Russian Organized Crime Essay

Russian Organized Crime Essay
Russian Organized Crime (ROC)
The term "Russian organized crime" (ROC) refers to criminal groups from the 15 republics which comprised the former Soviet Union. ROC has
existed for 20 years in the United States but during the last five years law enforcement authorities have observed a distinct increase in their criminal
activities. Criminals from the former Soviet Union have established their networks in major cities and are also emerging in some smaller cities. ROC
groups are involved in murder, money laundering, extortion, auto theft, weapons smuggling, narcotics trafficking, prostitution, counterfeiting currency,
and a multitude of complex fraud schemes.
ROC in the United States evolved in Brighton Beach, New York, which at one...show more content...
This group existed throughout the Soviet era and is a formidable threat there today.
Ivankov spent approximately ten years in a Russian prison before bribing his way out. Russian authorities speculated that Ivankov came to the United
States to organize the existing networks of Russian criminals operating within the United States, including California. He was arrested in June 1995 in
New York for attempting to extort $3.5 million from an investment firm operated by two Russian Г©migrГ©s. In January 1997, Ivankov was
sentenced to over nine years in prison for conspiracy to commit extortion.
Law enforcement authorities have identified varying levels of organization and sophistication among these criminal networks, ranging from
professional organizations with an identifiable structure to loosely aligned criminal networks and amateur criminals who periodically assist in
criminal activities. The professional groups generally have an established allegiance to a leader and follow a criminal code. Prior to passage of the
Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, the investigation and prosecution of organized criminal groups had not been conducted in a coordinated manner.
Congress passed RICO with the specific intent of combating the infiltration of organized crime into legitimate businesses. Providing a wide range of
criminal and civil sanctions to control organized criminal activities, prosecutors employ RICO to imprison heads of crime
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Definition Essay: What Is Organized Crime?
In this essay, it will first define what organised crime is, which will ultimately help shape the understanding of the offence. The essay will then begin
to focus on explaining the components of the offence. In order to address this, it will look in detail on a variety of cases, this will provide an ease of
understanding for showing why organised crime is so difficult to control.
Firstly, it is important to know there is no accepted definition of organised crime, as there are hundreds of academic definitions of organised crime to
choose from. However, Woodiwiss (2001) provides an insight of what defines organised crime, by stating 3 fundamental elements, it must be a
structured organisation which involves serious crimes for a material benefit....show more content...
It is becoming one of the biggest threats to global trade and piracy in Somalia and The Gulf of Aden is a perfect example of this. The Rise of
Piracy Worldwide Incidents (2015) reports over 246 attacks worldwide. This is down to the reward outweighing risk, as according to Pham (2010:
333) "the amounts which pirates can earn for the successful capture of a merchant vessel have spiralled upward.' Murphy (2007) lists a number of
conditions conducive to piracy these can include the promise of Reward and Conflict and disorder. As mentioned, much of the motivation for piracy
comes from over fishing and pollution in Somali waters. With the federal government having no authority to enforce territorial sea rights, over–fishing
has become infinite. Pirates have had so much success mainly because of their ability to effectively upgrade their technology with the use of
automatic weapons. The attempt to combat piracy consists of patrols in the area sending naval forces. However, the problem with maintaining piracy
is that this becomes expensive and therefore unable to look beyond the area of water to see any incoming pirates. By addressing these issues there is
hope in solving the crisis of high seas

