Organized Crime and Kentucky - Research Paper Example

Organized Crime and Kentucky Introduction The United States of America has certainly not always been a kind, gentle, and peace loving country throughout its history. In fact, the nation as a whole periodically shows a dark side that has often made the rest of the world stand up and take notice. While the country has a democratic rule of law, for example, a number of organized criminal elements have certain rose from ashes to combat the very social norms that were designed to maintain order and peace in the first place. The state of Kentucky has certainly not been immune from this reality. In fact, consider that the history of this great state is littered with examples of organized and underground criminal activity1. Furthermore, the influences that such organized criminal gangs have had on the Commonwealth of Kentucky is both profound and impactful. This can be seen during the early 1960s with George Ratterman and his Committee of 500 attempted to rid the city of Newport, Kentucky of gambling enterprises that, in the eyes of many members of society, were both illegal and morally corrupting2. This truth was also reflected in the vice present during the middle 1980s when an organized group of police officers from Lexington, Kentucky known as the ‘Company’ was actually found to be operating their very own drug cartel from within the Lexington Police Department3. The preceding two events, and others similar, demonstrate just how significant a role organized crime has play in the history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This paper will work to examine the role that organized crime has played in the historical development of Kentucky. It was do this by conducting a careful examination of the various political influences that have allowed organized crime to flourish across the Commonwealth, and will explore the very culture existent in Kentucky that allowed such criminal activities to continue largely unchecked for decades. Finally, the paper will conclude by looking at various ways that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has shifted its focus and perspective towards organized over time. Historical Development of Organized Crime in Kentucky: A Sociological Perspective When considering organized in the United States, one often hears a discussion centering around the crime families of New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. In fact, much is known about the organized criminal elements throughout history in these major cities. We can trace their development, origin, and arrive at various sociological theories to explain away their existence. Less is understood, however, about the reality that organized crime has also flourished throughout the rural areas of America during the course its relatively young existence. Kentucky is certainly a worthy example of this. We know, for example, that criminal elements are not only a part of the states history, but that organized groups continued to develop in Kentucky throughout the 1940s and 50s. In fact, such organizations became a central part of society in the areas of Newport and Covington4. Sociologists have long been interested in studying the perplexity that would create the need for such organized crime. What has been discovered is that individuals will typically continue to seek out access to those activities that are either deemed illegal by the government, or taboo by current the current standards and mores of society. Examples of these, common during the Kentucky of the 40s and 50s, include illicit gambling activities, bootleg liquor, prostitution services, and a host of others5. The history of Kentucky is certainly layers with various groups that have sought to capitalize in these areas of gambling and vice. Historically, we also know that politicians has gotten involved at various levels. In fact, nearly any segment of society that could gain from the illicit activities of organized crime have found a way to get involved at some level. Reality is that most sociologists concur that organized crime has taken hold in Kentucky in a similar fashion to that of the urban cities of the north and midwest. The interesting component of this is that, while vice and corruption are endemic to both areas, that methodology employed by those criminal elements in Kentucky took a distinctly southern feel. Organized criminals, if you will, took the very culture that the South is known for and used it to their advantage to buy politicians and encourage members of society to engage in activities that were certainly on the fringe of morality and ethics. The Kentucky of the 1940s and 1950s, for example, still have many holdovers from the slave owning Aristocratic days of yesteryear. As a result, there were many former slave-owners and mercantile traders who were still operating in the river port cities that formed the hub of Kentucky life and culture6. Feeling that their lives had been consequentially altered by the result of the disintegration of the Confederacy, such individuals made themselves readily available to criminal organizations that sought to run their activities from these various localities. The root of organized crime in Kentucky, and where most notoriety is placed, is on various vices. Among these include liquor operations that sough to avoid taxation by the government, illegal prostitution, and gambling. These three activities alone formed the economic basis for these organizations that not only allowed them to sustain their survival, but enabled them to branch out into other lesser known criminal activities. The river boat industry endemic to Kentucky quickly became a hub of gambling activity that was quite complex in its development, and formed a criminal syndicate that would prove difficult to break up. Prostitution emerged as one of the uglier faces of organized crime in Kentucky7. Not being satisfied with the selling of sexual services to willing customers alone, many criminals throughout the region begin to traffic in human trade, which was akin to the days of slavery. It was quickly commonplace for members of organized crime to actively kidnap and recruit young girls into a life of prostitution, realizing that there was much more money to be made with those actions than with