Produce market violence is performative mafia style, not real enforcement.

Evidence

The commissionario and his aides act as a cohesive team. Underlings shelter the boss from the anger of dissatisfied clients and occasionally fight on his behalf to spare him from dirtying his hands. One commissionario boasted, “One of my employees slapped a carrier who stole two boxes of oranges eight times hoping the guy would react and he could give him an even harder beating.” On the whole the violence is just for show, the residue of a mafioso style rather than evidence of a real mafia presence. Unlike the fish market, the produce market has undergone a true process of modernization and pacification which, although far from complete, has made it more like any other. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 546

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the ‘On Sacrifice’ and private-protection thread; also parallels the Law Merchant chapter where controlled entry substitutes for enforcement.