The Pros And Cons Of Organized Crime
Organized crime was large–scale organization with highly systemic economic framework that operated in the illegal market with the purpose to make
profits as much as possible. By making the production of some products and services illegal, the entrance to the illegal market was restricted. Another
barrier for the entrance of the illegal market was the financial economics of scale.
The economic environment could be restructured if the economic condition that required a large–scale criminal organization was recognized, thus the
number of the organized crime would reduce. There was a possible that the organized crime would diminish if it became disorganized, while the
organized crime was more preferred because the society would gain more benefits by reducing the violence in industries. The ideal approaches to deal
with the organized crime were to reduce the profits in the illegal market and to restrain the abuse of monopoly power through regulations.
The organized crime was difficult to eliminate in a short run. The frequency of the criminal activities would be reduced to a large extent if the
criminals could not gain huge benefits from the illegal markets. Various strategies should be combined to deal with the organized crimes, and the
results of the different strategies should be examined to acquire the most optimal ones.
The first way to fight organized crime was to enforce the existing law in order to further combat crime, including the violation strategy, the attrition

Essay on Controlling Organized Crime
Controlling Organized Crime
CJA/393 Criminal Organizations
June 1, 2010
Controlling Organized Crime In this paper, I will identify the problems presented and the various relationships established by organized crime. I will
also describe the legal limitations associated with combating organized crime, and include a critique of major federal laws and strategies that support
this effort. Lastly, I will suggest a solution to controlorganized crime by discussing and evaluating the effectiveness of organized crime prosecutions.
The organized crime legal definition is defined as a widespread group of professional criminals, who rely on illegal activities as a way of life and
whose activities are coordinated and controlled...show more content...
This would be the time when the criminal characteristic comes into play, because the groups would provide things the neighborhood people would
have never seen or possessed. They provide jobs for people, which in most cases would be considered as illegal. The neighborhoods look forward to
the goods they make available, and the protection that is provided. With these provisions, the groups will maintain a high social status rate within the
neighborhoods. Once the groups have managed to implant themselves into the neighborhoods and surrounding communities, they then develop a
strong association with the local government. These groups think by getting in good with the city officials and local law enforcement, that it becomes
smooth sailing from then on. It was known to happen that way, until certain groups got greedy, which triggered and led to the largest FBI
investigation in history. The investigation was caused by illegal drugs, alcohol, gambling, and prostitution; which eventually caused the collapse of the
empirical crime families. Empirical theories in case of organized crime include political science, law enforcement and international relations.
Speculative theory includes the conspiracy approach o organized crime. In case of empirical theories organized crime is attempted to be resolved
through the efforts of politicians who are responsible for the welfare of

Organized Crime Essay
In our world, it's obvious that there are things we never really see. For instance, we don't know how lots of things are made, what people do behind
closed doors, and never really want to find out. However, there is something that happens right in front of our noses and we never know it. Organized
crime is the one thing that we don't know about that happens right out in the open. That pizza joint you go to that's been around for years, and then
burns down when it starts to go under; or those people that look all innocent and then go and do something a little suspicious. Those are both small
things that happen that involve organized crime. Organized crime is all around us and has a huge effect on how society runs and the way we live...show
more content...
So, the orders must be followed, especially when they come from your superiors, regardless of how far they are away. Not only are the organizations
huge, but they have some serious connections. Society today really has no clue just how many things they have their hands in. They profit when
businesses profit. They have the connections to find out just about anything about you that they want to. If they were to interview you to join one of
the gangs, it's clear that "they know much more than they can talk about, for now." (Grisham 9). Their connections go a long way in their operations.
When they need money, they just "rob the airport, the security guy was one of us" (Goodfellas). However, some of the mobsters have much better
connections than others. The higher up you are on the food chain, the more connections you have. However, when one tries and stretch their
connections, they "go off the books, and make them unknown to their superiors." (New York Times). This is how they crash and burn, and sometimes
get killed. No one likes to have their power tested, or to lose the connections that certain men lost out of their own personal greed. Oftentimes, gangs
use their connections for surveillance, not only to scope out new jobs or deals, but on their own men. They have special people to "up it to 24–hour

