Excellent point! I never thought of that.
The families worked back in the old country because Sicily was poor and culturally not that well aligned with the rest of Italy. The reasons for that go back hundreds of years, right?
When the bosses tried to export the system to America, the concept worked, except America turned into the richest society in history. That made them fat, and soft.
Also, there's not that much reason for a Mafia in a rich country. Ordinary people can get ahead without a Mafia system to help them out.
Another factor might be that the prisons got a lot nastier, don't you think? I mean, getting sent up the river in 1930, or even in 1950, was a lot different than getting sent up in 1990.
I don't know for sure, of course, but I think life in prison got a lot rougher in the last forty years or so.
So you had softer young people coming in, and the downside looking a lot less pleasant too.
You’re right. If you can make 200k being a lawyer or 140k begin a Union Electrician, why go down the gangster road?
The mafia in Sicily is still BRUTALLY powerful. Much more so than here or in the mainland.
And many towns are still poor. Quite a few have been sent from those towns to here, to make up for the shortage of reliable men.
This crop is smarter than Gotti. VERY low key. I dont think the FBI knows who’s in charge of some of the families here.
I did what I did when i was much younger, NEVER hurt anybody, but I had a vending machine route and you couldn’t own one without the ok of a family. Of course other families would try to move in on your spots and there would be sit downs and all kinds of garbage, and you’re right. Who wants all that hassle when you get older?
Work in an Air Conditioned Office and make good money from legal gangsters, the investment banks :)