Understanding Transnational Organized Crime

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The expansion and sophistication of transnational crime represents one of the most dangerous threats we confront in the next millennium.

- Rand Beers (May 4, 2011)

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the Chapter, the reader should be able to:

discuss the various definitions of the term organized crime;

describe the nature of an organized crime group;

identify and explain the different structures of organized crime;

discuss the different theories on organized crime;

diagram and contrast the different models of organized crime;

 discuss the bureaucratic/corporate structural model of organized crime;

discuss the patrimonial/patron-client network structural model of organized crime;

compare traditional from non- traditional organized crime;

name and explain the attributes identified by law enforcement agencies and researchers as indicative of organized crime;

identify the genres of an organized crime;

analyze the conceptual history of organized crime; and

list down and discuss the types of transnational crime.

INTRODUCTION

Globalization is viewed as ineluctable, all pervasive and transforming, in a sense, there seems to be an expanding role of the "information superhighway" (Internet, cellular phone service, and satellite based media), giant multi- national corporations and international organizations to the common man (Magstadt, 2005). Improvements in transportation, computer and communications technology have made the world today much smaller than it was 50 years ago. Intercontinental travel which used to require days or weeks now takes place in hours. The formerly daunting notion of conversing or conducting business with someone halfway around the globe is now a mouse-click or a telephone call away. This globalization has created a world virtually devoid of national borders. Unfortunately, these changes have also made it easier for members of highly sophisticated and organized criminal syndicates to pursue a complex web of lucrative legal and illegal activities worldwide (Abadinsky, 2009; Hagan; 2010).

The annual turnover of transnational organized criminal activities such as drug trafficking, counterfeiting, illegal arms trade and the smuggling of immigrants are estimated at around $870 billion (UNODC, 2012)

Organized crime threatens various aspects of national security, law and order, the integrity of government programs and institutions, and the economy (UNDOC, 2012). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Organized Crime Task Force (2008), organized crime groups have been a persistent problem in the United States, Italy, France, Japan and other developed countries (FBI, 2008; UNODC, 2010; Albanese, 2002).

Like any other nation, ours is not spared from this problem. Gone are the days that crime and law enforcement are domestic issues. Today, crime has crossed borders, it has a wider scope that has encroached the safety and security of every nation that it brushes elbows with. The international community has expressed its deepest resent and apprehension towards transnational organized crime. In fact, the United Nations has passed resolutions, agreements, treaties and other legal instruments to curb transnational organized crime (UNODC, 2012). The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), International Criminal Police Organization and other international organizations have a common stand to control, suppress, prevent and eradicate transnational organized crime that has caused incalculable damage to the different nations (Abadinksy, 2009; Critchley, D., 2007; Alabanese, 2008).

Transnational organized crime is defined by the United Nations as an offense that is:

committed in more than one State;

committed in one State but a substantial part of its preparation, planning, direction or control takes place in another State;

committed in one State but involves an organized criminal group that engages in criminal activities in more than one State; or

committed in one State but has substantial effects in another State. (United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Nov. 15, 2000).

The definition as used above may include offenses such as: trafficking in persons, illicit trade of firearms and explosives, Intellectual property theft, sea piracy, cultural property theft, money laundering, economic crime, cyber crime, environmental crime, drug trafficking, corruption, and terrorism. Of the enumerated offenses, Ralf Emmers (2003) stress that drug trafficking is considered the most widespread and serious.

The Special Envoy on Transnational Crime in the Philippines offers this definition. Transnational crime refers to certain criminal phenomena transcending international borders, transgressing the laws of several states, or having an impact on another country. It covers offenses whose inception, prevention and/or direct or indirect effects involve more than one country. In other words, it is an offense that has an international dimension and involves crossing of at least one border before, during or after the fact (OSETC, 2012).

Bossard (1990) defines transnational crimes as an offense which implies crossing at least one border before, during or after the fact. He adds, that the spread of transnational crimes is due to lack of efficient law enforcement regimes in weak and politically unstable governments.

In our case, we have become a patent source of exploited workers, which are often victims of human trafficking, prostitution, pornography, child labor, and abuse. The Filipino drug mules have caused controversies in China, Japan and Middle East prompting the government to impose stricter rules for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s). Expensive cars, motorcycles and sports utility vehicles have reached our country by passing the Customs Bureau and evading taxes, worse the vehicles are used in one of the poorest provinces in our, causing the people to question polices of the Customs Bureau.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says that every six hours a pirate seizes a Filipino seaman (Landigin, R., 2008). The Philippines is among the world’s top sources of shipping crews, accounting for about a fifth of the 1.2 million international ship workers. In 2007, a total of 266,553 Filipinos left home to work in international passenger ships and cargo vessels under employment contracts lasting about a year (Landigin, R., 2008). This projects a serious problem of piracy in the high seas.

FBI (2008) adds that global organized crime reaps illegal profits of around $1 trillion per year. Organized crime has been a problem for centuries. It is comprised of numerous ethnic and transnational groups, operating together or apart, and in conjunction with legitimate business and political entities. There is very little literature about organized crime in our country and is little understood by some of our law enforcers. Though many cynics will claim that this is not a pressing issue, which is an understatement, nevertheless it affects us.

NEED FOR AN DEEPER UNDERSTANDING

As earlier pointed out, the modern day law enforcer and criminologist are embarking on a journey towards the cyber age, an age where crimes have used another medium, the cyber space. Our country now faces different cyber crimes and issues, as reflected by the media sex offenders use modern technology today to harass and exploit their unnoticing victims. Thieves, scammers, and criminals of all sorts have used the computer for their own end such that we hear terms today that we were not able to hear in last ten years such as phising, denial of service attack, hacking, cracking, cyber terrorism and credit card fraud. Intellectual properties are also attacked today by what they call as modern day pirates; songs, movies, documentaries and even literary works are plagiarized if not infringed. These are all modern crimes covered by the subject Organized Crime Investigation.

