NCJ Number
226139
Date Published
2008
Length
428 pages
Annotation
In addressing the U.S. Government's response to organized crime, this book reviews the history of organized crime in America, analyzes the measures taken by the Federal Government in fighting organized crime, and concludes with a chapter that describe the status of international organized crime groups today.
Abstract
The four chapters of the book's first section briefly describe the history and evolution of organized crime in the United States, including the social, economic, and political factors that allowed organized crime to grow and thrive in its early years. The six chapters of the second major section describe and analyze the Federal Government's fight against organized crime families, showing what has been done over the years in an attempt to eliminate these families. One chapter chronicles that events that precipitated action by the Federal Government, particularly the Apalachin meeting in New York that revealed the collaborative feature of the organized crime network. Congressional hearings on organized crime and the resulting legislation are addressed, as is the presidential response to these crimes. Influential political actors are featured, as are crime-family members who provided key information on the activities of their families. The chapter on organized crime in other countries focuses on Asian crime groups, Colombian cartels, the Jamaican Posse, and the Russian Mafia. Chapter summaries, suggested readings, discussion questions, review questions, and notes