Introduction to Organized Crime The Beginning & In the 20th Century Warm up: Write down your definition of Organized Crime.

Organized Crime: Definition - the unlawful activities of the members of a highly organized, disciplined association engaged in supplying illegal goods and services, including gambling, prostitution, loan-sharking, narcotics, and other unlawful activities. Transnational Organized Crime – Operating across national boundaries.

Organized Crime - The Beginning Thug - The use of the term “thug” dates back to early13th century India when “Thugz”, or gangs of criminals, roamed from town to town looting and pillaging. Smuggling and Drug Trafficking rings are as old as the hills in Asia and Africa, and criminal organizations in Italy and Japan trace their histories back several centuries. The Mafia came together as a secret society in Sicily.

The Beginning – cont. The “Forty Thieves” a famous Irish hoodlum organization began in the 1820’s and was run by Edward Coleman. They dabbled in everything from pick-pocketing to murder.

The Beginning – cont. Forty Thieves - They even organized a school system training youngsters how to burglarize. They inhabited the “Five Points” district in New York City and quickly found themselves with worthy rivals as new Irish gangs formed in the neighborhood. Film “Gangs of New York”

Bowery B’hoys One of the largest gangs… One of gang members was said to be eight feet tall and able to tear a lamppost from the sidewalk to use as a weapon. It is said he once killed 100 men in one day. This most likely never happened but his reputation was useful to dissuade other gangs from coming on Bowery turf.

In the latter half of the 19th century the most vicious street gang in New York was the “Whyos.” They specialized in murder but were capable of other offenses that they published in a guide, that ranged from: Punching $2, both eyes blacked $4, ear chewed off $15, shot in the leg $25, and the big job (murder) $100. By the early 1890’s the “Whyos” were either dead or serving time behind bars for their efforts.

The starting point for organized crime in America was most probably Samuel Mason and his men. Mason had been an officer in General George Washington’s Continental Army. After his discharge he established in 1797 a rustic tavern called the “Cave-in-Rock” on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River. His men would move upriver to guide or aid pioneers, luring them to the hollow outside the cave where they were robbed and sometimes killed.

The Mason gang thrived until the early 1800’s when it was joined by an outfit headed by the Harpe Brothers who were escaped murderers from Kentucky. The Mason and Harpes with their careful scheming, and plan of attack were seen as the prototype for the outlaw gangs of the West. Then came the infamous Jesse James and Jim Younger (James - Younger gang) who after the Civil war engaged in a decade long crime career.

Jesse James and his brother Frank were Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. They were accused of participating in atrocities committed against Union soldiers. After the war, as members of one gang or another, they robbed banks. They also robbed stagecoaches and trains. James Hardin "Jim" Younger (January 15, October 19, 1902) was a notable American outlaw and member of the James- Younger gang.

Various western gangs committed robberies during this time until the last old-time western gang the “Wild Bunch” was formed in They specialized in bank and train robbery and featured a line-up of all-star criminals led by Butch Cassidy, and assisted by the “Sundance Kid” Harry Longabaugh of Wyoming. Butch was a crack shot and known for aiming at the legs of the horses of the pursuing lawmen.

Organized Crime in the 20th Century In the early turn of the century the American underworld was loosely run with no sense of rules as was the case with the Mafia from Sicily. All of the gangs were made up of varying ethnic participants, with the bosses hiring all types to do their dirty-work.

In the U.S. organized crime got a big boost during Prohibition from 1920 to When prohibition was repealed, organized crime shifted it’s focus to concerns including but not limited to, loan-sharking, extortion, illegal gambling, labor racketeering and drug smuggling.

The American version of the mafia “Cosa Nostra” was a combination of the Sicilian ways with an American twist, a very-few- holds-barred syndicate. The “Cosa Nostra” (our thing) – was a secret association engaged in organized crime in the U.S., modeled after and affiliated with the Mafia.

