Rigid mafia expulsion rules bend for members whose standing outweighs the offense

Evidence

Buscetta says he was expelled (posato) from the mafia because he was divorced and had had extramarital relationships. He adds that, “although one is forbidden even to speak to the man of honor who has been expelled, it can happen that, if he is considered an important person and if the expulsion is considered excessive, the other men of honor may take the personal responsibility of continuing to deal with him as if nothing had happened” (TB: III, 43). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 924

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the reader’s prior library on reputation systems where formal rules are fine-grained by member status (cf. Milgrom on Champagne Fairs’ controlled entry and elite traders). — connects to: Status groups punish fraudulent pretenders more harshly than ordinary members. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 233