Well, characters in mafia movies protected Italians from being screwed over. In real life, not so much.

And, as I've stated above, the second, third generations of Italians, along with the off spring other white immigrant groups in the mid 20th century, benefited from extensive government programs designed to form a middle class that were not as accessible to minorities, and which today's benefits are mere band aids compared to.

"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea