DeNiro´s best performances as an actor came as a mafiaguy. I´m sure that he met a few wiseguys over the years. Many of them seems to admire DeNiro for his work. Which is fully understandable if you ask me. But, let us not draw hasty conclusions about DeNiro´s mob ties.
This picture was taken in connection with DeNiro prepering himself for his role in "Analyze This". Well, that´s the official story anyway.