I'm a little confused by something:

Several above had said that you had to be 100% Sicilian to become a "made member" of a family, and that was true years ago. But the rules were softened here in this country, and it became that as long as you were 100% Italian with your Father being Sicilian, then you could become a made man. Then as the years passed, they relaxed the rules even more, where all that was required was that you be 100% Italian.

Where you say, "...it became that as long as you were 100% Italian with your father being Sicilian, then you could become a made man....where all that was required was that you be 100% Italian."

Does that mean that in the first sentence, your father had to be 100% Italian (Sicilian or Calabrese) and in the second instance your mother could be 100% Italian (Sicilian or Calabrese)? If that is not correct, could you please elaborate a little more?

Thanks to everyone for your explanations! I find all of this so exciting and fascinating!

Someone also pointed out that Hyman Roth was Polish, but he was a Polish-Jew, which might have had even more differences since Jews are non-Christians.

Is that how things are done today?

In the book (sorry to bring up a question about the book, but it is relevant to this question) Don Vito refers to Sollozzo as an "infidel". Does this mean that he is not a made man? Or does it have other implications?

What would happen if, like today's times, a street gang or other organized crime group would come into a territory and business that was/is typically a part of the "Mafia's" territory. Does the rival group have to get permissions from the local Don? What happens if they don't?

~~ Lollie