Mafia bosses arbitrate theft disputes by recovering goods and punishing thieves

Evidence

There had been a theft from a wholesale store in the area of the Corso dei Mille family and there was a suspicion that the culprits were some boys from Falsomiele. Giuseppe Abate, accompanied by Giacomo Conigliaro, came to see Stefano Bontade and asked that the stolen goods be recovered. Bontade intervened, the stolen goods were found, and the boys were beaten up, as was then customary. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 441

Categorization

• XREF: Matches Milgrom et al.’s private judge model — a family boss acts as arbitration authority with the power of enforcement behind his ruling.