Organized Crime as most people associate it, made its appearance in the 1800’s with the Italian Mafia. It has now infatuated the world. American movies have glamorized the Mafioso life. With one of my favorite movies, The Godfather along with many others. The truth is, it is not a glamorous life at all. It is filled with ruthless violence. It began over the course of 3,000 years during numerous periods of invasion and exploitation by numerous conquering armies. (fbi.gov) Over time, the Sicilians began to rely on family ties for safety, protection, survival and justice. They began as an underground secret society of resistance fighters against invaders to exact vigilante justice against oppression. A member was known as a Man of Honor, because he protected his family and friends and kept silent even unto death. These secret societies eventually grew into the mafia. (fbi.gov) The Mafia is a form of organized crime, but it dose not define organized crime.
So what is organized crime? James O. Finckenauer in his book Mafia and organized Crime (2007) put it in these words “The defining characteristics are the ability to use, or a reputation for use of, violence or the threat of violence to facilitate criminal activities, and in certain instances to gain or maintain monopoly control of particular criminal markets. Also essential is the corruption of public officials to assure immunity from its operations, and/or protect its criminal enterprise from competition.”(pg.29)
Organized crime in this aspect has been around for far longer than the 1800’s. In the 1500’s there was the “golden age of piracy.” This form of organized crime included, hijacking, theft, black marketeering, corruption and political connections. (Mafia and organized crime pg.5) Organized crime continues to evolve with time. Prohibition gave birth to the organized crime syndicate in the United States. When the States approved the eighteenth amendment, banning the manufacture, sale, and...