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Mafia
(Encyclopedia)Mafia mäˈfēä [key], name given to a number of organized groups of Sicilian brigands in the 19th and 20th cent. Unlike the Camorra in Naples, the Mafia had no hierarchic organization; each group op...Black Hand
(Encyclopedia)Black Hand, symbol and name for a criminal and terroristic secret society, and especially associated with the Mafia and the Camorra. The Black Hand flourished in Sicily in the late 19th cent., and in ...organized crime
(Encyclopedia)organized crime, criminal activities organized and coordinated on a national scale, often with international connections. The American tradition of daring desperadoes like Jesse James and John Dilling...Rufiji
(Encyclopedia)Rufiji ro͞ofēˈjē [key], river, c.375 mi (600 km) long, rising in the highlands of SW Tanzania, E Africa, and flowing NE then E to the Indian Ocean opposite Mafia Island. The Great Ruaha River is i...Mattarella, Sergio
(Encyclopedia)Mattarella, Sergio, 1941–, Italian political leader. Born into a prominent Sicilian family, he studied law at the Sapienza Univ. of Rome and taught constitutional law at the Univ. of Palermo. He was...Andreotti, Giulio
(Encyclopedia)Andreotti, Giulio jēo͞oˈlēō änˌdrāätē [key], 1919–2013, Italian political leader. A leading member of the Christian Democratic party, Andreotti held a variety of ministerial posts througho...Bonanno, Joe
(Encyclopedia)Bonanno, Joe (Joseph Bonanno), 1905–2002, American crime boss nicknamed “Joe Bananas,” b. Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. He came to the United States illegally in 1924, settled in Brooklyn, an...secret society
(Encyclopedia)secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. The ceremonies of initiation i...King, Coretta Scott
(Encyclopedia)King, Coretta Scott, 1927–2006, American civil-rights leader, b. Heiberger, Ala.; the wife (1953–68) of Martin Luther King, Jr. After her husband's assassination, she carried on his civil-rights w...Uffizi
(Encyclopedia)Uffizi o͞of-fēˈtsē [key], palace in Florence, Italy, built in the 16th cent. by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de' Medici as public offices. It houses the state archives of Tuscany and the Uffizi Gal...Browse by Subject
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