According to Calderone, each member of a mafia family can count on about forty or fifty relatives and friends "who slavishly follow his directions. This gives some idea of the importance of the role of the mafia in electoral contests. It is enough for the regione to suggest voting for a given parry for tens of thousands of votes to converge on that party, with the result that candidates who are not hostile to the mafia, or who even favor it, are elected" (AC: I, 260-270).

XREF: Connects to broader patterns of clientelism and machine politics where organized groups control voting blocs, historically seen in US urban politics as well as Southern Italy.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 472