From: LifeHacker.com.au
Hey Lifehacker, I just finished watching all six seasons of The Sopranos which got me to wondering: does the Mafia actually still exist, or is it just a Hollywood fantasy? If it’s real, in which countries does it operate? It might influence my travel plans! Thanks, Don Speak
Dear DS,
As the perpetually running Underbelly TV series will attest, organised crime is very much a living beast whose fingers can be found in every far-flung pie across the globe. Our publisher was recently lamenting the presence of bikie outlaws, youth gangs and drug cartels in his area — and that’s just a single street in Marrickville!
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The organisation recently made headlines following the INTERPOL capture of prominent Mafia member Vito Roberto Palazzolo. Palazzolo was sentenced for laundering money from the proceeds of drug trafficking and cigarette smuggling, among other crimes.
