Organized Crime and It’s Underlying Affects
Organized crime is one of America’s most widely known, but less understood crimes. It is not a crime such as rape, robbery, murder, or other typical crimes. One of the most difficult characteristics of organized crime is that, it is not against any law to be a member of an organized crime association, which makes it easier for members to cover up crimes that are considered statutory offenses. As it seems, most members of organized crime organizations are of the same race, culture, and social class. The higher their social class, the higher their aspirations to achieve success. Within organized crime, the norms of society are no longer effective in regulating behavior, also known as the macro-theory of Anomie. This theory is displayed in what is known as, “Durkheim’s Conception of the Relationship Between Social Class and Anomie.”
LITERATURE REVIEW
Organized crime has been considered a major
part of the American society. It has become a fascination in popular culture and
a major concern for the criminal justice system. I researching the underworld of
organized crime, many resources revealed different points. The “Encyclopedia of
Organized Crime in the United States,” by Robert J, Kelly, as well as “The
International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Order,” by Alan
Axelrod, enlightens society of the many different faces many of organized crime.
Though it has always been fictionally thought as “Italian” oriented, many
cultures have organized crime associations. These cultures rang from the factual
Italian cultures, to African American, Chinese, Russian, white Anglo-Saxon,
Mexican, and Spanish cultures as well. Within these cultures, are mafia
families, which were led by some of America’s most infamous mafia leaders.
Leaders such as Leroy “Nicky” Barnes (Mr. Untouchable), Evsel Agron (Russian
Godfather), Joseph Bonanno (Joe Bananas), Alfonse Capone (Scarface), and Frank
Costello (Prime Minister of the Underworld), led many different criminal
businesses. These businesses consisted of labor racketeering, gambling, illegal
drinking establishments, prostitution, drug trafficking, loan sharking,
smuggling, and the involvement of governmental officials.
“An Introduction of Gangs,” by George W. Knox gives the
components of organized crime, and also introduces what is known as “The Ethnic
Succession Hypothesis.” Ethnic succession means that for ethnic cultures,
“making it in America” is not dissimilar from other patterns of how ambitious,
“rugged individualists” who reached economic success also had less than saintly
beginnings.
Many seem to think that gangs and organized crime is the same, when there is
actually a major difference. “Illicit Drugs and Organized Crime,” by Susan Flood
attempts to show the differences. The major differences between the two are
corruption and capitalization of legitimate business. Gangs generally consist of
young delinquents violently active on a temporary basis. Organized crime mainly
consists of groups of older and more established “urban gangsters.”
“The Politics of Corruption,” by John A. Gardiner, talks more
about governmental corruption as it relates to organized crime. This type of
corruption occurs more in social and political systems. One of the most
difficult aspects of organized crime is when governmental officials get
involved. The involvement includes payoffs from crime syndicates, and harassing
commercial gamblers but ignoring their friends.
Author James R. Richards, introduces the Organized Crime
Control Act (Title IX), which was the RICO statue, in his book “Transnational
Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering.” It involved both
civil and criminal forfeiture provisions. The Organized Criminal Control Act
provided protection from money laundering.
RESEARCH METHODS
The interpretation of organized crime can be mostly defined in realm of the anomie theory. It’s understood as an illegal means to achieve success that’s heavily viewed by our society. Theorist, George Vold expressed a close relationship between social class and the emergence of organized crime. He believed that there was a particular area in which an economic demand for material goods and services were not allowed under our legal and social codes, and organized crime was the business operating in this area. It too was also competitive and organized for control of a market. The careers of organized criminals are based on the myths of American stories. They generally send their children to private and prestigious institutions and push them towards legitimate and safe careers. This is fact can be viewed as a reflection of “Durkheim’s Conception of the Relationship Between Social Class and Anomie.” Below is an illustration of this perception.
Durkheim’s Conception of the Relationship Between Social Class and Anomie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aspirations
Anomie ▲
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opportunities
Lower Class Middle Class Upper Class
Durkheim believed that aspirations were
class related, with the upper classes having higher goals than those below them.
He also expressed that a successful social structure defined the limits for
desires, but when social organization weakens, greedy desires are given a free
rein to rule. This is a main characteristic of organized crime.
Works Cited
1. Abadinsky, Howard. (1990). Organized Crime. New York: Nelson Hall Inc.
2. Axlerod, Alan. (1997). The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and
Fraternal Orders (3rd edition). New York: New York Press.
3. Brown, Stephen, E. (2001). Criminology: Explaining Crime and Its Context (4th
edition), 482-485. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Company.
4. Flood, Susan. (1991). Illicit Drugs and Organized Crime: Issues for a Unified
Europe, 13-15. Chicago, Illinois: Office of Illinois at Chicago.
5. Gardiner, John, A. (1970). The Politics of Corruption: Organized Crime in an
American City. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
6. Jacobs, James, B. (1994) Busting the Mobb: United States v. Cosa Nostra. New
York: New York Press.
7. Kelly, Robert, J. (2000). Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United
States (4th edition). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
8. Knox, George, W. (1993). An Introduction to Gangs, 204. Chicago, Illinois:
Vande Vere Publishing Ltd.
9. Richards, James, R. (1999). Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime,
and Money Laundering, 131. Chicago, Illinois: CRC Press.
10. Vold, George, B. (2002). Theoretical Criminology, 222, 257. New York: Oxford
University Press, Inc.
Last updated: 11/10/03