[jason taylor]

I'm not studied up on that sort of thing so don't take me as a source. If I remember though, the old school Italian Mafia for a while was able to maintain a peace through the various families with their own version of the UN back in the "Golden Age".

The Teamsters, as is well known, once were under the control of the Mafia. The problem was apparently the weak organization that allowed them to subvert key chapters thus getting a hold of the electoral system and insert their own candidate. In essence the Teamsters were like an organism and the mob like a virus strain corrupting cell after cell. Legend has it that Hoffa asked about the Committee for Ethical Practices saying,"Have they found any ethical practices yet."

When RICO came about the Federal government launched a campaign against the Mafia and penetrated them surprisingly well. Despite the romance their really is very little honor among thieves and the real boys squeal like pigs-so much that you have to wonder if every don in the system was really an informant.

Because of that the Italians had an extreme nosedive in America and apparently by the time they had a chance to recover others moved in. Which is just one reason why they are being supplemented and possibly replaced by Russians and Balkans as the go-to TV villains. Aside from the fact that Italians are old and becoming a cliche.