[[TheTripletsOfBelleville http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Fbellevboudyguard.jpg]]

-->''"If you're not careful, you'll get us all whacked! Ha ha ha! Body in a woodchipper."''\\
--Phil Ken Sebben, ''HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw''

-->'''Michael Corleone:''' ''My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.''\\
'''Kay Adams:''' ''Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed!''\\
'''Michael Corleone:''' ''Oh? Who's being naive, Kay?''\\
--''TheGodfather''

Scary Italian dudes with guns. Part tight-knit community, part protection racket, these ''paisani'' live by a code - which just happens to include vendetta (killing anyone who wrongs ''la famiglia'') and ''omertà'' (going to your Don, rather than the cops, when you have trouble with a fellow Italian). Classically known as the ''Cosa Nostra'', and also called "wiseguys".

While the Italian mafia has obvious basis in fact, it has remained a staple of entertainment even as the {{Yakuza}} and former [[TheMafiya Soviet-bloc mafias]] lapped it for sheer scare value in the real world.

It should be noted that in reality, the Mafia is actually ''Sicilian'', not Italian. It was for this reason that, despite popular belief, Al Capone wasn't technically in the Mafia at all. [[DidNotDoTheResearch Few people seem to realize this, however.]] Then again, by that definition, Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, and Vito Genovese weren't in the Mafia either, despite running Mafia families of their own.

For the [[TheThemeParkVersion laughably inept, PG-rated version]], see TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily. If present as a global player, TheMafia may evolve into TheSyndicate. Also see MafiaPrincess. Obviously not connected with LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub at all.

Compare TheMafiya, TheCartel, TheTriadsAndTheTongs, {{Yakuza}} and TheIrishMob.

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!!Examples:

