General Overview of Organized Crime - Term Paper Example

General Overview of Organized Crime Introduction Virtually every modern society faces the problem of organized crime. Enmeshed, like a poison ivy, underneath the fabric of the modern world, it stings irritably; or like a parasite within, it sucks up the economic resources of individuals, businesses and institutions. Always a predator lurking from behind and stalking its prey, it attacks violently and oftentimes fatally. An understanding of organized crime is a valuable knowledge not only to law agencies battling against such organizations but also to ordinary citizens who may be its victims or potential victims. Knowing its structure and operation could spell the difference between life and death both for those who are meant to put them down and to those who may be their unfortunate targets or victims. Proactively defending against them, or courageously advocating and fighting against them require a broad understanding of their inner workings. Definitions and Concepts Websters-online-dictionary defines organized crime as "underworld organization". It further defines underworld as "criminal class". These definitions presupposed a definite group of people within but underneath the class structure of society who are formed into organizations engaged in unlawful activities. A more detailed and definite definition of organized crime, however, has become problematic because of their variety and diversity (Lampe). Lampe collected over 100 definitions one among is that by Albanese which attempted to summarize three decades of literature into the following definition: "Organized crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities; its continuing existence is maintained through the use of force, threats, monopoly control, and/or the corruption of public officials." (Lampe, Albanese, 2000: 411). Other elements of organized crime are," hierarchical associations . . . system of protection against public control by means of corruption", (Lampe, Gilinskiy 2006, 278) "large-scale and complex criminal activity carried on by groups of persons . . . for the enrichment of those participating and at the expense of the community" and "accomplished through ruthless disregard of any law, including offences against the person, and frequently in connection with political corruption". (Lampe, United Nations 1975, 8) Organized crime as a worldwide phenomenon An overview of organized crime and its structure as a worldwide phenomenon can be gleaned from a paper on the Russian organized crime around the world presented by Margaret E. Beare. She cited the three-legged tripod depiction of organized crime by the Canadian police as "being like a three-legged tripod" consisting of "the bureaucracy including politicians and security officials, underground business persons, and the professional criminals". And the merging of this three into one entity makes them a formidable enemy of the law. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, however, reports the more flexible and diversified structure of organized crime groups. Mentioned was made of South-East European groups characterized by "wide range of structures, ranging from hierarchical to horizontal, both with cell-lie structures and loose networks" and Chinese groups which are "structurally quite complex and diverse" . The Japanese Yakusa which is considered one of the largest in the world has roles that suggest hierarchical structures. The kaicho acts as boss with complete authority, and he has under him wakato (deputy or captain) and wakai shu or soldiers as ordinary members. Organizational Structure of Crime Groups With the complexity in the phenomenon of organized crime groups worldwide and even in the United States alone, a more rational approach towards understanding the structure of crime groups is to slice from this complexity and focus on more particular crime group. This paper will therefore focus on Mafia, La Costa Nostra. Brief History and Background of Mafia According to The Mafia Site, the mafia is a secret society formed against Arab and French invaders. Because of its strategic location the island of Sicily has been subjected to hostile forces which triggered a kind of defensive mistrust against law and government. Matters were being settled within the family level with no recourse to law and order. By the 19th century, collapse of the Feudal order resulted to lawlessness. Powerful figures known as capos emerged who extracted tributes from farmers and enforced authority by force. And thus the Sicilian mafia was born. They become so powerful that crackdown by Mussoloni in 1924 forced them to migrate to America. (Grabianowski) Yet it did not diminish the power and influence of Mafia. Jim Thomas, noted that "When the Fascists fled Sicily during the Allied invasion of World War II, the Mafia--the only remaining governing structure--worked closely with U.S. forces. Today it dominates much of the business and industry in Sicily's cities. " (Thomas) "The mafiosi saw their opportunities and took them. In virtually every town they were named as mayors. Vito Genovese, a New York capomafia, who had fled to Italy in 1936 to escape conviction, was the interpreter for Charles Poletti, the U.S. Army Superintendent for Sicilian Affairs. Genovese and other "men of honor" took to infiltrating the political sphere while moving into the rackets and black marketing." (La Sorte) Although the name Mafia (or the title Cosa Nostra, "our affair") is often used to encompass the entire spectrum of organized crime, the true Italian-descended Mafia is now only one component of a much larger criminal establishment. " (Thomas) Through migration, they extended their operations to different parts of the world. These groups however do not operate as a single entity with formal organizational structure. According to Ed Grabianowski "the word Mafia is an umbrella term that refers to any of several groups of gangsters who can trace their roots to Italy or Sicily". He broadly classified them into five main division based on their place of origin: 1. The Sicilian Mafia - island of Sicily 2. The Camorra Mafia - Naples 3. The Calabrian Mafia - Italy's Calabrian