History of Organized Crime in the United States - Term Paper Example

History of Organized Crime in the United s Introduction: Organized crime is generally defined as “a systematically unlawful activity for profiton a city-wide, interstate, and even international scale. The corporate criminal organization is a far cry from the small-scale predations of a Bonnie and Clyde” (Organized Crime. 2010). Organized crime in US has different forms. Much of the early history of organized crime in the US was largely inseparable from political corruption. For example in the first half of the twentieth century, the law had often been obliged to turn a blind eye towards crime because of various reasons like personal investment, threat of retaliation, as well as political pressure (The Mafia and American Law 2008). Criminal organizations often keep their unlawful operations clandestine, and affiliates usually bestow by word of mouth. Bunch of criminals sometimes become amply methodical to be called organized. The work of engaging in criminal action as a structured faction is referred to in the US as racketeering. The Prohibition period of the 1920’s have augmented the organized crime syndicate in the US. Federal hard work to implement prohibition, including raids, was opposed by well-organized bootlegging operations with national as well as international connections. Scandalous groups now and then arise in closely binded migrant groups that do not trust the local police and the law. The Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra (Our Thing), or the Mob, is the umbrella name of numerous underground groups in the US. A member of the Mafia is called as Mafioso, or man of honor. Organized crime in US is money-spinning. The 1967 Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice felt that organized crimes takings was twofold that of the collective take of all other sorts of unlawful activities (Organized Crime. 2010). The Luciano period: Charles Lucky luciano, American gangster of Italian origin was one of the famous gangsters of US. He got his nick name “lucky” after escaping a murder attempt on his life. He was an Italian American gangster with business like approach. He is credited with spiraling syndicate crimes into country wide organization based genuine models. He was born in Sicily and his family moved into New York City in 1906. At his early teens, Luciano established himself as a creative thug on the eastern side of the city. He eventually worked his way out to become one of the trusted lieutenants of crime boss Joe Masseria. During that time Masseria was engaged in turf war with his rival Salvatore Maranzano. Luciano in the meantime made a deal with Maranzano and arranged for the assassination of his boss Joe Masseria in 1931. He then arranged the murder of Maranzano thereby becoming the uncrowned king of the underworld in New York City. With his trusted aides like Meyer Lansky and strongman Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, luciano then restructured the entire organized crime arena. Together they created a board of directors who focused on profits rather than traditional ethnic rivalries. Through his unconventional ways, Luciano became an instant celebrity. He had high living styles and had many celebrity friends including actor George Raft and singer Frank Sinatra. In 1936, matters turned against Luciano when the then special prosecutor of New York, Thomas E Dewey, charged Luciano with sixty two counts of compulsory prostitution. Luciano was sentenced to spend thirty years in prison. In February 1946, Dewey then made governor struck a deal to release Luciano from prison and to deport him back to Italy. . Luciano was sent back to his home country Italy from where he helped Americans fight the Nazis. The interesting fact is that during his days in US prison, Luciano did not lose his position as crime boss of New York. In 1947 he reemerged in Cuba but was again deported to Italy by US officials. Ultimately age caught on Luciano and he died of heart attack in 1962. After his death, he was allowed back to US where he was buried at St John’s cemetery in New York City (Charles "Lucky" Luciano. 2012). It was prosperous times for Luciano during the 1930’s. During that period he was able to break ethnic barriers which were layed out by the old mafia and strengthening their reach in the areas of prostitution, bootlegging, loan sharking, gambling, labor rackets and last but not the least narcotics. There is no doubt that Luciano was one of the most powerful men in the organized crime area of US. Even today his influence in crime gang activity in US still exists. He is regarded as the first person who has challenged the old mafia as well as breaking barriers for creating a network of gangs. These gangs made up the national crime syndicate that controlled and organized crime even after his death (Montaldo 2010). The Genovese Period: Vit “Do Vito” Genovese was an Italian Mafioso who became prominent in US during the Castellammarese War. He later became the head of the Genovese family. Genovese was born in Italy in 1897; he served as a mentor for many future mafia bosses including Vincent Gigante, Michael Genovese and Carlo Gambino. After his arrival from Naples, Italy to New York, Genovese became closely associated with the mafia. He befriended other potential mafia dons like Charles Luciano and Frank Costella during the 1920’s. In February 1927, he visited Anthony Paretti in jail; Paretti was spending his last days of his life as he was sentenced to die for a murder committed ten years ago. By doing this he somewhat honored his roots. Genovese was associated with the Brooklyn gang. During the height of the Castellammarese War, don Masseria ordered him to kill Gaeatano Reina who was the boss of one of the major five mafia organizations in New York. After Reina’s death Genovese was placed at his place by Masseria. However things changed during 1931, Masseria was assassinated under the instructions of Luciano. Genovese was one among the members who sprayed bullets on Masseria. After the killing of Salvatore Maranzano, Luciano became the boss of the bosses. He appointed Genovese as his under boss. In 1936, luciano got arrested for being the leader of a big prostitution ring. Genovese became the acting boss of Luciano. However in 1937, Genovese had to flee to Italy in order to avoid murder charges on Ferdiand Boccia. After arriving in Italy he settled at the city of Nola. There he met Benito Mussolini with the help of his associates. He became the main drug source for Count Ciano, Mussolini’s son in law. He was well liked by the Mussolini family. In 1943 he murdered journalist Carlo Tresca whom Mussolini hated. Genovese did this to impress Mussolini. During the world war, he was very