MAFIA'S 'TEN COMMANDMENTS' FOUND !

The commandments were found during the arrest of Mr Lo Piccolo. Italian police have found what they say is a "Ten Commandments"-style code of behaviour for Mafia members, at the hideout of a captured Mafia boss. Prohibitions include frequenting bars and looking at friends' wives, while members are urged to treat their own wives with respect. The list was found during the arrest of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the reputed new boss of the Sicilian Mafia.

It is thought to have been drawn up as a "guide to being a good mobster". Other activites apparently beyond the pale for Mafiosi are being friends with the police, being late for appointments and "appropriating money if it belongs to other Mafia members or to other families".

The document makes clear that people with police or informers in their family cannot become members of the Mob. And although mobsters' wives must be respected, they should not expect much support during childbirth: the rules state that "always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth".

The decalogue was discovered along with a large number of other coded documents in a house near Palermo where Mr Lo Piccolo was apprehended after spending more than two decades on the run from police. Investigators say that the documents - including the Ten Commandments - will give them an insight into how the Mafia operates. The papers also reveal details of companies with Mafia connections and information about the hierarchy within the organisation

The Mafia's "Ten Commandments"
The original Ten Commandments

1. No-one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me

2. Never look at the wives of friends.
2. Thou shalt not make for thyself an idol

3. Never be seen with cops.
3. Thou shalt not make wrongful use of the name of thy God

4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty - even if your wife's about to give birth.
5. Honor thy Father and Mother

6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
6. Thou shalt not murder

7. Wives must be treated with respect.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery

8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
8. Thou shalt not steal

9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.
10. Thou shalt not covet.

BBC NEWS REPORT.