I don't think it's a matter of assimilation as by all accounts Italians are fully assimilated into American society. Political power, religious institutions,economic power,civic institutions,military achievement, represented in academia,etc,etc,etc,


Within each group of hyphenated-Americans...there are going to be families and individuals who take advantage of the educational and commercial opportunities available in America and those who don't.

There are poor and working class members of ethnic groups that arrived in America well ahead of the Italians and well after. Assimilation didn't eliminate the 7-8th generation Americans from the older groups and won't wipe out the working class from the newer groups.

As someone else wrote, the "mob" stands out because of of press/hollywood but other white ethnic groups have criminal organizations that are still active and still have young guys joining up.

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Having said that though, what role do you (or anyone) think that the changing demographics in some of the urban centers has played in young Italian men maybe entering criminal world for protection?

Neighborhoods that might have been exclusively Italian before are now flooded with newer immigrant groups...Blacks or Latinos...and as the numbers shift the remaining Italians might feel the need to clique-up to not get pushed around by the Black or Latino street gangs.

Sort of the reverse order of how gangs start I guess.....normally the new group has to clique up to protect themselves from the established ethnic group. Latest example of that real life "west side story" theme ..Dominicans formed gang in NYC metro area to protect themselves from Puerto Ricans.

I think these are the factors that might drive kids who otherwise wouldn't enter criminal life....to go down the path that eventually leads them to maybe go into the mafia.