NCJ Number
141986
Date Published
1993
Length
198 pages
Annotation
This book analyzes organized crime by describing syndicate ventures along a continuum that includes strictly legal business activities, legal businesses which are conduits for illegal activities, and strictly illegal activities; enforcement of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is also discussed.
Abstract
Organized criminal groups engage in a wide variety of activities: supply goods and services to a significant part of the public (gambling, loansharking, narcotics and other contraband, prostitution, and pornography); and operate commonly accepted businesses as a means of conducting illegal activities (trade unions, real estate, restaurants, trucking, construction, and waste disposal). The RICO Act provides law enforcement with a means of investigating how an entire organized criminal group operates. RICO changed the focus from individual to group criminal activity by concentrating on patterns of criminal activity rather than on specific offenses. The key to prosecution under RICO involves proof of the existence of a criminal enterprise and conduct of the enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt. The authors examine in detail the operations of organized criminal groups and emphasize the importance of investigating and prosecuting white collar crime. They also consider such organized crime targets of law enforcement as the Mafia, labor unions, local criminal syndicates, and drug trafficking groups, and look at the motives and strategies of individuals and groups who pursue organized crime. Appendixes list indictments and civil complaints involving organized crime and individuals involved in supporting the book's research. Endnotes and tables