NCJ Number
95269
Date Published
1983
Length
75 pages
Annotation
This study of probate court records relating to organized crime figures suggests that both law enforcement and noncriminal justice agencies analyze organized crime's property interests to guide investigations, prosecutions, and surveillance.
Abstract
Very little is known about organized crime figures' access to monies and long-term control of funds. This study analyzed probate records and intelligence information from the criminal justice system for 15 individuals deceased at least 5 years and identified as having been members of organized crime families in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area. Reputed assets of these figures did not surface in their estates, and many died intestate. Some lower level figures, however, left substantial estates. The dramatic disparities between reputed assets and actual assets of organized crime figures at their deaths strongly suggest that estate probate laws and tax requirements are not taken seriously by organized crime figures and that government enforcement, audit, and investigatory mechanisms may be inadequate. Three matrixes provide a framework for analyzing organized crime property interests. The first presents legal constraints on ownership or participation in business operations and dangers that organized crime figures may court by overt ownership. The second delineates the many legal and contractual devices that organized crime can use to create or control property interests. The third shows how property interests may be created or extinguished in the context of the constraints outlined in the first two matrixes. Recommendations for law enforcement and future research are presented. The appendixes contain profiles of selected organized crime control figures' estates, a protocol for obtaining information on property interests, and footnotes.