The mafia feel certainly gets reinforced by Toni's role, almost as a mafia enforcer.
She is let loose by Ramos to keep rogue arcanists in check, as seen in her confrontation with Raethford, and 'bully' adepts into 'membership'
All for the greater good of the Arcanist/M&SU, but definitely with a Mafia "make them an offer they can't refuse" feel