the Unione Siciliana was the equivalent of Chinese Tongs in the italian community
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Was Unione Siciliana national or was it in NYC and maybe spread to a couple of other cities?
In what ways are the two similar?
My impression was that like other of these Italian Societies, mob guys were often in them.maybe started many of them,but they included the other Italians who wanted to join ,and thus could influence these other members in such things as voting,money raising,etc
Havana,
The Unione Siciliano, for lack of a better term, was believed to have been started in the City of Chicago, around 1895, or so, as a "fraternal type" benevolent organization, and "mutual aid society." Initially, it was an altruistic, well intentioned organization formed and created for the betterment of early Italian/Sicilian immigrants in America.
Initially, the Unione Siciliano provided such important services to immigrant Italian families as having Italian to English language translators, offered affordable life insurance, paid funeral and burial expenses for poor families, organized religious annual Italian feasts, helped find affordable apartments and housing, interacted with local government and city officials on behalf of the immigrants, etc., etc.
It was a major "support group" for the early Italian people.
But, realizing the importance and power such an fraternal organization had, mafiosi soon infiltrated and took over the Unione Siciliano, and from that time forward, it was largely used as a front by Mafia leaders to gain power and political influence, and use it for their other nefarious underworld purposes.
