by B. » Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:37 pm
Riccobene came from a mafia family and could have participated in a mob murder by the time he was made. It was a different time then, and more than one informant mentions members being made around age 17 in the US and age 13 in Sicily. Membership wasn't about having the "best" rackets (Philly was historically unsophisticated when it came to racketeering anyway), but the right connections and being in the right place at the right time.
Riccobene was a strange guy. He consistently complained that the organization had seen better days and lowered its standards... he expresses this in FBI docs in the 1960s, on wiretaps in the 1970s, and in interviews after going to prison through the 90s. However, he broke the cardinal rule by giving extensive information on the history and structure of the family to the FBI, so there's some cognitive dissonance there when it comes to "standards".
Riccobene came from a mafia family and could have participated in a mob murder by the time he was made. It was a different time then, and more than one informant mentions members being made around age 17 in the US and age 13 in Sicily. Membership wasn't about having the "best" rackets (Philly was historically unsophisticated when it came to racketeering anyway), but the right connections and being in the right place at the right time.
Riccobene was a strange guy. He consistently complained that the organization had seen better days and lowered its standards... he expresses this in FBI docs in the 1960s, on wiretaps in the 1970s, and in interviews after going to prison through the 90s. However, he broke the cardinal rule by giving extensive information on the history and structure of the family to the FBI, so there's some cognitive dissonance there when it comes to "standards".