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A made man, also known as a wise guy or goodfella, is someone who has been inducted into (the American branch of) Cosa Nostra (The Mafia).

Traditionally, to become a "made man," the inductee had to be a male of 100 percent Italian descent. Former mob boss John Gotti changed this tradition in order to get son John "made." Today, to become a made man, you have to be a Caucasian male of Italian descent on your father's side with his Italian surname. Some examples of made members who are not 100 percent Italian include Junior Gotti, whose mother was of Russian and Jewish descent (she was adopted by her Italian-American stepfather which is why she has an Italian maiden name, DeGiogrio), and "Cadillac" Frank Salemme, former Boss of the Patriarca Cosa Nostra family in Providence, Rhode Island, who was half Irish. Chris Rosenberg was Jewish, and always wanted to become a member of the Gambino family, but couldn't because he was not of Italian descent on his father's side. Also, a made man is required to be involved in a murder, although murders committed for personal reasons “do not count”; he must have committed a killing contracted to him by a made member.

Committing one's first contracted killing is referred to as “making your bones.” Until the 1980s, exceptions were made in regard to members being inducted without having made their bones; it was not until the Donnie Brasco trials, which revealed that the Mafia was about to make undercover agent Joe Pistone, that a rule was made that potential inductees must have made their bones. When introducing one made man to another, the phrase “a friend of ours” is used indicating that he is a member and business can be discussed openly with him; however when introducing an associate with whom business should not be mentioned, the phrase “a friend of mine” is used. Made men are the only ones who can rise through the ranks of Cosa Nostra, from soldier, to Captain (or Caporegime (Capo) as it is sometimes called), to Consigliere, Underboss, and finally Boss.

To become made the inductee is said to be required to take the oath of omertà or silence. This ceremony allegedly involves the pricking of the trigger finger of the inductee, then dripping blood onto a picture of a Saint, typically St. Francis of Assisi or the Virgin Mary, which is then set alight in his hand and kept burning until the inductee has sworn the oath of loyalty to his new "family", e.g., "As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of omertà." After the ceremony the inductee is now a made man and a full member of the Mafia hierarchy with certain responsibilities and privileges. The made man now enjoys the protection of the Mafia establishment as long as he remains in favor and a previously agreed percentage of his criminal earnings are passed further up the hierarchy.

This ceremony is said to be common among the East Coast Cosa Nostra Families, while the Chicago Outfit, as well as other West Coast families, induct members with less pomp due to fears that a police raid would discover the props and know what's going on. Although in many cases still vulnerable to police attention, in the criminal underworld the made man is usually something of a protected species. Other mobsters and criminals further down the criminal food-chain know that attempting to move in on the made man's “territory” or other spheres of criminal operation is strictly forbidden. If a made man feels that he has such a grievance he is entitled to bring the matter up with his mafioso peers to seek satisfaction.

To attack, let alone kill, a made man for any reason without the permission of those mafioso higher up in the organization is seen as a cardinal sin which will normally be met with severe retaliation, in many cases regardless of whether the perpetrator has a legitimate grievance. The made man was traditionally seen as untouchable by the law as well as by his fellow criminals, a man to be respected and feared. Accordingly, in light of the successes made in recent decades by law enforcement agencies in breaking up such criminal enterprises, the prestige and benefits once accorded to a made man are on the decline.

• Bone, James. “Last ‘Godfather’ breaks code of omertà as Mafia crumbles,” The Times (of London}, February 25, 2006.

• Pistone, Joe. "Way of the Wiseguy." (2004).