Organized Crime

Definition: Systematically unlawful activity for profit on a city-wide, interstate or international scale

Definition of Racketeering: The act of engaging in a criminal activity as a structured group.

Dependence on Society A criminal organization has some dependence on the society in which it exists, and may comprise some of societies most upright citizens. - Judiciary Members - Police Force - Legislature

How does it entice Society to participate? Bribery Blackmail Cultivation of mutually dependent relationships with legitimate businesses

Consequently: The criminal organization is integrated into lawful society and shielded by corrupt law officers, politicians and legal counsel

Revenue is acquired through: Narcotics trafficking Extortion Gambling Prostitution

Earliest Examples of Organized Crime in the US Pirates in the 17 th century participated in large scale trade in stolen goods Some frontier communities of the 19 th century in the American West were associated with organized gambling, theft, prostitution and extortion

A Distinctly American Form of Organized Crime… Most historians consider our unique form of organized crime to have originated in the closely knit urban immigrant communities of the late 19 th and 20 th centuries

Why did organized crime flourish in these communities? Large populations provided the customers, victims and participants Newly arrived immigrants did not trust the local police and other authorities

Early forms of criminal organizations were tied to local ethnic areas Irish Chinese African American Italian

The Mafia, La Cosa Nostra (Our Thing) or The Mob The name of several secret organizations in Sicily and the US A member is a “Mafioso” or “Man of Honor” The name originated in the Middle Ages from a group of Sicilians who worked to protect the inhabitants of the island from the Spanish during the Spanish occupation

Mafia Protector Role in the early 20 th century: Role of the mafia in the US was unique to the US and not just a replication of the Sicilian Mafia Recent immigrants feared and mistrusted the local police and looked to the Mafia for protection

The Black Hand or “La Mano Nera” Phenomenon of the early 20 th century Extortion of wealthy Italians from NY Feared American Law had no understanding or power to help them

Black Hand Continued… Anonymous letters demanded money and included a crudely drawn symbol Folklore and superstition mixed with bombings and murder enhanced the effectiveness

Federal Mail Law Passed in 1915 in response to Black Hand terrorism Made any use of the US mail service to gain money illegally a federal crime

Eighteenth Amendment Went into effect 1920 Supporters believed prohibition would end crime in the US

Prohibition Propaganda

Effects of Prohibition Illegal manufacture and distribution of alcohol during prohibition made many criminals extremely wealthy Their wealth gave them tremendous power and influence in America

Social Sentiment did not align with the law Americans (including prominent citizens) casually broke the law Underground speakeasies were operated by gangsters (sometimes with police cooperation) Age of “Gangsterism” Use of hard alcohol increased – by 1925, the average American was consuming 32 gallons of alcohol a year

Age of Gangsterism Gangsters began to overstep boundaries 1927 Chicago Primary Election St. Valentines Day Massacre

Public Demanded Legal Intervention President Hoover dispatched Marines to Chicago election Prosecutors pushed for indictments and legal reform Politicians could not ignore public demands

21 st Amendment of 1933 Repeals Prohibition

Racketeering After prohibition, intact criminal organizations resorted to activities like gambling and narcotics trafficking Organized crime groups gained control of labor unions and legitimate businesses

Crime Syndicates The “Gangster” generation set the stage for a new generation of crime bosses In the 1950s, organized crime was alive and well and hiding from prosecution by becoming involved with legitimate businesses In 1957, a meeting of a dozen crime bosses from around the country selected the “boss of bosses”

Law Enforcement’s Reaction Law enforcement realized that an organization this large and powerful required new and different laws J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI was reluctant to pursue these new laws due to the overwhelming challenge and threat to the bureau’s image

Robert F. Kennedy, US Attorney General Activist against organized crime Personally oversaw a committee involving the FBI and other government agencies to fight the Mafia and Jimmy Hoffa

Key Legislation enacted in the 1960s and 1970s: Increased surveillance Use of informants Undercover operation Grants of immunity Witness Protection

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (1968) Attempted to define organized crime “Including but not limited to gambling, prostitution, loan sharking, narcotics, and labor racketeering”.

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) Passed as part of the Organized Crime Control Act (1970) Helped prosecute patterns of illegal infiltration of businesses Designed to link people and crime over time and included severe penalties to deter future criminal activity

1980s War on Drugs 1984 Crime Control Act – Expanded asset forfeiture laws 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act – Created stricter sentences for money laundering as well as defining mandatory prison sentences for large scale marijuana distribution. “Designer Drugs” added to the controlled substances list.

War on Drugs continued… 1986 Money Laundering Control Act – Targets financial transactions made to conduct illegal activities 1988 Chemical and Diversion and Trafficking Act – Deals with raw materials of drug manufacture Law Enforcement continues to use IRS laws to combat corrupt finances

Mafia Commission Trial ( ) Rudolph Guliani (US Attorney for the Southern District of NY) indicted 11 organized crime figures including the heads of the “five NY families” for extortion, labor racketeering, and murder for hire Considered one of the most significant assaults on organized crime Eight defendants found guilty and sentenced to hundreds of years of prison time

USA Patriot Act of 2001 Provided expanded investigational authority for police agencies at all levels and not just in relation to terrorism Some believe this act violates American civil liberties (especially those related to government surveillance through wiretapping) Was reauthorized by Congress in 2005 and 2006 with new provisions and additional oversight

The Global Reach of Organized Crime International criminal activity is especially challenging for law enforcement Globalization of economies brings improvements in transportation and communication. Movement of goods and services (legal and illegal) happens on a greater scale with greater efficiency. Organized crime provides unparalleled opportunities for the poor

“As long as the economic, social and political conditions that fertilize organized criminality exist, so will organized crime. Absence of economic opportunity and poverty in too many countries leads their people to look to criminal organizations as a way out” – James O. Finckenaur

Examples Farmers in Afghanistan raise poppies Farmers in South America raise coca and marijuana

Sources History.htm. History.htm html html