Even for the non-psychopaths, the Cosa Nostra, Mafia, Fratellanza, whatever you want to call it, has been dominated by murderers, thieves and extortionists since the beginning. The earliest reports of the Mafia in the 1820s or so show them to be involved in cattle rustling, which back then was a person's livelihood. They extorted farmers, miners, landowners and business owners. Sicily had huge lemon exporting industry, but it was ruined by Mafiosi who drove up the costs and drove down the quality. The romantic version of the Mafia as an organization the helps people is a myth created by Mafiosi to make themselves feel better. Yes, sometimes they did help people, but they help people with money stolen from people who worked hard for it. When Mafiosi went into legitimate businesses, it was often by putting the competition out of business, or by threatening potential buyers to purchase their product "or else." Even those who didn't personally kill, steal or extort certainly aided and abetted. To exist they paid off the police, judges and politicians, so there was no justice for the little guy.

Take Rocco Pranno of Stone Park, for example. His brother was the chief of police, and Pranno could viciously beat the crap out of people who questioned him with impunity, and of course the police did nothing. Or if someone bothered Pranno, his brother could make up a charge and arrest the person. Frank Nitto helped take over the unions by telling the union bosses that if they didn't cooperate, they'd get a bullet in the head or their wives would be wearing black. In order to get the race wire in Chicago, they shot James Ragen while he was driving. He survived and was recovering in the hospital, so they poisoned him. In Los Angeles, Louis Dragna tried to take over the garment industry by having hired men beat up the competition. In New York, when a reporter criticized Johnny Dio, Dio hired some people to throw acid in his face. The reporter, Victor Riesel, was left permanently blind. In the early 1900s they'd kidnap children for ransom, but if the family couldn't raise the money or if the children fought back, they were killed. That's what happened to Walter Lamana in 1907; they strangled him and cut off the head of the 10-year-old boy in New Orleans because he didn't cooperate. These guys are bullies and have been since the beginning. What do you think "just street guys" do anyways?