TheSicilianMafiaTheSicilianMafia, also known asCosa Nostra("Our Thing"), is acriminal syndicate(1)______Sicily,Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure andcode of conduct, and (2) ______ core activities are protection racketeeringand the arbitration of disputes in theblack market. Each group, known as a "family", "clan", or "cosca", claimssovereigntyover a territory, usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates itsrackets. Its members call themselves "men of honour", (3) ______ the public often refers to them as "mafiosi".

After his arrest, the mafiosoGiovanni Bruscadescribed the ceremony in which he was formally made a full member ofCosa Nostra. In 1976 he was invited to a "banquet" at a country house. He was brought into a room (4) ______ several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger and piece of paper (5) ______ the image of a saint. They questioned his commitment and his feelings regarding criminality and murder. (6)______ he affirmed himself,Salvatore Riina, the most powerful boss ofCosa Nostra then, took a needle and pricked Brusca's finger. Brusca smeared his blood on the image of the saint, which he held in his hands as Riina set it alight. As Brusca juggled the burning image in his hands, Riina said to him: "If you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh (7) ______ burn like this saint."The elements of the ceremony (8) ______ changed little over the Mafia's history.Diego GambettaHYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia" \l "cite_note-120"

These elements have been the subject of much curiosity and speculation. The sociologistpoints (9) ______ that the Mafia, being a secretive criminal organization, cannot risk having its recruits sign application forms and written contracts (10) ______ might be seized by the police. Thus they rely (11) ______ the old-fashioned ritual ceremony. The elements of the ceremony are made deliberately specific, bizarre and painful (12) ______ that the event is both memorable and unambiguous, and the ceremony is witnessed (13) ______ a number of senior mafiosiIntroductions

There (14) ______ always a risk that outsiders and undercover policemen might masquerade as a mafioso to infiltrate the organization. To ensure this does (15) ______ happen, a mafioso must never introduce himself to another mafioso he does not personally know, (16) ______ if he knows the other through reputation. If he wants to establish a relationship, he must ask a third mafioso (17) ______ they both personally know to introduce them to each other in a face-to-face meeting. This intermediary can vouch that neither of the two is an impostor.