In the new curriculum for Criminology Education under Commission on Higher Education Memorandum No, 25, series of 2005, the subject Organized Crime was introduced formally into the criminology profession. It is in fact a recent development in the criminology profession, which intends to create an understanding on the nature, extent, and manner to combat organized crime and also to introduce new law enforcement concepts which are brought about by globalization. To understand organized crime (OC) it must first be defined.

In defining organized crime, no solitary description is available however; there are at least a hundred diverse definitions of organized crime that may have some similarities with each other.

DEFINITION OF ORGANIZED CRIME

Organized crime is a non-ideological enterprise involving a number of persons in close social interaction, organized on a hierarchical basis, with at least three levels/ranks, for the purpose of securing profit and power by engaging in illegal and legal activities (Abadinsky, 2009).

Abadinsky (2009) describes that positions in the hierarchy and positions involving functional specialization may be assigned on the basis of kinship or friendship, or rationally assigned according to skill. The positions are not dependent on the individuals occupying them at any particular time. Permanency is assumed by the members who strive to keep the enterprise integral and active in pursuit of its goals. It eschews competition and strives for monopoly on an industry or territorial basis. There is a willingness to use violence and/or bribery to achieve ends or to maintain discipline. Membership is restricted, although nonmembers may be involved on a contingency basis. There are explicit rules, oral or written, which are enforced by sanctions that include murder.

The organized criminal, by definition, occupies a position in a social system, an "organization", which has been rationally designed to maximize profits by performing illegal services and providing legally forbidden products demanded by the members of the broader society in which he lives (Cressey, 1969).

The FBI (2002) defines organized crime as any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Such groups maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft, or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales, region, or the country as a whole.

According to Lupsha (1986), organized crime is an activity, by a group of individuals, who consciously develop task roles and specializations, patterns of interaction, statuses, and relationships, spheres of accountability and responsibilities; and who with continuity over time engage in acts legal and illegal usually involving (a) large amounts of capital, (b) buffers (nonmember associates), (c) the use of violence or the threat of violence (actual or perceived), (d) the corruption of public officials, their agents, or those in positions of responsibility and trust. This activity is goal oriented and develops sequentially over time. Its purpose is the accumulation of large sums of capital and influence, along with minimization of risk. Capital acquired (black untaxed monies) are in part processed (laundered) into legitimate sectors of the economy through the use of multiple fronts and buffers to the end of increased influence, power, capital and enhanced potential for criminal gain with increasingly minimized risk.

Lupsha asserts that the key conceptual attributes of organized criminal are:

Ongoing interaction by a group of individuals over time;

Patterns in that interaction: role, status, and specialization;

Patterns of corruption of public officials, their agents, and individuals in private positions of trust;

The use or threat of use of violence;

A lifetime careerist orientation among the participants;

A view of criminal activity as instrumental, rather than an end in itself;

Goal direction toward the long term accumulation of capital, influence, power, and untaxed wealth;

Patterns of complex criminal activity involving long term planning, and multiple levels of execution and organization;

Patterns of operation that are inter-jurisdictional, often international in scope; Use of fronts, buffers, and "legitimate" associates.; Active attempts at the insulation of key members from risks of identification, involvement, arrest and prosecution;

Maximization of profits through attempts at cartelization or monopolization of markets, enterprises and crime matrices. (Lupsha in: Kelly 1986, 33)

The definition of organized crime appears to be very from author to another, however there seems to be a common attribute of organized crime such that: (a) it is committed by a group of more than three; (b) the purpose of the commission of crime is profit; and (c) the group provides illegal goods and services which are not available in the legitimate marketplace.

TERRORISM AND ORGANIZED CRIME DISTINGUISHED.

 

Terrorism and organized crime can be differentiated by means and ends. Terrorists use their funds to further political ends, overthrow governments, and impose their worldview or spread their ideology. Organized crime seeks to form a parallel government that coexists with the legitimate government. They seek expand their legitimate and illegitimate profit thus, increasing their profits.

However, the motivations of criminals and terrorists may, however, overlap (Abadinsky, 2009).

ORGANIZED CRIME GROUP DEFINED.

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (2011) defines an organized crime group as:

a group of three or more persons that was not randomly formed;

existing for a period of time;

acting in concert with the aim of committing at least one crime punishable by at least four years' incarceration; and

in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.

An organized crime group may also be referred to as a criminal enterprise. The FBI defines a criminal enterprise as a group of individuals with an identified hierarchy, or comparable structure, engaged in significant criminal activity. These organizations often engage in multiple criminal activities and have extensive supporting networks. The terms Organized Crime and Criminal Enterprise are similar and often used synonymously. However, various federal criminal statutes in the United States of America specifically defines the elements of an enterprise that need to be proven in order to convict individuals or groups of individuals under those statutes.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute, or Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1961(4), defines an enterprise as "any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity."

The Continuing Criminal Enterprise statute, or Title 21 of the United States Code, Section 848(c)(2), defines a criminal enterprise as any group of six or more people, where one of the six occupies a position of organizer, a supervisory position, or any other position of management with respect to the other five, and which generates substantial income or resources, and is engaged in a continuing series of violations of subchapters I and II of Chapter 13 of Title 21 of the United States Code.

The Revised Penal Code provides that should an organized crime syndicate under Article 62 commit an offense the maximum penalty shall be imposed. It defines an organized or syndicated crime group as a group of two or more persons collaborating, confederating or mutually helping one another for purposes of gain in the commission of a crime (Reyes, 2009).

MODELS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

To better understand organized crime some authors provided a model to better explain how it works. The model will represent the nature, structure and function of criminal groups. The organized crime groups can manifest two contrasting organizational models, the bureaucratic and the patron model. The organized crime group has two (2) forms; the traditional and nontraditional organized crime group (Lyman & Potter, 1997).

