Editing Mafia (section)

==Rituals and codes of conduct==
===Initiation ceremony===
One of the first accounts of an initiation ceremony into the Mafia was given by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_Verro Bernardino Verro], a leader of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasci_Siciliani Fasci Siciliani], a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, which arose in Sicily in the early 1890s. In order to give the movement teeth and to protect himself from harm, Verro became a member of a Mafia group in Corleone, the ''Fratuzzi'' (Little Brothers). In a memoir written many years later, he described the initiation ritual he underwent in the spring of 1893:
[I] was invited to take part in a secret meeting of the Fratuzzi. I entered a mysterious room where there were many men armed with guns sitting around a table. In the center of the table there was a skull drawn on a piece of paper and a knife. In order to be admitted to the ''Fratuzzi'', [I] had to undergo an initiation consisting of some trials of loyalty and the pricking of the lower lip with the tip of the knife: the blood from the wound soaked the skull.—[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardino_Verro Bernardino Verro]<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-alcorn_117-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-alcorn-117 [117]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambetta263_118-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambetta263-118 [118]]</sup>After his arrest, the mafioso [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Brusca Giovanni Brusca] described the ceremony in which he was formally made a full member of ''Cosa Nostra''. In 1976 he was invited to a "banquet" at a country house. He was brought into a room where several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger and piece of paper bearing the image of a saint. They questioned his commitment and his feelings regarding criminality and murder (despite him already having a history of such acts). When he affirmed himself, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Riina Salvatore Riina], then the most powerful boss of ''Cosa Nostra'', took a needle and pricked Brusca's finger. Brusca smeared his blood on the image of the saint, which he held in his cupped hands as Riina set it alight. As Brusca juggled the burning image in his hands, Riina said to him: "If you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh will burn like this saint."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra_12-8">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra-12 [12]]</sup>

The elements of the ceremony have changed little over the Mafia's history.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-119">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-119 [119]]</sup> These elements have been the subject of much curiosity and speculation. The sociologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Gambetta Diego Gambetta] points out that the Mafia, being a secretive criminal organization, cannot keep written records and thus cannot have its recruits sign application forms and written contracts as legitimate institutions do. Thus they rely on the old-fashioned ritual ceremony. The elements of the ceremony are made deliberately specific, bizarre and painful so that the event is both memorable and unambiguous, and the ceremony is witnessed by a number of senior mafiosi. The participants may not even care about what the symbols mean, and they may indeed have no intrinsic meaning. The real point of the ritual is to leave no doubt about the mafioso's new status so that it cannot be denied or revoked on a whim.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-120">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-120 [120]]</sup>
===Introductions===
A mafioso is not supposed to introduce himself to another mafioso he does not personally know, even if both mafiosi know of each other through reputation, because there is a risk that the mafioso might accidentally expose himself to an outsider or undercover policeman. If he wants to establish a relationship, he must ask a third mafioso whom they both personally know to introduce them to each other in a face-to-face meeting. This intermediary can vouch that neither of the two is an impostor.

This tradition is upheld very scrupulously, often to the detriment of efficient operation. For instance, when the mafioso Indelicato Amedeo returned to Sicily following his initiation in America in the 1950s, he could not introduce himself to his own mafioso father, but had to wait for a mafioso from America who knew of his induction to come to Sicily.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-CodesoftheUnderworld_121-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-CodesoftheUnderworld-121 [121]]</sup>
===Etiquette===
Mafiosi of equal status sometimes call each other "''compare''", while inferiors call their superiors "''padrino''".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-122">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-122 [122]]</sup> "''Padrino''" is the Italian term for "godfather".
===Ten Commandments===
In November 2007 Sicilian police reported discovery of a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Lo_Piccolo Salvatore Lo Piccolo], thought to be guidelines on good, respectful and honourable conduct for a mafioso.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10_cmd_123-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-10_cmd-123 [123]]</sup>
#No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
#Never look at the wives of friends.
#Never be seen with cops.
#Don't go to pubs and clubs.
#Always being available for ''Cosa Nostra'' is a duty - even if your wife is about to give birth.
#Appointments must absolutely be respected. (''probably refers to formal rank and authority.''<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-124">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-124 [124]]</sup>)
#Wives must be treated with respect.
#When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
#Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
#People who can't be part of ''Cosa Nostra'': anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.
The pentito Antonino Calderone recounted similar Commandments in his 1987 testimony:
These rules are not to touch the women of other men of honour; not to steal from other men of honour or, in general, from anyone; not to exploit prostitution; not to kill other men of honour unless strictly necessary; to avoid passing information to the police; not to quarrel with other men of honour; to maintain proper behavior; to keep silent about ''Cosa Nostra'' around outsiders; to avoid under all circumstances introducing oneself to other men of honour.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-125">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-125 [125]]</sup>===Omertà===
Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omert%C3%A0 Omertà][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omert%C3%A0 Omertà] is a code of silence and secrecy that forbids mafiosi from betraying their comrades to the authorities. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be murdered. Mafiosi generally do not associate with police (aside perhaps from corrupting individual officers as necessary). For instance, a mafioso will not call the police when he is a victim of a crime. He is expected to take care of the problem himself. To do otherwise would undermine his reputation as a capable protector of others ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#Protection_rackets see below]), and his enemies may see him as weak and vulnerable.

The need for secrecy and inconspicuousness deeply colors the traditions and mannerisms of mafiosi. Mafiosi are discouraged from consuming alcohol or drugs, as in an inebriated state they are more likely to blurt out sensitive information. They also frequently adopt self-effacing attitudes to strangers so as to avoid unwanted attention.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-126">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-126 [126]]</sup> Whereas most Sicilians tend to be very verbose and expressive, mafiosi tend to be more terse and subdued. Mafiosi are also forbidden from writing down anything about their activities, lest such evidence be discovered by police.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-127">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-127 [127]]</sup>

To a degree, mafiosi also impose omertà on the general population. Civilians who buy their protection or make other deals are expected to be discreet, on pain of death. Witness intimidation is also common.