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Nancy Pelosi's Father Had Baltimore Mafia TiesOrganized crime cannot exist without public corruption, and for decades the Mafia operated as the fourth branch of government in many cities. United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi often recounts learning about politics as a little girl during the 1950s when her father Thomas D'Alesandro ran the Democratic machine in Baltimore, Maryland. D'Alesandro was a Congressman for five terms from 1938 to 1947, and Baltimore mayor for three terms from 1947 to 1959. The Honorable D'Alesandro allegedly was a 'constant companion' of notorious mobster Benjamin 'Benny Trotta' Magliano and other underworld figures according to the FBI file on the old-school politician. The mob ties and other corruption allegations against Mayor D'Alesandro curiously have remained absent in the accounts by Speaker Pelosi about her political family.