The Truth About The Initiation Ritual Every Member Of The Mafia Must Go Through

One of the most famous – or should we say infamous – components of any real-life mafia organization is its made men. Because becoming a made man within the Mob is something massive. It’s a status only acquired by a select few, and brings with it benefits – namely protection – plus many responsibilities.

Yes, carrying the title of made man in the Mafia effectively means you’ve got an exalted status within the criminal organization itself. It’s seen as signifying essential traits such as honor and pride in the individual. And a high level of trust too. Plus not just any old Joe can become “made.”

The infamous Benjamin “Lefty” Ruggiero – memorably portrayed by Al Pacino in the movie Donnie Brasco – is one famous example. He’d proved his loyalty and trust to top mafiosi by repaying large gambling debts, you see. And only then was he “made.” So there are strict criteria and customs in place that have to be met. These traditions go back many years, and are, it seems, unchangeable. 

To become a made man in the Mafia, you have to partake in an initiation ritual. And this tradition is both strange and highly secretive. For many years, in fact, almost no one outside of the criminal network knew anything at all about this closely guarded secret.

But slowly over the last century or so, we have begun to discover more about the inner workings of the Mafia, particularly the Italian-American offshoots of it. This has happened essentially in two ways. Firstly, by securing information from ex-mobsters who have turned into “rats.” Hello, Henry Hill of Goodfellas fame.

Secondly, by successfully infiltrating crime families, by the likes of the FBI. In this case we are talking about someone like the legendary undercover agent Joseph D. Pistone. His exploits in uncovering information about the Bonanno and Colombo crime families of New York was retold in the movie Donnie Brasco. The film’s title being his Mafia alias.

So thanks to the intel gathered by the likes of Pistone, and the snitching of mobsters such as Hill and Tommaso Buscetta, it has been possible to uncover this secretive practice. Yes, the process of how exactly a mobster becomes a made man has become clearer. We say “made man,” but you might have also heard the phrases “friend of ours,” a “wiseguy,” a “good fellow” or “one of us.”

Yet what else do we know for sure about the Mafia? Where, when, how and why did this fearsome network of organized crime families originate? The short answer to these questions is in the south of Italy, over several centuries. Sicily to be exact.

The Mafia consisted of native Sicilians who united in groups to protect themselves and effectively deliver their own brand of justice. And the organizations had little or no criminal associations, in the early days anyway. Around the 19th century, in fact, the Italian word “mafioso” referred to a person suspicious of the authorities, rather than a criminal.

The context of the time is an important factor here. The Mafia developed over several centuries in which the island of Sicily was ruled – often with an iron fist – by outside invaders. Their number included the Phoenicians, French, Spanish, Romans and Arabs. Indeed, the island off the “boot” of Italy’s mainland was once an Islamic emirate state.

But sometime in the 19th century, the Mafia began to turn into a criminal enterprise. The resistance groups effectively organized themselves into militias – sometimes called mafie – and began to extort protection money from wealthy landowners. Some have suggested this may have evolved out of Islamic culture and law. For instance, there was Jizya, a yearly tax that was imposed on non-Muslims, who could pay up to be “exempted” from prosecution.

Sicily was a turbulent part of the world in the 19th century, and these tightly-knit, private armies made sure to benefit from the often violent and anarchic conditions. The secretive groups who extorted protection money from landowners would soon refer to themselves as “families.” And they established their own code of conduct, justice and vengeance, away from public law.

The seeds were thus sown for the fearsome Sicilian Mafia – often called Cosa Nostra or “our thing” by its members – to thrive and grow. And the criminal families would strike fear in their enemies. Their foes would eventually include the local police and the Italian government, with Sicily becoming a part of unified Italy in 1861. Yet initially the authorities would enlist the help of the Mafia to capture wanted criminals.  

But this would prove to be a fatal mistake. Far from being the temporary arrangement that Rome had desired to bring things under control, it enabled the Mafia to become entrenched in politics and the economy. The families could, for example, strongarm people into backing candidates who they selected or were beholden to them and their interests.

The situation with the government in Rome also helped the mafia to expand their illicit operations. They were able to gain influence and favor with the Catholic Church. And their power grew until Benito Mussolini’s fascists took control of Italy, and hit them hard. But after the defeat of fascism in World War II, the Sicilian families re-established themselves, taking ownership of post-war rebuilding projects and later expanding into the drugs trade by the 1970s. 

They would also go on to violently war between themselves – as well as attack the state – in a bloody battle for supremacy. And in the Second Mafia War of the 20th century, the families assassinated prosecutors, judges and politicians who were deemed hostile to their interests. Many Italians were horrified by the bloodshed.

So that’s the story of how the Sicilian Mafia came to be. The American Mafia, meanwhile, really rose to prominence during the 1920s. Yes, in that decade Italian-American families in the United States took advantage of the Prohibition era to create an underground, illegal alcohol trade. Plus they would grow in power and influence in major cities such as Chicago and New York.

The American Mafia changed its focus to other criminal endeavors – post prohibition – including protection, narcotics trafficking and illegal gambling. Those families also had success in subverting labor unions, politicians and legal businesses. Violence was used with little hesitation, and notorious figures such as Al Capone rose to prominence. 

Successive American governments towards the end of the 20th century brought in legislation to try and loosen the grip of the Mafia in major U.S. cities. They passed anti-racketeering laws and successfully convicted numerous leading mobsters, such as Gambino family head honcho John Gotti. Yet Sicilian-styled crime families remain in operation today, nonetheless, in places such as New York and Chicago.

