Friday, November 9, 2007

Keep to the Code

We've all heard about "honor among thieves" and about bad guys and villains with their own sense of right and wrong but all that always seemed to be more of a romanticized creation of Hollywood than actually reality. Finally we have proof.

Mafia '10 Commandments' Found

I absolutely love this. I'm half Italian and my grandfather came over from Sicily, so maybe that's why this story appealed to me. Italian police finally located and arrested Salvatore Lo Piccolo after 14 years on the run. He was positioning himself to be the Don of Dons in the Sicilian Mafia. When they searched the country house in Palermo where he was arrested they found administrative documents of Cosa Nostra (even they can't escape paperwork) which contained among other things, THE CODE. Who would've believed that the Mafia had a written code of ethics? The list begins with a simple preamble that states "I swear to be faithful to Cosa Nostra. Should I betray, my flesh will burn."

The Ten 'Mafiosi' Commandments are:

1. No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
2. Never look at the wives of friends.
3. Never be seen with cops.
4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
7. Wives must be treated with respect.
8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.


I don't know whether knowing that almost all of our politicians couldn't be in the Mafia comforts or frightens me. Holy crap! The Mafia has a higher moral standard than Congress! I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. Let's adopt this list as a new oath of office - along with the same punishments if the oath is broken. In some sort of twisted way it seems...I don't know...more honest.

Have a great weekend and remember, "leave the gun, take the cannoli".

14 comments:

Moooooog35 said...

Did the mafia guy's wife make up rules 2, 4, 7 and 8?

I'm gonna guess, yes.

Mike said...

A few years ago I ran across a similar code of conduct for Hell's Angels. Violation of the rules could result in being expelled from the gang. The one that I remember the most is "No Drug Burns Among Members" meaning that it was okay to rip off non-members, but if you sell drugs to members, they better be good ones.

The other one I remember is that smoking was not allowed during the meetings of the California Chapter of Hell's Angels.

here today, gone tomorrow said...

Being half Italian as well (1/4 Sicilian), this caught my eye as well. Astute observation about how the mafia compares to politicians...

Bruce, a work in progress said...

Mo...og, Italian wives are particularly good at allowing their husbands to believe they are in charge. There's a line in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" that I loved. "The man, he is the head yes, but the woman, she is the neck and she can turn the head any way she wants."

Mike, somehow the California thing doesn't surprise me. Wouldn't want Hell's Angels dying of second-hand smoke. Stick to the code mate.

HTGT, thank you, and thanks for dropping in.

Tequila Mockingbird said...

i think if the bush family was like the family in the godfather movies, George W would be like Fredo.

Bruce, a work in progress said...

Fredo? I think he'd be more like Dodo, the one you never saw because he was kept locked in the basement.

Anonymous said...

Dodo...more like Dildo!

Bruce, a work in progress said...

Maybe Prepon, but then he'd be kept somewhere other than the basement.

Forrest Proper said...

I just got an idea for a new line of "Dubya"-based sex-toys...

On the one hand the thought of a George-Bush-shaped dildo is disgusting... on the other hand I get a huge kick of thinking how offended the Bushies & UberMoralists would be about it.

Forrest Proper said...

And naming it would be fun- how about "The Biggest Prick"?

Bruce, a work in progress said...

Col. then you could use him to literally do what he's been figuratively doing to America since he was elected.

The "Bush-whacker"?

Sara Sue said...

I'm a bit confused on #9. Doesn't all money *belong* to someone?

The only problem with a Bush sex toy is no woman would use it. Wait ... maybe Ann Coulter. In that case, we could name it "Nazi Fucker".

Bruce, a work in progress said...

Sara Sue, I think that basically means money that doesn't belong to you or to your "family".

and why does everybody keep mentioning Ann Coulter. Stop, I'm gonna have nightmares. I'd rather dream about a clown eating me.

Anonymous said...

Great work.