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 Contents vii

Vice in the South 129

Natchez-Under-the-Hill 129
New Orleans 130
Gambling 131
New Orleans Street Gangs 132
Procuring 133
Prostitution 134
Bootlegging and Moonshining 135
What Have We Learned? 140
Do You Recognize These Terms? 140
Points of Discussion 140
Suggested Reading 140

Chapter 5 THE BUSINESSES OF ORGANIZED CRIME 141

Introduction 141
Delivery of Illicit Goods and Services 143
Corruption 143
Pornography 145
Forms of Pornography 146
Organized Crime and Pornography 146
Prostitution 147
Types of Prostitutes 148
The Pimp–Prostitute Relationship 150
The “Clients” 151
Human Trafficking and Sexual Slavery 151
Organized Crime and Prostitution 152
Drug Trafficking 152
Cocaine Traffic 152
Heroin Traffic 152
Synthetic Drug Traffic 153
Marijuana Traffic 153
The Distribution Chain 154
Drugs, Guns, and Armed Conflict 155
Contraband Smuggling 157
Counterfeiting Currency 159
Counterfeiting Consumer Goods 160
Gambling 160
The Process 161
Bookmaking 162
The Effects of Illegal Gambling 164
Loan-Sharking 164
Environmental Crime 166
viii Contents

Trafficking in Gems and Gold 167

Business Racketeering 168
Reasons to Seek Legitimacy 168
Labor Racketeering 171
High-Tech Crime 174
Intellectual Property Rights Violations 176
Trafficking in Nuclear Material 178
Trafficking in Women and Children 178
Money Laundering 180
Money Laundering Defined 180
Current Money-Laundering Trends 180
The Money-Laundering Process 180
Money-Laundering Methods 181
Money Orders 183
Casinos 183
Bulk Cash Smuggling 184
Shell Companies and Trusts 184
Responding to Money Laundering 185
Legal Controls 185
Prison Corruption 186
Border Corruption 186
What Have We Learned? 187
Do You Recognize These Terms? 187
Points of Discussion 188
Suggested Reading 188

Chapter 6 THE ILLICIT DRUG TRADE 189

Introduction 189
Drug Control: A Brief History 190
Early Drug Regulation 191
The Impact of Drugs on Society 191
The Pervasiveness of Drug Abuse 192
Drugs and Crime 193
Drugs and Violence 194
Drugs and Income-Generating Crime 195
Drugs and Organized Crime 195
Players in the Drug Business 196
The Business of Drugs 197
Southeast Asia 197
The Opium Wars 198
The Golden Triangle 199
 Contents ix

Southwest Asia—The Golden Crescent 202

Trends of Organized Drug Trafficking 203
Organization 203
Drugs and Drug-Trafficking Techniques 203
Drug-Control Strategies 204
Strategy 1: Expressive Law Enforcement 204
Strategy 2: Mr. Big Strategy 205
Strategy 3: Gang Control 205
Strategy 4: Citywide Street-Level Drug Enforcement 205
Strategy 5: Neighborhood Crackdowns 205
Strategy 6: Drug Abuse Prevention 206
Other Control Strategies 206
What Have We Learned? 207
Do You Recognize These Terms? 207
Points of Discussion 208
Suggested Reading 208

Chapter 7 DOMESTIC ORGANIZED CRIME GROUPS 209

Introduction 209
Past African American Organized Crime 210
New York 211
Chicago 211
Pittsburgh 211
Philadelphia 212
Newport 212
Contemporary African American Organized Crime 213
Leroy “Nicky” Barnes 213
Frank Mathews 213
Jeff Fort 213
Frank Lucas 214
Street Gangs 214
Membership: Extent of Youth Gangs 215
Alliances and Rivalries 215
Reasons for the Existence of Youth Gangs 215
How Street Gangs Are Organized? 216
Youth Gang Member Types 217
Laws Addressing Gang Violence 217
Characteristics of Youth Gang Members 219
Black Youth Gangs 220
Hispanic Youth Gangs 220
Mobility of Youth Gangs 221
x Contents

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs 223

The OMG–Organized Crime Link 225
Organizational Structure 225
Membership 227
Criminal Activity 227
Biker Constitution and Bylaws 228
Criminal Activity 229
The Hell’s Angels 230
The Outlaws 231
The Pagans 233
The Bandidos 233
Gang Involvement in Sex Trafficking and Prostitution 234
Prison Gangs 234
Historical Background 235
Nature of Prison Gangs 237
Prison Gang Structure 238
Membership 239
Recruitment 239
Mexican Mafia 239
Nuestra Familia 241
Texas Syndicate 241
The Mexikanemi 242
Aryan Brotherhood 242
Black Guerilla Family 243
Corruption of Prison Staff 244
Gang Members in the Community 244
Prison Gangs versus Street Gangs 245
Rural Organized Crime 246
The Wholesale Market 247
The Retail Market 248
Characteristics of Rural Organized Crime Groups 249
What Have We Learned? 249
Do You Recognize These Terms? 249
Points of Discussion 250
Suggested Reading 250

Chapter 8 A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 251

Introduction 251
Transnational Organized Crime 251
International Changes and Organized Crime 253
International Transportation and Criminal Organizations 253
International Trade and Criminal Organizations 253
 Contents xi