the act of prostitution. Gambling and prostitution based criminal organizations in Kentucky also evolved into bootleg and underground liquor operations. While prohibition may have been a thing of the past, the willingness and desire to evade taxes on various aspect of the alcohol industry made the business quite attractive the criminal fringes of Newport an Covington, among other areas. In addition, with the strict controls put into place on alcohol production throughout the Commonwealth, criminal organization quickly found a way to tap into the production of liquor in developed and organized dens across the state. In essence, criminal organizations in Kentucky grew substantially as people in the rural areas had developed a deep rooted distrust of government and sought for ways to achieve personal gain with minimal expense8. These factors combined to form the perfect storm that would fuel greed and corruption across the Commonwealth of Kentucky for decades. Political Influences: A Communications Oriented Perspective While criminal organizations to try to maintain their operations away from public view, there will naturally be people within society that quickly become aware of their existence. For one, every criminal organization obviously requires a solid and consistent customer base to continue to operate, and on the other hand, such organizations will also require the services of those in law enforcement and politics in order to silently permit their existence. It is a double-edged sword that the criminal organizations throughout Kentucky’s young history have become quite proficient in. They were so proficient at one point, for example, that groups within law enforcement themselves were discovered to be the guiding force behind some operations operating in and around their own jurisdiction. Political corruption in Kentucky has seemed to come from nearly every end of the spectrum. The early stages of organized crime depending on the paying off of certain official in order for them to turn a blind eye to what they were doing. Over time, however, this evolved into a situation where corruption was so rampant that a clear delineation between organized crime syndicates and politicians was not always discernible. This evolved into a situation where politicians themselves were literally succeeded to organized crime organizations because of blackmail and other underhanded tactics that kept the granting of favors and certain inherent privileges coming, all of which formed the backbone of the organized crime operation in question. Kentucky, for example, has long had most legal policy and precedent settled by the all powerful judge. In rural areas, the judge becomes the central figure of society and they end up dictating much of what takes place in their respective localities. As such, it was not unheard for a judge to communicate down through the lines to various government agencies what organized crime organizations were allowed to operate in a given area, and which should be shuttered because they were no longer politically advantageous9. From the judge down to the mayor, all levels of government seemed to be involved in some manner or another. This lead to the not too far-fetched statement that there was no such thing as an honest politician or official in the Commonwealth at various points throughout Kentucky’s history. It is not just during the recent century that such organized crime can be seen to have existed with the aid of government officials. To illustrate this, consider Samuel Mason from the 1700s. One usually associates organized crime with ground based activities, but Samuel Mason bought his propensity for illicit activities to the river as well. In fact, he is known as one of the first land and river pirates in the newly formed United States of America. Upon being granted independence as a nation, Mason saw an opportunity for crime and profit, so he moved to Kentucky and creative an elaborate organizational structure based at Cave-in-Rock. This ended up being turned into a tavern and bordello that was more than 55 feet wide in its heyday and was largely untouchable. Over time, Mason developed a criminal organization in Kentucky that number more than 100 members. His group carried our vice of various sorts, and actually controlled the Ohio River at one point10. Through extortion, very few individuals during the reign of Mason’s criminal operation could gain passage down the river without being subject to theft or piracy of one sort or another. Naturally, even during the early days of Kentucky, criminal organizations such as Mason’s depending on political favors and law enforcement. In true Kentucky style, Mason actually served as both the justice of the peace and an associate judge at one point. This virtually guaranteed that the operations taking place on the Ohio River would continue unimpeded. Throughout Kentucky’s history, perhaps owed to its largely rural and aristocratic culture, as long as politicians could be bought and law In fact, organized crime became such a way of Kentucky life that the line between vice and normalcy itself was often blurred. Consider that the days of piracy perfected by Mason’s gang actually turned into a legitimate enterprise in the eyes of many, even as he doctored papers on the property from the boats he stole, in essence granting himself ownership. Such brazen actions by many in Kentucky’s criminal underworld through the years have given the various operations that have taken place a name and face that was permitted to operate out in the open and often with the full blessing of the very officials who were duty bound to tear them down11. Shifting Focus Towards Organized Crime: A Criminal Justice Perspective Over time, numerous organized crime syndicates have set up shop in Kentucky, many working the same territory in different areas. Learning how to both work together and to not step on the turf of another organization, it became increasingly difficult for even the most honest law enforcement agencies to know what to do about the situation. Again, while Kentucky has rarely been discussed in the same conversation with cities such as Chicago and New York when talking about organized crime, the reality is that the competition in the south has been fierce through the years. Consider