Ok,

I'm doing a research report (I have three to do) on how Mafia Families got started. I'm using the Corleone Family as one example, but in real life, is that the way things got started?

Thanks for the input.


-Don Ethereal

PS - I don't plan on starting my own family...after one of my close friends got arrested, I've realized that street sh*t ain't for me...at least right now...

It's possible that some families started the way that was depicted in the GF novel. Shakedown rackets were always present in urban ethnic neighborhoods, usually run by individuals or small groups. Sooner or later, a "strongman" appeared to rub out or consolidate the small-timers under his leadership, and expand the rackets to include gambling, unions, prostitution, drugs, etc.
More likely, Mafia families in America started when immigrants from a specific town or region settled in a particular neighborhood in a city, and banded together. An individual who was "respected" in the old country (and who may have been the local Mafia chief in the old country) usually assumed the leadership in the US, and carried on from there.