Organized Crime in the US: Immigrants, Structures and Money - Essay Sample

Introduction

Organized crimes in the United States of America is a controversial sectors with many individuals especially immigrants having dominion over them. According to Cornish and Clarke, organized crimes refers to centralized criminal institutions formulated with an intent of undertaking criminal activities for money (2012). The institutions are highly centralized with different goals and structure different depending with their choice of criminal undertakings. However, there is no an agreed upon definition of organized crimes. The official reports given by the security organs proves that the nature of organized crimes is changing due to the technological advancement.

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Explain broadly what official investigations into organized crime have told us. Then select one official investigation discussed in the book and explain what specifically it told us, and whether or not what was uncovered helped shape future investigations, and how.

Organized crimes have diversified since the 19th century. According to Lyman and Porter, the structure, nature, and the complexity of the criminal organizations continues to be a challenge to the local and federal authorities in the USA (1997). Investigations into organized crimes have identified several areas where the criminal enterprises in the United States of America are taking advantage of. The definition of criminal enterprises have been given by the FBI as individuals or corporations of a hierarchical nature established for illegitimate or illicit objective (Greenwood & Petersiua, 1975). The nature of the organized crime groups makes it impossible to solve crimes attributed to them. The organizations have existed for a long time since the 19th century when drug lords and mafias settled in North America. According to the FBI, the American borders have been penetrated by individuals with malicious intent of dealing with hard drugs such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine, among others. Eradicating the problems posed by the organized crime requires the security teams to be on high alert and sometimes have an inside man in the organizations.

Cartels and Mafias are highly connected individuals with financial and political power, which makes them impossible to pursue without hard evidence. The employees and members of the organized crime enterprises are loyal to their own course, and they would rather die than give any information regarding their organizations to the authorities. According to the FBI reports, investigations into organized crimes proves that the majority of individuals controlling the enterprises are not local United States of America Citizens. According to Allum and Siebert, most organized crime groups are transnational, meaning that they operate in more than one country (2003). Most organized crimes are headed by Italian mafias who are wealthy individuals with immense control over their geographical area of operations. Investigations into the organized groups have resulted in the successful arrest of very powerful mafias and cartels in the past.

Appalachian Case

The Appalachian case of organized crime arrest hit the headlines in 1957. The case has been explained in the organized crime book by Lyman and Porter (2019). In November 1957, 62 top leaders of mafia and crime syndicate in the United States of America were arrested by the federal agents (Daily News, 2015). They were holding their meeting in Appalachian when they were grabbed by state police and country cops. However, during the arrest, the police did not recover any weapon or hard evidence that could be used in their trials. The federal officers could not provide the proofs required to put the leaders behind the bar, which led to their release. However, the case proved organized crime leaders that their days are numbered, and they had to be careful in their operations.

The Appalachian case is an eye-opener to criminal investigators, federal and state police, on the dangers of making a move on the mafias without gathering enough evidence. Arresting leaders of organized criminal enterprises give the entire organization a hint that they are being watched. Therefore, normal operations may seize to for a while to ensure that the police officers do not get hold of any evidence. The case also proved that despite having Intel on the involvement of individuals in crime syndicates and organized crimes, without enough evidence, no action can be taken against them. The leaders may be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people, but there is a need to gather evidence before they are convicted.

Discuss the basic qualifications for membership in an organized crime group. Include whether or not you agree with the basic qualifications and why, and if you’d change or eliminate any of them, and why, if you were in charge of one.

Organized crime organizations are highly centralized without any political aspiration, limited membership, and a hierarchical leadership structure (Cornish & Clarke, 2002). The recruitment into the organized crimes targets individuals with massive greed for money and who need a shortcut in acquiring wealth. The individuals have to be highly motivated and ready to take risks due to the illegal nature of their activities. Most organized groups recruit ruthless individuals who have nothing to lose in case their missions are compromised. The individuals have to let go of any personal attachment and links with the outside world to ensure that they are untraceable. Therefore, being a loner and ruthless is one of the essential qualifications of membership in the organized crimes.

