Saint Mary’s University_Criminology Review Center 1

Subject: Organized Crime Investigation

REVIEW NOTES IN
ORGANIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION
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ORGANIZED CRIME OR CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS –are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly
centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly
for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are politically motivated
(see Violent non-state actor (VNSA)). Gangs may become "disciplined" enough to be considered "organized". An
organized gang or criminal set can also be referred to as a mob.

Mafia – is a term used to describe a number of criminal organizations around the world. The first organization to
bear the label was the Sicilian Mafia based in Sicily, known to its members as Cosa Nostra. In the United States,
"the Mafia" generally refers to the Italian American Mafia. Other high level organized crime groups such as the
American prison gang the Mexican Mafia use the term "Mafia" to describe their group. Latin American drug
cartels are often considered Hispanic or Latino Mafia's. Other international organizations described as mafias
include the Russian Mafia, the Irish Mob, the Chinese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, the Neapolitan Camorra,
Calabrian'Ndrangheta, and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita. There are also a number of localized mafia
organizations around the world bearing no link to any specific ethnic background.

1. TYPICAL ACTIVITIES

1. Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smugglingof

contraband weapons or ammunition.
The 1997 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms provides a more refined and
precise definition, which has become internationally accepted. This distinguishes between small arms
(revolvers and self loading pistols, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles, and light machine
guns), which are weapons designed for personal use, and light weapons (heavy machine guns, hand-held
under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tanks guns, recoilless
rifles, portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of calibres less than 100 mm), which are
designed for use by several persons serving as a unit. Ammunition and explosives also form an integral part of
small arms and light weapons used in conflict.

2. Art theft – is usually for the purpose of resale or for ransom (sometimes called artnapping). Stolen art is
sometimes used by criminals to secure loans.

3. Assassination – means "to murder (a usually prominent person) by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for
political reasons." An additional definition is "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure,
usually for hire or for political reasons."

Assassinations may be prompted by religious, ideological, political, or militarymotives. Additionally,

assassins may be prompted by financial gain, revengefor grievances, a desire to acquire fame or notoriety
(that is, a psychological need to garner personal public recognition), a wish to form some kind of
"relationship" with the public figure, a wish or at least willingness to be killed or commit suicide in the attack.
The word assassin is derived from the word Hashshashin , also Hashishin, Hashashiyyin, or Assassins.

4. Bank fraud – is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a
financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial
institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense. While the specific elements of a particular
banking fraud law vary between jurisdictions, the term bank fraud applies to actions that employ a scheme or
artifice, as opposed to bank robbery or theft. For this reason, bank fraud is sometimes considered a white-
collar crime.

5. In motor vehicle theft, a chop shop is a location or business which disassembles stolen automobiles for the
purpose of selling them as parts. It may also be used to refer to a location or business that is involved with the
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selling of stolen orfraudulent goods in general, an example of the latter being a brokerage that sells non-
existent equities. Another common use refers to a business whose product, service, or equipment is of
questionable quality.
Stolen cars are sold in foreign countries for several reasons. In under-developed countries, there are
often fewer rules and less enforcement of laws pertaining to plates and title paperwork, so the car is less
likely to be noticed. Criminals are also hopeful that there is little incentive on the part of the victim to search in
other countries, since even if the car is found, it may cost more (in detective, legal, and transportation fees)
than the car is actually worth. This is especially true if the stolen car is of lesser value.

6. Cigarette smuggling – is the illicit transportation of cigarettes from an administrative division with low
taxation to a division with high taxation for sale and consumption. The practice, commonly used by Organized
crimesyndicates and rebel groups, is a form of tax evasion.

7. Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer
may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Net crime refers to criminal
exploitation of theInternet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health Issues
surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding cracking, copyright
infringement, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems
of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.
Internationally, both governmental and non-state actors engage in cybercrimes,
including espionage, financial theft, and other cross-border crimes. Activity crossing international borders and
involving the interests of at least one nationstate is sometimes referred to as cyber warfare. The international
legal system is attempting to hold actors accountable for their actions through the International Criminal
Court.

