Most Italian immigrants to America were from Sicily and southern Italy, which suffered centuries of foreign domination and oppression. Italian immigrants were the most downtrodden and viciously denigrated whites in America. They were clannish and suspicious of outsiders and outside influences, including the Church and schools. They were easy prey for gangsters of their own kind. There were plenty of smart, ambitious Italian Americans, but absent college education or outside perspectives, some of them ended up in the Mafia, where they gained respect and money. Not so today. Today, college, not the Mob, is the destination for ambitious, young Italian Americans. The Mafia gets the John and Junior Gotti's. Self interest has replaced honore e famiglia in the Mob--it's cosa mia now, not cosa nostra.