08 - Ten Commandments.

Ten Commandments.
In November 2007, Sicilian police reported the discovery of a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo, thought to be guidelines on good, respectful, and honorable conduct for a mafioso.
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 is about to give birth.
6. Appointments must absolutely be respected (refers to rank and authority).
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.
Antonino Calderone recounted similar Commandments in his 1987 testimony:
These rules are not to touch the women of other men of honor; not to steal from other men of honor or, in general, from anyone; not to exploit prostitution; not to kill other men of honor unless strictly necessary; to avoid passing information to the police; not to quarrel with other men of honor; to maintain proper behavior; to keep silent about Cosa Nostra around outsiders; to avoid under all circumstances introducing oneself to other men of honor.

No documentation of Mafia activities.
There is a strict prohibition in the Mafia on writing incriminating information down on paper, lest such evidence fall into the hands of the police. In 1969, Michele Cavataio was murdered because he had drawn a map on which he had written the names of all the Palermo mafiosi he knew and marked their territories. He showed this map in meetings with other senior mafiosi to explain how he thought the Palermo families should be reorganized in the wake of a Mafia war. When Cavataio was murdered, his assassins searched his body for the map so that they could destroy it, but they didn't find it. e is no ambiguity as to what is being granted. Likewise, since mafiosi cannot introduce themselves to each other by presenting membership cards, they must ask a third mafioso who knows them both to introduce them to each other and vouch that they are both members.

Omertà.
Omertà is a code of silence and secrecy that forbids mafiosi to betray their comrades to the authorities. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be murdered. Mafiosi generally do not associate with police (aside perhaps from corrupting individual officers as necessary). For instance, a mafioso will not call the police when he is a victim of a crime. He is expected to take care of the problem himself. To do otherwise would undermine his reputation as a capable protector of others (see below), and his enemies may see him as weak and vulnerable.
The need for secrecy and inconspicuousness deeply colors the traditions and mannerisms of mafiosi. Mafiosi are discouraged from consuming alcohol or other drugs, as in an inebriated state they are more likely to blurt out sensitive information. They also frequently adopt self-effacing attitudes to strangers so as to avoid unwanted attention. Most Sicilians tend to be very verbose and expressive, whereas mafiosi tend to be terser and more subdued.
To a degree, mafiosi also impose omertà on the general population. Civilians who buy their protection or make other deals are expected to be discreet, on pain of death. Witness intimidation is also common.


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