Essay On Organized Crime
Organized crime has existed since the creation of the world, but has evolved over time. Before the 1920s, most organized crime consisted of gambling
and prostitution. The passing of the 18th Amendment significantly changed organized crime for many years. It gave rise to bootlegging, gangsters,
gang wars, and other various crimes. Bootlegging became the main source of income for gangsters, helping them fund their other crimes. Overall, the
passing of the 18th Amendment caused organized crime to broaden and become a much larger industry. America had started to see much more crime
and violence early in the 1900s due to the large increase in immigration. Many Americans had believed the source of these crimes and other downfalls
of fellow Americans...show more content...
Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York and quit school in sixth grade to join a gang. After murdering two people in New York, he fled to Chicago,
(–) where he joined a gang run by James Colosimo. Johnny Torrio, a friend of Capone's who invited him to join the gang, had Colosimo murdered and
took his position of running the gang. Al Capone was then put in second command of the gang. Once Torrio was shot by a rival gang, Capone
became the leader of the gang. Capone quickly became the most feared crime boss in Chicago, organizing machine gun attacks and paying off
politicians and police officers. One of Capone's most well known attacks was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. On February 14, 1929, Al Capone
had organized a hit on a rival gang. Two of his gang members dressed up as police officers and pretended to arrest seven members of the other
gang. While the seven gang members had their hands raised, facing a wall, the police officer imposters open fired on them with machine guns.
Although the whole nation knew Capone was behind the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, he was never charged with the crime because there was a
lack of evidence against him. Later in his life, Capone was convicted of tax evasion. After being in prison for eleven years, Capone was released and
spent the rest of his life in Florida until he died in

White Collar And Organized Crime Essay
White Collar And Organized Crime
In the twentieth century, White Collar and Organized Crimes have attracted the attention of the U.S. Criminal Justice System due to the greater cost to
society than most normal street crime. Even with the new attention by the Criminal Justice System, both are still pretty unknown to the general public.
Although we know it occurs, due to the lack of coverage and information, society does not realize the extent of these crimes or the impact. White
Collar and Organized is generally crime committed by someone that is considered respectable and has a high social status. The crimes committed
usually consist of fraud, insider trading, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft or forgery. One...show more content...
They also increase the drug trafficking and pay off corrupt officials by extortion or intimidation which helps them continue their operations. Although
the FBI is unsure of how much impact there is, they estimate it to be around $1 trillion a year, globally.
The FBI has created an organized crime program that focuses on the crimes and criminal enterprises that are creating the greatest threat to America.
They have three units which are focused on La Cosa Nostra, Italian organized crime and racketeering. Also included are Middle Eastern, Asian and
African criminal enterprises. The framework of the program is based on pursuing targets that have ties to national and international criminal enterprises
and breaking them down; relying on flexibility to aid in pursuing organized crime by regions that are conducting racketeering activities. They have also
partnered with people globally to assist in information during investigations. Italy and Hungary are included in this partnership. By partnering with
other countries, tackling these groups of people becomes easier.
One of the largest Organized crime bust occurred in 2011. Close to 130 members of the New York CityMafia were arrested along with other East
Coast cities. The Bonnanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese were all part of the New York's five families. Members of each of the five
families were arrested to include some of the

Arguments Against Organized Crime
Organized crime is described as, "the unlawful activity of members of a highly organized association engaged in supplying illegal goods, and services,
including gambling, prostitution, loan–sharking, narcotics, and racketeering" (Schmalleger, 2012 P. 318). According to a 1976 federal task force on
organized crime, racketeering, vice operations, theft/fence rings, gangs, and terrorism are considered the five types of activity that qualify as organized
crime. Law enforcement agencies, had a few specialized weapons for the fight against organized crime. The first federal legislation aimed specifically
at curtailing activities. Hobbs Act, made it a violation of the federal law to engage in any criminal behavior that would interfere with commerce,

