@ Billy

But you gotta admit, it's a little ironic and funny right? We are talking about literal FAMILIES, blood relatives committing crimes and operating long term criminal enterprises here. Versus the LCN, who are really crooks, unrelated mostly, operating under the same criminal brand that they PAY to subscribe to.

The business model to me is similar to franchises like McDonalds, you pay for the right to utilize the brand, the marketing, the product line.
Mafia guys pay for the right to be able to "sue" in crime court with sit downs, and to use the criminal brand of "MAFIA". (Think Davie Betillo throwing Luciano's name round..) I see the made guy thing as a mechanism for privatizing criminal connections more than anything, but a lot of times this isn't even true, it's the individual who enhances the mafia with his connections, or earning potential, and they initiate him to get a piece.