Organized Crime Ch. 1-5

Charles "Lucky" Luciano

**Boss of all bosses** Crime boss of the Genovese family (most powerful family in the 20s-30s) - Partnered w/ Meyer Lansky; expanding the membership guidelines - Created the national commission for the families - The backbone for making org. crime go international - Dealt w/ narcotics, loan-sharking, extortion rackets, pornography, labor unions, and legitimate businesses - Heavily dealt w/ prostitution and brought down by Thomas Dewey but helped during WW2

Top Enterprises of Organized Crime

- Gambling (Bookies) - Prostitution (usually Escort services) - Pornography - Counterfeit Currency - Counterfeit Products

Organized Crime Behavior

- Offers Illicit Services (i.e. Illegal Gambling ops, Protections Rackets - offering protection, Loan-Sharking, and Prostitution) - Offers Illicit Goods (i.e. Illegal Drugs, Pornography, Unregistered guns & Other goods) - Conspiracy to Commit Crime - Penetrates Legitimate Businesses (Ex: Mafia & Construction/Garbage companies) - Extortion - Corruption

Drug Trafficking

A global black market of cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, and selling illegal controlled drugs.

Redefining Organized Crime

A group containing at least 3 people that has ongoing criminal activity and has indefinite duration - Motivated by profit, power, and commits serious criminal offenses (UK-NCIS) - Reflects the change of Org. Crime due to globalization

Tammany Hall

A political organization founded in 1798 that gained control of NY politics from the early stages up until the 1960s. It opposed the ruling conservative federalist party and aligned with the democratic party (1805) - Became a fraternity in 1805 - the Irish gained control of it - It elected candidates to the state legislature of Albany and the board of aldermen in NYC - William March Tweed became the leader and helped the org. gain control over NYC's treasury - Began losing control in 1932 due to the new mayors being elected. **New York's corrupt political machine**

Dutch Schultz

AKA Arthur Flegenheimer - Used prohibition to make a profit - Recruited Jewish criminals - Pursued gambling ops with Costello & associates - Wanted to kill Thomas Dewey (a prosecutor) but ended up being killed for attempting to break the rules of conduct

Organized Crime

Any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities - Maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales, region, or the country as a whole (FBI)

Al Capone

Celebrity crime boss who controlled organized crime and politicians in Chicago during the 1920s at age 26- Killing was a major component of his rise - His business was heavily based in Cicero, IL where he had control over the mayor - Ordered the St. Valentine's Day Massacre - Brought down by Elliot Ness, the FBI, and Frank Wilson for tax evasion - Died in 1947 **AKA Scarface**

Charles "Bugs" Moran

Chicago crime boss who was a rival of Capone - His headquarters, a garage on Clark Street, was where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre occurred

Pablo Escobar

Colombian crime lord - Medellin cartel founder (1993) - Dealt w/ cocaine drug trafficking but expanded to various businesses (illicit and legal) - highly involved w/ politics and being a public leader for his home-town

Cosa Nostra Theory

Cressey's theory that organized crime has a bureaucratic structure such as seen in police departments - Centered on the Italian Family, this theory claims that members must abide by a code to prevent espionage of the Family, and those who violate the code will be punished. It operates through a hierarchy to facilitate power and the members' expectations. The boss is the supreme leader and oversees all activities of the business. Next is the Consigliere who is the boss's counselor or advisor, followed by the Underboss - the boss's second-hand man who take leadership if the boss is imprisoned. Next are the Caporegimes, midlevel managers between the upper & lower-level members, and the Soldiers who are the lowest-level members that operate one specific enterprise (Ex: loan-sharking, gambling, drugs). All members follow strict rules of conduct to ensure order, allegiance, and duration.

Joe "The Boss" Masseria

Crime boss of the "Young Turks" in NY - Had an ongoing feud w/ NY's other crime boss, Maranzano, called the Castellammarese War - Killed by Luciano

John Gotti

Crime boss of the Gambino family (still the largest active family today) - Dealt w/ narcotics, gambling, and car theft - Died in prison

Intellectual Property Right Violations

Crimes that involve the theft of trade secrets and copyright, trademark, and patent violations (i.e. illicit sale of computer software, music, videos, etc.) through the use of technology - and its increasing - The foreign market is the largest profit to shut out U.S. competition - Produces counterfeit products, constantly treating consumers (esp. U.S. since it's sold for a cheaper price) - East and Southeast Asia are the largest IPR violaters but can also be found in the U.S.