Each model approaches the topic of organized crime somewhat differently, but each offers interesting perspectives for consideration and study. The structure of organized crime organization, the President’s Commission on Organized Crime developed a contingency model which clearly delineates levels of involvement of members and non members of the enterprise.

Presidential Commission on Organized Crime

On 28 July 1983, Pres. Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12435, creating the President’s Commission on Organized Crime (PCOC) under the auspices of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The commission was given the charge to make a "full and complete national and region by region analysis of organized crime; define the nature of traditional organized crime, as well as emerging organized crime groups, the sources and amounts of organized crime’s income; develop in-depth information on the participants in organized crime networks; and evaluate Federal laws pertinent to the effort to combat organized crime" The commission was to have up to twenty members. The president appointed U.S. Court of Appeals judge Irving Kaufman to chair the three-year work of the panel (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

The Commission investigated money laundering to which forty-one banks were questioned. One in Boston was shown to have "knowingly and willfully" allowed $1.22 billion in cash transfers with Swiss banks on behalf of clients who were not asked why they were bringing in large sums of money in paper grocery bags. In October 1984, the commission recommended that a new law be passed making money-laundering activities more clearly illegal under federal law (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

The commission focused its investigatory energies on the misuse of labor unions in order to achieve the goals of organized crime interests. The commission recommended more rigorous implementation of provisions of the antiracketeering statutes already on the books. They sought to have such involvement by labor considered as "unfair labor practices" under provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (Albanese, 2000).

The PCOC thru their investigations revealed that organized crime is an industry that is dependent upon effective coordination of its two components, the "criminal group" and the "buffer" (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

The criminal group represents the case of the organized crime unit are the following: Continuity, structure, membership, criminality, violence power and profit. They comprise of protectors, specialized support, user support and social support. The criminal group is the core member; Protectors are the lawyer, banker and business persons; Specialized support are the contact services; the user support are the drug user, prostitute patrons and buyers of stolen goods; the social support are those community leaders, business leaders and entertainment industry. Provided below is a sample of its organization. The succeeding text explains the diagram herein provided.

CORE MEMBERS

Criminal Group

Criin

PROTECTORS

Lawyers , Bankers &Business Persons

SPECIALIZED SUPPORT

Contract Services

SOCIAL SUPPORT

Community Leaders

Business Leaders

Entertainment Industry

USER SUPPORT

Drug Users

Prostitute Patrons

Buyers of Stolen Goods

Figure 1

PCOC/ Contingency Model

Adapted from: Lyman & Potter, 2007

The Criminal Group

The criminal group represents the core of the organized crime unit, who are made up of persons who utilize criminality, violence, and a willingness to corrupt in order to gain power and profit. The following are the characteristics of the criminal group (Lyman & Potter, 2007; Abadinksy, 2009):

Continuity. The group recognizes a specified purpose over a period of time and understands the organization will continue operating beyond the lifetimes of the individual members. The organization also realizes that leadership will change overtime and that the group member’s work continues and that their personal interests are subordinate to those of the group.

Structure. The criminal group is structured as a collection of hierarchally arranged interdependent offices devoted to the accomplishment of a specific function. This means that it can either highly structured like the Cosa Nostra. Or extremely fluid such as the Columbian drug cartels. In any case, it is distinguished by the ranks that are based on power and authority.

Membership. The core of the criminal group is based on a common trait such as ethnicity, race, criminal background, or common interest. Close scrutiny is given a potential members of the group prove their loyalty to the group. In most instances membership requires a lifetime commitment. Rules of membership include secrecy, a willingness to commit any act for the group, and intent to protect the group. In return the members receive benefits from the group, such as protection, prestige, opportunities for economic gain. And all the important "sense of belonging" to the group.

Criminality. Like any industry organized crime is directed by the pursuit of profit along with well- defined lines. The criminal group relies on continuing criminal activity to generate income. Some activities such as the supplying of illegal goods and services produce revenue directly, while some other activities, which include murder, extortion and bribery, are used to ensure the group’s ability to make money and gain power. Accordingly, many criminal groups are also engaged in legitimate business that allows skimming and laundering of money.

Violence. Comprising an integral part of the criminal group are violence and the threat of violence. Both are employed as a means of control and the protection for members and non members who are associated with protecting the interest of the organization. Members are expected to commit, condone. Or authorize violent acts. When the interest of the organization is threatened, murder is commonplace. Violence can be employed either to silence potential witnesses or to punish people as a warning to others.

Power and Profit. Members of the criminal group are united in that they work for the group’s power which results into profit. Political power is achieved through the corruption of public officials. The group is able to maintain its power through its association with criminal protectors.

The Protectors

Protectors include corrupt public officials, business persons, judges, attorneys, financial advisers, and others, who individually or collectively protect the interest of the criminal through the abuses of their status or by breaching their vested authority. As a result of the protector’s effort, the criminal group is both insulated from criminal and civil government actions. This component of organized crime represents what the police and members of the criminal group as the edge, referring to the advantage organized crime have over legitimate businesses. Corruption is the central tool of the protectors, relies on a network of corrupt officials who protect the criminal group from the criminal justice system. One example of the corrupt law enforcement officials who provide drug traffickers with inside information on police investigations. Another is a corrupt attorney, who is able to orchestrate the intimidation of the government witnesses so that they will change their story. Protectors also include accountants, who aid in the criminal group by concealing their income in financial institutions, gaming institutions, gaming establishments and other businesses (PCOC Report Annex A, 1986).

Specialized Support

The criminal group and the protectors rely heavily on skilled persons known as specialized support. Unlike the members of the group and the protectors, these protectors, these people do not share a commitment to the group’s goals, but they are still considered part of organized crime. Specialized support pertains to persons who provide contract services that facilitate organized crime activities. Examples are pilots, chemist, arsonist and hijackers (PCOC Report Annex A, 1986).

