Organized Crime in the United States and its impact to the US Criminal Justice System
The United States of America has its fair share of problems when it comes to maintaining national security and stability against international and domestic threats. The federal government has to contend to the threat of various actors wishing to destabilize the country either through fear or terror or through illicit activity that paralyzes the country. One of the most crucial threats the US government faces today are the transnational organized crime groups which endangers the country from within its borders and through the rest of the world. The problem with this threat is the fact most of these organize crime groups have immersed themselves within society and have considerable influence. With these organized crime groups having the capacity to paralyze the country’s economy, disrupt the country’s safety and corrupt the government, the country’s criminal justice system brought its efforts to investigate and control the growth of these groups firmly embedded in American society as they are a threat to national and public security.
Organized crime has long been a problem for the United States since the beginning of the 20th century. According to Abadinsky (2010), organized crime groups (or gangsters as they were first known) were first considered as “errand boys” for politicians and those from the higher classes before the time of the Prohibition Era in 1920. These politicians and higher classes saw these crime groups or gangsters as their subjects, protecting them from law enforcement and financing their actions. However, by the time of the Prohibition – which caused a nationwide ban on alcohol from 1920 to 1933 – a huge onset of criminal violence took place, causing the necessity for physical protection from rival groups and robbers. Gangs had greatly benefitted in the Prohibition as they raised enough money to sustain men with both money and guns and took on the distribution of prohibited alcohol throughout the country. Syndication also encouraged gang leaders to operate from various points and allow allied groups to discuss dispute settlement, succession, and division of profit and distribution problems in major syndicate gatherings around the country. Most of these syndicates composed Italian criminals (mostly immigrants) while some were Jews or Irish from ethnic syndicates. With the repeal of the Prohibition in 1933, organized crime groups felt mass decline as many lost the financial base they had in the Era, while others turned to legal business, especially the bootleggers who learned how to use legal institutions and services to finance their illegal alcohol trade. Those who remained in the organized crime syndicates were the target of various police raids throughout the country. Regardless of these attempts, some members of organized crime groups – especially those in the Eastern bloc – established other means to remain free or continue their business. Some factions helped create Las Vegas, while others ventured to other illegal activities that continued on to the present time such as racketeering, illegal gambling, trafficking and fraud . As of 2005, Project America (2008) cited that throughout the country, organized crime offenses have remained high. Laundering or racketeering from illegal activities cases have reached to almost 1,245 cases throughout the country, with money laundering cases reaching up to 1,100. Property related crimes – such as arson, robbery, vandalism, theft and larceny – have 693 reported cases, followed by drug use (175 cases), unlawful property (140 cases), public disorder (75 cases) and criminal violence (24 cases) .
The presence of these organized crime groups and syndicates was not missed by the US federal government, but have not known how deep these groups have penetrated American society. According to Ott (2012), the federal government was not able to recognize the threat these groups have, especially the Italian-American Mafia La Cosa Nostra. The LCN had corrupted many industries throughout the country and its expanse was so severe that they had immense control in each of their territories and the local economy. However, by 1951, the US legal system had revised its position over the presence of these groups as several hearings from both the Senate and Congress revealed the threat of organized crime in the country, identifying them as a threat to national and public security and must be controlled and their businesses dismantled. The first of these hearings was under Senator Estes Kefauver in 1951, who was then the head of the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. With the public now aware of the threats these organized crime groups have, the police had immediately mobilized raids to contain these groups. The most notable raid was the 1957 New York State Troopers raid against the mob leaders who met in Apalachin, New York. The numbers of leaders caught in the raid paved the way for the American criminal justice system to prove that organize crime remains as a threat and prompted the creation of the Organized Crime Strike Forces in 1961 through Attorney-General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1969, the reaffirmation of the organized crime threat was reaffirmed by the US Congress, declaring these crime groups and syndicates as “a new threat to the American economic system because of “its extensive infiltration of legitimate business” .
The first notable step conducted by the Congress to increase the capacity of the federal government in combatting and containing the threat of organized crime was the enactment of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. According to FInklea (2010), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 was the first of its kind to directly address organized crimes. It also provided the first definition of organized crime as seen by the American legal system, stressing that:
“Organized crime means the unlawful activities of the members of a highly organized, disciplined association engaged in supplying illegal goods and services, including, but not limited to, gambling, prostitution, loan-sharking, narcotics, labor racketeering, and other activities of members of organizations.”
Aside from providing the first definition of organized crime for the US, it had highlighted the government’s intent to contain and prosecute organized crime in the country. It had provided financial assistance to Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, which was tasked to contain organized crime and fund the troops. The Act also contained the Congress’s finding when it came to organized crimes in the various congressional meetings prior to the establishment of the Omnibus:
“organized criminals make extensive use of wire and oral communications in their criminal activities. The interception of such communications to obtain evidence of the commission of crimes or to prevent their commission is an indispensable aid to law enforcement and administration of justice.”
This finding, which is under Title III, also added that federal law enforcement agencies will now have the capacity to wiretap suspected criminals, especially that of organized crime, in order to allow law enforcement and policymakers to identify organized criminal activity and their involvement. Despite the fact the Omnibus provided the tools needed for the criminal justice system to apprehend and prosecute these groups, it remained unable to combat criminal organization directly.
