Joe Fosco once said something interesting about the "making" ceremony in Chicago: That it was basically just a ruse to pay people less money. You don't want to pay them more money, so you give them a basically dumb title.

I have no way of knowing that if that is true, but it makes a heck of a lot of sense. It is *exactly* what they do in corporate America, and if there is one organization in the world that is even more cynical than corporate America, it's the mob.

I always found it rather hilarious and telling that Marcello was giving Nick Calabrese's family a paltry $4,000 a month to try to keep Nick quiet. $40K a year to not flip and basically sink everyone. If he'd have moved the decimal over, who knows if Family Secrets would have even happened.

As for the heirarchy, I have a feeling it is less formal than a lot of people think. But who knows.