Computer and Communications Technology and Criminal

Organizations 254
International Financial Networks and Organized Crime 254
Globalization and the Consumption Society 254
The Changing Character of Organized Crime in a Global
Economy 254
Strategic Alliances and Modern Organized Crime 255
Undermining Civil Society 256
Impact on Local Economies 256
Undermining State Legitimacy 257
States within States 257
Future Trends Affecting Criminal Organizations 258
Economics of Production 258
International Ungovernability 258
Immigration Streams and Organized Crime 258
Border Porosity 258
Modern-Day Drug Trafficking 259
Colombian Cocaine Trafficking—Historic Perspectives 260
Influence of the Medellin Cartel—Lessons Learned 261
Innovative Wholesaling Structure 262
Current Changes in Colombia 262
The Growing Role of Mexican Drug Trafficking 263
Variables of Influence in the Mexican Drug Trade 263
Fighting over “Turf”—Mexican Cartels 266
The Impact of “El Chapo” 266
The Gulf Cartel 266
The Los Zetas—A Gulf Cartel Outgrowth 268
The Sinaloa Cartel 270
The Juarez Cartel 272
The Tijuana Cartel 272
The Sonora Cartel 273
The La Familia (the Family) Michoacana Cartel 273
Official Corruption in Mexico 276
Dominican Drug-Trafficking Organizations 277
A Small Corner of the World: Organized Crime in the
Triborder Area 278
Geography, Society, and the Economy of Crime 278
State Corruption 279
Organizing Crime in the TBA 280
Organized Crime Enterprises in the TBA 281
Asian Organized Crime 282
Traditional Chinese Organized Crime 285
xii Contents

The Triad Hierarchy 287

The Japanese Yakuza 288
Vietnamese Gangs 290
European Organized Crime 290
Europe’s Shadow Economy 292
Italy’s Historic Mafia Wars 293
Russian Organized Crime 294
Balkan Criminal Enterprises 300
African Organized Crime 300
Issues Related to Organized Crime Facing Africa 308
Eastern Africa 308
Arms Trafficking 310
East African Drug Trafficking 311
Trafficking in Humans 312
Somali Pirates 312
Corruption 315
Albanian Drug-Smuggling Networks 315
What Have We Learned? 315
Do You Recognize These Terms? 316
Points of Discussion 316
Suggested Reading 316

Chapter 9 TERRORISM AS ORGANIZED CRIME 317

Introduction 317
An Overview 317
Terrorism Defined 318
Who Are the Terrorists? 319
Understanding the Terms 320
Forms of Terrorism 321
Trends in Terrorism—Growth and Expansion 322
The ISIS Business Strategy 324
The ISIS “Brand” 324
Boko Haram 325
The Taliban 326
Fulani Militants 326
Al-shabaab 327
Terrorists Attacks in Western Countries 327
Lone Wolf Terrorists 328
Why People Become Foreign Fighters for Violent
Extremists Groups 329
The Refugee Crisis and Terrorism 330
The Economic Costs of Terrorism 331
Changes in Terrorism 332
 Contents xiii

Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons 333

Infoterrorism 334
International Terrorism 334
Middle Eastern Terrorists 337
The Muslim Brotherhood 338
Al-Shabaab 341
Abu Sayyaf Group 342
HAMAS 343
Hizballah 344
Terrorist Sleeper Cells 345
Latin American Terrorists 346
State-Organized Crime 346
Domestic Terrorism 347
The Bombing in Oklahoma City 349
The Ideological Left 350
The Ideological Right 351
Domestic Terrorism: White Supremacist and Hate Groups 352
The Birth of Militias 353
Triggering Events 354
Other Domestic Terrorist Groups 355
Single-Issue Terrorist Activity 357
Antiabortion Activists 357
Crime-Related Events 358
The Media’s Role in Terrorism 359
Controlling Terrorism 359
The 1996 Antiterrorism Bill 359
The 2001 USA Patriot Act 360
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 360
The REAL ID Act of 2005 360
What Have We Learned? 361
Do You Recognize These Terms? 361
Points of Discussion 361
Suggested Reading 362

Chapter 10 ORGANIZED CRIME’S POLITICAL AND CORPORATE

ALLIANCES 363
Introduction 363
Corporate Scandals of the Twenty-First Century 364
The Connection 366
Organized Crime and the Political System 366
The Mob and John F. Kennedy 368
John F. Kennedy’s Political Debts 369
xiv Contents

Organized Crime and Richard Nixon 372

The Teamsters Endorsement 372
Organized Crime Links with Ronald Reagan 373
Senator Paul Laxalt 374
Roy Williams 375
Reagan and the International Longshoremen’s Association 375
Raymond Donovan 376
Other Reagan Administration Ties to Organized Crime 376
Payback 377
Organized Crime and the Business Community 378
Reciprocity 378
The Worlds of Meyer Lansky 379
More on Las Vegas 382
The Move to Florida 382
Cuba 383
The Banks 383
The Bahamas 384
Organized Crime, the Cia, and the Savings and Loan
Scandal 384
First National Bank of Maryland 385
Palmer National Bank 385
Indian Springs Bank 386
Vision Banc Savings 386
Hill Financial Savings 387
Sunshine State Bank 387
Mario Renda, Lender to the Mob 387
Full-Service Banking 387
International Activities 388
Tax Havens 388
The Industrialized World 388
South America, Central America, and Mexico 388
Mexico 389
Honduras 389
Guatemala 389
Costa Rica and Nicaragua 389
Argentina 389
Other Financiers 389
Moe Dalitz 389
The Teamsters and the Dorfmans 390
Ed Levinson 390
Reuben Sturman 391
Were There Others? 391
 Contents xv

