This debating over the ceremony is getting ridiculous. Do people seriously think the Outfit isn't 100% formal cosa nostra? The giancana wiretap was merely him speaking his mind, giving a personal opinion. Ricca, accardo, mooney, battaglia, alderisio, carlisi, difronzo, ferriola, etc etc etc etc, these are all HARDCORE 100% La Cosa Nostra people. The ceremony has always been practiced in Chicago & always will be. Not just during the O'Brien era.
That's why I said some of these guys may not have gone through the ceremony years ago. I'm not convinced 100% that the Outfit didn't use it going back before the Aiuppa era. But there are other arguments that seem to suggest it wasn't used until later.
I was referring more to the actual making ceremony. I think it's possible that Chicago doesn't employ the traditional method anymore and instead uses a more informal way of induction now. But I can't say for sure.
I meant that the FBI apparently consider both of them as "made," and the feds typically don't recognize a guy is made unless he's undergone the formal making ceremony. You'll notice that Joey Lombardo isn't listed in the Family Secrets indictment as a "made" member of the Chicago Outfit like Marcello and the Calabreses were. That wasn't an oversight.
