ORGANIZED CRIME 101
What is organized crime?
A continuing criminal activity carried out by a structured group to gain money, power, influence, or control.
What term means obtaining money or property through threats or force?
Extortion.
What is a criminal enterprise?
An organized operation that generates money or power through illegal activity.
Name one reason organized crime can develop.
weak government, corruption, demand for illegal goods/services, economic opportunity, or lack of effective law enforcement.
What region is particularly important to our study of the early Mafia?
Sicily.
True or False: Any group of two or more people committing a crime is automatically organized crime.
False.
What is corruption?
The abuse of power or position for an improper or illegal benefit.
Name two illegal activities that can generate money for organized crime.
Examples include gambling, smuggling, extortion, bootlegging, trafficking, counterfeiting, or racketeering.
Why can illegal markets be profitable?
People may continue demanding goods or services even when they are illegal or restricted.
What was Prohibition?
The period in U.S. history when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating alcoholic beverages were prohibited under federal law.
Name three characteristics commonly associated with organized crime.
Any three of: structure, leadership, rules, secrecy, loyalty, profit, intimidation/violence, corruption, long-term operation.
What is a power vacuum?
A situation in which there is little or no effective authority or control.
Why might organized crime groups be compared to businesses?
They can have leadership, employees/members, specialized roles, revenue sources, territories, rules, and long-term goals.
How can weak government institutions create opportunities for organized crime?
Criminal groups may exploit the government's inability to enforce laws or provide protection.
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Who was Al Capone?
A famous Chicago organized-crime leader who became wealthy and powerful during Prohibition.
What makes a criminal organization different from someone committing a single crime?
It operates systematically over time and has organization, structure, and continuing criminal goals.
What is a protection racket?
A criminal scheme in which a group demands payment while claiming to provide protection, often using threats or intimidation.
What is smuggling?
Illegally transporting goods or people, particularly across borders or around government restrictions.
How can corruption help organized crime?
Criminal organizations can use bribery, threats, or influence to interfere with law enforcement or government institutions.
Why did Prohibition create opportunities for organized crime?
It created a large illegal market for alcohol while public demand remained high.
A criminal organization controls businesses, collects money, intimidates competitors, and has leaders and members with different responsibilities. What concept best describes this?
An organized criminal enterprise.
What term describes an ongoing criminal operation or scheme designed to generate money or power?
Racketeering.
A criminal organization earns money from several different illegal activities instead of relying on only one. Why could this make the organization more powerful?
Diversifying its criminal enterprises can increase revenue and make the organization less dependent on a single source of income.
Explain the connection between weak government, demand, money, and organized crime.
When government institutions are weak, people still demand certain goods or services, and criminal organizations can exploit that demand to make money and gain power.
What important lesson does the history of Prohibition teach us about organized crime?
Government restrictions can sometimes create or expand illegal markets when demand remains high, giving organized criminals opportunities to make money and gain power.