What Have We Learned? 392

Do You Recognize These Terms? 392
Points of Discussion 392
Suggested Reading 393

Chapter 11 CONTROLLING ORGANIZED CRIME 394

Introduction 394
The Police Response 394
Police Jurisdiction 395
Controlling Police Actions 395
The Constitution and the Police 395
Undercover Operations and Surveillance 396
Informants 397
Intelligence Operations 398
Intelligence Investigations versus Criminal
Investigations 400
Intelligence Agencies 400
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 400
Improving Intelligence Investigations 401
Legal Initiatives Against Organized Crime 402
The 1986 Money Laundering Control Act 402
The 1988 Chemical and Diversion and Trafficking Act 403
The USA Patriot Act of 2001 403
The Internal Revenue Code 403
Electronic Surveillance 404
Asset Forfeiture 404
Advantages of Civil Forfeiture 405
Forfeiture of Attorney’s Fees 406
The Rico Statute 407
Offenses under RICO 408
Pattern of Racketeering Activity 408
Disadvantages of RICO 408
Advantages of RICO 408
The Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute 409
Conspiracy Laws 409
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and
Control Act 411
Multijurisdictional Task Forces 411
The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 411
The Investigative Grand Jury 412
The Statewide Grand Jury 413
The Witness Security Program 413
xvi Contents

Evaluating Efforts to Control Organized Crime 413

The Headhunting Strategy 414
The Effectiveness of Headhunting 414
Problems with Headhunting 415
Fighting Corruption 415
Cleaning Up Money Laundries 416
The Drug Legalization Movement 416
Effectiveness of Organized Crime Prosecutions 418
Why Won’t It Die? 419
The Future of Organized Crime 419
Information Theft 420
The Power of Legitimacy 420
Satellite Technology 421
What Have We Learned? 421
Do You Recognize These Terms? 423
Points of Discussion 423
Suggested Reading 423

Appendix A: Selected Provisions from the 2001 USA Patriot Act 424
Appendix B: Chronology of White Supremacist Domestic Terrorist Incidents
in the 1980s 428
Appendix C: Domestic Terrorism Groups and Events 433
Appendix D: Foreign Terrorist Organizations Designated by the United States Secretary
of State as of November 2017 438

References 442
Index 459
 PREFACE

NEW TO THIS EDITION

• Various sections throughout the book have been expanded to cover greater detail. These
include modern-day piracy and recent arrests of Italian, Mexican, Russian, and Chinese
mob figures.
• A section has been expanded to focus on changes in Mexican drug trafficking.
• New to this edition is an expanded discussion of terrorism, and how it interacts with orga-
nized crime.
• This edition includes updated case studies, statistics, and photographs.
• There is new material on ISIS and its “business model.”
• This edition presents new material on organized crime’s use of computers and technology
and brings about a revamping of Chapter 9: Terrorism and Organized Crime.
Crime and criminality have been cornerstones for countless movie and book plots and radio
and TV talk shows over the decades. Of all the varied types of criminal activity, however, orga-
nized crime has proved to be the most intriguing through the years. Images of pinstriped gang-
sters, police shoot-outs, and flamboyant lifestyles emerge whenever the topic of organized crime
is mentioned. To a great extent, these images form the basis for stereotyping what the public
generally perceives as organized crime. However, these images fail to portray organized crime
realistically. Organized crime is as diverse as our rich American history. For example, would it
surprise you to learn that cowboys of the old west often worked in organized groups to commit
stagecoach heists and bank robberies? Would it surprise you to know that pirates exist as of the
writing of this book? They, in fact, do. Indeed, today organized crime has taken on many differ-
ent aspects and continued to evolve. These and many, many other facets of organized crime will
be examined in this new edition.
The seventh edition of Organized Crime is designed to be an introductory text serving
several purposes in the field of criminal justice. First, it gives the reader an understanding of the
concept of organized crime—what it is and what it is not—and the necessary historical founda-
tion for understanding the evolution, development, and current status of organized crime. Most
important, the book is designed to dispel the myth that organized crime is composed exclusively
of Italian American criminal groups. In fact, when considering the overall problem of crime in
our communities, other criminal groups, such as the African American, Mexican, Russian, and
Nigerian, play an increasingly important role.
Another important component of the book is that drug trafficking plays an important role
in the continuing proliferation of organized crime groups. The existence of the illegal drug trade
says much about both the groups that traffic in illicit drugs and the members of society who use
these drugs, consequently lending support to organized criminals. In addition to a separate chap-
ter dealing with the issue, the topic is discussed intermittently throughout the book.
Finally, terrorism has dominated public policy since September 11, 2001. With increasing
global awareness of terrorist organizations and those who belong to them, traditional models of
terrorism have been challenged because the structure, financing, and recruiting mechanisms of
such organizations are becoming more and more like their criminal counterparts in conventional
organized crime.
We have made a great effort to present this material in a logically organized, readable
fashion. The problem of organized crime is examined from a social perspective using specially
designed pedagogical features. These include chapter objectives, critical thinking projects,
chapter summaries, key terms, points of discussion, and suggested readings. All these features

