Originally Posted By: carmela
Originally Posted By: TommyGambino
Originally Posted By: carmela
I seriously doubt anyone passing by was going to try and step in to help out. The mafia has strict rules about that. Even if it's a hit and they botch it up for some reason, if they find out you came to assist the victim, you're in trouble. Their rule is you cannot touch the body. It has to stay as is until carabinieri arrive or a mafioso would come back to finish what was left undone.

Well good for them for standing up for themselves, but unfortunately in Palermo you have no chance of opening shop without paying. They may lower your pizzo but you will pay.


I was watching a documentary on Youtube called the mafia's secret bunkers, was about the N'drangheta but about 10 minutes of the doc is in Palermo. Not everyone pays, a lot of shopkeepers/businesses had anti-mafia stickers or something on the front window of they're shops.

They said at one particular market that 2/3's of the stalls paid protection money, even that's crazy.


I have seen a couple of those stickers ('No Pizzo' they say) on shops in Sicily, not only Palermo. They're very few and far between, I'm telling you. Nowhere near "a lot". They get away with that for awhile but eventually everyone pays. If not, your store "catches fire" or something similar.


And i was wondering how effective Adio-Pizzo is...

"A fish with his mouth closed never get's caught"