The leadership of the organized crime groups, as seen in many Television Series have absolute power and ability to command respect. Formulating a criminal organization requires smart individuals with a rare form of expertise to run smoothly. Most criminal enterprises are formulated for robbery, tax evasion, drug dealing, arms dealing, or hired assassins. The complexity of their formulation depends on the kind of activities that the organization undertakes. Leadership in criminal groups is often hereditary, with the firstborn sons taking charge after their parents (Cornish & Clarke, 2002).

Robbery and murder related organized crimes requires individuals with military training. The organizations often deal with violence-related crimes, and they have to ensure that the individuals undertaking the activities are qualified for the tasks. Being a member of an organized crime dealing with human violence-related crimes requires individuals who have tactical skills and are emotionally detached. Therefore, ensuring that the organization's smooth operations are maintained requires recruiting individuals who can withstand torture in case they are captured and can terminate their targets without a second thought.

Money laundering and tax evasion organized groups are more sophisticated in their structures due to their complexity. They require individuals with professional skills such as hacking, forensic accounting, computer experts, and a public figure with an unquestionable criminal record. The organizations' activities require smart people who can undertake their tasks without being detected by the authorities. They also need a public figure who will ensure that the business's real undertakings are shielded from legal investigations. Therefore the basic qualifications for membership in such organizations are the professional skills and loyalty. Most organized crime enterprises are formulated by rich people in the society who can bribe or control the local authorities, and therefore they are shielded from investigations (Kenney & Finckenauer, 1995).

I agree with the basic qualifications in most organized crime groups from the structure of the leadership to the professional's needs. Running an organized crime enterprise requires individuals who have met all the skills listed above. Loners often have nothing to lose, and therefore they are most likely reliable in dangerous undertakings. Professional qualifications are also essential in ensuring that the strategic planning and smooth running of the organization are adhered to. However, recruiting loners into organized crime groups pose a challenge to the leadership. A person with nothing to lose hard to control, and their loyalty is questionable. In case they are captured, they may not withstand torture because they have no one to protect. Therefore the only qualification that I may change if I am the leader of an organization is loner individuals.

In your opinion, explain whether or not you agree with the following statement: “Hollywood glamorizes organized crime to an extent that it attracts more young people and causes more violence that would exist without such focus.” Support your opinion with statistics, news stories, coverage of organized crime shows and movies, and other relevant facts/support. Also include your personal interest (or lack thereof) in organized crime and how Hollywood has or has not contributed to it.

Yes, I concur with the statement that Hollywood glamorizes crimes attracting more youths to join organized crimes regardless of the societal teachings. According to Posner, the Music Corporation of America was formulated in 1928 in Chicago with a Mafia being in charge (2016). The Music Corporation later advanced into a Holly wood movie corporation featuring several television shows and various nationwide artists. The glorification of crime in Hollywood television shows, despite the viewer's discretion and appropriate audience warnings in the television shows, has created a societal crisis with youths, especially in America joining organized crime groups. Most teens are enticed into joining the crime enterprises due to the protection that Mafia's receive from the society and the money leaped from the crime business.

Most Hollywood movies depict crime lords who walk away with major crimes, including deaths, and control local authorities. Hollywood cinemas are dominant among many youths, and therefore the behavior and characters of the youngsters are most likely to be influenced by what they view in the movies. The majority of the film funs can attribute their lifestyle issues on the settings and characters of their favorite television shows. Social media influence is pervasive among youth in the 21st century, where digitization has made everything possible.

The Hollywood television shows, such as the Los Angeles Crime family, which hit the headlines in the 20th century, continues to be top-rated organized crime television shows (Posner, 2016). The authorities' drug lords and Italian mafias in the Los Angeles crime family appears to be extremely rich and untouchable. Many youths may refer to the livelihood of these individuals and attempt to copy their livelihood as a way of acquiring wealth. The character traits of the crime lords and the mafias presented in the Hollywood cinemas seem to be glorifying crime and encouraging youths to join organized crime activities.

According to Polansky and Glantz, typical American teens spend 21 to 23 hours watching television shows every weak (2020). Therefore approximately one day every week is spent by the youths glued to the televisions. Based on the above statistics, by the time a person reaches 80 years, they would have spent at least 10 years of their time watching media programs. According to Reynolds and Strasburger, despite the high level of teenage viewers in the television shows, American media remains the most violent in the world (2010). Teenagers spend a better part of their life watching Hollywood cinemas revolving around drug lords, robbery, murder, prostitution, and other social evils to the...