Members of parliament were ritually inducted into mafia families

Evidence

Calderone recalls: “I personally met Onorevole Calogero Volpe [a member of parliament] who was ritually introduced to me by my brother as a man of honor, in Caltanisetta, in [Volpe’s] office” (AC: II, 594). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 466

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Ritual induction of politicians into families parallels Gambetta’s point that membership rituals serve as commitment signals substituting for legal enforcement.

Related

• Politicians are sometimes formally inducted into mafia families as members. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Information within the mafia is compartmentalized along family and rank lines #expands (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 320