Word: mafia
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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What motivates someone to enlist? A Mafia defector summed it up for TIME: "Money, power, recognition and respect." Most grew up in slums, where the neighborhood's most visibly successful men were connected with the Mob. Says Chicago Police Commander William Hanhardt: "The man with the big money and a fancy car is a man of prestige. It's something to aim for." There are practical benefits to membership: protection from competition, easy access to skilled lawyers and, if a Mafioso is jailed, financial support for his family...
...ironic fact of life in the Mafia is that its mobsters always have money problems. For one thing, the tidal wave of cash from the rackets, mostly in small bills, is difficult to handle. The Gambino family solves this by paying friendly bank employees to exchange small bills for big ones that can be transported easily in satchel-size bundles...
Today most Mafia wives are native Americans, but their marriages reflect the old-country values of silence and obedience. Family bonds have weakened, but neither the generation gap nor the suburban Diaspora has dissolved them. Fathers may bankroll their sons in a legitimate business or pay their way through medical school. "But if the sons don't have the brains," says an investigator, "they are given work in the Mob. The sons don't become plumbers or factory workers. That wouldn't look right." Many of the daughters go to college, but only a few seek careers...
...Mafia's code limits social activities. " 'Made' guys [Mafiosi] don't like their wives to mingle with the wives of other 'made' guys," says a former Mob lieutenant, "because they might reveal something about each other. The only thing wives go to is wakes, weddings and funerals...
...They're not vulgar or bold-acting," says one Grosse Pointer. "They are mother and grandmother types-and good ones. Take Mrs. Anthony Giacalone [wife of a top Mafia figure in Detroit's ruling family], she's a quiet, lovely lady. Why, she even contributed $20 to the March of Dimes...