"Mafia is a process,not a thing.Mafia is a form of clan-cooperation to witch it's individual members pledge lifelong loyalty....Frienship,connections,family ties,trust,loyalty,obedience-this was the glue that held us together.""
— Joesph Bonanno

"There are certain promises you make that are more sacred than anything that happens in a court of law,I don't care how many Bibles you put your hand on.Some of the promises,it's true,you make to young,before you really have an understanding of what they mean.But once you've made those first promises,other promises are called for.And the thing is you can't deny the new ones without betraying the old ones.The promises get bigger,there are more people to be hurt and disappointed if you don't live up to them.Then, at some point, your called upon to make a promise to a dying man."
"
— Paul Castellano

"If the president of the United States,if he's smart,if he needs help,he'd come.I could do a favor for the president...""
— Paul Castellano

"Me I never had the chance to say,Well,I'm going to do something I want to do."I always did if for my family,for my children, for my father,for my mother.""
— Tommy Gambino

""This life of ours,this is a wonderful life.If you can get through life like this and get away with it,hey that's great.But it's very unpredictable.There's so many ways you can screw it up.""
— Paul Castellano