I would like to focus more on the Mafia. I teach the history of the Mafia in an American college, at the military college, so I'm not familiar with the gangs or street gangs. I'm more familiar with the so-called traditional organized crime.
The Mafia is actually based on functional friendship, so there are no blood ties. What brings all those people together is a sense of belonging, but you have to consider that they're not looking for money; they're looking for power. That is the main goal. Looking for power means establishing connections with the people who are able to make decisions.
I will just give an example. There was the Zappia business that was involved in the Olympic Village scandal in Montreal. He was arrested recently in Italy because he was investing five billion euros in the construction of the bridge that will eventually connect Sicily to the mainland.
The 'Ndrangheta is another major criminal organization that operates in Canada. The structure is different, because 'Ndrangheta is the only criminal organization with a structure based on blood ties. A way to recruit members is through marriage. Sometimes it's from families who come from the same area. Other ways that are very important in Italian culture are to be the godfather of a child or to be the best man in a wedding. It's a way to protect themselves.
The 'Ndrangheta is now the most powerful criminal organization in the world, with ramifications worldwide because it's very difficult to infiltrate. It's very difficult to find informants within the 'Ndrangheta. Becoming an informant in the 'Ndrangheta means betraying your own blood. That is unacceptable. Even in Canada we have the same structure, the same type of organization. It's an organization based on blood ties.