Crime is a rather multifaceted ideology with definitions spanning from social theory to commerce and law1. Any crime can be defined from any of these tenets however it is upon the intelligentsia to have an open mind as to the form of crime. However there is general agreement as to the fact that crime is any act outlawed that could lead to a punishment as prescribed by such law. The idea of organized crime brings to the fold a new meaning to crime. Organized crime can be defined as crime perpetrated by any grouping that could be international, nationwide or local that is highly centralized with a central point of control that exist for the purpose of committing illegal activities2. Most organized crime groups exist for the sole purpose of financial gains by engaging in illegal activities such as racketeering. This research evaluates the origins of organized crime and the organization structure of organized crime syndicates. The paper will provide succinct analysis of why organized flourished early twentieth century with a particular analysis of the Italian Mafia. Of importance in this review is to understand why such syndicates thrive in the United States even to date.
Origins of organized crime and its relation with the community
In order to understand the existence of organized crime, it is therefore vital to review the origins of organized crime. The idea of organized crime is believed to have originated from the Italian island of Sicily3. An organized group referred to as the Mafia (Mafiosi in plural) is believed to have started in West Sicily near the capital Palermo. Records indicate that after the end of the Napoleonic rule in Sicily there was leadership vacuum that was created. By 1870, a clandestine influential organization had emerged in western Sicily that controlled much of the Island. 4Citizens were forced to pay taxes in the name of ‘protection fee’ to this group and the manner in which the money was remitted was quite orderly5. This was commonly referred to as the Black Hand.
Sicily’s population grew at tremendous rate forcing some Italians to ship to the United States to ease the population density. Some of the Mafia families were among those who shipped to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. In the United States, the Italian Mafias settled at New Orleans and immediately began their organized criminal activities6. The news of organized crime attracted the country’s attention by the killing of a senior police officer David Hennessy in October 1890. Hennessy was murdered in unclear circumstances and the method used was said to have been execution style. The outrage from the said murder led to the arrest of several Italian immigrants and who were convicted but later released in what was viewed has bribery and corruption. However, the community was further angered by this move as Italians were seen to manipulate government officials and thus the public decided to lynch all the suspects. In the end, nearly 11 suspects were lynched, other seven shot and two hanged . The public and the government soon understood the possibility that criminal groups exist in an organized manner and had a lot of influences. The proliferation of the Italian mafia led to a notable increase in the rate of crimes in the cities in which they have a profound population. According to Mastrobuoni, 7cities in which mafia operates witnessed more violent crimes and that was a direct correlation between violent crimes like murder, assault and robbery and the presence of mafia.
Through the Great Recession and the role of the Police
Italian Mafias still managed to build big businesses empires in the 1920s soon after the First World War ended. 8The introduction of Prohibition law under the Eighteen Amendment was the point where the mafia would increase their business. Bootlegging was by far a profitable activity as compared to any other business that the mafias were involved in .They managed to smuggle and sell alcohol across states and cities earning the syndicates huge amounts of revenue.
However, in 1929, the US economy faced one of the greatest economic recessions commonly referred to as the Great Recession9. In this recession, the economy faced deep inflation and collapse of huge businesses that provided income for many Americans. Bandiera 10argues that while other organizations were suffering huge losses, the Mafia was getting even stronger. This is due to the fact that, the desperation of many citizens who had lost their livelihood in the recession increased the influence of the Mafias. These unemployed citizens now turned to gambling and any other activities that would eventually provide them with a source of income. For this reason, brothels, illegal casinos and other illegal businesses flourished11. Many Americans were now working for the mafias even without their knowledge. The mafias managed to subdivide territories in order to avert conflict and were able to bribe law enforcement bodies such as the police to look the other way. Dash, asserts the police daprtment in the United States had a role to play in allowing such orgnized crime groups to thirve12. Law enforcement boidies seemd to enjoyed a coidail coexistence with the mafia community. In late 1940s, a mafia groups setting up a casino in Las Vegas Nevada ware allowed to shift off settlers on a small town13. The town was later allowed to run illegal casinos ans brothels under the pretection of the police.
Many cities in the United States were able to survive the Great depression due to the economic activities developed by illegal activities of the Mafias. For instance, Atlantic City was able to thrive from illegal gambling. Gamblers used several consumer products and also increased the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Another instance, perhaps the most successful, is the case of Galveston, Texas run by the Maceo Syndicate. The city grew to be a lavish resort city due to the large number of illegal casinos that flourished as law enforcement allowed them to conduct business14. Here unemployment was unheard of and the mafias frequently rewarded their employees with huge houses and good schools. Other cities such as Las Vegas emerged from the desert due to illegal businesses. All these were happening right under the watch law enforcement bodies however, the success reported seemed to have not damaged the reputation with the police. In the end, huge businesses were able to grow that could employ thousands of Americans to work through the great recession.
With the above assertions, there is evidence of both good and adverse impacts of the society; different scholars have provided an analysis on the impacts of organized crime of early 20th century. In the instance where mob members were lynched, the society seemed to have a bad view of organized crime. On the other hand, different writings have suggested that the growth of corporate American and other forms of business such as casinos were based on the successes of the illegal activities. However, Barkan & Bryjak argue that it is not prudent to always to assume the untenable nature of crime be it organized or not15. Of concern to theorists and experts, is the question has to how such crime syndicates have existed for so long. Some experts have asserted that the kind of organization structure employed by these crime syndicates is the reason behind their great success. This research will review the organization structure used by most Mafia groups.
