Organized crime groups

The Japanese gangsters, the Yakuza, have been part of Japanese society since 17^th century. The Modern Yakuza operate mainly in Japan, the United States (mostly in Hawaii, California, and the West coast) and, to some extent, in Mexico. The Yakuza are not a secret society, like the Italian Mafia or the Chinese Triads, and their members are visible in society in Japan: since the Yakuza often cover most of their bodies with colorful tattoos, they are easy to recognize. The Yakuza are heavily involved in sex-related crime, including illegal pornography, prostitution and trafficking young women into Japan and then forcing them to work in the sex trade. They have traditional connections with gambling and sport; however, their main area of activity is extortion and racketeering. Through these activities they have developed links with Japanese business and have become a presence in the banking and the finance industries. Like the Italian Mafia, the Yakuza are organized in ‘family’ groups. The leader of a group is the ‘oyabun’ (or foster parent) and when he joins, each group member becomes his ‘kobun’ (or foster child). Loyalty and respect are important within the groups. If a kobun disobeys or offends his oyabun, he cuts off a part of his left little finger and gives to the oyabun as an apology. Another way of recognizing a Yakuza is by looking at his little finger. Today, there are estimated to be around 110,000 active Yakuza members in Japan alone. They have traditional links with the other Asian groups, such as the Triads, and are reported to be developing ties with the Mafia in New York and Vietnamese and Korean gangs in California.

The Italian Mafia began in the 19^th century and was originally from Sicily, but the problem of organized crime in Italy is something that affects the whole country. Today, people believe there are 4 or 5 main Mafia families who operate in Italy, each of which has several thousand members. Traditionally, the Mafia’s main activity has been extortion and running protection rackets. However, the modern Italian Mafia is involved in broader range of criminal activity, including drug-related crime, both drug smuggling and dealing, people trafficking, prostitution and the bribery of Italian politicians and judges. The Mafia invest the money that they make from these activities in legitimate business. It is estimated that the annual turnover of the Italian Mafia is around 10 billion Euros, or 10% of Italy’s gross national product. The Italian mafia is organized into families or clans, called ‘cosche’ in Italian, each with their own boss. Loyalty and respect are important in the family, but there has often been fighting and conflict between the different mafia families as they try to protect their business interests. The Italian Mafia has criminal links with groups across the world but operates mainly in Italy, the US and, to some extent, in Australia. These mafia groups were started by Italian immigrants and are now a completely separate organization from the European groups. The US Mafia is very powerful in New York and the Eastern states.

The Russian Mafia is one of the largest and fastest-growing organized crime groups in the world. It operates in all countries of the former Soviet Union, Central and Western Europe and the United States and is involved in a wide range of activities including the illegal trafficking of drugs, metals, weapons, nuclear materials, people - and even body organs – as well as highly sophisticated financial fraud and cyber-crime operations. They have also developed links with the majority of the other high-profile organized crime groups operating in the world. The Russian Mafia is a very highly sophisticated organization because many of the leaders are from the educated elite of the former Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union dissolved in the early 90s, some of the former Soviet government members began to engage in illegal activities, including bank fraud, in order to get control of formerly state-owned resources. Today Russian Mafia groups are present in most areas of the Russian economy and key sections of the government. They use intimidation and violence against bankers and businessmen that do not co-operate. The resulting level of fear and corruption is that it can be very difficult for law enforcers to operate. Although Russian Mafia groups are highly organized and efficient, there is little of the ‘family’ loyalty or respect which can be characteristic of, for example the Italian Mafia or the Japanese Yakuza. They are considered to be among the most unscrupulous and ruthless of modern criminal organizations.

Reviewing What You Learned

1. What is an organized crime?

2. What criminal activities are associated with organized crimes?

3. What notorious organized crime groups are there in the world?

4. What illegal services and goods are often provided by organized crime groups?

5. What do organized crime groups always seek out corrupt public officials in executive, law enforcement, and judicial roles for?

6. How do organized crime groups usually victimize individuals?

7. What are the effective ways to combat this type of crime?

PROJECT WORK

20th century American mobster Al Capone, a figure that is often associated with the topic of organized crime. Make up a presentation about him or any other people, connected with the topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/al-capone

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/organized_crime.aspx

*You may also write down an essay on the personology of organized crime offenders.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14