Very well said Bobby, especially the selfish part. I would throw in insecurity and low self esteem as well. Lots of these mob guys or wanna be guys never felt adequate or felt that they were particularly good at anthing so they fool themselves into believing that they are some sort of clever criminal and then feel accepted. Who are they accepted by? For the most part, a bunch of insecure , selfish people who cant cut it in the real world. The nororiety aspect of this is also the insecurity aspect; its somehow adds to their self worth.
Not all criminals are like this but many are and you would never know it. Most are very insecure and uncomfortable outside of their very small environment.
I spent half my life searching for and exploiting angles until i basically found out anyone can get an angle, an angle is just a fancy term for cheating.
This also goes hand in hand with juice heads by the way. I was one of them as well.
By the way, your friends and loved ones who stand by always do until the day they decide they wont.