Transcript Organized Crime in the 20th Century

American Organized
th
Crime in the 20
Century
Organized Crime
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Defining organized crime
Activities
Combating Organized Crime
Prohibition and Al Capone
Kefauver Hearings of 1950-1952
McClellan Hearings of 1963
Organized Crime Control Act of 1970
– RICO
– Witness Protection Program
Defining Organized Crime
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No official definition has been offered for
two reasons
1. A definition may be too narrow
2. A definition may be too wide
Chief activities of organized crime
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Drug trafficking
Illegal gambling
Loan sharking
Labor racketeering
Corruption of public officials
Combating Organized Crime
• Organized crime was difficult to combat in
the early 20th Century because it was not
considered a national issue
• Early attempts at combating organized
crime failed
Prohibition and Al Capone
• Prohibition caused the greatest growth in
organized crime activity ever seen in the U.S.
• Al Capone’s empire was responsible for an
amazing amount of violence and corruption
• Eliot Ness and the “Untouchables”
• Capone’s fall and repeal of Prohibition
Kefauver Hearings of 1950-1952
• First major committee centered on
organized crime
• Had high-profile mob figures present
• Helped the federal government better
recognize targets
• Led to McClellan Hearings
McClellan Hearings of 1963
• Featured Joseph Valachi, who first
publicized the term “La Cosa Nostra”
– Valachi described the organization of the
Mafia
– Led to models of organized crime as a
bureaucracy being presented
• Resulted in more effort from the federal
government to pass legislation
Organized Crime Control Act of
1970
• The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act was a helpful, but
confusing tool
– United States v. Turkette
• Witness Protection Program
– Offers informer alternatives other than jail or
the streets
– Responsible for bringing down America’s most
recent notable Mafia figure
Conclusion