Patron-Client Network Organization Structure
The most common mode of organization adopted by big crime syndicates such as the Sicilian Mafias is the Patron-Client Network16. In this kind of organization criminal groups operates in smaller units (client) that make up the bigger organization (patron)17. A common kind of distribution is using cells in which a region is subdivided into cells and these cells join up to form a bigger territorial unit18. Here hierarchies based on naturally forming structures such as families, clans or cultural traditions define the relation between the gang members. This kind of organization places importance on fraternal values and member of the gangs are to respect the context such hierarchies. Now, this kind of organization works best for the Mafias. This is so because, the nature of the Mafia is that, it is formed and identified by clans. Thus each clan organizes according to normal hierarchies as would exist in a family. In this case, there is a head of the family and then followed by close relatives in such an order.
Similarly, the patron-client organization model also values personalized activities. In this sense, family rivalries, territorial disputes and recruitment of members are emotive issues. Family rivalries are entrenched in the beliefs of the organization and it is prohibited to have association with rival camps.
Finally, in this kind organization there is strict manner in which orders and communication are passed. The organization structure of the organization s define to the member how, where and whom to report to. Decision making is also defined by a council that regularly meets in secret to map future operations. Promotion of members from one hierarchy to another is also structured. Any criminal activity is sanctioned by the ruling council or leader of the clan. Normally, the clan leaders has all the powers however, most mafia clans have a committee of some kind.
Bureaucratic organization
There exist criminal organizations that are not based on the purely ‘clan-style’ of leadership. In this kind of criminal organization different values are of concern and not family or places of origin. These criminal groups are composed of members from any association other than family. Similarly, just like the rest, these Mafiosi are concerned with criminal activities. These criminal groupings have complex and extremely rigid internal structures. These organizations are more concerned with the manner in which their operation succeed and sustain future incomes19.
These criminal organizations are based on meritocratic values that not cultural values as other gangs would prefer. Here, business is carried in an impersonal manner. Gang members operate without regard to the position or social status of the person, be it family or friend. They are commonly associated the saying “nothing personal, just business”20.
These criminal gangs therefore rely on extensive written rules and regulation that help guide gang members in relating to business partners. It also relies on Top-down communication model in which members must report all activity. However, Shanty argues that these kinds of gangs have a problem with loyalty and lack of endearing allegiance to the gang21. In case of death or injury internal power struggles normally put the existence of the gang in jeopardy.
This kind of organization has been associated with the Mafia syndicate that operated in Chicago in the late 1950s22. Here, after the death of the leader Al Capone, a massacre would soon erupt internally in the organization. There was a struggle by two leading possible successors of the leader but ended in a bloody battle. The two sides would later break the Al Capone organization creating some of the fiercest competition among Mafia within the United States23.
Common Criminal Activities and their role in the society
Organized crime exists simply due to incentives that come with involvement in wide schemes of financial crimes. The American Mafia is involved in several activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, dealing in arms and other forms of crimes are known to generate huge amounts of money. However, it is not enough to have money from such sources. Schneider & Peter, explain that the Mafias understand that using money directly from illegal business is not possible as such ‘dirty money’ is easily traceable by law enforcement bodies such as the police24.
Additionally, Mafias are also involved in a myriad of other activities. The advent of information technology and the use of the internet in conducting business have presented a target for organized crimes. Gangs are now moving towards cyber-crime by hacking networks and using financial information steal money. Gangs have also been blamed for other political occurrences such as the assassination of President Kennedy in Chicago. The government and other forms of leaderships have been found to be under influence of the organized crime syndicate. The society is now concerned with their personal information now held by such information systems. Organized crime groups, such as the mafia associations, have the powers to blackmail any persons entrusted with such information thus putting the lives of many in jeopardy. The community and the government are conscious of homicide cases still reigns in their operations and other crimes abound due to the existence of these gangs. Street gangs misdirect school-attending youth with the promise of easy money and as result they die at a very young age. Drugs are sold all-over the country due to smuggling and corruption from organized crime. Prisons have also been penetrated by this crime syndicates.
Conclusion
The success of the Italian mafia heralded the wider aspects of organized crime as we know to today. Other incoming immigrants noted the great success as portrayed by the Italians and copied their operations. Russian gangs, the Japanese Yakuza, Latin American Drug Cartels and The Chinese Triads in West Coast America now dominate the scene of nationalized drug syndicates. There also exist small criminal groups that operate from small locations and neighborhoods. These small gangs make use of young men and women without sufficient resources to pursue education and put such youth into gangs that control streets in order to sell drugs. These small gangs are the very violent and are responsible for violent confrontation in the streets. In the same breath, it is equally vital to appreciate the degrading nature that organized crime poses on to the society. The society suffers from the activities of crime syndicates and it is upon the authorities to understand these issues and act against organized criminal gangs. Providing enough education resources such as scholarships would assist in keeping the youth out of the streets. In general, the advantages the criminal gangs provided during the great recession do not justify their existence.
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