The Mafia

[Antionette]

What type of people are in the Mafia?

[MrsCheeks]

nasty ones that dont like horses!

[smudge]

Have you ever watched the Godfather film? You can hire it out on DVD or video. It'll give you an insight as to what the Mafia world is all about. But as MrsCheeks says, watch out for the horse's head!

[tommyboy]

good catholic god fearing people with a load of money

[Philtaz]

Sicilians, generally.

[ll_billym]

You could also read "Donnie Brasco", it's written by an FBI agent who went undercover in the Mafia. It's also a film starring Johnny Depp but I would recommend reading the book first if you have the time.

[andy hughes]

The concept of the Mafia is based on the deep sense of family loyalty that has always existed in Scilian and Italian culture. The structure of the organisation, known locally as The Cosa Nonstra ("Our thing) is The Family which consists of a large number of people, some of whom will be related by blood. Induction into the Family starts ar low leve, running errands, bodyguarding, and so on, and a Mafioso can ascend the Family ladder by proving trust and reliability. Loyalty to, and defence of The Family are absolutely paramount - breaking 'omerta' the code of silence, results in death, often public and unpleasant as a warning to others. The famous Five Families of new York have reached a compromise where each concentrates on various levels of illegal activity, often masked behind genuine mun;ti-million dollar corporations, which don't conflict with each other. Rewards are very high, risks are very great, and non-criminal minds need not bother applying.