You can tell Clyde Haberman's suggestion in the New York Times, that the mafia make use of its family names as brands, comes marinated with sarcasm. But it is the Times his memorandum appears in, so let's take the idea semi-seriously for a moment.

Families like the Gottis and Gambinos all have insta-recognizable names, except the only place you're used to seeing them is in the New York Post, when someone gets cuffed. Why not slap them on a sports arena? A shopping center? Isn't there value in a Castellano Building?

Citigroup, to cite one of many examples, is paying the Mets $20 million a year to have the ball club’s new stadium in Queens called Citi Field.

That’s small potatoes compared with revenue possibilities for the gilded Yankees, who say they have turned down offers of $50 million or more from an unnamed corporation wanting to slap its name on their new Bronx stadium.

In similar fashion, the mob could market itself to certain companies, most likely those in serious trouble themselves.

Imagine an outfit like Enron’s accounting firm, Arthur Andersen. It suffered a scandal-induced collapse. But while it struggled to stay alive, it might have done well to attach its name to a mob family. The way things were going, that kind of maneuver would have been a step up in class.

And not only could the mob's players cash in, they could also do themselves some good. A $50 million contribution to NYU, for example, could usher in the Genovese Dining Center.