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The American Mafia (or simply the Mafia in the United States), is an Italian-American criminal
society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret
criminal society. The Mafia emerged in New York's Lower East Side and other areas of the East
Coast of the United States during the late 19th century following waves of Italian immigration,
especially from Sicily. It has its roots in the Sicilian Mafia, but is a separate organization
in the United States. Law enforcement still considers the Mafia the largest organized crime
group in the United States. Today most of the Mafia's activities are contained to the
Northeastern United States and Chicago where they continue to dominate organized crime despite
the increasing numbers of street gangs and other organizations that are not of Italian origin.