8. Contract killing – is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group
of people. It involves an illegal agreementbetween two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in
exchange forconsideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may be a single person, a group of
people, a company, or any other kind of organization. The hired party may also be one person, such as
a hitman, or a group of people, or an organization.

9. Copyright infringement – is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the
copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to
makederivative works.

10. Counterfeit – means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to
take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product. The word counterfeit frequently describes both
the forgeries of currency and documents, as well as the imitations of works
ofart, clothing, software, pharmaceuticals, watches, electronics and company logos and brands. In the case of
goods, it results in patent infringement or trademark infringement. Additionally, it is fairly common in big
cities for would-be criminals to sell counterfeit illegal drugs, such as a bag of pure baking soda sold
as cocaine or heroin, or a bag of oreganosold as marijuana. This takes advantage of the extremely high prices
of illicit drugs and the relatively low prices of common materials such as baking soda and oregano, as well as
taking advantage of the similarity in appearances that certain house-hold items share with certain illicit drugs.

11. Illegal drug trade – is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of
those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except
under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.

12. Extortion – (also called shakedown, outwresting, and exaction) is acriminal offence which occurs when a
person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person(s), entity, or institution,
throughcoercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically calledprotection. Extortion is
commonly practiced by organized crime groups. The actual obtainment of money or property is not required
to commit the offense. Making a threat of violence which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or

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property to halt future violence is sufficient to commit the offense. Exaction refers not only to extortion or the
unlawful demanding and obtaining of something through force,[1] but additionally, in its formal definition,
means the infliction of something such as pain and suffering or making somebody endure something
unpleasant.

13. Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery,
commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or a modern-day form of slavery.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (also
referred to as the Trafficking Protocol) was adopted by the United Nations in Palermo, Italy in 2000, and is an
international legal agreement attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime. The Trafficking Protocol is one of three Protocols adopted to supplement the Convention.

14. Identity theft – is a form of fraud or cheating of another person's identity in which someone pretends to be
someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and
other benefits in that person's name. The victim of identity theft (here meaning the person whose identity has
been assumed by the identity thief) can suffer adverse consequences if he or she is held accountable for the
perpetrator's actions. Organizations and individuals who are duped or defrauded by the identity thief can also
suffer adverse consequences and losses, and to that extent are also victims.

15. Gaming law – can be described as the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming
or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of
several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, constitutional law, administrative law, company
law, contract law, and in some jurisdictions,competition law.

16. Illegal immigration – is the migration of foreign citizens into a country in circumstances where such people do
not meet the legal requirements for immigrating in that country, that is, when they are violating the
immigration laws of that jurisdiction.
It is usually called "illegal immigration," however the term "irregular immigration" is now considered
the preferred terminology by international governmental and non-governmental organizations, such as
the United Nations agency theInternational Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) and others. "Unauthorized immigration" is another term which is occasionally used to refer
to this form of migration. The term "undocumented immigration" is used as well, though it is considered less
inclusive than "irregular immigration."

17. Money laundering – is disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The
methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and
governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount of money laundered, either worldwide or
within their national economy. In 1996 the International Monetary Fund estimated that two to five percent of
the worldwide global economy involved laundered money. However, the FATF, an intergovernmental body set
up to combat money laundering, admitted that "overall it is absolutely impossible to produce a reliable
estimate of the amount of money laundered and therefore the FATF does not publish any figures in this
regard." Academic commentators have likewise been unable to estimate the volume of money with any
degree of assurance.

18. People smuggling – (also called human smuggling) is defined as "the facilitation, transportation, attempted
transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or
more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent
documents". The term is understood as and often used interchangeably with migrant smuggling, which is
defined by theUnited Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime as "...the procurement, in
order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a
state party of which the person is not a national".

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19. Prostitution – is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment.
People who execute such activities are called prostitutes. Prostitution is one of the branches of the sex
industry. The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country, from being a punishable crime to a
regulated profession. Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to
be over $100 billion.

20. Organized retail crime refers to professional shoplifting, cargo theft, retail crime rings and other organized
crimeoccurring in retail environments. One person acting alone is not considered an example of organized
retail crime. TheFBI has estimated that the losses attributed to organized retail crime could reach as much as
$30 billion a year. These criminals move from store to store and even city to city. Working in teams, some
create distractions while others steal everything from infant formula to DVDs. Often, they are stocking up on
specified items at the request of the organized crime leader.

