Chapter 17

Organized Crime, Bias/Hate Crime, and Ritualistic Crime

Organized Crime

• A continuing criminal conspiracy, having an organized structure, fed by fear and corruption and motivated by greed.

• Highly secretive, sophisticated criminal organization called the Mafia of La Cosa Nostra.

Distinctive Characteristics

• Definite organization and control

• High-profit and continued-profit crimes

• Singular control through force and threats

• Protection through corruption

Clearing Up Misconceptions

• Organized crime is not a single entity controlled by one superpower.

• Organized crime does not exist solely in metropolitan areas.

• Organized crime does not involve only activities such as narcotics, prostitution, racketeering, and gambling.

• Citizens are not isolated from organized crime.

Federal Law Directed Towards Organized Crime

• 1946 Hobbs Anti-Racketeering Act

• 1968 Omnibus Crime Control Act

• Safe Streets Act and the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970

• Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) of 1970

Title 18 U.S. Code § 1962

It is a prosecutable conspiracy to:

• Acquire any enterprise with money obtained from illegal activity.

• Acquire, maintain or control any enterprise by illegal means.

• Use any enterprise to conduct illegal activity.

Major Activities

The so-called victimless crimes:• Gambling and bookmaking• Drugs• Pornography and prostitution• Loan-sharking• Money laundering• Fraud • Infiltration of legitimate businesses

Organized Crime Groups

• Italian crime syndicates (La Cosa Nostra)

• Asian Organized Crime (AOC)

• Mexican Organized Crime

• Russian Organized Crime (ROC)

• Gypsies

Asian Organized Crime

• Involved in murder, kidnapping, extortion, prostitution, pornography, loan-sharking, gambling, drugs, money laundering, alien smuggling, and various protection schemes

• Global• Well-run• Hard to crack• Japanese Organized Crime (Boryokudan or

Yakurza)• Vietnamese Organized Crime

Russian Organized Crime

• Involved in burglary, credit card forgery, auto theft, fraud, arson, prostitution, and narcotics trafficking.

• Sophisticated

• Consists of hundreds of groups, all acting independently

• Highly educated

Enterprise Theory of Investigation (ETI)

• Encourages a proactive attack on the structure of the criminal enterprise.

• Attempts to show that individuals commit crimes in furtherance of the criminal enterprise itself.

• Only effective when the organization engages in a myriad of criminal activities.

Investigative Aids

• Electronic Surveillance

• Pen registers • Caller ID• Numbers stored in

phones• Computer files• Trap-and-trace

devices

Bias/Hate Crime

• A criminal act committed because of someone’s actual or perceived membership in a particular group.

• Motivated by hatred against a specific group of people.

Motivations

• Race (53.8%)

• Religion (18.3%)

• Sexual orientation (16.1%)

• Ethnic or national origin (11.3%)

• Disability (.5%)

• Multiple (.5%)

Victims of Hate Crime

• African Americans• Arabs• Asians• Gay males• Jews • Latinos• Lesbians• Native Americans• White women in interracial relationships

Identifying Neo Nazi Groups

• Shaven heads• Wear dark leather jackets or greenish flight

jackets, blue or black jeans or camouflage army fatigues, and black military boots

• Clothing often displays American flags, German crosses and swastikas, or expressions such as “White Power,” “Skins Rule,” “KKK,” or “WAR”

• Covered with tattoos of skulls, swastikas, or words such as “Skinhead” and “SWP”

Response to Hate Crimes

• Respond promptly

• Attempt to Reduce the victim’s fear

• Determine the exact type of prejudice involved

Indicators That a Hate Crime Could Have Been Committed

• Perception of the victim and witnesses• Perpetrators comments• Any difference between the perpetrator and the victim• Similar incidents in same neighborhood• Whether the victim was engaged in activities

promoting his group• Whether the incident coincided with a holiday or date

of particular significance• Involvement of organized hate groups/members• Absence of any other motive

Ritualistic Crime

• A cult is a system of religious beliefs and rituals. It is a system of religion whose characteristics are not drawn from existing religious traditions within a society.

Cult Terminology

• Antichrist• Beelzebub• Coven• Hand of Glory• Incantation

• Magick• Occult• Ritual• Sabbat