Because although there are differences between the Sicilian Mafia and their American counterparts, there are numerous shared traditions. One of those is omerta, which is essentially a code of silence. This strict code was introduced to strengthen the families’ positions, and ensure loyalty to the operation. And we now know, too, that any new members have had to pledge an oath in secretive initiation ceremonies. 

So what exactly is required for a mobster to become a made man? What specifically happens at this highly secret ceremony? Well, Sicilian Mafia informant Tommaso Buscetta revealed all the juicy details in a U.S. courtroom in 1985. The former boss had turned to authorities in 1983, after the vicious crime families killed most of his relatives, including his two sons and brother.

Buscetta was viewed by prosecutors as the most significant and highest-ranking witness since 1963, when Joseph Valachi ratted on his former comrades. And Buscetta broke the code of silence to reveal how the Mafia in Palermo had been smuggling heroin with a street value of $1.6 billion into the U.S. Plus he shed light on the secretive practices and initiation rituals.

The former boss’ first testimony centered on how he got into the Sicilian Mafia. Buscetta – who was born in 1928 – told the court he was “invited” to join the crime organization in 1945. It was after the Second World War, during which Palermo had been heavily bombed. He said, “I didn't make out any application to become a member - I was called, I was invited.”

Although Buscetta half joked in court, it was a pertinent point. We now know that one cannot simply join the Mafia – they are specifically solicited, or chosen. He also revealed that he got involved with the Sicilian Mafia’s cigarette smuggling operations, and that he eventually became an official member of La Cosa Nostra, spanning the Porta Nuova territory. 

And Buscetta’s initiation ceremony into the criminal clan would take place in 1948. It certainly involved some very strange rituals. The former mafioso recalled as he testified in the U.S. court, how after being selected for membership, he was taken to a meeting with four men.

This is usually a dinner or a congregation, where several men can be formally inducted and “made” at once. Although the ceremony would wind up being a trap for Goodfellas’ Tommy DeVito. That’s because DeVito had dishonorably killed a made man in Billy Batts, which is not allowed unless authorized.

So what happened when Buscetta arrived at the meeting with the four men? Well, the former Sicilian Mafia boss told the court that they pricked his finger to make it bleed. Then Buscetta was ordered to rub his bleeding digit over a little picture of a saint, before swearing an oath to be silent and loyal to the organization. Wow!

The picture of the saint was then set on fire by the men. Buscetta told the U.S. court, “I had to pronounce the oath, whereby I was to say that should I betray the organization, my flesh would burn like this saint.” Almost the exact same thing is depicted in Christopher Moltisanti’s initiation ceremony in The Sopranos. 

Former Genovese family member turned-rat Joseph Valachi also famously described his initiation ceremony to a U.S. Senate committee in 1963. He recalled, “I sit down at the table. There is wine. Someone put a gun and a knife in front of me. The gun was a .38, and the knife was what we call a dagger.”

Valachi continued, “Maranzano [the boss] motions us up and we say some words in Italian. Then Joe Bonanno pricks my finger with a pin and squeezes until the blood comes out. What then happens, Mr. Maranzano says, ‘This blood means that we are now one Family. You live by the gun and the knife and you die by the gun and the knife.’”

The made man explained that he was inducted into the family in front of 40 mafiosi. More info about initiation ceremonies was discovered in 1989, when the FBI secretly taped an induction ceremony of the Patriarca crime family. The Bureau had found out that Tortora, the person being inducted, was informed he needed to be baptized.

Tortora was told, “You were baptized when you were a baby, your parents did it. But now, this time, we gonna baptize you.” Observers believe that the Mafia baptism appears to represent a new phase of life that is just beginning. As with Christopher Moltisanti’s fictional induction in The Sopranos, the family was explicitly presented as more important – and even taking the place of the member’s real parents.

Tortora’s commitment to the Patriarca cause was even tested to the extent of him being asked if he would murder his brother. Just in case such a scenario ever became necessary, apparently. The mindset is thus that inductees must be prepared to kill anyone and give their entire lives to the crime family.

All exposed Mafia oaths have stressed the family bond, and it is reasonable to conclude that the sworn secrecy an inductee must commit to embodies both clan loyalty and self-preservation. Yes, despite their often bloody rivalries, all Mafia clans are ultimately considered to be a brotherhood of sorts. Whether it be in the Italian motherland or New York City.

And a disloyal snitch from one family who has run to the feds is a considerable problem for all the others too. Thus a strict code of loyalty is vital. A 1989 recording of another induction, involving a man named Flamaro, revealed how it was his trigger finger that got pricked. This likely signifies that he would not only bleed for the cause, but not hesitate to use that finger to protect his new brethren.

Yet there are other rules besides the obvious loyalty and willingness to die for the cause. Buscetta testified that the older members instructed him about his obligations as part of the family. He said, “I was reminded to behave in the appropriate manner.” But what did that entail, exactly?

The mobster turned informant amplified, “To be silent, not to look at other men’s wives or women, not to steal and especially, at all times when I was called, I had to rush, leaving whatever I was doing.” The Palermo born Italian then casually stated that if he violated any of these rules, it would mean “death.”

Buscetta’s testimony also included fascinating information about the structure of the Sicilian Mafia. He said, “The organization was divided up into families,” before detailing how each clan had its own capo [boss], a sottocapo [underboss], a consigliere [counselor], numerous capidecina [captains], and Soldati [soldiers].“Wherever there is Cosa Nostra, it’s the same in every place,” he added.

So there we have it. The fascinating structure and initiation rituals of the Sicilian Mafia, right from the horse’s – or should we say rats’ – mouths. All inductees into the families have had to swear an oath of loyalty to these rules, for centuries. Not that it ultimately meant a lot in the case of Valachi and Buscetta, hey reader.