The Influence Of Organized Crime
In conclusion, organized crime and street gangs are unfavourable to society, although organize crime is more detrimental to society and the economy.
Organized crime is one of the main reasons why taxes keep rising. The cost for law enforcement and the judicial system is an expensive cost for the
government, they have no choice to raise taxes for the law–abiding citizens. As street gangs, are more violent and more aggressive, this group only
affects certain citizens, but not the entirety of society. Street gangs have minor involvement towards the economy, as organizedcrime influences the
economy in a tremendous manner. As criminals become more intelligent their strategies and tactics continue to be successful. With the popularity of
technology,

Organized Crime And Criminal Behavior
[Prior to taking this course I had a perspective of "organized crime" groups that did not view them in any other context other than a criminal enterprise
for ethnic groups. However, after several weeks of reading and research there is much more to the organizations. There are many groups that make up
our society, and are considered social institutions. Organizedcrime groups are just one more of those social institutions. In this paper we will review
the term social institution as it applies to organized crime, and reveal the theories and models which help explain organized crime and criminal
behavior. [The term social institution has many definitions, one definition is "Social Institutions are established sets of norms and subsystems that
support each society's survival" (Devore, 2016). In general, a social institution is a group of people that share similar ideas, characteristics, and
behaviors they organize to achieve a desired result. There are mainly five types of social institutions, they are; political, educational, economic,
religious, economic, and family (Ashbaugh, 2016). These groups can be represented by a formal group, such as, Democratic Party which share rules,
ideals, and goals for a political system. Additionally, the groups could be a church group with similar beliefs, morals, and spiritual ideals. It would
appear after review of these groups that they have in common a positive outcome for society, in contrast, organized crime seems to violate the nature

Characteristics Of Organized Crime
In the early 20th century, millions of Italians came to the United States as poor immigrants. Many of these immigrants found their new home in New
York City, New York. Thus began the formation of the renowned New York Mafia. Defining characteristics of the New York Mafia give insight into
the formation, intention, and conservation thereof. A couple of sociological theories can be used to describe the propagation of one of America's most
renowned organized crime syndicates.
With many organized crime syndicates, it can be difficult to discern one from another. The New YorkMafia has characteristics reflective of organized
crime in general, as well as characteristics that distinguish it from other syndicates. As far as characteristics...show more content...
Richard Scott describes this structure as "Natural System", where members share a common interest in the survival of the system but are not
necessarily guided by the organization's goals. "The organized crime unit is more than an instrument for attaining defined goals; it is fundamentally a
social group attempting to adapt and survive in a dangerous environment" (Abadinsky 2016:46). Each member of the Mafia, called a "Made Guy", is
independent in that he does not receive a salary from the group. Basically, each member is a franchise manager, who engages in criminal activity with
the support and protection of the Mafia.
When the Italians came to the United States in the late 1900's, the economy was molded by the likes of the Rockefellers, the Astors, and the
Vanderbilts. This economical formation created limited opportunities for the middle and, especially, the lower classes. The socioeconomic
disadvantage established upon the Italian immigrants leads many to seek success via illegal means. This criminal behavior was exacerbated by the
"[reproduction of] the kind of illegal groups they had belonged to in the old country" (Abadinsky 2016:43). The New York Mafia's formation was
likely twofold: illegal behavior was vital to any semblance of financial success for the Italian immigrants, and the immigrants were replicating the
same kind of criminal groups that they were familiar with back in Italy. The former can be tied to the Strain Theory. There is