region 4. The Sacra Corona Unita - Puglia region of Italy 5. The La Cosa Nostra - the American Mafia, with roots from Sicilian families and other Italian groups. (Grabianowski, mafia6.htm) 19th century Sicilian immigration resulted to Mafia operation in several large cities of the U.S. and before long become a typical organized crime in the United States. (Thomas) During the 1920s in America, there were five powerful gangs: Joe "The Boss" Masseria's gang was the largest and most powerful, and included such notables as Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, and Joe Adonis Al Mineo's gang was closely allied with Masseria and included Albert Anastasia The Castellammarese clan was headed by Sal Maranzano and had branches in Buffalo (led by Stevano Magaddino) and Detroit (led by Gaspar Milazzo). Tom Reina's gang Joe Profaci's gang (The Mafia Site.com) According to Rick Porello, there were about twenty-six American Mafia family operating strongly in 26 cities across the United State and in Canada. These cities are: Buffalo, NY Chicago, IL Cleveland, OH Dallas, TX Denver, CO Des Moines, IA Detroit, MI Kansas City, MO Los Angeles, CA Madison, WI Milwaukee, WI New England-Boston, MA New England-Providence, RI New Orleans, LA New Jersey New York Northeast PA Omaha, NE Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Rochester, NY Rockford, IL San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA St. Louis, MO Tampa, FL The five main New York City families, well-known for the testimony of informer Joe Valachi before a Senate subcommittee in 1962 and 1963 named for their bosses were the Bonanno, Genovese, Gambino, Luchese and Profaci. (Grabianowski) Organizational Structure of the Mafia Family While Mafia is considered an umbrella general term for organized crime groups originating from Sicily and other parts of Italy and is without any real organization (Gabrianowski), research made by The Mafia Site and collaborated by works of Grabianowski and Wikepedia, indicated that below seem to be the structure of La Cosa Nostra: The Commission The Commission handles interfamily disputes and sets general policy for La Cosa Nostra. It acts as more of a forum of Family Bosses than a board of directors. (The Mafia Site). Its existence dating back to 1931 was documented in the autobiography of Joseph Bonanno, then one of the five New York Mafia bosses, entitled "A Man of Honor" in which he stated that "We replaced leadership by one man with leadership by committee." (New York Times) It was established "to assign territories, adjudicate disputes and exercise internal discipline." (Nevada Observer). But it appeared to be a temporary structure. It was again "created as a forum to discuss inter-family matters and was dissolved between 1963 and 1973. (Answers.com/mafia) The Families Unlike the Commission, which existed according to prevailing exigencies and were dissolved when deemed no longer necessary, the structure of the Families was basic to the existence of La Cosa Nostra and had maintained stability since its inception. It's structure, which is similar to the line and staff structure of modern organization is illustrated below by Gabrianowsyki: The Role of Each Family Member Boss At the head of the family is the Boss, also called Don, or Godfather. He is the man whose authority and power is absolute. His orders are expected to be obeyed without question by the rest of the family. The Boss receives a share from income generated from operation by each member of his family. Underboss (Sotto Capo) He is the second-in-command, the 1st buffer of the Boss and the 2nd tier. He controls and directs the daily operation of the Family. He controls the day-to-day operations of the Family and is directly in command of the capos under him. Consigliere The consigliere acts as a "counselor" or "advisor" to the boss and makes impartial decisions based on fairness. He represents in meeting or mediates in dispute with other families He is directly under the boss in terms of the hierarchy, but he doesn't normally give orders. He provides legitimacy to the family and acts as liaison of the don to bought personalities. He has no crew but still wields power in the family. He also acts as 1st buffer of the Boss but do not belong to any tier, not being not directly under the boss in terms of hierarchy. Capo Short for capodecina or caporegime, he is a leader or lieutenant of a "crew" or decina (literally, "group of ten") of ten to fifteen soldiers. He is assigned either a territorial/geographical area or a kind of racket or money generating operation. He runs a small family according to limits or guidelines set for him and shares to the don cut of his income. He is the 2nd buffer of the Boss and belongs to the 3rd tier. Soldier These are the lowest rank operatives that do the dirty work. They are members and belong to the family. Also each soldier may have a few associates hanging out with him. He is the 3rd buffer of the Boss and belongs to the 4th tier. Associates These are not members of the family who just hang around with the crew and really do the dirty job just to become part of the family. Conclusion Organized crime in the United States and elsewhere in the world has indeed become complex because of the many factors by which these groups operate and the changing situations connected with advances in technology. The basic structure of the Mafia Family which has been maintained and carried through the history of the Mafia is characterized both by stability and flexibility and adaptability. Stability in structure accounts for enduring presence of such other institutions as the Roman Catholic Church. Yet its flexibility and adaptability is also like that of the basic attack unit of regular armed units, like the military. This combination of structural characters accounted for the successful navigation of Mafia in the modern world. Not to say the basic culture which some Mafia hunter said can not be vanquished because they are in their blood. WORKS CITED Answers.com. Mafia: Definition and Much More from Answers.com Webster's-Online Dictionary. Underworld. < http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Underworld> Wikipedia. Mafia Read More