Soldato

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Sicilian Mafia level. For the military position, see Soldier.

Structure of a Mafia crime family

A soldato or soldier is the first official level of both the

Italian criminal organizations, such as the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra. The promotion to the rank of soldier is an elevation in the chain of command from the associate level. The associate, who is not an initiated member of the Mafia, must prove himself to the family and take the oath of Omertà in order to become an initiated made man
and therefore rise to the rank of soldato.

Picciotto (plural: picciotti) is often used to refer to a lower-level mafioso or soldato, but it usually indicates a younger, inexperienced soldato and may even be used loosely to refer to a closely connected, up-and-coming associate who is not necessarily a made man yet (and therefore not yet officially a "soldato"). "Picciotti" usually perform simple tasks such as beatings, money collection, robbery, kidnappings and homicide.[citation needed]

Duties and advantages

An associate can only be promoted to soldier after a period of being "on record" with an incumbent member of a family. He must be sponsored by the incumbent soldier's

boss. Once inducted into the Mafia, a soldier is now part of a crew, a collection of soldiers and associates working under a capo. A soldier's main responsibility is to earn money and give a portion of his profits up to his capo. Under most circumstances, a soldier never receives orders directly from the boss. Rather, the boss passes orders down the chain of command to the soldiers.[citation needed][1]

They also serve as muscle of their crime family. Like an associate, he can also be relied on to commit acts of intimidation, threats, violence and murder. The soldier is obliged to obey orders from his capo to commit murder for his crime family. As a

Nicodemo Scarfo, Jr. was almost killed by a warring faction of the family, his father, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, Sr., pulled some strings to get him inducted into the Lucchese crime family, protecting him from any possible attacks in the future.[2] Killing a soldier without getting the boss's permission is considered taboo in mob circles and can lead to the perpetrator of the murder getting killed himself. The lone exception to this rule is when the boss himself calls a soldier in; this may be because the soldier's capo has fallen into disfavor and the boss wants him killed.[citation needed][3]

A soldier has the responsibilities of all made men. He must vow to stay loyal to the Mafia for life and earn his superiors money. Whenever he is called for by his superiors, he must oblige without reservation. He must also never cooperate with authorities in any way and must serve out prison sentences without complaint. In exchange for their loyalty they have full access to their crime family's protection, power and connections. His organization is also expected to look after his family and sometimes pay for legal fees if he serves a prison sentence.[citation needed]

Like an associate, a soldier is required to pay

rackets to run by his superiors, but for the most part they must also generate money on their own.[citation needed
]

Not all soldiers are treated equally within the family. A soldier is respected and treated according to the profits that his rackets generate and the loyalty that he shows to his family. A boss's son, like Alphonse Persico of the Colombo crime family, may be a soldier, but all family members and mobsters from other families know from early on that he is being groomed for bigger things.[5] Another soldier might be a great money earner and report directly to the boss, like Gambino crime family soldier Robert DiBernardo did in the 1980s when Paul Castellano was boss. Others, like the Chicago Outfit's Felix Alderisio in the 1950s, are greatly respected for their crafty ruthlessness.[5]

Soldiers can be virtually broke, just managing to earn enough cash to live day-to-day.

kickbacks from union dues, stolen goods and payoffs.[6]

Depending on the power of the family to which they belong, they can also receive "no-show jobs" (being employed at a job and receiving pay checks without ever showing up to work) due to their crime family's infiltration of legitimate businesses like construction, waste management, etc. Ultimately, the amount of money made varies greatly from soldier to soldier.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mafia Org Chart". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Anastasia, George (January 11, 2010). "Scarfo pal's conviction offers glimpse into mob". Archived from the original on May 3, 2010.
  3. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
    )
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-312-30094-4
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-02-864225-2
  6. ISBN 0-8147-4273-4
    . Anthony Anastasio.
  7. ^ Rashbaum, William K. (December 10, 2013). "Some Made Men Struggle to Make Ends Meet". The New York Times.
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