Organized Crime
Introduction Organized crime can be a number of different types of things. According to Lyman & Potter, (2007), "The NCIS describes organized
crime as having four salient attributes: An organized crime group contains at least three people; The criminal activity the group engages in is
ongoing and indefinite in duration; The group is motivated by a desire for profit or power; and, The group commits serious criminal
offenses"(p.15). The group we chose is the American Mafia families of New York City. This mafia family has been the top of organized crimes in
New York City since 1930. There are five different families and they all have their own kind of power over the part of the city they live in. Organized
Crime Group Analysis...show more content...
The mafia still worked to earn money, but the focus wasn't geared entirely on what the next business venture would be. It was more of a power and
respect issue early on. The same still holds true, but years ago, it meant more to the group to prove a point and throw around their weight. The
groups didn't care if they were seen and known. In present day, it is more beneficial for the organized groups to run efficiently, but more so behind
closed doors. Some major interest that the American Mafia has been focused on is gambling, loan sharking with very high interest rates, prostitution,
and drug distribution. Labor racketeering was another popular criminal activity. Members of the groups worked their way into positions of power in a
labor union and then stole from the union's retirement and health funds. (law.jrank.org, 2010) Organized crime groups have become very business
savvy and managed to masks their illegal activities behind very legitimate business fronts. There have been all types of business ventures that were
financed with illegal monies from organized crime groups. In an article focusing on the Rochester Family of Rochester, New York, it detailed activities
of Angelo Morachino. Morachino ran a construction company that specialized in fraudulent contracts and corrupting labor officials. Rosario Chirico, a
member of the same mafia family, specialized in operating a stolen car ring and

Organized Crime
Donald Creesey was a pioneer in the study of organized crime. He was
also considered the first expert on the subject. However, his contributions to the
field are now in question. In the next two articles a battle of words is waged
between Joseph L. Albini, author of "Donald Cressey's Contributions to the
Study of Organized Crime An Evaluation", and Charles H. Rogovin along with
Frederick T. Martens, authors of "The Evil That Men Do", concerning Cressey's
actual accomplishments.
First of all, a brief introduction to each of the authors' credentials is
needed to add respectability to his opinion on what Cressey has done. Joseph L.
Albini has a doctorate in the field of...show more content...
Although the articles are in
direct contrast with one another, each authors' opinion must be considered
before refuting it.

The article composed by Albini is a critical evaluation of Donald Cressey's
work. Within the pages of the article are numerous reasons why Cressey was
wrong in the conclusions he arrived at and how he was careless in his research
to attain those conclusions. Throughout the article Albini makes allegations of
ignorance and utter disregard for information directed toward Cressey that would
refute the very conclusions Cressey has been heralded for reaching.
In contrast, Rogovin and Martens derived an article that supports the
same conclusions which Albini criticizes. They continually find and state
examples of how they feel Albini to be wrong and Cressey to be correct. They
have determined that Albini's article has no foundation and no merit, which leads
Into the effectiveness and correctness of Cressey.
To start off the criticisms by Albini of Cressey, Albini claims that Cressey
feared for his life. Albini attributes this fear to Cressey's "unquestioning and, in
many cases, uncritical acceptance of the government data." He, being Albini,
protests that Cressey warned him once of the dangers of pursuing his research
in the field of organized crime. He did not fault Cressey for this fear, but later on
in Albini's own

What Are At The Center Of Organized Crime
[Finally, the proof that financial gain and corruption are at the center of organized crime, is the amount of resources and money that has been leveled at
this problem without being able to impede the growth of the organizations. Hence, there have been many politicians proven to have relationships with
organized crime members. Those include Presidents John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Regan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush to
name a few (Lyman & Potter, 2011). In the private business sector, respected institutions such as Shearson/American Express, Merrill Lynch, the Miami
National Bank, Citibank, and others have participated in illicit business practices with organized crime members (Lyman & Potter, 2011). Some of the
other...show more content...
At that time there were too many police officers participating by accepting bribes. As the legislation changed the prosecution seemed to improve
for a short period. The RICO Act was the most successful at bringing down high ranking member of organized crime. However, as we can see that
has not been enough to combat the problem. In my opinion, legislation that prevents politicians from accepting "campaign donations". Could be the
start of making a more honest system, in addition I think that the lobbyists should not be allowed to contribute to campaigns either. That being said
another way to make a huge dent in the profit margin of the organized crime organizations would be to legalize certain drugs. If the government
was in control of production and distribution it would make it virtually unprofitable for the cartels and organized crime to profit. There are other
countries that have legalized drug use, and the money that is made by the people who want to use drugs could be used for treating the individuals
who develop a problem. The school of thought is if you take away the taboo it will not be as attractive to as many people. [In conclusion, as the
amount of organized crime grows and changes, it becomes more sophisticated. I don't believe there is ever a true end in sight to the problem. However,
the power

