I was watching House M.D. and it showed two Italian brothers who were gangsters and involved in illegal activity. Like a crime family, Godfather type.
So, I know where the stereotype originates from. Italians came from Italy to the shores of America as migrants in the last century and were able to make a life of their own, but a small sliver (I think) of the community did involve themselves in not so legal activities. I thought it was the thing of the past that Italians were disproportionately involved in Criminal activities and I had though they got mixed in the American melting pot and probably are not disproportionately involved in crimes anymore. So, is the stereotype of Italian gangsters still true to this day (I know probably to a lesser degree?)
I must say I am not white/American/Italian or anyone who has anything to do with these groups. I have never seen an Italian in real life and I don’t hold any prejudices against or for them.
I live in the Northeast US. The Italian mafia still exists but it is not near what it used to be. The FBI/DOJ has been very successful in investigating and prosecuting members of the mob with laws we have called RICO. Basically RICO laws allow all members of a criminal organization to be charged for the actions of other members of the the organization. This helps prevent the boss and the other higher ups from insulating themselves from the crimes through intermediaries and soldiers that are willing to do prison time without “ratting” on anyone else in the org.
And now one of the main users of RICO is getting charged under the same law.