User Support

Another vital component for the success of organized crime is user support. This group of persons provides the criminal group with the audience of consumers: persons who purchase organized crime’s illegal goods and services such as drug users, patrons of bookmakers and prostitution rings, and people who knowingly purchase stolen goods (PCOC Report Annex A, 1986).

Social Support

Persons and organizations belonging to the social support grant power and perception of legitimacy to organized crime in general and to specific members of the criminal group. Examples are politicians who solicit support of organized crime figures, business leaders who do business with organized crime, social and community leaders who invite organized crime figures to social gatherings, and those who portray organized crime or its members in a favorable light (PCOC Report Annex A, 1986).

Just as the criminal group is made up of actual members of crime organizations, persons belonging to each of the aforementioned categories should be considered as members and associates of organized crime. Indeed, without participation of any of the list of the characters given above, organized crime could not prosper or succeed in society.

THE BUREAUCRATIC-CORPORATE MODEL

According to the well-known American criminologist Donald Cressey in his book Theft of the Nation the type of Italian-American organized crime that had emerged during the Prohibition period and was now a fact of life, indeed resembled a large business corporation (Sacco, 2002). In arguing that organized crime conformed to the Bureaucratic-Corporate model, Cressey was stressing the ‘business’ side of organized crime activities. Any large company in a modern business environment has to embody to some extent the characteristics of proper responsibilities for each manager, record keeping and a clear chain of command, people in jobs on basis of their competence, full time competent professionals employed with clear job descriptions (Haller, 1982).

Cressey’s book was published in 1969 and argued this was indeed the predominant structure of Italian-American organized crime. His evidence was to a considerable extent based on the testimony of Joe Valachi, a gangster who had decided to give evidence to the government. But Cressey was certainly criticized, notably by Joseph Albini (1971) The American Mafia: Genesis of a Legend and others, for giving too much credence to Valachi’s testimony. Presented below is the model according to Cressey.

Cresssey

Figure 2

Bureaucratic Corporate Model (Abadinsky, 2009)

Although Cressey emphasized the Family-like trappings of mafia organization - the loyalty oaths etc., the structure was essentially that of a modern business organization involving:

a complicated hierarchy

an extensive division of labor

positions assigned on the basis of skill (includes recruitment on the basis of proven ability)

responsibilities carried out in an impersonal manner

extensive rules and regulations

written communications down the hierarchy (Sacco, 2002).

Cressey suggest that a hierarchy exist within the Mafia which facilitates the flow of power and expectations of the members. Included in the hierarchy are the following persons: the boss, the consigliere, the underboss, the caporegime, and the soldiers (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

The Boss

The model consist of a supreme leader known as the boss, who oversees all organizational endeavors and has the final word on decisions involving virtually all aspects of family business. Bosses are typically older members of the family who have proven their allegiance over a number of years during the affiliation with the family.

The Consigliere

A close associate of the boss is the consigliere or the counselor who enjoys a considerable amount of influence over the family. The consigliere often a lawyer, serves the boss as a trusted adviser.

The Underboss

The next highest position in the family is the undersboss, who works at the pleasure of the boss and acts in behalf when the boss gets incapacitated (e.g. gets sick, arrested, etc.). The underboss is trusted older members of the family whose primary responsibility is to relay instructions to those occupying lower positions in the family.

The Caporegime

Rank and file under the underboss begins with the caporegime or capos who are considered as midlevel managers. One of the primary responsibilities of a capo is to serve as a buffer between the lowest- level member and the upper level members of the family. In doing so, the capo is the trusted go between through all the communications flow from the boss to the lowest- level members.

Soldiers

The lowest members of the family are the soldiers. Soldiers also are known as "wise guys", "made guys" or "button men". They report directly to the capo and will often operate one specific criminal enterprise. These include loan sharking, gambling, drug trafficking, and so on.–Soldiers job is to search for new revenue sources for the family. While doing so the soldiers often draft partnerships with other soldiers or other non family members in the community. Soldiers are required to pay their dues or a percentage of their profits to the family in return for their affiliation with the family.

Under the soldiers are hundreds of non family associates who work under the behalf of the family but under the direct control of the soldier. Non family members may be virtually anyone who has something to offer to the family. Therefore they are not subject to the same membership restrictions are family members, being an Italian descent ((Lyman & Potter, 2007).

Albini (1972) cites some of the problems with the Cressey Model such as:

The larger the organization the more vulnerable it is to police infiltration because all members would not necessarily be personally known to one another. Police undercover agents wouldn't need to be that well known to other members to start operating; and

A lot of Mafia activity was initiated by people who were not even full members, of mafia families: illegal opportunities are not discovered by some sort of company research department but by individual contacts and knowledge – organized crime is a ‘bottom-up’ organization. It asserts that outside influence can change the inner organization of the Mafia.

Considering that there had been a lot of criticisms on the work of Donald Cressey. An alternative model of the structure of organized crime developed around the work of several American sociologists, including Joseph Albini and Francis and Elizabeth Ianni (1972) Family Business: Kinship and Social Control in Organized Crime. The conclusion of the study by the Joseph and Elizabeth Ianni was that the Mafia in America a much looser organization which in some ways is closer to that of the old Sicilian mafia we mentioned earlier but without the integration of the Mafiosi into the social structure.

PATRON-CLIENT NETWORK MODEL

Fear of compromised communications makes many aspects of the bureaucratic model impractical for criminal organizations, thus the birth of the patron client model. Albini & Ianni (1972) as a result of their study of organized crime assert that the patron client :

Information, orders, money, and other goods are typically transferred face-to-face.

Span of control is limited because lengthy chains of command are impractical.

Control is a special problem because of the inability to establish command oversight.

Extensive geographic expansion usually leads to organizational collapse into feudalism.

Moore (1987) suggests highly centralized control "tends to make the enterprise too dependent on the knowledge and judgment of the top management, and wastes the knowledge and initiative of subordinate managers who know more about their own capabilities and how they fit into a local environment of risks and opportunities."