High-Tech Crime

Due to the advancement of technology and dependency placed on them, organized crime is able to gain unauthorized access and the like to major entities - Has fewer risks than traditional org. crime enterprises and can be used to conduct their normal enterprises w/ fewer risks - Heavily used for child pornography - Usually used by international criminals

The 5 Families

Families said to dominate NYC: Columbo family, Gambino family, Lucchese family, Bonanno family, and the Genovese family

Carlo Gambino

First crime boss of the Gambino family - Murdered

Kinship Group Model

Francis Ianni's theory that organized crime is a social system organized by action and cultural values - Built on local kinships rather than bureaucracy - The only structure w/in org. crime is how it functions in activities - Theorized from Black and Latino Org. Crime - Believes that ethnics (i.e. non-whites/Americans) must resort to org. crime to gain success and power, therefore changing how org. crime operates - based on the era of immigrants (Ethnic Succession)

Arnold Rothstein

Gambling operator and money-maker for the NY mob - Began the prohibition movement for NYC - Never partook in the "dirty work" but hired men - Lucky Luciano was his protege -

Frank Nitti

Henchman to Al Capone - North Side Gang member - Involved w/ carrying out the violence ops for the group

Bootlegging & Moonshining

Integral parts of southern organized crime - Through this, the manufacturers, public officials, and users profited from illegal liquor. -J.r . Tuner, Percy Flowers,

Johnny Torrio

Intellectual crime boss who took control of organized crime in Chicago following his uncle's, "Big Jim" Colosimo, death - Mentor to Al Capone - Created the "Gangland Peace Treaty" to bring the various crime bosses of Chicago to settle in different territories of the city w/ his group having most of Chicago (ended in 1923) - Resigned following his imprisonment

Joe Petrosino

Italian-American NYC Lieutenant in the 1920s - Promoted to detective by Theodore Roosevelt - Commissioned for the creation of an all Italian detective group to go after the Black Hand and other crime bosses

Meyer Lansky

Jewish math wiz for the Genovese family and close friends w/ Lucky Luciano - Dealt heavily w/ gambling and creating casinos (w/ Bugsy) - Developed one of the first enterprises for org. crime (dog tracks/racing) - Never caught because he never logged his dealings (kept it in his head)

Patron - Client Theory

Joseph Albini's theory that organized crime is made up of "syndicates" (loosely structured relationships contingent on the interests of both participants) and a "loose system of power relationships" - He theorizes that criminal patrons exchange information, connections, and access to important networks (i.e. political and financial) to clients of different enterprises (licit & illicit). **The role of client and patron fluctuates based on the enterprise** Centered on social exchange networks - Claims that Org. Crime remains powerful because it's flexible, adaptable, and loosely structure

Joseph Valachi

Mafia snitch - First mob member to attest to the existence of the Mafia

Partnership Model

Mark Haller's theory that organized crime in the traditional sense (i.e. Capone & Lansky operated) are small-scale business partnerships between senior and junior partners - Non-bureaucratic BUT simply investments and joint businesses w/ various & constantly changing partners

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel

Mob member of NY w, Luciano, Lansky, and others - Close friends w/ Lansky and they vetted for each other - Notorious killer - Moved to CA and extended the mob's rule there - Opened the Flamingo w/ Lansky (gambling hotel) - Killed in his girlfriends apartment

Organized Crime Contingency Model

Model that provides insight into the hierarchy and and physical structure of organized crime - The President's Commission on Organized Crime theory that organized crime was composed of levels of involvement by members and nonmembers of organized crime. - The Criminal Group (the core) are those who are willing to commit crimes, use violence and corruption to gain profits & power. This group is based on continuity, structure, membership, criminality, violence, and power & profit. Branching out from the core are the Protectors (corrupt public officials) who provide civil government involvement. Both levels rely on Specialized Supporters who offer specialized skills (i.e. Chemists, Pilots, Arsonists, etc.) to facilitate org. crime activities. FInally, User Supporters - those who use goods provided by org. crime - and Social Supporters - those who help legitimize org. crime - are on the ground level, helping further the efforts of org. crime. **Spec., User, and Social, supporters are not as committed as the Criminal Group and the Protectors**

National Commission

PCOC and Cressey's theory that the Family created an authoritative body made of major family members who help govern the Italian families - They help Solve disputes, Authorize executions of family members, Facilitate joint ventures, and Manage factions between The Family and the U.S.