organized crime
Critique of Provisions for & Definitions of
"Organized Crime"
CARLO CAVALIERE
100817631
OCTOBER 1ST 2014 Defining organized crime has proven to be a general difficulty throughout history. The belief of this paper is that definition is
crucial, however, at the same time one should identify that within the scope of organized crime, definition has been quite subjective and controversial.
The reason why it is important is because the exact way in which organized crime is defined goes a significant distance in determining how legislation
and laws are constructed, how research studies are completed, how examinations and prosecutions are coordinated, and lastly, how interactive and
connected legal assistance...show more content...
The Criminal Code identifies that the disguised illegal proceeds are deemed money laundering, if, the criminal acts were committed within Canada.
Although other sections of the Criminal Code address importation of illegal monies, if done successfully ones cannot be successfully charged with
money laundering, proving the existence of a possible loophole within the definition. This section can always be challenged within section 7
principle of fundamental justice. This is because a major part of discovering money laundering is focused around business that have their privacy
comfort interrupted. Section 462.32(1) of the Criminal Code entitled searc and seizure of proceeds of crime deals with search warrants in regards to
locations where authorities believe that assets or monies of illegal activities are located. The major thing to note within this section is that the law has
supreme power over the citizens in which it governs, due to the fact that at any time, with sufficient evidence, whatever that may be, authorities can
suspend your rights as a citizen and search your property. The only section, beyond sections that deal with privacy within the Charter that can be
invoked, is that of section 8, which is illegal search and seizure. Essentially this means that there was a lack of evidence to attain a search warrant or the

Organize Crime Committed by a Group
Organized crimes can be defined and labeled as many forms of criminality, but in an overall perspective; organized crime is the action if illegal
activities that is committed by a criminal organization or group, typically working together to accomplish a certain or general goal. Organized crime
can also be associated with Racketeering, which means the association or involvement in any illegal actions that is criminal. Racketeering can be
displayed as having an illegal business, threat involving murder, extortion, kidnapping, bribery, counterfeiting, mail or wire fraud, white slave traffic,
drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal gambling information, embezzlement from pension and welfare funds, and or even obstruction of justice or
criminal investigation. Over the years nationally, the phenomenon of organizedcrime have gotten worse nationally. So in 2000 the United Nations
decided to broaden the definition to label the most serious committing crimes that are transnational in nature; nationwide to cover more unfamiliar
criminal groups such as mafia type of organizations. A transnational or international crime would be a crime that is committed in more than one state,
committed in one state but part of its planning or control takes place in another state, or a crime can be done in one state but involves a criminal group
that takes part in illegal activities in more than one state. Some examples of transnational offenses are insurance fraud, fraudulent

