Economic Structure of the Mafia

The Mafia is viewed by many people as a bunch of gangsters like those that they might see on movies such as Goodfellas, The Godfather, or Donnie Brascoe. In all actuality the Mafia represents much more than that, it is an entity within itself. The original Sicilian Mafia was just a group of families controlling certain territories in which they each laid claim to. These families were headed by a dominant male and were usually …

…of the Mafia claim that they had to make their living the way in which they wanted to. One author even quotes a newly-made Mafia member as saying that after he was initiated, older members would constantly ask him if he wanted to join in burglaries and armed robberies and it was okay that he declined. His only duties were to be loyal and to bring money into the family in whatever way he could.