GIS technology helps map out how America's mafia networks were 'connected' Organized crime networks -- or mafia -- stretched across the U.S. in the 1960s. Researchers used geographic information systems to investigate how these networks were shaped and how they shaped organized crime during the mafia's organizational height. Image: Penn State GIS technology helps map out how America's mafia networks were 'connected' Matt Swayne April 12, 2021 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At its height in the mid-20th century, American organized crime groups, often called the mafia, grossed approximately $40 billion each year, typically raising that money through illegal or untaxed activities, such as extortion and gambling.