The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organised Italian-American criminal society and organised crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to these American-based organisations, as well as the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other organised crime groups in Italy, or ethnic Italian crime groups in other countries. These organisations are often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organisation's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia groups from Sicily operating in the United States.
