Protection societies flourished across Sicilian professions, not just crime.

Evidence

Societies such as these, which protected the interests of rural and entrepreneurial groups, were numerous in Sicily between 1860 and 1900, and Franchetti himself refers in passing to others ( 1974: 96). There were oligopolies of middlemen (Lupo 1988: 478). There were the “Stoppaglieri” of Monreale, composed mainly of guardiani; the “Fratellanza” of Favara, composed mainly of sulphur miners; and the “Fratuzzi” of Bagheria and “Fontana Nuova” of Misilmeri, among others (Pezzino 1987: esp. 953ff., and 1989a; Lupo 1988). These societies included small landowners, farmers, wholesale dealers, millers, cart drivers, pasta makers, shoemakers, saddlers, shepherds, cattle breeders, and more (Pezzino 1987: 956, and 1989a; Lupo 1988: 476). According to the report written by the prefect of Trapani in 1874, “la maffia” consisted of market brokers, barbers, shepherds, bakers, millers, pasta makers, coachmen, and carters (reported in Russo 1964: 18). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 220

Categorization

• XREF: The breadth of occupations in these societies is the documented empirical base for Gambetta’s private-protection-market theory, which the reader is using to understand the Corleones.
• CANDY: In 1874 a prefect officially listed mafiosi as barbers, shepherds, bakers, and pasta makers — a striking detail that reframes ‘mafia’ as a profession registry rather than a criminal gang.