Front and center before the Charbonneau Commission Tuesday -- an Italian expert on the mafia.

Criminologist Valentina Tenti testified at length about the history, structure, and "moral code" of Italy's major crime organizations, including the one currently most active in Quebec: the Sicilian mafia, or "Cosa Nostra".   Tenti says the Cosa Nostra makes extensive use of symbols and rituals to cultivate loyalty and inspire fear, notably through its "blood oath", its "ten commandments" governing moral conduct, and, the most important rule of all, the Omerta -- the rule of silence.

Tenti says that if you break your blood oath of loyalty, you must pay with blood, often with your very life.

Tenti's testimony will help lay the groundwork for the Charbonneau Commission's future work, when it tackles the central question before it: why, but  especially how has the mafia infiltrated Quebec's construction industry.

The Ten Commandments of the Cosa Nostra

1. No one can present himself directly to one of our friends. There must be a third party to do it.

2. Never look at the wives of friends.

3. Never be seen with cops.

4. Don't go to pubs and clubs.

5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty — even if your wife is about to give birth.

6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.

7. Wives must be treated with respect.

8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.

9. Money cannot be taken if it belongs to others or to other families.

10. People who can't be part of Cosa Nostra: Anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a traitor for a relative, anyone who behaves badly and doesn't hold to moral values.