Cuomo Raps Press Use of Mafia for Organized Crime

Gov. Mario Cuomo today criticized the news media for using the word “Mafia” in connection with the killing of organized crime boss Paul Castellano.

“I believe you use Mafia and equate it with organized crime,” said Cuomo, the son of Italian immigrants. “It’s an ugly stereotype that gets used over and over again against Italians.”

Cuomo said that while he is “obviously more sensitive to this than people who aren’t Italian,” he thinks the use of the term Mafia “is dangerous. When you say ‘Mafia,’ you hurt a lot of people.”

“To the extent that it suggests all organized crime is Italian, it’s incorrect,” the Democratic governor said. “Organized crime is not all Italian.”

“Why don’t you go to Rikers Island (a major New York City jail) and conclude that 94% of (the inmates) are black and think up a name that would create that association in people’s minds?” said an obviously agitated Cuomo.

The governor, considered a potential 1988 presidential candidate, has criticized the use of the term Mafia in the past. He said today that he once refused an invitation from then-New York City Mayor John Lindsay to attend a screening of “The Godfather” movie because he felt it reflected negatively on Italian-Americans.

Castellano, identified by law enforcement officials as the head of one of New York City’s major crime “families,” was gunned down on a Manhattan street Monday. (Story on Page 9.)