Frank Costello

Politically affluent mob member in NY (Politicians protected his racketeering) - One of Luciano's advisors - Used negotiations and arbitration instead of violence **AKA the Prime Minister**

Enterprise Theory

Smith's theory that organized crime is the interaction of legitimate business with the illegal market - Entrepreneurial activity that's illegal - Supply & Demand (legitimate businesses leave customers unsatisfied - creating room for the illegal market)

Contraband Smuggling

Smuggling of licit goods across borders - Due to the high-levels of legal international trades, this can be easily done and go undetected - The U.S. is a major transit for and consumer of this enterprise

Sam Giancana

The leader of The Outfit (one of the most notorious criminal syndicates) in 1960s Chicago - Chauffer for Al Capone - Arrested over 70 times - Rejected the traditional way fo doing org. crime - Hired to killed Fidel Castro bu the U.S. gov't - Killed by other crime bosses for revealing secrets

Vito Genovese

The most feared and ruthless mob bosses of NY who used betrayal to get ahead - Worked w/ Luciano - Returned to Sicily operating a Black Market there, after Thomas Dewey arrested Luciano

Trafficking - Women & Children

The most significant problem as a result of organized crime - Selling of people for forced labor, sex, and more - Women are trafficked for prostitution and used to transit drugs - Approx. 700k are trafficked internationally w/ ~50k being trafficked into/throughout the U.S. - Traffickers look at 3-Characteristics to find victims: 1) Poor economic & employment ops for women, 2) well-defined and surviving criminal organizations, and 3) cultures that emphasize a subordinate role for women - The #1 spot being Asia, followed by Latin America, and then Europe - They conduct their enterprise openly and boldly through the facade of legitimate businesses

Enterprise & Power Syndicates

The two types of criminal organization theorized by Block - One being a group of individual entrepreneurs who organized in order to produce and sell illicit goods and services such as drugs, prostitution, etc. This group, therefore, grew large in members and resorted to a hierarchical chain of command (w/ a centralized authority and a division of labor). **These groups are long-lasting** - The other organization is loosely structured, flexible, and involved in the production & distribution of informal power. This group lacks a central enterprise but seeks to maintain power over other org. crime groups (i.e those producing the goods) through force & violence (i.e. Luciano family, Dutch Shultz, etc.) **These groups are short-lived** - Due to the level of violence and force of the second group, few members of the first group remained silent, especially since their goods were increasing in price but decreasing in profit - which in turn caused these groups to fail because they attempted to gain full control and centralize a =n already stable system/organization

Alien Conspiracy Theory

Theory of organized crime that blames outsiders and outside influences for the prevalence of org. crime w/in the U.S. This theory believes that the Mafia grew in popularity as a result of the Sicilian immigrants (the La Cosa Nostra) - first beginning in Italy and moving to the States as they did. - Supports the belief of the 5 Mafia families of NY & those in Chicago and the national commission - Ethnicity is a key component, however, some org. crime bosses have rejected this belief - This theory has gained support from law & public officials and researchers. However, some state that this theory simply alleviates responsibility from the police to eliminate org. crime, it supports bureaucracy, and is used to cover up political involvement in org. crime. **A major contradiction of this theory is that almost every U.S. city has well-developed organized crime amongst it - well before & apart from the Families influence**

Joseph "Joe" Colombo

Third crime boss of the Colombo family - Public figure who helped began the Italian-American Civil Rights League in 1970 (killed as a result; by the Commission) - Dealt w/ pornography industry ("Deep Throat"), narcotics, gambling, loan-sharking, cigarette smuggling, counterfeiting, bankruptcy fraud

Attributes of Org. Crime

Traditional form - Lack Ideology; Hierarchical; Limited/Exclusive Membership; Self-Perpetuating; Use of Violence & Bribery; Specialization of Division & Labor; Monopolistic; Rules Governed; "Man-Made" Sponsorship; Terminology & Code Names

Counterfeiting Currency

Traditionally, this enterprise was not part of organized crime, but now it is due to technology and the value of U.S. money - Used as collaterals for loans or insurance - Half of all this product is produced w/in the U.S. w/ the other made abroad (Colombia being the largest source)

Crime Network Theory

William Chambliss's theory that organized crime is controlled by the illicit markets of powerful political and economic forces w/in a community rather than the organization itself. It's a network of powerful individuals directing the actions of those deemed criminal (i.e. prostitutes, gamblers, drug sellers, porn, etc.) - Organized criminals

The Arms Trade

one of the newest and most profitable org. crime enterprises - provides spare parts and large-scale weapons of all sorts (hand-guns to heavy artillery) - Shows the change of org. crime from individuals to entire nations/states (ex: Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, etc.) - Poses as legitimate businesses/corps - Involved with trades for drugs