The Politics of Criminal Organizations Essay

“It was during the troubled years of the 1860s that the Italian kingdom’s ruling class ruling class first heard talk of the mafia in Siciliy” (Dickie, s38, 2004). In this quote we find a potential reason to why the idea that the mafia was born during the making of the modern Italian state has become leading with scholars. Most likely this event shaped the mafia into what it has become because of the political influence that the Italian state bestowed upon Sicily. However, it is not unlikely that the mafia wasn’t already existing in Sicily during this time, and most definitely that criminal gangs of Sicily before this time had traits that were transferred into the mafia as it evolved under the new Italian kingdom. While the mafia is largely

3. Characterize the initiation ritual. How do you think it compares to the “real” ritual – if such a ritual exists?

The Mafia is involved with more crime then one can think. Back when there was prohibition who do you think was the booze smuggler, the Mafia. this is just a few crimes the Mafia commits. Mafia hitman Salvatore ``Sammy the Bull'' Gravano pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he helped operate and finance a multimillion dollar, statewide criminal drug deal in Arizona. A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted 19 individuals, including six with suspected ties to organized crime, on charges of stock fraud and money laundering. Sex probably rates higher than whiskey in desirability, and so organized crime moved into illegal prostitution. these are just a spoonful or what the Mafia does. Racketeering; fraud; car theft; robbery; armed assault; drug dealing; trafficking in weapons and radioactive material; trafficking in human beings and exploitation through prostitution; alien smuggling; smuggling of precious and antique goods; extortion for protection money; gambling; embezzling from industries and financial institutions up to infiltration and control of private and commercial banks; controlling of black markets. The Mafia is dangerous group of people and they should be put in jail.

In our reading of Illicit by Naim (2005), he suggests that the asymmetrical relationship between the government and transnational crime groups create a struggle for the government to respond to these transnational crimes at a decent rate (Naim,2005). On the other side our reading in McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Glenny (2009), suggest otherwise. Glenny (2009) suggests that of a relationship between transnational crime groups, the public, the government and this is a huge aspect to how the government responds to these factors. Both perspectives contain their strengths and weaknesses, however the dependency theory by Glenny has more valid points than that of the asymmetrical theory by Naim.

There was an uneasy cooperation between the two who existed in a mutually beneficial relationship; as long as the gangsters continued to help politicians with their elections, the politicians would help the gangsters with their legal issues (Blumenthal 96). This allowed both sides to become more powerful through the power of money’s persuasion. A relationship such as this, it created an environment where both parties could advance up the social ladder. Without cops always raiding criminal areas, the bootleggers were free to continue business as usual and with the campaign promotions coming from each crime boss family and network, the politicians were able to rise to the top in their own respect. And this combined with the laxity of law enforcement on gangs, encouraged crime bosses in their belief that anyone can be bought, especially the rich and powerful (Behr 241).

Political crime is very different from other types of criminal activity, such as street or financial crime. It is hard to give a specific definition of political crime, and it is even more difficult to explain why it occurs. Many have tried to apply various criminological theories to the issue, but none have been able to fully explain why political crime occurs. There are also many different subsets of political crime that exist within two typologies, state and oppositional crimes. Overall, political crime is a complex issue that encompasses many different types of criminal activity, but only when they are committed by or against the state, with an ideological motivation. This paper will describe and analyze the existing definitions of political crime, explain the typologies of political crime that exist, and finally, it will describe the three types of political crime that I find most interesting.

It is obvious that police officers are using their jobs as law enforcers to obtain illegal items and are shamefully betraying their police departments. The policemen who were involved in this drug smuggle were veterans. When people think of veterans, whether it be a veteran of war or a veteran of a police department, we think of someone who has devoted many years, served and been loyal to the service. People have admiration for veterans and recognize them for being committed to the service as well as being faithful to every year they have been involved in it. Now the four veteran police officers from Chicago will be spending time in prison instead of adding more years to the service of policing. Those years that the veteran police officers were dedicated to the policing is now history, they could have helped lower crime rates in Chicago, but instead they are facing prison time.

ideas on what exactly crime is, how it is represented by the media, and how

Can you imagine living in a world where an organized group of criminals are able to engage legally in our government? A world where hyperinflation is the norm, restrictions and laws do not exist and lastly, the mafia is a legitimate business. In Snowcrash, by Neal Stephenson a future is created where the collapse of the government has changed the way in which we live. How did the future get this way? The private sectors have been dominated by the mafia leaving the government as a shadow. The shift of a new face running our government made it possible to create this future. It’s 2016, and Hillary Clinton has become America’s first women as

Imagine living in a world where crime ruled. A world where gangsters were more powerful than politicians, owned the police, and ran the city in whatever way they felt. They robbed whom they wanted and killed when they didn't get their way. Now stop imagining and realize that this happened here in the United States of America in the 1920's. It was run by an organization made up mainly of Italians called the Mafia.

Social Institutions are groups of people who have come together for a common purpose. These institutions have formed a common bond. They have done research and have concluded by joining they can achieve more. Some of the social institutions in the local community are the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Cub Scouts, the Girl Scouts. There are generally five different types of social institutions. They are political, educational, religious, economic, and family. Each is filled with members of a common goal. Organized crime organizations have adopted the philosophy of social institutions. They

Deviance is a violation of social norms, behavioral codes or prescriptions, which guide people into actions and self-presentations conforming to social acceptability. There are many forms of deviance. Among the many forms of deviance, organized crime stands out in many aspects of society. Organized crime has been around for many years in America and for centuries in Europe. It is distinguished by its durability over time, expansive interests, hierarchical structure, buildup of profit, investment of profit, access to political protection, and the use of violence as an end to particular means. Organized crime is able to thrive throughout the world by supplying, or appearing to supply, services that the lawful economy is unable to

The most problematic crimes that are polluting Italy’s criminal justice system is corruption, organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and illegal immigration. Corruption creates a fertile ground for organized criminal activities, even terrorism, as criminals are aided in their illegal activities by the complicity of corrupt public officials. If left unchecked, corruption will undermine political, social and economic stability, ultimately threatening the safety and security of society as a whole. Political parties are considered the most corrupted institution in Italy, followed by parliament and legislature and police. According to Transparency International (2015) survey on global corruption, 64% of people feel that their

Political corruption is parasitic; it finds a host, and can almost always find a way to survive. Eventually, people grow dependent on this corruption as a means for income, thus forming a symbiosis between the people who benefit from it, and the elites that regulate it. People sometimes ignore the corruption surrounding them, feeling that as long as the politicians do their jobs well, their ‘extra salary’ can’t hurt (BNS).

Corrupt practices of this kind can, however, also be 'from above', when the state itself is the biggest mafia of them all. This is for instance when the state, and in particular its security services and paramilitary groups, extorts money from individuals, groups and businesses......"