Following the Omnibus was the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, which strengthened the federal government’s capacity to combat and prosecute criminal organizations which was not given under the Omnibus. The Special Grand Juries were given the capacity to investigate multi-jurisdictional organized crime and provide reports that indicate corruption within the government. The Act also contained provisions for witnesses of organized crime to be given immunity in exchange for their testimonies and given security. This provision provided the beginnings of the Witness Security Program, which provided protection and relocation of witnesses and their families which may be threatened by organized crime groups for their testimonies. The Act also contained the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Considered as the most important law of the country on organized crime, Mallory (2012) and Finklea (2010) stressed that RICO provided policy to prosecute anyone who has been included in criminal enterprises or racketeering activity within a 10 year period. There was a conspiracy built in the period to violate RICO, adding that conspiracy must be seen as an “agreement between two or more people to commit a criminal violation”.
The RICO was amended by the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984, which stressed that all funds obtained from racketeering are subjected to forfeiture. The Act created the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund for the Department of Treasury. In addition to RICO, the federal government also enacted the Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute and the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986. The CEE statute was included in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, directed to criminals who “occupies a position of organizer, supervisor, or any other position of management” within narcotics-related enterprises. The MLCA of 1986 included the use of illicit funds and investigate the source of these funds . MLCA also established criminal and civil penalties for all those discovered to be involved heavily with trafficking .
After 9/11, the threat of organized crime was rekindled with the onset of international crime groups which were connected with terrorists and other criminal organizations in the country. The US Department of Justice (2008) and the White House (2011) cited that these international organized crime are “those self-perpetuating associations of individuals who operate internationally for the purpose of obtaining power, influence, monetary and commercial gains through illegal means.” These groups pose eight specific threats to the country: have considerable influence in the energy and industry sectors of the economy, provide logistics to terrorists and foreign intelligence, smuggle and traffic people and contraband groups, exploit the financial system, use cyberspace to target Americans, manipulate the securities exchange system, corrupt officials and use violence in the country . The White House stressed that these transnational/international organized crime groups have immense threats to public safety, health, democracy and economic stability which is why the US legal system and government would prioritize the reduction of demand within the US for the usual commodities brought by these groups and secure the ratification of anti-organized crime protocols to disrupt their operations .
With organized crime now involving transnational activities, the government reported under the National Intelligence Estimate that the threat of organized crime has evolved from a public security concern (which endangers the people, business, and property) to a national security concern in 2010. According to Bjelopera and Finklea (2012), the DOJ described these national security threats under five categories:
- Penetrating or influencing state institutions, especially those with weak governance capacity
- Threatening the global economy by infiltrating financial and commercial markets and replace legal businesses with their own enterprises.
- Engage in cybercrime and fraudulent activities
- Partners with terrorist organizations and insurgents
- Expand drug trafficking with other criminal groups and local distributors.
Currently, according to Finklea (2010) the FBI indicated that three major criminal groups are now operating in the country: the La Cosa Nostra, Eurasian/Middle Eastern organized crime groups and the Asian and African criminal enterprises . For the American legal system – from the federal government to the law enforcement partners of the government, these groups must be targeted alongside international partners and strengthen the capacity of the country to counter these threats in a federal, state and local level . The 2011 Strategy by the White House added premises would empower the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and their related agencies. Several agencies have also been created with this threat such as the 2009 establishment of the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2), which would serve as the country’s hub for international organized crime and analyze the information of organized crime cases throughout the country. The El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) is also one of the new organizations created due to the rekindled threat of organized crimes, tasked to serve as an intelligence center to collect and disseminate information. Counterterrorism is also a part of EPIC’s responsibilities, operated by the DEA, the US Customs and Border Protection and other related agencies .
Aside from these agencies, federal capacity to eliminate and contain organized crime has provided at least 35% of the funding given to the FBI to improve their capacity to counter organized crime groups and counter terrorism. At least 720 agents have been utilized for organized crime since 9/11. The FBI also employs the help of other agencies to help conduct investigations for organized crime and create domestic policy directed to these crimes. Case openings have also been done since 2000 to investigate 263 organized crime investigations done by field agents around the country. Through the help of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, the US Attorney’s Office’s 21 agencies are involved to 300 cases directed to organized crime. The FBI also uses the Enterprise Theory of Investigation to determine a criminal organization or member’s involvement in the threat and if they are included in the premises of the RICO Act .
The history of organized crime in America is undeniable as it has grown throughout the decades and remains as a plague for the federal government. From errand boys to multi-transnational syndicates, organized crime groups and their activities have enabled them influential capabilities that threatens national and public security, including the stability of the entire country. While the American legal system was left unable to disrupt these groups upon the discovery of its power in the 1950s, the complex attachment of these groups to American society led the government to investigate the threat of these groups and mobilized to contain and dismantle the threats of these groups. With the onset of globalization and the growing influence of international organized crime groups in the country, it is safe to say that these policies and strategies of the government would ensure that justice will be served to these threats to security. Unless action is organized against these groups, these organized crime syndicates have the capacity to paralyze the United States and ensue violence in all levels.
References
Abadinsky, H. (2010). Organized crime. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Bjelopera, J., & Finklea, K. (2012). Organized Crime: An Evolving Challenge for U.S. Law Enforcement. Washington, D.C.: US Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Finklea, K. (2010). Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for Congress. Washington, D.C.: US Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Mallory, S. (2012). Understanding Organized Crime. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Ott, T. (2012, November). Responding to the Threat of International Organized Crime: A Primer on Programs, Profiles, and Practice Points`. Organize Crime, 60(6), 1-24.
Project America. (2008). Crime: Crime Rates: Organized Crime. Retrieved from Project America: http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=164
US Department of Justice. (2008). Overview of the Law Enforcement Strategy to Combat International Organized Crime. Washington, D.C.: US Department of Justice.
White House. (2011). Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime: Addressing Converging Threats to National Security. Washington, D.C.: White House.
