Interesting article, Almammater. There's an connection here in the US:
Many of America's Founding Fathers were Freemasons. They were, by and large, expansive thinkers, and not bound by rigid religious beliefs. Freedom of expression, including religious and intellectual expression, was high on their agenda when they created our Constitution. But bigotry was on the rise in the 19th Century among the "Know-Nothings," and "secret societies" like the Freemasons were at the top of their hate-list. In fact, Masonry in general was long suspect in America, until the Communist Party USA, and later the Kennedy assassination,replaced Masonry as the target of conspiracy theorists.
The Mafia is right up there, too. America is a nation that's at once fascinated and repelled by so-called "secret societies." The Mafia enjoys the dubious distinction of being a secret society that's not secret--it's as much a part of our popular culture as McDonald's, Disney, etc. If "Mafia" were a brand in America, it would enjoy more recognition than Coca Cola and AT&T. So, Mafiosi go through all kinds of secret rituals to join, and have to pledge to maintain omerta,, then find themselves the subject of the most intense popular and law-enforcement scrutiny. They can't win!
Incidentally, I like your avatar! The immortal Sofia?