It would be ludicrous, however, to expect illegal protection to be flawless. Even legal insurance companies may dodge the claims of honest customers who have been paying them for a lifetime, and legitimate states violate the rights of their own citizens. The drawbacks of mafia protection, however, are particularly marked and unpleasant. … Holding a monopoly over power essentially free from any form of external control makes it tempting to trample on the rights of others. This is a generalized human weakness which, when it comes to the mafia, is part and parcel of everyday life.

XREF: Connects to broader political theory about the corrupting effect of unchecked power, e.g., Lord Acton's dictum about absolute power. Extends well beyond the mafia example to governance generally.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 489