21. Racket – is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is
called racketeering.

Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from
businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes that the racketeers themselves instigate
if unpaid (see extortion). A second well known example is the numbers racket, a form of illegal lottery.

22. Rum-running – also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting ( smuggling) alcoholic
beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling is usually done to
circumvent taxation orprohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction.

The term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water;bootlegging is applied to smuggling
over land.

23. White-collar crime – has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of
respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (1939). Sutherland was a proponent
of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was learned from interpersonal interaction
with others. White-collar crime, therefore, overlaps with corporate crime because the opportunity
for fraud,bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, computer crime, copyright infringement, money
laundering, identity theft, and forgery are more available to white-collar employees.

ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES

A. THE AMERICAN MAFIA –

The American Mafia (or simply the Mafia in the United States), is anItalian-American criminal society. Much like
the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually
refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing" (or "this thing of ours"). The press has also
coined the name "National Crime Syndicate" to refer to the entirety of U.S. organized crime, including the Mafia.
The Mafia emerged in New York's Lower East Side and other areas of the East Coast of the United States during
the late 19th century following waves of Italian immigration, especially fromSicily. It has its roots in the Sicilian
Mafia, but is a separate organization in the United States. Neapolitan, Calabrian, and other Italian criminal groups
merged with the Sicilians to create the modern pan-Italian Mafia in North America. Today, the American Mafia
cooperates in various criminal activities with the Sicilian Mafia and other Italian organized crime groups, such
as Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, and Sacra Corona Unita.

b. B. ORGANISED CRIME IN AUSTRALIA

1. European Networks
1. The Carlton Crew (based in Melbourne)

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The Carlton Crew is an Italian-Australian criminal organisation from Melbourne, Victoria. It was formed in
the late 1970s by gangster Alphonse Gangitano and named after the Melbourne suburb in which it is based.
The organisation had a strong rivalry with the Honoured Society and the Calabrese Family, both of which were
Calabrian 'Ndrangheta groups also based in Melbourne. The Carlton Crew had a strong role in the infamous
Melbourne gangland killings.

2. The Honoured Society – was a Calabrian 'Ndrangheta criminal group that operated in Melbourne, Australia. In
1963, it was reportedly involved in the Victoria Market Murders. It was led by gangster Frank Benvenuto until
his slaying in 2000. Tony Romeo, another high ranking member, was shot in 2002.

3. Serbian Mafia – The first Serbian mafiosi came to Australia in the late 70's, organized in a Yugoslav clan, their
headquarters were some 15 kafanas in Sydney, Wollongong and Melbourne. In May 2007, Australian police
saw recruitment to organized crime motorcycle gangs from young Serbs.

4. Albanian Mafia – Godfather of an Albanian Mafia family 'Daut Kadriovski' gained attention of Australian
Authorities after creating a drug pipeline through Albanian and Croatian communities in Sydney and Brisbane.

c. C. TRIAD (UNDERGROUND SOCIETY)

Triad – Literally "Triad Society") is a term used to describe many branches of Chinese criminal organizations based
in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Macau, Taiwan, China, and also in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as
Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

d. D. ORGANIZED CRIME IN ITALY

Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, Italian organized crime and criminal organizations have
infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in Southern Italy, the most notorious of which being
the Sicilian Mafia, which would later expand into some foreign countries including the United States.

There are six known mafia organizations in Italy: Cosa

Nostra of Sicily,'Ndrangheta of Calabria and Camorra of Naples, are rather old: they started to develop between
1500 and 1800. Recently, two new organizations, Stidda and Sacra Corona Unita of Puglia have appeared.

Based primarily in Sicily, the Sicilian Mafia formed in the mid-19th century by clans which sprang out of groups of
bandits; these groups gained local power and influence.[citation needed] In Sicily, the word Mafia tends to mean
"manly" and a Mafioso considers himself a "Man of Honor." However, the organization is known as "Cosa Nostra"
-- Our Thing—or Our Affair. The Sicilian Mafia originally engaged in such lower-level activities as extortion, cattle
theft and, upon Sicily becoming part of a democratic Italy, election slugging in addition to other kinds of relatively
low-level theft and fraud.

e. E. YAKUZA

Yakuza – also known as gokudō, are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese
police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan, literally "violence group", while the yakuza call
themselves "ninkyō dantai", "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously known for their strict codes of
conduct and very organized nature. They are very prevalent in the Japanese media and operate internationally
with an estimated 102,400 members.

