In Joseph D. Pistone’s engrossing 1987 non-fiction book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, the ex-FBI agent recounts an occasion during which his mentor, the hitman Benjamin ‘Lefty’ Ruggiero, discussed the benefits of being a gangster. Said Ruggiero:
“You can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, you can kill people – legitimately. You can do anything you goddamn want, and nobody can say anything about it. Who wouldn’t want to be a wiseguy?”
