luciano, who would become a prominent boss within the Italian-American Mafia and organize New York's Five Families, once claimed that Arnold Rothstein "taught me how to dress". The stereotypical attire of the American mobster portrayed in movies can partially trace its roots directly to Rothstein." Rothstein was noted for his involvement in fixing the 1919 World Series in his favor, and being among the first to realize the huge economic potential in prohibition.
  • The Irish Mob, active in the United States since the 19th century but declined in relative significance following numerous internal wars as well as confrontations with their Italian rivals. Active in many of the same areas of crime, bootlegging, narcotics, intimidation, etc.
  • The Hells Angels, the notorious motorcycle gang founded in 1948 and closely detailed in Hunter S. Thompson's first novel, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Their activities are fairly standard for any criminal outfit, including drug dealing, arms smuggling, extortion, and prostitution among others.
  • The Aryan Brotherhood, the white prison gang and organized crime syndicate founded in 1964. Drug trafficking, extortion, murder-for-hire and inmate prostitution are among their many choice activities.
  • The Crips and Bloods, founded in 1969 and 1972 respectively, the predominantly African American street gangs that have long been bitter rivals in their fight for control over the Californian criminal underworld. Particularly violent in their nature, both gangs frequently experience inter-organizational violence which continues to undercut their ability to operate effectively.
  • The Black Mafia Family, founded in the late 1980s by the Flenory brothers of Detroit, Michigan. Primarily involved in drug trafficking and money laundering, the BMF established cocaine distribution networks throughout the country by utilizing Los Angeles-based connections to various Mexican drug cartels. In an attempt to legitimize themselves, leadership of the BMF established an entertainment company that sought to promote various hip hop groups. Although this group in particular, I think, is unlikely to amass the kind of power necessary to outright control the US, it'd make sense to see a powerful, black dominated organization form nonetheless.
Although the organizations I've listed are all predominantly American, it's acceptable for foreign (or multinational) gangs to have a considerable degree of power in this scenario.
Didn't Sicily intended to join US ?
 
Top