Mafia “Code Of Conduct” Document Believed Discovered

For an entity that many insist doesn’t exist, it certainly has a lot or rules. An arrest made earlier this week in Italy has unearthed something many had long suspected existed – a “code of conduct” for members of the Mafia. When police raided the home of suspected “boss of bosses” Salvatore Lo Piccolo on Monday, they discovered a document that appears to lay out specific rules that allow members into the criminal organization.

It’s not clear if what’s listed on the paper is universal or restricted just to Italy, but the contents are revealing either way.  “I swear to be faithful to Cosa Nostra. If I betray, my flesh should burn,” it begins.

Among the big no-no’s: fooling around with anyone else’s spouse. “You don’t look at the wives of those who are our friends,” the code warns. It also supposedly bans members from hanging around in bars, an edict not likely to be obeyed, and seems hypocritical when it gets to one stanza, excluding people whose “behaviour … does not comply with moral values.” That obviously doesn’t include loan sharking, shakedowns, protection rackets, mob hits and other crimes the gang is alleged to be involved in.

And if you’re related to a cop, forget it – you’re out. The code prohibits anyone with a police officer in the family from joining the group. Become a godfather to a cop’s children or vice versa and you’re disqualified, too. And if your wife has had an affair, you’re also off the list. The humiliation of not being able to control your spouse seems to be an instant point of no entry. 

But there is supposed to be honour among thieves. Mafia members must pledge never to lie when questioned by those above them in the mob’s pecking order, and never to steal from the family. Another entry: be there when they need you. “You have a duty at all times to be available to Cosa Nostra, even if your wife is about to give birth,” it warns.

Experts believe the code may have been drawn up to help recruit new members after Lo Piccolo took over from another “boss of bosses,” Bernardo Provenzano. He was arrested last year.