Okay, that's your choice. I still find it the least of all, but what the heck, everybody has it's own view/opinion...:)..at least you have an opinion.

"Mafia" has become such a generic term that some people use it to refer to any large group of people with a single purpose--whether or not the purpose is criminal. John F. Kennedy, during the 1960 Presidential campaign, referred to his brothers and his staff as "the Irish Mafia."

Good point. The word Mafia sounds romantic. And thugs love to portray themselves as romantic Robin Hood types. The Russians in South Brooklyn are even calling themselves Mafiya these days, transliterating the word Bratva, which is Russian for brotherhood.

Just because it's written in books doesn't mean it's true. I would like to see some more information regarding that society of knights because to be honest with you I think it's all bullshit and just because some guy said the Mafia should act the same way as them doesn't mean the Mafia came from them.

OK.... we're making progress now. Compare this statement to one you made two months ago:

Just because my family has written down evidence does not make it a book.

No disrespect meant against your family, but it doesn't necessarily make it true either.

You have a point there SC, I see where you're coming from, but since my family is a primary resource I prefer getting information from a primary resource whether than a secondary resource. Most likely my family is correct, but no one may ever know the true origins, but like I said it's most likely that my family is correct since they are a primary resource and they witnessed things.

Granted, but who is to say that some of the book authors didn't get their info from similar sources (as your family)?

My point is that you have to take whatever you read about the Mob with a grain of salt. The more you read stuff about the same subject and the more people who agree on its truth makes it more likely that it IS true, but there is no guarantee.

Good point SC.

I already know where this discussion is heading: no agreement, no true discussion, only opinions of different people...and most probably flaming in the end. So I quit this one. You believe what your family says, something you have a right for, and it's not going to change.

You have a point there M.M. All of us are still gonna believe the same things we always did no matter what anyone else says.

The problem for all of us is that very, very little valid research has been done on the overall subject of organized crime in general, and the Mafia in particular. Gangsters aren't the kind of leave their collected papers to university libraries for people like us to study--particularly if they're following omerta. So, writers tend to rehash the same (wrong) "facts" again and again in their books and articles. And they most often choose the most sensational-sounding "facts" to help them sell their books and articles, knowing that nobody will be able to refute them.

Case in point: Meyer Lansky was reputed to be worth $300 million, the "richest gangster in history." All Lansky bios and article, except for one, reprinted that "fact." But Lansky was one of the very, very few gangsters to have a competent biographer. Robert Lacey, in his superb book, "Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life," traced the $300 million figure to journalist Hank Messick, who told Lacey he'd heard it secondhand and used it in his own 1965 article because it was "a big figure." Lacey's own research indicated that Lansky, at his peak, was worth no more than $5-6 million. "Fantasy is an integral element of how organized crime is experienced, perceived and reported."

Under those circumstances, family tales and recollections are at least as valid, if not more so, than the stuff that writers use. But family recollections also can get distorted or embellished over time.

I'm reading Blue Thunder at the moment, about the murder of the boat racing king Don Aronow in Miami. The author claims to have been told by an FBI agent that Lansky had 450 Mil at the time of his death. Never heard that figure before.

Lacey says Lansky was almost flat broke at the time of his death.

I tend to think Lansky must have had some hidden away but nothing like the millions talked about. Maybe a couple hundred g's or something.

Agreed Turnbull.

Turnbull makes a great point above. The information that is out there on all of organized crime is sketchy. Even info gathered by law enforcement is often wrong due to misinterpretation of recordings or topics. It has gotten much better with undercover penetration, but even when they obtain info from informers, it must be taken with a grain of salt..those guys always have their own best interests at heart, and can twist facts for their own benefit. I have read info. on this site (from very good posters/researches) that is not necessarily accurate, due to outdated information, or misinterpretation...but then again, that's my opinion based on my "info."

There is no such urban legend in Sicily. For starters, they know their own language. "Ma" means "but" in Sicilian, not "my".

"Look Ma No hand's !!" - Jim Carey (The Mask