You're right, Juventus. Italians in American suffered more discrimination than any other white immigrants. And, most Italians immigrated to America from southern Italy and Sicily. The tradition there is to be loyal to family and suspicious of outsiders and outside influences, such as schools, government, etc. The Mafia in the neighborhood was, for some, the "employer of last resort."
Most Mafiosi were, and are, no better than common criminals. But a few--Charlie Luciano, Frank Costello, Carlo Gambino--had real brains and force. They could have been successful in business, the professions or the arts if they'd had the chance, but they didn't. Today, Italian-Americans are fully assimilated into society and are going to college in record numbers. Today's Mafia is stuck with the John and Junior Gotti's, the Sammy Gravano's, etc.