Editing Mafia (section)

==Protection rackets==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket Protection racketeering] is one of the Sicilian Mafia's core activities. This aspect of the Mafia is often overlooked in the media because, unlike drug dealing and extortion, it is often not reported to the police. But many scholars, such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Gambetta Diego Gambetta] and Leopold Franchetti, see it as the Mafia's defining characteristic, the source of their power and place in Sicilian society. Gambetta describes the Mafia as a cartel of "private protection firms" who act as guarantors of trust and security in areas of the economy where such things are scarce and fragile. In exchange for money or favors, mafiosi use the credible threat of violence to protect their clients from fraudsters, thieves, and competitors.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup>

For example: suppose a meat wholesaler wishes to sell some meat to a supermarket without paying taxes. Neither the seller nor buyer can turn to the police or the courts for help should something go wrong, such as the seller supplying rotten meat or the buyer not paying up. The law does not enforce black market agreements; it punishes them. Without the arbitration of the law, the seller could cheat the buyer with impunity or vice versa. If the parties both do not trust each other, they cannot do business and they could both lose out on a profitable deal. Instead, the parties can approach the local mafia clan to supervise their illegal deal. In exchange for a commission, the mafioso promises to both the buyer and seller that if either of them tries to cheat the other, the cheater can expect to be assaulted or have his property vandalized. Such is the mafioso's reputation for viciousness and reliability that neither the buyer nor the seller would consider cheating. Only a fool would dare cheat somebody protected by the Mafia. With the traders satisfied that this mafioso can discourage cheating, the transaction proceeds smoothly and all parties leave satisfied.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup>

The Mafia's protection is not restricted to illegal activities. Shopkeepers often pay the Mafia to protect them from thieves. If a shopkeeper enters into a protection contract with a mafioso, the mafioso will make it publicly known that if any thief were foolish enough to rob his client's shop, he would track down the thief, beat him up, and, if possible, recover the stolen merchandise (mafiosi make it their business to know all the fences in their territory).<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup>

Mafiosi have protected a great variety of clients over the years: landowners, plantation owners, politicians, shopkeepers, drug dealers, etc. Whilst some people are coerced into buying protection and some do not receive any actual protection for their money (extortion), by and large there are many clients who actively seek and benefit from mafioso protection. This is one of the main reasons why the Mafia has resisted more than a century of government efforts to destroy it: the people who willingly solicit these services protect the Mafia from the authorities. If you are enjoying the benefits of Mafia protection, you do not want the police arresting your mafioso.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup>

It is estimated that the Sicilian Mafia costs the Sicilian economy more than €10 billion a year through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_racket protection rackets].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbc030907_128-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-bbc030907-128 [128]]</sup> Roughly 70% of Sicilian businesses pay [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_money protection money] to ''Cosa Nostra''.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-129">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-129 [129]]</sup> Monthly payments can range from €200 for a small shop or bar to €5,000 for a supermarket.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Confesercenti2008_130-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-Confesercenti2008-130 [130]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-131">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-131 [131]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-tim031107_132-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-tim031107-132 [132]]</sup> In Sicily, protection money is known as ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzo_%28extortion%29 pizzo]''; the anti-extortion support group [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiopizzo Addiopizzo] derives its name from this. Mafiosi might sometimes ask for favors instead of money, such as assistance in committing a crime.
===Protection from theft===
Protection from theft is one service that the Mafia provides to paying "clients". Mafiosi themselves are generally forbidden from committing theft<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambetta171_133-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambetta171-133 [133]]</sup> (though in practice they are merely forbidden from stealing from anyone connected to the Mafia).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-134">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-134 [134]]</sup> Instead, mafiosi make it their business to know all the thieves and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence_%28criminal%29 fences] operating within their territory. If a protected business is robbed, the clan will use these contacts to track down and return the stolen goods and punish the thieves, usually by beating them up.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gambetta._p_173_135-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-Gambetta._p_173-135 [135]]</sup> Since the pursuit of thieves and their loot often goes into territories of other clans, clans routinely cooperate with each other on this matter, providing information and blocking the sale of the loot if they can.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Gambetta._p_173_135-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-Gambetta._p_173-135 [135]]</sup>
===Protection from competition===
Mafiosi sometimes protect businessmen from competitors by threatening their competitors with violence. If two businessmen are competing for a government contract, the protected can ask his mafioso friends to bully his rival out of the bidding process. In another example, a mafioso acting on behalf of a coffee supplier might pressure local bars into serving only his client's coffee.

The primary method by which the Mafia stifles competition, however, is the overseeing and enforcement of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collusion collusive agreements] between businessmen. Mafia-enforced collusion typically appear in markets where collusion is both desirable ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_elasticity_of_demand inelastic demand], lack of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation product differentiation], etc.) and difficult to set up (numerous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitor competitors], low [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barriers_to_entry barriers to entry]).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-136">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-136 [136]]</sup> Industries which fit this description include garbage collection.
===Client relations===
Mafiosi approach potential clients in an aggressive but friendly manner, like a door-to-door salesman.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambeta47_137-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambeta47-137 [137]]</sup> They may even offer a few free favors as enticement. If a client rejects their overtures, mafiosi sometimes coerce them by vandalizing their property or other forms of harassment. Physical assault is rare; clients may be murdered for breaching agreements or talking to the police, but not for simply refusing protection.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambeta54_138-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambeta54-138 [138]]</sup>

In many situations, mafia bosses prefer to establish an indefinite long-term bond with a client, rather than make one-off contracts. The boss can then publicly declare the client to be under his permanent protection (his "friend", in Sicilian parlance). This leaves little public confusion as to who is and isn't protected, so thieves and other predators will be deterred from attacking a protected client and prey only on the unprotected.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambetta57_139-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambetta57-139 [139]]</sup>

Mafiosi generally do not involve themselves in the management of the businesses they protect or arbitrate. Lack of competence is a common reason, but mostly it is to divest themselves of any interests that may conflict with their roles as protectors and arbitrators. This makes them more trusted by their clients, who need not fear their businesses being taken over.
===Protection territories===
A protection racketeer cannot tolerate competition within his sphere of influence from another racketeer. If a dispute erupted between two clients protected by rival racketeers, the two racketeers would have to fight each other to win the dispute for their respective client. The outcomes of such fights can be unpredictable (not to mention bloody), and neither racketeer could guarantee a victory for his client. This would make their protection unreliable and of little value. Their clients might dismiss them and settle the dispute by other means, and their reputations would suffer. To prevent this, mafia clans negotiate territories in which they can monopolize the use of violence in settling disputes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gambetta68-71_140-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-gambetta68-71-140 [140]]</sup> This is not always done peacefully, and disputes over protection territories are at the root of most Mafia wars.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-141">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-141 [141]]</sup>