xvii
xviii Preface

are designed to promote scholarly thought and insight into the problem of organized crime, while
presenting important thematic questions in each chapter, including these: What is organized
crime? Is there really a Mafia? Is terrorism organized crime? Do political machines still exist?
Although there are no hard-and-fast answers to these questions, readers can draw conclusions
and perhaps develop probing questions on their own. In many respects, the most important pur-
suit for students studying organized crime is to develop sufficient mastery of the topic to ask the
right questions.
This edition incorporates a considerable amount of new material and updates, such as sec-
tions on definitions of organized crime, Mexican cartels, Somali pirates, RICO, Eastern African
groups, Albanian drug-smuggling networks, Triborder Area OC activity, the counterfeit con-
sumer goods industry as well as updated case studies, statistics, and graphics.
The preparation of this book was a demanding task because it required sifting through an
enormous amount of historical data and archives to find and present the most salient aspects of
the organized crime problem. Efforts taken in the preparation and updating of this book were
augmented by numerous individuals and organizations. In addition to the research offered by
well-known experts in the field, information was also culled from government reports generated
by organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institute of Justice,
and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Finally, many thanks to the numerous friends and colleagues at Pearson/Prentice Hall who
helped in the book’s production. The study of organized crime is one of the most fascinating
educational endeavors, posing thematic, scholarly, and ideological questions. As we attempt to
understand this area of interest, bear in mind that during the past century organized crime be-
came the most insidious form of criminality, involving criminals, politicians, bankers, lawyers,
and the all-important users of illegal goods and services. Thank you for adopting this book for
classroom study. Any comments and suggestions are encouraged regarding this publication for
the improvement of future editions. Feel free to contact the author at the following address:

INSTRUCTOR SUPPLEMENTS
Instructor’s Manual with Test Bank. Includes content outlines for classroom discusion, teaching
suggestions, and answers to selected end-of-chapter questions from the text. This also contains a
Word document version of the test bank.
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TestGen’s random generator provides the option to display different text or calculated number
values each time questions are used.
PowerPoint Presentations. Our presentations are clear and straightforward. Photos, illustra-
tions, charts, and tables from the book are included in the presentations when applicable.
To access supplementary materials online, instructors need to request an instructor ac-
cess code. Go to www.pearsonhighered.com/irc, where you can register for an instructor
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instructions on downloading the materials you wish to use.

ALTERNATE VERSIONS
eBooks. This text is also available in multiple eBook formats. These are an exciting new
choice for students looking to save money. As an alternative to purchasing the printed textbook,
 Preface xix

students can purchase an electronic version of the same content. With an eTextbook, students
can search the text, make notes online, print out reading assignments that incorporate lecture
notes, and bookmark important passages for later review. For more information, visit your favor-
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Lynn DeSpain, Regis University; Alicia Schmidt, Missouri Valley College;
and Carter Smith, Middle Tennessee State University for reviewing the manuscript.
This page is intentionally left blank
CHAPTER

1 Understanding Organized Crime

THIS CHAPTER WILL ENABLE YOU TO:

■■ Understand the numerous definitions of organized crime

■■ Contrast the roles of different commissions dealing with organized crime

■■ Learn about the Sicilian heritage as it relates to the Italian Mafia

■■ Learn how official investigations into organized crime have contributed to an understanding of the Italian Mafia

■■ Compare the various theories that have been developed to explain the structure of organized crime groups

■■ See how organizational constraints affect organized crime groups

INTRODUCTION
Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, known by various aliases, including “El Chapo,” became infamous for his
leadership of the Mexican organized crime syndicate known as the Sinaloa Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel shared
drug transportation routes and obtained drugs from various Colombian drug trafficking organizations, in particular
the Colombian Norte del Valle Cartel, the Don Lucho Organization, and the Cifuentes-Villa Organization. The
cocaine was transported from Colombia via planes, boats, and submarines into ports the enterprise controlled in
Southern Mexico and other locations throughout Central America. From there, it was shipped through Mexico to
distribution hubs in the United States.
As one of the principal leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, Guzman Loera also oversaw the cocaine, heroin,
methamphetamine, and marijuana smuggling activities by the Sinaloa Cartel to wholesale distributors in Atlanta,
Chicago, Miami, New York, as well as in various locations in Arizona, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The billions of
dollars generated from drug sales in the United States were then clandestinely transported back to Mexico.
To evade law enforcement and protect the enterprise’s narcotics distribution activities, Guzman Loera and
the Sinaloa Cartel allegedly employed various means, including the use of “sicarios,” or hit men, who carried
out hundreds of acts of violence in Mexico, including murder, to collect drug debts, silence potential witnesses,
and prevent public officials from taking action against the cartel. To intimidate and eliminate his rivals, during
the Sinaloa Cartel’s internecine war for territory with the Juarez Cartel from approximately 2007 through 2011,
Guzman Loera directed these assassins to kill thousands of drug trafficking competitors, during which many of his
victims were beheaded.
On January 20, 2017, after being extradited from Mexico, a federal court in Brooklyn arraigned the 59-year-
old Guzman Loera, who was facing a 17-count indictment for conspiring to import more than 200 metric tons of

1
2 Chapter 1 • Understanding Organized Crime

Photo of Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” being transported to Maximum
Security Prison of El Altiplano in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 08, 2016. Guzman Loera,
leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, was considered the Mexican most-wanted drug lord. Mexican
marines captured “El Chapo” on Friday in Sinaloa, North of Mexico.
Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg/Getty Images