Patron client model offers a decentralized control which is advantageous for both business and security reasons. Patrimonial/patron-client networks characterize most American Mafia groups.

Boissevain (1974) describes networks as "the chains of persons with whom a given person is in contact." Because contact can be through a chain of persons, an individual can establish contact with far more people than he or she knows directly. These contacts are the "friends of friends," a phrase that in Sicily refers to mafiosi. That an unbalanced social exchange relationship is a patron-client relationship. Patrons provide economic aid and protection. Clients in turn, repay with intangible assets such as esteem and loyalty.

Patrons act as power brokers between clients and the wider society. While patrons need a great deal of time to manage their networks, develop and maintain contacts, provide services, enhance their power and income, and keep well informed, they typically accomplish these tasks on unstructured schedules.  Criminal activities within a patron’s geographic territory that are not under his "patronage" as referred to as "outlaw" operations.  In such cases, patrons:

will not intervene to assist "outlaw" criminals who are arrested;

will quash "outlaw" criminal activities that conflict with those under his patronage by arranging (through the passage of discreet information) police raids or unleashing underlings to do violence on the "outlaw" criminals; and

may force independent operators to share their criminal activities (pay tribute) to receive "protection" from police raids or being victimized by violence (Albini, 1986).

Professional criminals not affiliated with OC often pay financial tribute to an organized crime patron as concrete recognition of the patron’s power.

Such recognition shows the professional’s rispetto (respect) for the patron.

Respect is an important cultural element within the OC subculture.

The rendering of appropriate respect enables non-OC affiliated criminals to secure vital information and assistance, and ensures that other criminals will not jeopardize their operations.

Scott (1981) used the term natural system to describe the typical American Mafia Family patrimonial/patron-client network, which includes:

the boss (paterfamilias) who is the patron;

an underboss (sottocapo);

a counselor/advisor (consigliere);

captains (caporegime) who are clients of the boss/patron as well as patrons to their own underlings;

other non-OC affiliated clients of the boss/patron; and

Members or soldiers (soldato) who are clients of the captains.

Organized crime groups are considered members of natural systems. They are not necessarily guided by organizational goals. They share a common interest in the survival of the system and they engage in collective activities informally structured to secure system survival. As a natural system, organized crime is fundamentally a collection of social groups attempting to adapt and survive in a dangerous environment.

Mafia Family members, or "made guys," are essentially franchisees.   As independent entrepreneurs, members as they share their criminal profits with the captain/patron.

Boss Underboss Consigliere

c

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s

s

s

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Figure 3

Diagram of the Patron Client Model (Albini, 1986)

Legend: A- Associate

C- Caporegime/ Captain

S- Soldato/ Soldier

SMITH’S ENTERPRISE MODEL

In his book The Mafia Mystique (1974), Dwight Smith argues that organized crime is nothing more than an extension of normal business operations into the illegal market. Smith maintains that organized crimes comes from "the same fundamental assumptions that govern entrepreneurship in the legitimate marketplace".

Drug trafficking, loan sharking, and other illegal enterprises come into existence because the legitimate marketplace leaves a large of costumers unserved. As a result, the proper point of intervention for controlling organized crime is not to pursue organizational leaders and notorious individuals, but rather, to attempt to understand organizational behaviour in the illegal market (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

IANNI’S KINSHIP GROUP MODEL

As a result of two studies of organized crime, one focused on Italian organized criminals and the other looking at blacks and Hispanics. Francis Ianni argued that organized crime is nothing more than a traditional social system organized by action and by cultural values that have nothing to do with modern bureaucratic virtues (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

He maintains that organized crime is best explained by an examination of local kinship or ethnic social networks. He further argues that organized crime groups are not the formal organizations that have been depicted by the mafia theory:" Like all social systems, they have no structure apart from their functioning; nor do they have structure independent of their current personnel. Ianni extended his study of organized crime to African-American and Puerto Rican criminal organizations. His later work made three important points:

Organized crime was certainly not limited to Italian –American crime syndicates

Prison friendship, gang associations and community socialization processes were as important as ethnicity to organized to organized crime’s recruiting

Ethnic succession

He argued that every new immigrant group faces discrimination, lack of economic opportunity, and blocked pathways to power. In a highly simplified form, Ianni suggests that with each new wave of immigrants the character of organized crime changes as new groups emerge. Older ethnic immigrant groups gradually move out of organized crime into business and politics. Ianni’s theory of succession provides a valuable tool for understanding the changing nature of organized crime, particularly in relation to drug trafficking, in the late twentieth century (Lyman & Potter, 2007; Abadinsky, 2009).

CHAMBLISS’S CRIME NETWORK MODEL

William Chambliss’s study of organized crime in Seattle depicts an overlapping series of crime networks with shifting memberships highly adaptive to the economic, political, and social exigencies of the community, without a centralized system of control (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

He argues that whatever control there is in organized crime comes far outside the criminal organization itself and is imposed on the illicit market by powerful political and economic forces of the community.

He further conceives of organized crime being a network of individuals, the most powerful of which are business people, law enforcement officials an*d political stakeholders who direct the activities of criminal actors involved in prostitution, gambling, pornography, and drugs (Lyman & Potter, 2007; Abadinsky, 2009).

HALLER’S PARTNERSHIP MODEL

Mark Haller’s research reveals that organization such as those surrounding the Capone gang extensive operations were in reality a series of small-scale business partnerships usually involving several senior partners and many junior partners who sometimes conducted business separately (Lyman & Potter, 2007; Abadinsky, 2009).

2 Different types of Criminal Syndicates:

Enterprise Syndicates are groups of criminal entrepreneurs organized for the purpose of producing and then distributing illicit goods and services such as gambling, prostitution, and drugs. Allan Block stated that because they had to distribute illicit goods and services to thousands of customers, enterprise syndicate tended to be large in terms of the numbers of participants, and they tended to have hierarchy of command, some centralization of authority, and a well-defined division of labor.

