Smugglers prefer kin over strangers because trust is scarce

Evidence

The trade was run by small firms of smugglers, often manned by fishermen in their spare time. “Along with Vincenzo Buccafusca and his father, Girolamo, the brothers, wife, mother, mother-in-law, and brothers-in-law of the smuggler are also involved… Relatives are preferred to strangers because they are more closely tied in terms of trust and omertà” (CPM: 481-482). Certain “brand names” in this family-run business, such as Buccafusca, La Mattina, Savoca, and Spadaro, have survived into the present (CPM: 208, 964, 1467, 1497). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 617

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the kin-based trust logic in Milgrom/private-judge frameworks and Gambetta’s own earlier account of trust scarcity; also parallels the Corleone family business.