John Dillinger: is widely regarded as the most famous of all American bank robbers during the early 1930s. modern-day Robin HoodHe was considered to be a dangerous criminal who was involved in the deaths of several police officers, robbed at least two dozen banks and four police stations, escaped from jail twice and was idolized by some as a modern-day Robin Hood.

Pretty Boy Floyd: was an infamous bank robber best known for killing four police officers as well as the friend that he was trying to help escape, in what is known as the Kansas City massacre. He lived an eventful but short life, being killed at the age of 30 by local cops and FBI agents.

Funeral of “Lucky” Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Nov. 24, 1897 – Jan. 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster born in Sicily, Italy. father of modern organized crime in AmericaLuciano was considered the father of modern organized crime in America for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission.

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate, known then as the "Capones." Dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor and other illegal activities, in Chicago, from the early 1920s to 1931, when he was sentenced to federal prison, including a stay at the infamous Alcatraz federal prison, for tax evasion.

Capone received the scars that gave him the nickname "Scarface" by inadvertently insulting a woman while he worked the door at a Brooklyn night club, provoking a fight with her brother Frank Gallucio. Capone's face was slashed three times on the left side by Gallucio. Capone apologized to Gallucio and eventually hired his attacker as a bodyguard later in life.

The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the murder of seven people as part of a conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago, in 1929: the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran.

George Clarence “Bugs” Moran His fierce temper became generally known in the world of feuds and guns, and earned him the nickname "Bugs," gang slang for "completely crazy.“ Public outrage over The St. Valentine's Day Massacre marked the beginning of the end to Capone's influence in Chicago. Although Moran suffered a heavy blow, he still managed to keep control of his territory until the early 1930s,

Lester Gillis “Baby Face Nelson” was a small angelic- faced fiend who would fight anyone at the drop of a hat. He got a job as an enforcer for Al Capone but they parted ways because Nelson was too violent. He escaped from prison while serving time for bank robbery. He then changed his name to George Nelson and hooked up with John Dillinger, pulling bank robberies.

Early 20th Century Jobs were scarce and people needed to provide for their families. Gangsterism was dangerous but provided an easy way to make money. When the American government passed the Eighteenth amendment outlawing alcohol, people who enjoyed a drink became criminals for drinking. It was organized crime who supplied the booze.

In January of 1920 the American government banned the sale and supply of alcohol, the government thought that this would curb crime and violence. Prohibition did not achieve its goals, leading more toward higher crime rates and excessive violence. Criminal gangs supplied the booze as they over inflated the prices while fighting with each other for control of the trade.

Although a great idea in concept, prohibition was ultimately a failure; the public grew less respectful of the law. After thirteen long years the government finally recognized that prohibition was not working and that it had created more problems than it solved. Finally they abolished the prohibition laws, crime decreased and the criminal element was taken out of the industry.

Organized crime in the 1920's flourished in America because of prohibition, and they did not stop there, after that era they simply went on to other markets with their new found wealth. Had prohibition not happened, organized crime may not have become so wealthy or powerful.

Currently Today criminal organizations are increasingly working together, realizing that it is better to work in cooperation rather than in competition with each other. This has led to the rise of global criminal organizations.

Currently – cont. This rise in cooperation between criminal organizations, especially drug connections, has meant that law enforcement agencies are increasingly having to work together. The FBI operates an organized crime section from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is known to work with other national law enforcement agencies.

Organized Crime Photos

Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid

Dalton Gang

Billy the Kid / Cole Younger “ Younger Gang Billy the Kid / Cole Younger “ Younger Gang”

QUESTIONS? THE END! Class Project

Organized Crime Classroom Project Small Group project w/PP presentation Select a Gangster/Outlaw for your group to report on. Provide the following pertinent information on your assigned Gangster/Outlaw: –Name/DOB/DOD/Photos/Related Crimes/Known Associates/Detail information on crime events/Summary/References. (10 Slides) PowerPoint presentation on Monday