Yakuza groups:

1. Yamaguchi-gumi – Created in 1915, the Yamaguchi-gumi is the biggest yakuza family, accounting for 50% of
all yakuza in Japan, with more than 55,000 members divided into 850 clans.
2. Sumiyoshi-kai – The Sumiyoshi-rengo is the second largest yakuza family, with 20,000 members divided into
277 clans. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as it is sometimes called, is a confederation of smaller yakuza groups. Its
current oyabun is Shigeo Nishiguchi.
3. Inagawa-kai – The Inagawa-kaï is the third largest yakuza family in Japan, with roughly 15,000 members
divided into 313 clans. It is based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area and was one of the first yakuza families to
expand its operations to outside of Japan. Its current oyabun is Hideki Inagawa.
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f. THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE (SOUTHEAST ASIA)

The Golden Triangle – is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around 367,000
square miles (950,000 km2) that overlaps the mountains of four countries ofSoutheast
Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent andPakistan, it has been
one of the most extensive opium-producing areas of Asia and of the world since the 1920s. Most of the
world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world's
largest producer.[1]

The Golden Triangle also designates the confluence of the Ruak River and the Mekong river, since the term has
been appropriated by the Thai tourist industry to describe the nearby junction of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.

g.

h. THE GOLDEN CRESCENT

The Golden Crescent is the name given to one ofAsia's two principal areas of illicit opium production, located at
the crossroads of Central, South, andWestern Asia. This space overlaps three nations,Afghanistan, Iran,
and Pakistan, whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent, though only Afghanistan and Pakistan produce
opium, with Iran being a consumer and trans-shipment route for the smuggledopiates.

In 1991, Afghanistan became the world's primary opium producer, with a yield of 1,782 metric tons (U.S. State
Department estimates), surpassing Myanmar, formerly the world leader in opium production.

LIST OF OLD WEST GUNFIGHTERS

This is a list of known Old West gunfighters, referring to outlaws or lawmen, of the American frontier who gained
fame or notoriety during the American Wild West or Old West. The term gunslinger is a modern, 20th century
invention, often used in cinema or other media to refer to men in the American Old West who had gained a
reputation as being dangerous with a gun. A gunfighter may or may not be an outlaw or a lawman. An outlaw had
usually been convicted of a crime such as Black Bart, but may have only gained a reputation as operating outside
the law such as Ike Clanton. Some of those listed may have also served in law enforcement like Marshal Burt
Alvord who subsequently became an outlaw, and some outlaws like Johnny Ringo were deputized at one time or
another. Some of the gunfighters listed included professional scouts, businessmen, or even doctors.

The majority of outlaws in the Old West preyed on banks, trains, and stagecoaches. Some crimes were carried out
by Mexicans and Native Americans against white citizens who were targets of opportunity along the U.S.–Mexico
border, particularly in Texas, Arizona, and California. For example Pancho Villa was
a bandit from Durango, Mexico who also conducted cross-border raids into New Mexico and Texas. Some
individuals, like Jesse James, became outlaws after serving in the Civil War and others were simply men who took
advantage of the wildness and lawlessness of the frontier to enrich themselves at the expense of others. Some
outlaws migrated to the frontier to escape prosecution for crimes elsewhere.

Who is Al Capone?

Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947) was an American gangster who led
a Prohibition-era crime syndicate.The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was
dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the
early 1920s to 1931.

Born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian immigrants, Capone became involved with gang activity at a young age after
being expelled from school at age 14. In his early twenties, he moved to Chicago to take advantage of a new
opportunity to make money smuggling illegal alcoholic beverages into the city during Prohibition. He also engaged
in various other criminal activities, including bribery of government figures and prostitution. Despite his

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illegitimate occupation, Capone became a highly visible public figure. He made various charitable endeavors using
the money he made from his activities, and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood".

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