Power Syndicates are loosely structured, extraordinarily flexible associations centered around violence, and deeply involved in the production and distribution of informal power. They have no clear division of labor because they have no clear production or distribution to perform. The only organizational goal of a power syndicate is to make use of extortionate means to maintain power over other organized crime groups. The basic tool of a power syndicate is force, gaining control of illicit market through the threat of violence.

THEORIES ON ORGANIZED CRIME

Rational Choice

Accordingly, the decision to do an act or not is a rational choice made after weighing up the benefits versus consequences of the crime. This theory treats all individuals as rational operators, committing criminal acts after consideration of all associated risks (detection and punishment) compared with the rewards of crimes (personal, financial etc.). There is little emphasis is placed on the offenders’ backgrounds or circumstances surrounding the crimes or offenders.

Criminal organizations offer a perception among its members of impunity since they can buy off authorities and use force if necessary. This in turn encourages individuals to engage in organized criminal activity, since the financial and personal rewards outweigh the detection and punishment as expected.

Differential Association Theory

The primary concept of this theory is that criminals learn throughout associations with one another. The triumph of organized crime groups is therefore reliant upon the strength of their communication and the enforcement of their value systems, the recruitment and training processes used to sustain, build or fill gaps in criminal operation (Akers, 2003).

This theory claims that close associations between criminals, imitation of superiors, and understanding of value systems, processes and authority are the core drivers behind organized crime. Interpersonal relationships describe the motivations the person develops, with the effect of family or peer criminal activity being an influential predictor of inter-generational offending (Akers, 2003).

Enterprise Theory

This theory suggests that organized crime exist because legitimate markets leave many customers and potential customers unsatisfied. The high demand for a particular good or service ergo the low levels of risk detection and high profits lead to a conducive environment for entrepreneurial criminal groups to enter the market and profit by supplying those goods and services. This theory further suggests that organized crime is merely an extension of the market to provide goods and services to a certain group of people who demands such (Lyman and Potter, 2007).

Social Disorganization Theory

This theory is intended to be applied to neighborhood level street crime, thus the context of gang activity, loosely formed criminal associations or networks, socioeconomic demographic impacts, legitimate access to public resources, employment or education, and mobility give it relevance to organized crime. It has been observed that where the upper- and lower-classes live in close proximity this can result in feelings of anger, hostility, social injustice and frustration. Criminals experience poverty; and witness affluence they are deprived of and which is virtually impossible for them to attain through conventional means. This forces them to overcome their conventional needs by using illegitimate means (Hagan, 2010).

Cultural Deviance Theory

Criminals violate the law because they belong to a unique subculture - the counter-culture - their values and norms conflicting with those of the working-, middle- or upper-classes upon which criminal laws are based. This subculture shares an alternative lifestyle, language and culture, and is generally typified by being tough, taking care of their own affairs and rejecting government authority. Role models include drug dealers, thieves and pimps, as they have achieved success and wealth not otherwise available through socially-provided opportunities. It is through modeling organized crime as a counter-cultural avenue to success that such organizations are sustained (Akers, 2003).

Alien Conspiracy Theory

The alien conspiracy theory seeks to blame outsiders and outside influences for the prevalence of organized crime in American society. Sicilian immigrants were responsible for the foundations of American organized crime. Ethnicity, specifically foreign ethnicity is key to understanding of the organized crime phenomenon.

Queer Ladder of Mobility

The theory of the 'queer ladder of mobility' hypothesized that 'ethnic succession' (the attainment of power and control by one more marginalized ethnic group over other less marginalized groups) occurs by promoting the perpetration of criminal activities within a disenfranchised or oppressed demographic. Whilst early organized crime was dominated by the Sicilian Mafia they have been relatively substituted by the Irish Mob , the Aryan Brotherhood , Colombian Medellin cartel and Cali cartel, and more recently the Mexican Tijuana Cartel ,and the Russian Mafia,  (Dwight, 1976; Paoli, 2002).

NONTRADITIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

Traditional organized crime is usually based on family or wider family led- groups, it is rooted in established cohesive communities- either urban or rural – its members are oriented to power and status in these communities (based on fear and respect for the strength and violence) as much as accumulating wealth.

The activities of nontraditional organized crime tend to embrace, besides the usual criminal enterprise of protection rackets and trading in illegal commodities, such as activities as settling disputes and protecting important or powerful groups within the community usually in the absence of an effective state machine able to perform these functions (Lyman & Potter, 2007).

Traditional and modern organized crime distinguished

Organization

Traditional Organized Crime

Modern Organized crime

Families and clans

Families, hierarchies, individuals, temporary groups, networks

Location

Based on cohesive communities

Global reach

Goal

Local power and status

Profit- making

Environment

Weak state, lack of alternative social organization

Strong states, robust social organization

Table 1. Comparison of Traditional and Non- Traditional Organized Crime

More modern variants of organized crime, by contrast, are organized in a variety of ways. Criminal families may participate but alongside networks and groups of individuals who have 'gone into business' for some specific purpose such as drugs trafficking. Modern organized crime is less rooted in particular communities: its activities, again as exemplified by drugs trading, frequently have a global reach. 

These are unique characteristics that set this category of criminals apart from traditional group. No single nontraditional organized crime group is typical. Rather, there is collectivity of criminal organizations that demonstrate a few well defined patterns. Thus, several conditions exist which seem to lend cohesiveness to modern day drug trafficking organizations: vertical integration, alternative source of supply, exploitation of social and political conditions, and insulation of leaders from the distribution network.

Vertical integration.  Vertical Integration is illustrated by major international trafficking groups such as the Colombian cartels, as well as by domestic criminal groups such as outlaw motorcycle gags which often control manufacturing and wholesale distribution of drugs. Also City-based operations such as the California street gangs that concentrate in domestic distribution of rental sales.

