bhatiyajantatalji.blogspot.com en.wikipedia.org The Italian word "stiletto" comes from the Latin stilus meaning: "a stake; a pointed instrument".The stiletto, also called a misericorde ("mercy"). The Mafia (also known as "Cosa Nostra") is a criminal brotherhood that emerged in the mid 19th century Sicily. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. Each group, known as a "family", "association", "clan" or "cosca", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its rackets -- usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city. Offshoots of the Mafia emerged in the United States, during the late 19th century, following waves of Italian emigration (see American Mafia) but also in Canada and Australia. The term "Mafia" is also employed to name Mafia-type organizations operating under a similar structure, whether Sicilian or not; such as the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta, the Stidda or the Sacra Corona Unita, as well as foreign organized crime groups. The 'Ndrangheta managed to become the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While commonly lumped together with the Sicilian Mafia. In March 2006, the national anti-Mafia prosecutor announced the discovery of a narco submarine in Colombia; it was being constructed on behalf of the 'Ndrangheta for smuggling cocaine. [10] The 'Ndrangheta has recently expanded its activities to Northern Italy, mainly to ...