cocaine into the United States. As of the preparation of this book, “El Chapo” awaits his day in
court in a U.S. federal penitentiary.
When you think of the term “organized crime,” you might picture the likes of Whitey
Bulger, Al Capone, or John Gotti or any of a number of other Italian and Sicilian Mafioso.
Whether actual criminals or those portrayed on TV and in the movies, over the past 20 years
the face of organized crime has dramatically changed as it has become more widespread, more
diverse, and more complex than ever.
For example, have you ever heard of the notorious Thief-in-Law Vyacheslav Ivankov, the
Solnstsevo organization, the Young Joon Yang gang, or the Los Zetas? They are also involved in
organized criminal activities—in a big way.
Indeed, in many ways the image and impression we have of organized crime, whether accurate
or not, have been shaped by American “pop” culture. Today, organized crime includes the following:
• Violent Mexican cartels who compete for control over the cocaine, marijuana, and meth-
amphetamine trade;
• African groups in countries such as Nigeria that engage in drug/human trafficking and
financial scams;
• Chinese Tongs, Japanese Boryokudan, and other Asian crime organizations; and
• Criminal enterprises based in Eastern European nations like Hungary and Romania.
All of these groups have a presence in the United States or have influence in the United
States from afar—using the Internet and other technologies of our global age. More and more,
they are literally becoming partners in crime, realizing they have more to gain from cooperating
than competing.
While the impact of organized crime is difficult to measure, what is known is that it is
significant.
 Chapter 1 • Understanding Organized Crime 3

Organized crime organizations manipulate and control financial markets, traditional in-
stitutions like labor unions, and legitimate industries like construction and trash hauling. They
bring drugs into our cities and raise the level of violence in our communities by buying off cor-
rupt officials and using graft, extortion, intimidation, and murder to maintain their operations.
Their underground businesses include prostitution and human trafficking. Organized crime
groups also con us out of millions each year through various stock frauds and financial scams.
In 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimated the economic impact of organized
crime profits at approximately $1 trillion per year (FBI 2013a).
Hollywood movies and documentaries have played a significant role in raising awareness
of organized crime. For example, in 1972 The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando, depicted orga-
nized crime. Decades earlier, movie stars such as Edward G. Robinson, Humphrey Bogart, and
James Cagney portrayed tough and cunning gangsters, resulting in an ongoing public fascination
with stories about organized crime. Another movie sensation, starring Kevin Costner and Robert
DeNiro, The Untouchables, portrayed Treasury agent Eliot Ness and his nemesis, Al Capone, in
the streets of Chicago during Prohibition. The television series of the same name aired for years
and is still rerun on many channels around the country. More recently, in 2013, Gangster Squad
portrayed infamous gangster Mickey Cohen and his attempt to control crime in Los Angeles.
These movies are examples of how Hollywood has managed to keep many of the old gangsters
alive in movies and syndicated television, and new films are being created every year. The fasci-
nation with crime, cops, and gangsters still exists and sparks the interest of many people.
Today, with global concerns about terrorism, many believe that organized crime enter-
prises have either subsided or have been ignored by law enforcement while police focus on ter-
rorist organizations. While it is true that law enforcement priorities shifted in 2001 with the 9/11
bombings, transnational organized crime is alive and well. Accordingly, law enforcement in the
United States has maintained an aggressive stance against it. For example, according to the FBI,

• The Southern California crime ring called Armenian Power may look like a traditional
street gang—members identify themselves with tattoos and gang clothing—but the group
is really an international organized crime enterprise whose illegal activities allegedly range
from bank fraud and identity theft to violent extortion and kidnapping.
In 2015, a federal investigation called Operation Power Outage resulted in the arrests
of 83 Armenian Power, known as AP, members on a variety of federal and state charges
that include racketeering, drug trafficking, smuggling cell phones into prisons, and theft
from the elderly. All told, the group allegedly swindled victims out of at least $10 million.
In one scheme, Armenian Power caused more than $2 million in losses when members
secretly installed “skimming” devices in cash register credit card swipe machines at Southern
California’s 99 Cents Only stores to steal customer account information. Then they used the
skimmed information to create counterfeit debit and credit cards to empty accounts (FBI 2017c).
• In 2015, a New Jersey Genovese family member was sentenced to 41 months in prison for
engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity by extorting Christmas-time tribute payments
from members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA). Stephen Depiro
was a 59-year-old Genovese family soldier who admitted to “predicate acts” involving
conspiracy to commit extortion and bookmaking.
Since 2005, Depiro managed the Genovese family’s control over the New Jersey
waterfront, including the nearly three-decades-long extortion of port workers in ILA Local
1, ILA Local 1235, and ILA Local 1478. Depiro was involved with two other Genovese
family associates: 79-year-old Albert Cernadas, former president of ILA Local 1235 and
former ILA executive vice president, and 64-year-old Nunzio LaGrasso, former vice presi-
dent of ILA Local 1478 and ILA representative. Both Cernadas and LaGrasso admitted
their involvement in the Genovese family, including conspiring to compel tribute payments
from ILA union members, who made the payments based on actual and threatened force,
violence, and fear.
4 Chapter 1 • Understanding Organized Crime