much part of Mussolini. During this period he had black market operation with Sicily boss Calogero Vizzini. But during a military crackdown, Genovese was captured by the army and his fugitive status became known. He was sent back to New York to face trial. When he came back to New York, he found that all the witness of the murder were gone. They were either made to shut their mouth or poisoned to death. Therefore Genovese became a free man again. His good times did not last long; the woman whom Genovese was dating was with another man. Genovese became angry hearing this and ordered to kill this man. Moreover during this time Frank Costello became the new boss and Willie Moretti became his under boss, Genovese lost his position as an under boss and remained as only a captain in the organization. However through his strategic calculations he outclassed Costello and became the boss of the bosses. Later on he was convicted due to revelations made by Joe Valachi in the court that led to his imprisonment. He died at prison and was buried at St John’s cemetery in New York. Genovese during his reign had made his mark in the organized crime scene of America (Bruno.2012). Gambino Period: The Gambino family is one of the five families that controlled some organized crime in the US, particularly in New York City. Boss of the Gambino family was John Gotti and under boss was Salvatore “the bull”Gravano. The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963 The Gambino crime family was connected with narcotics trafficking, counterfeiting, labor racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, automobile theft and last but not the least gambling. During it’s hey day, it was estimated that the Gambino family consisted about approximately two hundred members and eight hundred associates (Gambino Crime Family. 2012). Its leader, John Gotti was the son of Italian immigrants. He faced a lot of hardships during his childhood this led Gotti to move off track and join criminal gangs. He got his mentor Aniello Dellacroce who taught him all the tricks of this trade. He later made the group called the Fulton Rockaway boys which indulged in robberies, car jacking etc. in between 1957 and 1961; Gotti became a full fledged member in organized crime. Very well known as the ‘Dapper Don’, John Gotti was famous for his hand-tailored suits and silk ties as well as his enthusiasm to toss out sound bites to the media in a manner different from other Mafia bosses before him. Distinct from most of his contemporaries, he made almost no attempt to conceal that he was a connected gangster. He appointed DeCicco as his Consigliore and endorsed Ruggiero to Caporegime in charge of his mature team. During that time, Salvatore ‘the Bull’ Gravano was purportedly elevated to the post of under boss. Gotti always privileged holding meetings while walking in public places so that observation equipments may well pick up visual images, but not the stuff being conversed. His home was in Howard Beach, Queens, and was frequently seen on TV (Mukerjee.2012). The rise of what for a time was the most powerful crime family in America, the Gambino family started in the year 1957, the day when underworld don Albert Anastasia was eliminated while sitting in a barber chair at the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan. Specialists still believe that Carlo Gambino had helped to orchestrate the kill to take over the Gambino family. Gambino partnered with Meyer Lansky who was close to Lucky Luciano to be in charge of gambling interests in Cuba. The Gambino family’s chances grew from side to side in 1976, when Gambino appointed his brother-in-law, Paul Castellano, as boss of the group. Castellano enraged upstart John Gotti, who arranged for Castellanos murder in 1985. However Gottis breakdown came in 1992, when his under boss Sammy Gravano decided to assist the FBI. Gravanos assistance brought down Gotti, along with most of the top brass members of the Gambino family. The family is thought to be at present run by street boss John "Jackie" DAmico (Gambino crime family 2011). Conclusion: The history of organized crime in the United States was dominated by some families including the Lucianos, Gambinos and Genovesse’s. These families were primarily of Italian origin that brought their legacy of crime and mafia establishment right from their ancestral land. Poor economical background, deprived childhood, and greed have forced them to become gangsters. In spite of killings and sabotage as well as strict federal laws, such families still exists in US. By the early twenty first century, the US Mafia was a shade of its past. The FBI had commenced cutting resources dedicated to explore organized crime in the country. While crime families in New York and Chicago had been tattered but not driven out of business, many crime tribes around the rest of the America. were in confusion or on the edge of extermination. Now Organized crime threatens multiple facets of the America, including the economy and national security. Moreover organized misdemeanors have become progressively more global in nature, more open borders and the expansion of the Internet facilities, criminals has endangered America not only from inside the borders, but outside. Threats regularly come from range of illegal organizations that includes Russian, Asian, Italian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, as well as African crime groups. Law makers are still questioning and wondering whether the tools they have provided to the Federal Government to combat structured crime is still effective for counteract the present risks. References: Bruno. A. (2012)THE GENOVESE FAMILY. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/family_epics/genovese1/5.html Charles "Lucky" Luciano. (2012). Retrieved from:http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/luckyluciano.html Gambino Crime Family. (2012). Retrieved May 29, 2012 from:http://mafiawifelive.com/mafiawife/en/2012-03-15-14-16-04/gambino-crime-family GAMBINO CRIME FAMILY CULT ~ MAFIA ~ COSA NOSTRA.(2011). Retrieved May 30, 2012 from:http://cultbustersgalactica.yuku.com/topic/415#.T8XYsmXvxRU Mukerjee.B. (2012). Biography of John Gotti. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from:http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-john-gotti.html Montaldo.C. (2010).Charles "Lucky" Luciano: founder of national crime syndicate Retrieved May 30, 2012from:http://crime.about.com/od/gangsters/a/luciano.htm Organized Crime. (2010). Retrieved May 28, 2012 from: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1596.html The Mafia and American Law: A History of Organized Crime. (2008). Retrieved May 30, 2012 from: http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/021law.html Read More