National Conference on Organized Crime - History of the Federal Strike Force Program

• NCJ Number: 81675
• Author(s): W S Lynch
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 0 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; National College of District Attorneys
• Publication Format: Film
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Videotape, 65 minutes, color, 1 inch - Part of the National Conference on Organized Crime held in Washington, DC on October 1-4, 1975.

Annotation

The chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Department of Justice reviews the history of the Federal Strike Force Program against organized crime.

Abstract

He surveys the legislative and Federal efforts taken since the 1950's to combat organized, crime a form of crime which developed during the Prohibition era. Senator Estes Kefauver convened a Senate committee in 1951 to investigate organized crime activities. The investigatory sessions received wide television coverage and much public attention. The committee concluded that mobsters of the 1920's had become syndicated businessmen with diverse interests, that the nationwide syndicate had international ramifications in relation to drug smuggling, and that central organization and control of these groups probably existed. In 1954, the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Justice Department was established, and the Federal Strike Force developed out of this section. Today, investigative and prosecutive pressure has reached the upper echelons of the organized crime structure, and many upper level organized crime figures have been convicted and sent to prison. For the final workshop, see NCJ 81691.