Mafiosi embedded among traders deter challenges and sustain cartel stability

Evidence

Yet, in the light of the revelations by the pentiti concerning the status of some insiders, this statement is not reassuring. The alleged presence of mafiosi among the commissionari, albeit less extensive and less significant than in the past, could still be instrumental in deterring serious challenges and hence in maintaining the stability of this particular example of collusion. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 564

Categorization

• XREF: Mafiosi among commissionari as embedded enforcement differs from Gambetta’s cleaner market model — an insider-infiltrated cartel where the enforcer is itself one of the colluders.