The Determinants of Organized Crime in the U.S.

EN 103-106

15 November 2012

Word Count:

The Determinants of Organized Crime in the U.S.

In the southern region of the United States, the Ku Klux Klan emerged as the predominant organization of racial bigotry. Conceived in 1866 by six former Confederate soldiers, the Ku Klux Klan began as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee. However, in 1867, Klan members met in Nashville to

The Cosa Nostra, a global organization of criminals, actually began as a peasant revolutionary group fighting off the Bourbon army from Sicily in 1860, according to John Dickie, author of Cosa Nostra-A History of the Sicilian Mafia (Dickie pg.35). Between 1860 and 1876, as Sicily became integrated into the Italian state, political unrest and rebellion gave rise to the mafia (Dickie pg. 38). Letizia Paoli, author of Mafia Brotherhoods, mentions that during this time mafia associations were described as sects of rural class citizens with ties to wealthy landowners and officials of the law (Paoli pg.33).  Dickie explains that after Sicily was integrated into Italy in 1860, the wealthy landowners and powerful officials in Sicily sought self-government. These wealthy and powerful citizens conducted criminal activity by enlisting the help of the same rebellious peasants that defended Sicily from the Bourbons (Dickie pg.36). The Mafia became what one could call an “official” organization around 1876. At this time, the sects had not only developed complex racquets to earn profit, but they also built relationships with corrupt officials to ensure their continuing prosperity in Italian society.  (Dickie pg.77). Since then, the Cosa Nostra have spread their reign into the U.S. and many other nations worldwide. The U.S. now suffers the burden of the Cosa Nostra’s criminal activities.

                According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cosa Nostra in America centers itself in the northeast, and most prominently in New York (FBI par. 35).  Paoli mentions that in the areas where the Cosa Nostra is based, the mafia often displays a territorial sovereignty (Dickie pg.164). They use protection racquets in many case, which simply means they require a business to put one of their men of honor on its payroll in return for protection. This may seem like it could be beneficial, especially for businesses in more dangerous areas, but when the protection costs the business money and the Mafia itself is what the protections keeps away, it is detrimental in the long-run.  They primarily target the wealthier professions and large scale businesses so as to gain control of labor trends and provide jobs for their own members. This means that through forced payment of protection services the Mafia can infiltrate the infrastructure of a business and control many of its major decisions. The FBI mentions that labor racketeering, controlling a labor movement to affect economic trends, is a primary source of revenue for the Cosa Nostra (FBI par.66). This criminal activity can lead to the denial of rights to workers, and costs the American public millions of dollars per year in increased labor costs (FBI par.68). These costs eventually trickle down to every consumer, so the entire U.S. economy suffers. The Mafia has also found ways of dipping into the welfare, pension, and health care funds of union workers by taking control of major worker’s union groups, such as the Teamsters (FBI par.69).  When their protection and labor racquets cost the economy money, they raise prices for consumers. If consumers can’t spend money, the economy cannot thrive. In this way, Cosa Nostra is a primary agent of the recession we are in today.