• In 2016, two Texas men were convicted along with a member and an associate of the
Lucchese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (LCN) for their roles in a racketeer-
ing conspiracy and related offenses. William Maxwell, 56 years old, of Houston was sen-
tenced to 20 years in prison along with his brother, John Maxwell, 63 years old, of Dallas,
who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Maxwells, along with Nicodemo S. Scarfo, 50 years old, of Galloway, New
Jersey, and Salvatore Pelullo, 48 years old, of Philadelphia, were convicted in July 2014 of
racketeering conspiracy and related offenses, including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail
fraud, bank fraud, extortion, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
Since 1989, Scarfo has been a member of the Lucchese family. As a member, he was
required to earn money and participate in the affairs of the Lucchese family. Pelullo was
an associate of the Lucchese family. In April 2007, Scarfo, Pelullo, and others conspired to
take control of FirstPlus Financial Group Inc. (FPFG), a publicly held company in Texas,
by using threats of economic harm to intimidate and remove FPFG’s management and
board of directors, and to replace them with people beholden to Scarfo and Pelullo, includ-
ing the Maxwell brothers. Once the takeover had occurred, FPFG’s new board of directors
named William Maxwell as “special counsel” to FPFG and John Maxwell as the compa-
ny’s CEO, positions that they used to funnel $12 million to themselves, Scarfo, and Pelullo
through fraudulent legal services and consulting agreements.
• In March 2013, a large Mid-Easterners retail theft ring was dismantled by law enforce-
ment. It involved members of a criminal group waltzing into major U.S. retail stores and
pharmacies and brazenly walking out with stolen products of all kinds, from medicine
and baby formula to health and beauty supplies. Those products were then repackaged
and sold at rock-bottom prices to various wholesalers, who in some cases sold them right
back to the companies they had been stolen from. This was considered a serious and so-
phisticated shoplifting operation because an estimated $10 million worth of products were
stolen every year from 2008 to 2012.
These cases illustrate that organized crime and its many enterprises are thriving today. Part
of the recent concern about organized crime is that it is becoming more and more transnational
and, as we will see in Chapter 8, in some cases it poses a global threat. This threat is espe-
cially evident in the breakdown of the former Soviet Union and the emerging role of opportunist
Russian Mafia members. Furthermore, the 1990s and the early twenty-first century witnessed
an increased sophistication in the crimes associated with the global drug trade, an increase in
computer-related crime, and the smuggling of radioactive nuclear material.
In addition to those created by the entertainment industry, sensational images portrayed by
the electronic and print media tend to present confusing views of organized crime. Consequently,
study of this all-important area of criminal justice is laden with misperceptions, distortions, and
outright inaccurate information. What is organized crime? How does it relate to other types of
crime? In an effort to present the true meaning of the term organized crime and clarify the orga-
nized crime phenomenon in this chapter, we begin the discussion of organized crime by defining
the term and presenting the various theories that are believed to represent contemporary orga-
nized crime systems. In subsequent chapters, we offer a more specific examination of various
aspects of the organized crime problem.
Despite a plethora of literature on organized crime, controversies regarding its definition, struc-
ture, functions, and how best to control it continue (Kerry 1986; Bynum 1987; Kelly 1987; Abadinsky
1994; Potter 1994). The fact that organized crime represents a serious social problem that continues to
survive despite aggressive efforts by law enforcement agencies to solve it is certain, however.

THE BOOK’S FOCUS

Many issues surround the understanding of organized crime, and many experts and scholars who
have studied the topic have interpreted its meaning and social significance differently. Although
we have endeavored to present these different views throughout the book, we have chosen to
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 A COUSIN OF THE STRAWBERRY

T HE strawberry is a member of the great Rose family. Among its

many cousins we find the blackberry and the raspberry.
The blackberry blossom (Fig. 245) also has five white leaves, and
a center made up of pistils and stamens.
When its white flower leaves fall, and its empty dust boxes wither,
we see the blackberry begin to take the place of the blossom, just as
we saw the strawberry take the place of the strawberry blossom (Fig.
246).
But now we are about to discover the way in which the blackberry
differs from the strawberry.
 Cannot some boy or girl tell me in what way they are different?
“One is black, and the other is red.”
But that is not the answer I want. Perhaps it is hardly likely that
any child could guess what I have in mind. Still a little exercise in
guessing is as good for your brains as gymnastics are good for your
bodies.

Fig. 245

Now I will tell you what this difference is; and I want you to try and
understand it clearly, so that you will be able to explain it to others,
for I doubt if the grown-up people could give any better answers than
you. I think your fathers and mothers will be both surprised and
pleased when you show them some summer day how truly different
are these two berries.
You remember that in the strawberry we saw plainly that it was the
flat flower cushion which swelled into the ripe strawberry,—the
cushion which was quite hidden by the many pistils; and though
these pistils were scattered thickly all over the ripe, red fruit, these
little pistils with their seedboxes were too small and dry to add flavor
or richness to the berry.
But if we watch the growth of this blackberry, we see that things
are different.
 Fig. 246

We see that the pistils of this fruit do not remain small and dry, as
with the strawberry. No, indeed! their little seedboxes grow bigger
and juicier every day, and they turn from green to red and from red to
black. They do not remain hard to the touch, but become so soft that
a slight pressure will bruise them and stain your fingers purple. And
we enjoy eating the full-grown blackberry (Fig. 249) because a
quantity of these juicy seedboxes are so packed upon the juicy
flower cushion that together they make a delicious mouthful (Figs.
247, 248).

Fig. 247 Fig. 248 Fig. 249

The flower cushion of the blackberry is long and narrow, not broad
and flat like that of the strawberry.
So do not forget that in the strawberry we enjoy eating the ripened
flower cushion, while in the blackberry the juicy seedboxes give to
the fruit more of its size and flavor than does the flower cushion.
 ANOTHER COUSIN

Fig. 250

Here we see a branch from the raspberry bush (Fig. 250). How is
the raspberry unlike both strawberry and blackberry? Let us place
side by side these three berries (Figs. 251, 252, 253).

Fig. 251 Fig. 252 Fig. 253

Once more we observe that the strawberry is the flat flower

cushion grown big and juicy.
Again we see that the seedboxes of the blackberry packed upon
the swollen flower cushion make up much of the fruit.
But in the raspberry we find that the red, ripe seedboxes alone
make the berry which is so good to eat.
 When we pick this raspberry, we find that the flower cushion
remains upon the plant, instead of coming off in our fingers and
helping to make a luscious morsel, as with the other two fruits (Figs.
254, 255).

