There was a rift between the ethnic Italians and the more assimilated Italian-Americans from the start. "Mustache Petes" vs. "The Young Turks". Going back to the beginning you had made guys trying to look and sound as American as possible. Many changing their names to Irish or Protestant sounding. Frank Costello, Frankie Yale, etc. Paul Kelly, leader of the 5 Points, was Italian (surname Vaccarelli).
"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea
