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My hubbys grandfather knew some of the 'dons'...altho he never wanted any part of their 'businesses' nor did he want his boys involved..that is why, early on, he moved out of the Sicilian/Italian neighborhood in Chicago, and moved way up north in Chicago to get away from all of that...

But the granddad did keep in touch with many of these folks, as they all came from Sicily and had a lot in common...

When the grandfather died, it looked like a Mafia hoodlum convention at the funeral home...old Sicilian ladies, wailing when they entered the funeral home, my hubbys grandmother wailing as well...and it was packed...

I was outside the funeral home with my older boy who was just then 3, and a big limo pulled up, right in front of the funeral home...two bodyguards got out, each one scanning the streets(and they were not shy about letting us see their guns under their suits)...when they cleared the street, a short fat guy got out, went into the funeral home, paid his respects, stayed a little while, and then left...

I asked my hubby who that was, and he said it was some distant cousin, who was also his dads baptismal godfather, and he was a barber(tho I did find out that his barber shop was a front, and he was really a 'don' of some sort...

So, altho the hubbys granddad was not into crime(he had a regular job), he still knew many of these people, having lived among them for many years, and many of them came over to the USA together, from Sicily...

But when the granddad died, they all came(criminals and non criminals alike) to pay their respects...it was interesting, so say the least, and a little bit scarey...