Fig. 254

Fig. 255

I hope you will remember how these three berries differ one from
another.
Why the blossoms of these three plants grow into berries in three
different ways, we do not know; but our time has been well spent if
we remember that they do change in these three ways.
The more we see and question and learn, the more pleasure we
shall find in our own lives, and the better able we shall be to make
life pleasant for others.
 PEA BLOSSOMS AND PEAS

T HE Pea family is a large one, and it is worth our while to find out
what plan it uses in flower building.
Let us look at a pea blossom and see of what parts it is made up.
“There is the green cup, or calyx,” you say.
Yes, that is plain enough. It is cut up into five little leaves.
“And there is a circle of flower leaves, which makes the corolla.”
Let us pull apart both calyx and corolla, and place the separate
leaves as in the picture (Fig. 256).
The five smaller leaves, the ones marked ca, are the green of the
calyx.
 The five larger ones, marked co, belong to the corolla. These, you
notice, are not all alike. The upper one is much the largest.

Fig. 256

The two side ones are alike.

In the real flower the two lower ones are joined so as to form a
little pocket.
And what else do you find?
Now, if you do not pull apart the pea blossom, you find nothing
else. But you know that the seed-holding fruit is the object of the
flower’s life, and that so this flower is pretty sure to have somewhere
either a pistil with its seedbox, or stamens with their dust boxes, or
both; for without the seeds of the seedbox, and the pollen of the dust
boxes, no fruit can result.
So, knowing that the pea blossom cannot give birth to a pea pod
without stamens and pistil, let us have a search for these.
 Fig. 257

As I told you, the two lower leaves of the corolla are joined so as
to form a sort of pocket (Fig. 257). Now, surely, a pocket is meant to
hold something. So take a pin and slit open this pocket. As the two
sides spring apart, out flies some golden pollen, and we see that the
little pocket is far from empty. It holds ten stamens and one pistil.
If you look at these carefully (Fig. 256), you see that one stamen
stands alone, while the other nine have grown together, forming a
tube which is slit down one side. This tube clings to the lower part of
the pistil.
Now, if you pull this tube away, what do you see?
You see a little, green, oblong object, do you not (Fig. 258)?
And what is it? Do you not recognize it?

Fig. 258

Why, it is a baby pea pod. Within it lie the tiny green seeds (Fig.
259) which are only waiting for the fresh touch of life from a pollen
grain to grow bigger and bigger till they become the full-grown seeds
of the pea plant,—the peas that we find so good to eat when they
are cooked for dinner.

Fig. 259

So, after all, the building plan of the pea blossom is nothing but the
old-fashioned one which reads
1. Calyx.
2. Corolla.
3. Stamens.
4. Pistil.
Had I not told you to do so, I wonder if you would have been bright
enough to pull apart the little pocket and discover the stamens and
pistil.
What do you think about this?
 THE CLOVER’S TRICK

H ERE you see the bees buzzing about the pretty pink clover
heads,—the sweet-smelling clover that grows so thickly in the
fields of early summer.
Can you tell me what plan the clover uses in flower building?
You will not find this easy to do. Indeed, it is hardly possible, for
the clover plays you a trick which you will not be able to discover
without help.
You believe, do you not, that you are looking at a single flower
when you look at a clover head?
Well, you are doing nothing of the sort. You are looking at a great
many little clover flowers which are so closely packed that they make
the pink, sweet-scented ball which we have been taught to call the
clover blossom.
It is incorrect to speak of so many flowers as one; and whenever
we say, “This is a clover blossom,” really we ought to say, “These are
clover blossoms.” We might just as well take a lock of hair—a lock
made up of ever so many hairs—and say, “This is a hair.” Now, you
all know it would not be correct to do this, and no more is it correct to
call a bunch of clover blossoms “a blossom.” But as most people do
not understand this, undoubtedly the mistake will continue to be
made.
Fig. 260 shows you one little flower taken out of the ball-like clover
head.
Can you think of any good reason why so many of these little
flowers should be crowded together in a head?
What would happen if each little blossom grew quite alone?

Fig. 260

Why, it would look so small that the bee could hardly see it. And
sweetly though the whole clover head smells, the fragrance of a
single flower would be so slight that it would hardly serve as an
invitation to step in for refreshments.
So it would seem that the clover plant does wisely in making one
good-sized bunch out of many tiny flowers, for in this way the bees
are persuaded to carry their pollen from one blossom to another.
The moral of the clover story is this: Be very careful before you
insist that you hold in your hand or see in the picture only one flower.
 MORE TRICKS

C AN you think of any other flowers that deceive us as the clover

does?
Early in May we see in the woods a tree that is very beautiful. It is
covered with what seem to be white blossoms. This tree is the
flowering dogwood, and it tricks us somewhat in the same way as
does the clover; for in this picture (Fig. 261) you see what nearly
every one believes to be a single flower of the dogwood. And if some
time ago you had been asked to give the building plan of the
dogwood flower, you would have been pretty sure to say that the four
large white leaves formed its corolla.

