As I sat down on Friday for my daily cappuccino-fueled newspaper reading, I sighed with relief when I saw that John Gotti had been found guilty of murder. Yet I also realized that for millions of people like myself throughout the world the nightmare is far from over.

Since my arrival in the United States I have been following the Gotti trial, horrified at the amount of media attention it has been attracting. The willingness of so many newspapers to grant celebrity status to such people suggests to me that the American public has yet to understand the full implications of the mafia myth.

Let me bore you with an example of how mafia films and TV reports have affected innocent people. In the 1950s, hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants arrived at Australian ports, fleeing desperate social conditions in their homeland. Yet this new environment in no way resembled that which Italians encountered in the cities of America during the 20s and 30s. Political corruption was not widespread, and immigrants suffered little or no discrimination. Through their work and determination they helped the Australian economy, and their language and cultural heritage enriched the lives of urban and rural communities. Most importantly, however, that blantantly Anglo-Saxon society of post-war Australia was not "mafioso"; it was not corrupt enough for Italian organized crime to form, although there have certainly been Italo-Australian criminals, particularly in country areas.

Since the end of the war, however, we have been flooded by American mafia films and novels. The American media reports we receive refuse to treat mafia gangsters as common criminals, but instead report on what clothes these people are wearing in court, the jokes they make and what their hair looks like. He who should be described as a criminal is defined in American media as a "consigliere," what should be defined a gang of extortioners is referred to as "La Cosa Nostra." A distorted Italian belief in family values is seen as adding a human touch to organized crime. The reality of mafia violence and brutality is turned into a screenplay resembling The Untouchables. As a result, anyone of Italian origin in Australia who is arrested becomes a "mafia underboss" for our newspapers, which are usually only too happy to cash in on the popularity of American-made culture. Someone may be charged with vandalizing a school, or growing marijuana on a farm, but his Italian last name is enough for the media to talk about "mafia connections." What should be pride in a rich cultural background is turned to shame. John Gotti's damaging influence goes further than even he would realize.

While I have nothing but contempt for American mafiosi, I also hold in very low esteem many Italian-American intellectuals. While they should be leading their communities in attempting to muster whatever political and economic power possible to end the glorification of Italian organized crime, they are happily preparing a script for the next "Godfather" movie. Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola have no right to portray the first New York mafiosi as strong upholders of Italian values, or as enterprising capitalists looking for their share of the American dream. The New York Italian gangsters were, and still are, parasites who extorted money from their fellow immigrants. Mafia has always involved brutal exploitation, both in Italy and the States. Having lived in Italy for eight years I am only too aware that the roots of the mafia lie in the violent control of peasants in Sicily's ugly history of foreign domination. Contrary to the belief of many Americans, there is nothing heroic about it.

Not very long ago Italian Americans were outraged by the Gennifer Flowers tapes, in which Bill Clinton referred to New York Gov. Mario Cuomo as someone "acting like a mafioso." I believe that to call Clinton a racist was perfectly legitimate in those circumstances. The contribution of all Italian-Americans to this society is questioned every time an honest person is said to be a mafioso because of his or her Italian heritage. Yet I am surprised that Cuomo and the Italian community do not see the problem as part of a broader framework. Too many Italian Americans still participate in the glorification of gangsters, which can only result in manifestations of intolerance toward their whole community. They have played a large part in putting themselves into this situation, and now they ought to be working to find a way out.

Well, as these thoughts raced through my head, I found myself scooping out the froth at the bottom of my cup. Looking at the newspapers I suddenly thought of my father, and the pride in his eyes as he stepped onto the dock of Port Melbourne 30 years ago. Surely he deserves better than to be associated with "Dapper Don" by the media. So while the outcome of the Gotti trial could suggest that American mafia is closer to its end, the wound it has caused will take a long time to heal.