Essay about Organized Crime
Organized Crime
Organized crime has always been occupied with a negative label. Perhaps this is due to the constantly changing environment in America as well as the
social state of its homeland, Europe. Our society is convinced that the so–called Mafia is a family of pure criminals, pimps, and murderers. Whatever
the opinion, there is no doubt that the Mafia played a big part in the history of America and the way Americans view crime today. "The origins of the
secret society known as the Mafia are believed to be as old as the 9th century" (Mafia History). During the 9th century, the Mafia's main purpose was to
strengthen themselves against enemies, which invaded their homeland in Sicily. It was supposed to create a strong feeling of...show more content...
You come in on your feet and you go in a coffin. Then the new members were asked if they were capable of even killing their own blood family on
command" (Mafia Life). Along with the ceremony, the mobster was told of the rules he must abide by. The most important rule in organized
crime was the rule called the Omerta. " The Omerta is a code of silence. A vow never to reveal any Mafia secrets or member under threat of torture
or death" (Mafia History). Another rule was the obedience rule. "The obedience rule stated that the member must at all times be loyal to the boss
or Don. A third law of the Mafia was the assistance to any befriended Mafia faction, no questions asked. A few others included, Avenge any attack
on members of the family, because an attack on one was an attack on all, and the last rule was to avoid any and all contact with the authorities"
(Mafia History). There is still much we don?t know about the Mafia due to the fact that the very first rule when inducted is the Omerta. Along with
the many members involved with the Mafia, there were just as many ethnic families that existed if not more. "Mafia families were growing very large
in 1800?s" (Mafia History). The reason for the large swelling of crime in America was because of the vicious increase in foreign immigrants during
that time in America. "Three million Irish, four million Italians, and four million Jews immigrated to America. They immigrated for a

Argumentative Essay On Organized Crime
Have you realized your next door neighbor who has worked their whole life for almost no salary is now living strangely comfortably? Or have you
heard about sudden murders or robberies on the news? That's probably because our 18th Amendment of Prohibition and the new concept of organized
crime has arised. As we find out about this tactless business, we realize the awful effects it has been having on our society. What exactly is going on?
Has it happened to you? Have you seen unlawful activity?
As jobs are scarce and people realize what they would do to provide for themselves and their families, criminal activity in return for a plethora of
money seems like the most effective. This is what now is organized crime. We are now experiencing an epidemic of large, powerful groups with
organized an illegal business. In other words, this organized crime concept is committed in gangs, what we know as the Mafia for one. However, this
has become greatly participated in now since Prohibition became a law on January 20th of this year. People who we may know of our society has
realized the amount of money found in illegally selling alcohol behind our governments back. This Prohibition law has banned the manufacture, sale,
and distribution of alcoholic beverages. In other words, our Prohibition law was created in hopes of less crime and violence, but it really only
increased these rates and iis turning more and more people to becoming bootleggers. As this organized crime is dangerous, the

Organized crime is often described similarily by groups like government, the press and popular opinion. This similar definition is described through the
knowledge people have gained from pop–culture movies, television shows, magazines, novels and stories from newspaper articles. Often these
newspaper articles are written by authors who have little more knowledge on the structure of organized crime then what their favorite Sopranos episode
dictates. It is extremely rare in today's society that somone who has an opinion on organized crime (which is almost everyone) has gained this opinion
through first–hand experience (Finckenauer, p. 63). The problem with this narrow view of organized crime is that it fails to encompass the real...show
more content...
In the case of drug smuggling groups, their hierarchial structure is defined more as a structure of connected nodes (Cromwell, p. 255), with no real
chain of command or verticle levels of authority. This has been noted to give the drug smuggling groups independence allowing them to be extremely
flexible networks that can "change tactics quickly" and are "insulated from those earlier or later in the smuggling transaction chain." (Cromwell,
p.255) If a group of police officers attempted to stop this type of organized crime with tactics based on a model of verticle hierarchy, they would
undoubtably fail. This is but one example of organized crime being the opposite of it's literal definition, organized.
The Definition of organized crime is not wrong due to the definition of crime being misused, as crimes both mala in se (wrong in and of themselves)
and mala prohibita (wrong because they are prohibited) are well–defined, accepted and viewed by the greater population as being crimes. (Finckenauer,
p. 64). The wrongful understanding of organized crime therefore comes from the commonly shared misunderstanding that organized crime is just that,
organized. Our definition which pertains to this misunderstanding is most generally based off the model of the Italian Mafia or Medellin Cartels
(Peikoff, Module 3, Unit 1)(Cromwell, p.251). A hierarchy that has been glamourized and romantacized through movies like the Godfather

Russian Organized Crime Essay

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Russian Organized Crime Essay