Fig. 261

Here you would have been quite mistaken; for instead of one large
flower, the picture shows you a number of tiny blossoms, so closely
packed, and so surrounded by the four white leaves, that they look
like only one blossom.
Try to get a branch from the dogwood tree (only be sure to break it
off where it will not be missed), and pull apart what looks so much
like one large flower.
First pull off the four white leaves. Then you will have left a bunch
of tiny greenish blossoms. Look at one of these through a magnifying
glass. If eyes and glass are both good, you will see a very small
calyx, a corolla made up of four little flower leaves, four mites of
stamens, and a tiny pistil,—a perfect little flower where you never
would have guessed it.
But all by themselves they would never be noticed: so a number of
them club together, surrounding themselves with the showy leaves
which light up our spring woods.
In Fig. 262 you see the flower cluster of the hobblebush.
The hobblebush has still another way of attracting attention to its
blossoms. It surrounds a cluster of those flowers which have
stamens and pistils, and so are ready to do their proper work in the
world, with a few large blossoms which have neither stamens nor
pistils, but which are made up chiefly of a showy white corolla. These
striking blossoms serve to call attention to their smaller but more
useful sisters.

Fig. 262

Sometimes a whole plant family will play this trick of putting a

quantity of flowers in one bunch or cluster.
 Fig. 263

The wild carrot (Fig. 263) is one of our commonest wayside

weeds, a torment to the farmer, but a beautiful plant nevertheless.
Each one of its lace-like flower clusters is made up of many flowers,
—flowers which are too small to live alone, and so have decided to
keep house together.
You will notice that here, as with the hobblebush, the outer flowers
are large and more showy than the inner ones. They seem to feel
that with them rests the reputation of the family; that they must make
the most of themselves, and do all in their power to attract the bees
and butterflies.
The wild carrot belongs to the Parsley family. All the members of
this family collect a great many little flowers into one fairly large
cluster.
 AN OLD FRIEND

T HERE is one plant (Fig. 264) which you city children ought to
know almost as well as the country children. In the back yards
and in the little squares of grass which front the street, it sends up its
shining stars; and as for the parks, they look as if some generous
fairy had scattered gold coins all over their green lawns.

Fig. 264

Now, what is this flower which is not too shy to bring its brightness
and beauty into the very heart of the crowded city?
It is the dandelion, of course. You all know, or ought to know, this
plucky little plant, which holds up its smiling face wherever it gets a
chance.
And now, I am sure, you will be surprised to learn that this
dandelion, which you have known and played with all your lives, is
among those mischievous flowers which are laughing at you in their
sleeves, and that regularly it has played you its “April fool;” for, like
the dogwood and the clover, this so-called dandelion is not a single
flower.
No, what you call a dandelion is a bunch made up of a great many
tiny blossoms.
 If you pull to pieces a dandelion head, you will find a quantity of
little yellow straps. Each little strap is a perfect flower.
Now, if you had been asked for the building plan of the dandelion,
you would have looked for the calyx, and you would have thought
you had found it in the green cup which holds the yellow straps.
And when you were looking for the corolla, perhaps you would
have said, “Well, all these yellow things must be the flower leaves of
the corolla.”
But when you began your hunt for stamens and pistils, you would
have been badly puzzled; and no wonder, for these are hidden away
inside the yellow straps, the tiny flowers of the dandelion.
So remember that when you cannot find the stamens and pistils
within what you take to be the single flower, you will do well to stop
and ask yourself, “Can this be one of the plants which plays tricks,
and puts a lot of little flowers together in such a way as to make us
think that they are one big flower?”
THE LARGEST PLANT FAMILY IN THE WORLD

T HE dandelion belongs to the largest plant family in the world. All

the members of this family have the dandelion trick of bunching
together a quantity of little flowers. From this habit the family takes
its name. It is called the “Composite” family, because with it, that
which looks like one flower is composed of many flowers.
To this great family belong some of the flowers which you know
best; and if you are not to be fooled again and again, you must learn
to tell by its blossoms whether a plant is a member of the Composite
family. This will not be difficult if you will be patient, and pull to pieces
a few of the flower heads which I am going to describe, and examine
carefully the building plan used by the separate flowers.
Fig. 265 shows you the field daisy. This pretty flower is an old
friend; and many of you know that its beauty is no comfort to the
farmer, who finds it a sign of poor soil and a nuisance, and does his
best to get rid of it.
As you know, the central part of the daisy is bright yellow, and the
narrow leaves which stand out in a circle around its yellow center are
pure white.

Fig. 265

Now, if I had asked you some time ago for the building plan of the
daisy, I think you would have told me that the arrangement of little
green leaves underneath the flower head made up the calyx, and
naturally you would have believed the white leaves above to have
formed the corolla; and the chances are that the yellow center would
have seemed to be a quantity of stamens. As for the seed holders,
you might have said, “Oh, well! I suppose they are hidden away
somewhere among all these stamens.”
It would not have been at all strange or stupid if you had answered
my question in this way.
I know of no plant which dresses up its flowers more cleverly, and
cheats the public more successfully, than this innocent-looking daisy;
for not only does it deceive boys and girls, but many of the grown-up
people who love flowers, and who think they know something about
them, never guess how they have been fooled the daisy. Indeed,
some of them will hardly believe you when you tell them that when
they pick what they call a daisy, they pick not one, but a great many
flowers; and they are still more surprised when they learn that not
only the yellow center of the daisy is composed of a quantity of little
tube-shaped blossoms, but that what they take to be a circle of
narrow white flower leaves is really a circle of flowers, each white
strap being a separate blossom.

Fig. 266

I dare not try to tell you how many separate blossoms you would
find if you picked to pieces a daisy and counted all its flowers,—all
the yellow ones in the center, and all the white outside ones,—but
you would find a surprisingly large number.