Alternative source of supply. Among the various types of organizational structures and operational types, most have common distribution channels and operating methods. First, most groups acquire the daily illicit drugs outside the United States. Second, many of the lager organizations acquire dugs from alternative sources of supply. Thus, the Colombian Cartels can purchase either coca leaves or partially processed coca paste in South America.

Exploitations of social and political conditions. Drug- trafficking organizations today demonstrate willingness to capitalize on vulnerable social and economic milieus.  Generally, Most players drawn into drug trafficking are expendable, provided that leaders remain untouched. Leaders can choose from the large pool of unskilled labor those who are willing to take personal risk and who can be taught one or two menial duties in trafficking system. The introduction of black tar heroin in the md-1980s was a response of heroin shortage, while change in cocaine HCI to crack in the mid- 1980s was also an effort to permit the non- affluent dug us to afford cocaine.

Insulation of Leaders. Organizational structure of a drug trafficking organization could be described as a solar system with leaders at the center It is only this leaders (kingpins) who see the organization as a whole. Trafficking leaders strive to minimize any contact with drug buyers or drug themselves for governmental detection.

Legitimate Business

Illegitimate Business

Food Products Securities

Real estate Labor Unions

Restaurants

Vending Machines

Garbage Disposal

Produce

Garment Manufacturing

Bars and taverns

Waterfront

Gambling

Book making

Narcotics

Loan sharking

Labor racketeering

Extortion

Kidnapping

Table 2. Some Activities of Organized Crime Groups:

CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

Organized crime has certain characteristics which make them virtually untouchable by law enforcement and other pillars of the Criminal Justice System such as immunity from prosecution, here is a complete list (Albanese, 2002):

Conspiracy & Hierarchy -- planning, organizing, executing; three or more permanent levels of rank with a division of labor or specialization.

Ideology of Economics -- it's just business, nothing personal; it's probably more accurate to say they have no ideology, no politics; intimidation, violence, and coercion are business, profit oriented.

Perpetuity -- the organization is designed to last through time, beyond the lifespan of current members via a mix of legitimate "fronts".

Monopoly - they have total control over a particular turf or industry, seeking goods or services that are presently illegal or quasi-illicit and that have such a demand that raising price won't matter.

Strict discipline - the group controls its members promptly, deadly; there's a code of silence, secrecy, extensive rules and regulations.

Restricted membership - on ethnic, kinship, criminal record, or other grounds; applicants need a sponsor; not anyone can join.

Immunity from prosecution - the group is interested in corruption, in fixing the criminal justice system.

Division of labor- organized crime involves delegation of duties and responsibilities and specialization of functions.

Violence- the use of force and violence to commit crimes and to maintain internal discipline and restrain external competition in an organized crime group seems to be of necessity.

Specialization- some groups specialize in just one crime while some others may be simultaneously engaged in multiple crimes. Those groups which are engaged in multiple crimes are more powerful and influential.

GENRES OF ORGANIZED CRIME

Organized crime is a global problem with a global reach that spreads in almost all parts of the world. Here are some genres of organized crime:

Aboriginal. This is word meaning "native peoples", and aboriginal organized crime is mainly a problem in Canada. In that country, several Indian tribes control the illegal tobacco, weapons, and gaming markets. 

Chinese. The Tongs and Triad (Chinese Mafia) have been involved in business extortion, alien trafficking (with Mexico), the underground garlic trade (in Taiwan), software piracy, and of course, the more traditional drugs, gambling, and prostitution in Chinatowns across the world. The Tongs are an old secret society, going back to the mid-1800s.

Colombian. The Colombian drug cartels have been a heavily-studied organized crime group, and although arrest or disappearance of their leaders has always brought authorities hope that the syndicate is over, they just seem to keep reorganizing

Italian. More has been written about Italian Mafia business than probably any other topic. See any of the suggested Internet Resources at the bottom of this page for information on this genre.

Jamaican. The Jamaican Posse underworld (from Kingston) has developed a reputation as one of the first "nontraditional" organized crime groups. 

Japanese. The Yakuza (origins: 7th century) have always been at the center of Asian organized crime action, and are a persistent source of irritation to Japanese authorities.

Mexican. People/ immigrant smuggling, drug trafficking, and money laundering are big business for the Mexican.

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs . Drugs, prostitution, strip club infiltration, anti-police tactics, and courtroom disruption techniques are just some of the major activities of this group. While many motorcycle enthusiasts are just rowdies, a disturbing number are involved in organized crime. 

HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES

The Prohibition era of the 1920s gave rise to the organized crime syndicate in the United States. Federal efforts to enforce prohibition, including raids on speakeasies, were countered by well-organized bootlegging operations with national and international connections. A particularly notorious gang of the times was Al Capone`s mob in Chicago. There were also gangs in Detroit, New York and other cities. Wars among gangs, producing grisly killings, frequently made headlines.

Eventually, the public`s repugnance, given voice by the 1930 Wickersham Commission inquiry, as well as numerous revelations of compromised municipal officials, produced a temporary suppression of political corruption.

When the 1933 repeal of prohibition made buying liquor legal once again, gangs that were still intact resorted to different sources of illegal gain, among them gambling, narcotics trafficking and labor racketeering.

Crime kingpins of the 1930s knew from experience in the previous decade that solid political connections were an advantage, and inter-gang fighting held severe drawbacks. The Syndicate, a close-knit national organization comprising numerous crime leaders from around the country, was forged by Lucky Luciano and Louis Kepke Buchalter. Its underground polity set geographical boundaries, distributed crime profits, and enforced its edicts with the help of Murder, Inc., its hoodlum cohort.

Luciano was arrested, tried, convicted, and later deported to Italy. Buchalter was executed and Murder, Inc. was broken up. With those head blows against organized crime, it was thought by some to be terminated in the United States.

