The point is, people refer to this abstract thing that is the “Italian mafia” when there’s not really such a thing. I mean, yes its members are Italian or of Italian heritage, but it isn’t one single organization.
For starters, in America you can find Italian groups as well as Italian-American groups. The difference is that the former has its base in Italy but has businesses in America, the latter is based in America and it’s been there for a few generations already. So, someone who’s born and raised in America from Italian parents isn’t really Italian 100%. Usually, their given names are English, they speak English as their native language and maybe Italian as their second and they were raised with two cultures, or better said a mixture of the two.
I’m not sure how mafia works in America, but in Italy it is further divided into different kinds of organizations depending on where the families are from. In Sicily it’s Cosa Nostra, in Calabria it’s called 'ndrangheta, in Campania it’s Camorra, etc.
So like, even saying “the Italian mafia” is too vague, especially since most of the stories have ‘Italian’ characters living in America like???