Most of what we know about classic organized crime, as in the Mafia, comes from movies and TV. If you've watched The Sopranos and you've seen Goodfellas and The Godfather, you know about the traditions and stereotypes that surround la Cosa Nostra. Except Hollywood always manages to throw extra mustard on their stories to get butts in the seats, whether at a theater or at home. Real life doesn't follow a script, and stereotypes aren't universal in the real world. While some mob movies are based on real-life people, these are the cases that came to light and made national headlines- and many of them were from quite a long time ago.
For example, we tend to think that cooperating with law enforcement and informing on your colleagues is a death sentence. If that were so, how do we have so many former mobsters making bank with their tell-all books? Cracked takes a deep dive into four things you'll see in a gangster movie that aren't quite true, and why. Yes, there are video examples.
All four of the points sound about right, good article.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)