Known as "the Honored Society," at its place of origin in Palermo and western Sicily, the Mafia was a massive criminal brotherhood that took control of all local governments and businesses in the western part of Sicily. The migration of Sicilians to the United States brought with it many members of "the Family." They began to take control of New York's five boroughs. Mafia organizations then spread to Chicago, New Orleans, Havana, Nevada, Mexico, and other places in the western hemisphere. This episode uses police surveillance films, home movies, and eyewitness accounts to look at the men who control "the Family." The first person you see and hear is Jimmy 'the weasel' Fratianno, a former Los Angeles boss, who describes his murder of Frank Borgia. He does this in a very matter of fact manner and this sets the tone for the whole series.