Family Matters: A Mafia Quiz

So you’ve memorized five scenes from The Godfather. How’s your knowledge of real American Mafia history? Take this quiz to find out.

1. Cosa nostra is a Sicilian term meaning:

a. Our clan

b. Our house

c. Our family

d. Our thing

2. “The Black Hand” refers to this type of crime:

a. Extortion

b. Check fraud

c. Murder

d. Graffiti

3. The Sicilian mafia’s code of silence or honor is called:

a. Resistenza

b. Omerta

c. Valor

d. Bushido

4. Which of the following was not the name (or pseudonym) of a real person?

a. Donny Brasco

b. Elliot Ness

c. Nicky Santoro

d. Mario Puzo

5. Which of the following people was born in Sicily?

a. Joseph Bonanno

b. Al Capone

c. Meyer Lansky

d. J. Edgar Hoover

6. What was the real name of 1970s American mafia snitch Jimmy the Weasel?

a. Salvatore Gravano

b. Aladena Fratianno

c. Charlie Luciano

d. Giuseppe Di Stefano

7. Chicago mobster Alphonse Capone was convicted of what crimes?

a. Murder and extortion

b. Racketeering and theft

c. Tax evasion and bootlegging

d. Jaywalking and public drunkenness

8. The term “racketeering” was coined in 1927 to describe organized crime influence in what group?

a. The Chicago Police

b. The Teamsters Union

c. Nonunion dockworkers

d. Soccer moms

9. The RICO Act, aimed at protecting interstate commerce, was signed into effect by which U.S. president?

a. Calvin Coolidge

b. Dwight Eisenhower

c. Lyndon Johnson

d. Richard Nixon

(See next page for answers and scoring)

Answer Key:

1. d

2. a

3. b

4. c

5. a

6. b

7. c

8. b

9. d

How’d You Do?

0-3 correct: You sleep with the fishes

4-6 correct: Standup guy

7-9 correct: Made man