the piracy example in the previous section. Over time, other gangs began operating on the Ohio River and the Kentucky basin. Among these, the Harpe Brother and Colonel Plug are perhaps the most notorious12. The criminal elements became so noticeable in their region that the entire country would fear having to navigate the Ohio River for any reason. From a criminal justice standpoint, communities throughout the Commonwealth were left grappling with the reality that if they did not nothing to stem the tide of organized criminal organizations in their area, the state would quickly become overrun and potentially turn lawless. A different approach was needed. Through time, law enforcement officials certainly did begin to crack down on organized crime. This was not necessarily out of a sense of moral obligation, but more out of public outrage and demands. The people of Kentucky wanted their state back and they wanted vice and other illicit activities removed. This put politicians and other officials in a precarious position. On the one hand, many of them had their own hands so deep criminal activity that would be perilous to come out of unscathed, and on the other hand they risk now being afforded the opportunity to continue service the people of Kentucky if they did not do something about. What this resulted in was the example we see in the 1940s and 1950s of law enforcement officials themselves actually running criminal organizations into the ground, while building up their own network from the bottom up. This dichotomy and juxtaposition of actions towards criminal syndicates leads us to the conclusion that organized crime likely still exists in many pockets of Kentucky society today, some with the full blessing of the very politicians who are supposed to rid communities of the fear and trepidation that have been wrought upon them for decades. This concept of a lack of justice being dished out to criminal organizations has plagued Kentucky throughout its young history. Dating back to the slave days, for example, entire organizations rose up that specialized in actual slave stealing. Slaves would be stolen from around the region and then sent down the Ohio River to be sold again illegally to supply much needed labor to the cotton and tobacco fields that littered Western Kentucky. Economic conditions and the reality of rural life fueled the demand for such an illicit enterprise and the perpetuators of such activities rarely, if ever, were apprehended. Law enforcement officials once again chose to turn a blind eye, many of them benefitting themselves from doing so. and the organizations were permitted to flourish. This mentality of allowing criminal syndicates to operate would be in the forefront of private policy as recently as the 1980s, when organize crime organizations with the Lexington police department themselves were uncovered. That seems to have been the wakeup call that Kentucky needed to truly deal with the problem and in a focused and systematic manner, once and for all13. Prostitution, gambling, and bootleg liquor have all been illegal in Kentucky since its foundation, yet all three have flourished. Even though relegated to the darker side of society today, it is well known that various dens of vice and illicit activity continue to thrive. Just a few decades ago, for example, an actual listing of brothels, complete with addresses and the types of activities to take place there, was a well published document in the criminal underworld. All it would have took is for law enforcement to act swift and definitively, particularly in Newport where the activity was the most pronounced14. Such a focus on criminal justice, however, did not come until much later. While gambling and prostitution have traditionally been the backbone of organized crime, Kentucky has branched out into other areas as well. While we would like to think that this renewed focus has solved the problem, the reality is that it has only become more pronounced. Justice will need to her served and the heads of the organizations cut off once and for all before the Commonwealth can ever hope to say it has left its history of organized crime behind and moved into a new era of social justice and reform. Conclusion To be sure, Kentucky has a proud and storied history. One should not confuse the reality that the Commonwealth has had its share of organized criminals over the years with the equally stark reality that many find men and women have called the state home. The simple fact is that criminals will likely always exist where there are people to take advantage of, and where vice is in demand. The rural nature of much of Kentucky, and the fact that the Ohio River cuts right through it have made it a target for criminals of various sorts for several centuries now. As covered in this paper, the presence of corrupt officials has certainly created an environment over time where organized crime has meshed in with many segments of society. The tides are slowly changing, however, and all indications are that Kentucky of the future will not be a welcoming place for the various gangs that have ravaged the state for far too long. Bibliography “Arrest inspired Newport to end ‘Sin City’ reputation.” Cincinnati.com. Accessed 8Th April 2014. Barker, Thomas, Gary W. Potter & Jenna Meglen. 2008. Wicked Newport: Kentucky's sin city. Charleston, SC: History Press. Linduff, Jim., Klein, Roy & Trapp, Larry. 2012. “When Vice Was King: A History Of Northern Kentucky Gambling 1920-1970.” Accessed 8Th April 2014. Messick, Hank. 1995. Razzle Dazzle. New York: AMEREON Limited. Morgan, John, L. “Gambling raid in Newport, police booking and thumb printing in bookie joint.” 1958. In Website. 9Th April 2014. Royer, Jennifer Baugh. "A Dark Side of Dixie: Illegal Gambling in Northern Kentucky, 1790-- 2000." Texas Christian University, 2009, http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 305004109?accountid=458 (accessed April 8, 2014). Wallace, James. Oral History Interview with George W. Simmons, Jr. & Henry Sanders. Kentucky Historical Society. Williams, Michael L. "Sin City Kentucky: Newport, Kentucky's Vice Heritage and its Legal Extinction, 1920--1991." University of Louisville, 2008, http://search.proquest.com/ docview/304553933?accountid=458 (accessed April 8, 2014). Read More