 After Mussolini came to power in the 1920s, he launched a fierce crackdown on organized crime, but they recovered quickly following the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, during World War II, once the Allies freed imprisoned Mafia leaders under the mistaken notion that they were political prisoners.Cosa Nostra remains a secret criminal organization with a state-like structure.It utilizes violence as an instrument of control, executing members who break its rules as well as outsiders who threaten or fail to cooperate with the organization.