the italian-american mafia began at the time when many italians moved to the united states in the 1800s. the first italian mafia was in new orleans in louisiana but soon they were in many cities across the country. the italian mafia in the united states is actually called "la cosa nostra" which in italian language means "this thing of ours" or "our thing". the american mafia is divided into different groups or "families". many large cities have only one italian-american mafia family, but some larger cities like new york city have more.