U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver and his investigative committee disclosed in 1950 and 1951 that the organized crime hydra was still alive — with new heads. A new wrinkle revealed by the committee indicated that the latest crime lords had sealed themselves off from prosecution by hiding behind legitimate business enterprises and avoiding direct involvement with criminal behavior. Attempts to deport top racketeers were among the tactics used by law enforcement following the Kefauver committee revelations.

Police in Apalachin, New York, happened upon a major convocation of crime lords in November 1957. They were from all over the U.S. and overseas. The discovery prompted investigations that laid bare the tenacious power and reach of organized crime in the middle of the 20th century.

Organized crime is lucrative. The 1967 President`s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice reckoned that organized crime`s income was twice that of the combined take of all other kinds of criminal behavior.

In 1970, Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Congress`s aim was to neutralize the deleterious effects of organized crime (basically, the Mafia) on the national economy. According to its criteria, the target of the RICO Act (defendant) is the kingpin. The racketeering activity is the unlawful activity in which the Mafia is involved. Thanks to the Mafia family`s long-term involvement in that activity, it constitutes a pattern of racketeering. The government can therefore prosecute the kingpin under RICO and send him to prison — even if he has never directly participated in criminal behavior. The kingpin can be incarcerated because he operated a criminal enterprise.

In 1972, the Knapp Commission revealed connections between organized crime and New York City police, which emphasized the difficulty local police organizations have with steering clear of its intimidating influence.

In 1988, a report on La Cosa Nostra indicated that bribing union and public officials was still going on and conferences to resolve disagreements were held from time to time by the 25 member families.

The structure of recent organized crime evidently resembles that of multinational corporations; indications are that it has diversified and even cultivated a multinational commodities market. Chinese, Latino and other ethnic groups have broken into organized crime in U.S. cities through the distribution and sale of illicit drugs. Such white-collar crimes as sales of phony phone cards, stock swindles and health insurance fraud have been added to the Mob`s traditional loan shark and gambling activities. Meanwhile, such blue-collar crimes as rackets and extortion apparently are on the wane. The latest crimes of choice for racketeering are identity theft and online extortion.

CATEGORIES OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

There are eleven (11) categories of transnational crime covered in the Comprehensive Program to Combat Transnational Organized Crime (CPCTOC) of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime under the Office of the President namely: 

sea piracy;

cybercrime;

economic crime;

environmental crime;

intellectual property theft;

smuggling of cultural property.

terrorism;

illegal drug trafficking;

trafficking in persons;

arms smuggling; and

money laundering;

Each transnational crime is defined in the CPCTOC as follows:

Sea Piracy

Sea Piracy is described as (1) an act of any person who, on the high seas, shall attack or seize a vessel or, not being a member of its complement, nor a passenger, shall seize the whole or part of the cargo of said vessel, its equipment, or personal belonging of its complement or passengers; (2) any attack upon or seizure of any vessel, or the taking away of the whole or part thereof, or its cargo, equipment, or the personal belongings of its complement or passengers, irrespective of the value thereof, by means of violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things committed by any person, including a passenger or member or complement of said vessel, in Philippine waters, and (3) any person who knowingly and in any manner aids or protects pirates, such as giving them information about the movements of the police or other peace officers of the government, or acquires or receives property taken by such pirates, or any person who abets the commission of the piracy (OSETC, 2012).

Cybercrime

All crimes performed or resorted to by abuse of electronic media with the purpose of influencing the functioning of computer or computer system. Cyber crime is a term used broadly to describe criminal activity in which computers or networks are a tool, a target, or incidental to the commission of a crime (Abadinsky, 2009).

Any offense that can be committed by means of a computer, computer system, computer or communications network or networks

Economic Crime

Economic Crime is referred to as commercial crimes and known also as "white collar" crimes. It is any act characterized by fraud, concealment, or a violation of trust and are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence (OSETC, 2012).

Environmental Crime

Environmental crime is the deliberate evasion of environmental laws and regulations by individuals and companies in the pursuit of "personal interest and benefit." Where these activities involve movements across national boundaries, or impacts upon the world as a whole, they can be termed "international environmental crime."

The most common types of environmental crime fall under these major categories: (1) biodiversity; (2) natural resources-related crime; (3) wastes; (4) banned substances; (5) other environmental offences like biopiracy and transport of controlled biological or genetically modified material; Illegal dumping of oil and other wastes in oceans; violations of potential trade restrictions under the 1998 Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade; Trade in chemicals in contravention to the 2001 Stockholm; Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; and fuel smuggling to avoid taxes or future controls on carbon emissions (OSETC, 2012).

Intellectual Property Theft

Intellectual property theft is used interchangeably with intellectual property piracy which is the unauthorized copying of goods, or works such as software, for resale by way of profit or trade; the production and sale by way of trade of copies of goods which have been made without the authority of the owner of the intellectual property; the facilitation of their production, and the distribution of such goods including importation and retailing; counterfeiting or pirating of goods facilitated by use of the Internet or satellite technologies, or piracy or theft of information or broadcasts, or unauthorized photocopying of books for education purposes, or of unauthorized end-user piracy of software beyond the purchaser’s license, or piracy of domain names or company names, or counterfeiting of currency; the unauthorized manufacture and distribution of copies of such goods and works which are intended to appear to be so similar to the original as to be passed off as genuine examples. This includes use of famous brands on clothing not manufactured by or on behalf of the owner of the trade mark, and exact copies of CDs containing any material or software, which are traded in a form intended to be indistinguishable to ordinary consumers from the genuine product (OSETC, 2012).

Smuggling of Cultural Property

Smuggling of Cultural Property refers to the act of any person who, through the use of any fraudulent machinations, shall import or bring into, or export from, transfer from, the Philippines, or assist in so doing, any cultural properties. Cultural properties are old buildings, mon