* Obvious literary and film example: ''TheGodfather''. Pretty much the genesis of the modern media portrayal, though the actual word 'mafia' was [[NotUsingTheZedWord notably absent]] from the film versions. (Ironically, it would go on to influence real-life mafia culture, particularly the glamorous self-image that would be aspired to.)
** The producers of ''The Godfather'' were able to speak to a real member of the Mafia, who provided some of his 'boys' for crowd-control on-set. In exchange, he made several requests, one of which was that the word 'Mafia' be removed from the script (the director agreed, which was easy enough to do -- considering that it wasn't in the script in the first place).
* ''TheSopranos''. Which finally put an end to the popular cliche of mobsters acting like 1940's era gangsters from ''TheGodfather''.
* ''Goodfellas''
* ''{{Casino}}''
* ''King Of New York''
* ''{{Scarface}}'' did this with Cuban and South American guys, instead of Italians.
** This is the more recent version with Pacino. The film it's a remake of had Italians.
* ''SexyBeast'', with British organised crime.
* The anime series ''[[{{Baccano}} Baccano!]]'', which takes place during the American prohibition era.
* ''GrandTheftAuto 3'' revolves around TheMafia, and the group also shows up in important roles in the other parts of the series. In fact, ''Liberty City Stories'' has you ''play'' as a mobster who's of some importance in ''3''.
* ''PaperMario: The Thousand Year Door'' has the 'Pianta Syndicate', a CulturalTranslation of the Japanese version's {{Yakuza}} Piantas.
* Also spoofed in ''Les Triplettes de Belleville'' - the otherwise entirely stereotypical mobsters are actually French, and obsessed with cycling.
* The video game ''{{Mafia}}: The City of Lost Heaven'' is all about La Cosa Nostra. And it's getting a sequel soon.
* Parodied in ''SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' with the Toy Mafia, who all wear colorful grinning teddy bear heads and use a SuckECheeses-style restaurant as [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub a thinly-disguised front]] for their operations.
* ''CityOfHeroes'' has the Family, who are basically Italian mobsters in nice suits and bowler hats. ''CityOfVillains'' also has the Mooks, who are just the same, except less well-dressed.
** Both are hilariously anachronistic as well, even the Mooks wear 20s-style fashion outfits in a TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture world, and wield tommy guns equally as effective as modern assault rifles and lasers. RuleOfCool, folks.
* TheMafia shows up from time to time in ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'', along with other organized crime groups such as the gangs in [[WretchedHive Denton]], usually in the background but occasionally directly involved. For example, Antonio Franchini is the son of a Mafia Don, abducted to prove a point after the Don reneged on his part of a deal between him and Danya. In v2, Seth Mattlock's father is an enforcer for a Mafia family based in Denton, and Seth himself is not only friends with some of the mobsters but is considered an honorary member, and the mob family helps his gang when they need it (for example, when an all out gang war starts). Montezzo Valtieri, a graduate of the highschool targetted in v3, is rumoured to be a Mafia member due to his advanced fighting ability, Sicilian heritage, [[ManOfWealthAndTaste great wealth]], and formal, cultured appearance, but he denies this.
* ''The Valachi Papers'' was created from interviews and testimony of Joe Valachi, the first major mob informant.
* The Mafia was the major villain in the early ''TheExecutioner'' novels staring Mack Bolan.
* ''SnowCrash''. The Mafia delivers pizza, among other things. Uncle Enzo's Cosa Nostra Pizza guarantees delivery within 30 minutes, or you get your pizza free, Uncle Enzo flies down to your house, apologizes, and gives you a free trip to Italy. The delivery boy gets custom concrete shoes.
** Or equivalent. It's never specified exactly ''what'' happens to failed Deliverators, though their irate customers are allowed to [[DisproportionateRetribution shoot them]] and a reference to Uncle Enzo as the "straight-razor wielding figure from every Deliverator's nightmares" is pretty suggestive.
* Even ''TheWorldOfDarkness'' had its share, with a few branches of the [[http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Giovanni Giovanni]], a vampire mob with necromantic power. As Gary puts it in ''[[VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]'': "Spaghetti and corpses, boss."
* ThePunisher's first of ''many'' victims. (The original version has his family being gunned down by gangsters for stumbling onto a gangland execution, while the version told on the one-shot MAX comic ''The Cell'' has [[spoiler:an attempted coup go bad with both the hitman and the target's bodyguards killing the Castle family in the crossfire]].)
* The book of ''Man On Fire'' and the first film had the Mafia being behind the kidnapping that Creasy seeks vengeance for, but the 2004 film with Denzel Washington removed them from the picture.
* The ''{{Golgo 13}}'' story "Wiseguys" has Duke Togo called in by a Mafia don over a matter of a blood feud. It opens with an FBI presentation that attempts to strip away most of the romantic myths surrounding the Mafia, and does a decent job at presenting organized crime as just prettied-up hooliganism.
* Verrocchio's gang in ''BlackLagoon''; in a reversal of the common portrayals, they come off as more brutal and overall worse people than [[TheMafiya Balalaika's]] or [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chang's]] gangs.
* [[PsychoLesbian "Iron Goldie"]], the nemesis of Rally Vincent from ''GunsmithCats'', and her people. She's from Sicily.
* The Mafia makes several appearances in ''{{CSI}}'', unsurprisingly considering [[VivaLasVegas the location]]. ''CSINewYork'' also dealt with a New York branch, and particularly, The Tanglewood Boys, a gang of Mafioso youth.
** In {{CSI}}, especially early on, any Mafia episode usually contains a [[BlatantLies "...but the Mafia haven't been active in Las Vegas since the 80s"]] line. Don't want to [[TheMasquerade scare away the tourists]], after all.
* Italian movie ''Gomorra'' (2008) takes a rather more realistic view of the Camorra clans in Naples and Caserta, showing how they create a climate of fear, murder and corruption.
* Many of {{Batman}}'s non-{{Cape}} villains. Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, Salvatore "Boss" Maroni, Rupert Thorne and Carl Grissom qualify.
* Fat Tony's gang in ''TheSimpsons''.
*KatekyoHitmanReborn. A series about a mafia boss who gets shot in the head. A lot. Him and his {{Unwanted Harem}} of {{Bishonen}} Although they're pretty much the Girlscout Mafia. The good guys, at least(I'm looking at you, Yamamoto Takeshi!). The antagonists have plans like possessing the body of the thirteen year old wimp and using him to cause World War III.
* The premise of JoJosBizarreAdventure Part 5
* ''{{Futurama}}'' has the [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Robot]] Mafia, which is composed of [[TerribleTrio only three members]].
* ''VampireTheMasquerade'' had the Giovanni clan, an independent clan of Italian origin with ties to organized crime. Oh, and necromancy. And we [[ParentalIncest can't forget the incest]]. Needless to say, the Giovanni are ''fucked up''.
* ''KingdomOfLoathing'' has the Penguin Mafia. The reason they're penguins is probably partly the resemblance between penguins and men in fine black suits, and partly that [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins are inherently funny]].
* The intimidating, [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub social club-dwelling]] recipients of a huge roulette wheel cake on ''CakeBoss'' (filmed in [[{{Gangsterland}} Chicago]]) are ''heavily'' implied to be the Mafia.
* Interestingly, given that it's set in Italy. GunslingerGirl has never shown any ''genuine'' Mafiosi. Mostly, this is because almost all of the stories happen on the ''boot''. The Camorra do show up quite often and are either called by thier proper name or ''The Naples/Napoli Mafia'' depending on whether exact accuracy or quick description is called for. The ''Five Republics'' seperatists tend to act a bit like this trope (including having "cleaners"), but seem to make most of their money more-or-less legitimately.
* Although not obvious at first glance, [[{{ptitlei015gc004kw4}} Team Rocket]], especially in the games, is based off the Mafia.
* In {{John Grisham}}'s book ''The Client'', mafia members play a large part.
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