Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alejandria

Review Materials on Organized Crime

By: Sir Bimboy Cadallo Cueno

Organized crime or criminal organizations- are transnational, national, or local

groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal
activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist
organizations, are politically motivated. Gangs may become “disciplined” enough to be
considered “organized”.

Organized crime can be defined in another way as a criminal activity by an enduring structure of
organization developed and devoted primarily to the pursuit of profits through illegal means
(Manwog, 2008).

Mafia – place of refuge in Arabic. A term used to describe a number of criminal

organizations around the world.

The term mafia was adopted in Sicily during the era of Arab rule, gradually came to
describe a mode of life and survival. Sicilians trace the word to a tale of revenge that took place
on Easter Monday, 1282. On this day, a French soldier who was part of the band of marauding
foreigners raped a Sicilian woman on her wedding day. Following the assault, bands of Sicilian
went to the streets of Palermo to slaughter hundreds of Frenchmen, spurred on by the screams of
the young girl’s mother: “ Ma fia, ma fia” (My daughter, my daughter”). (Criminology by the
Mcgraw Hill companies, 2004)

THE ORIGINS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

The first organization to bear the label mafia was the Sicilian Mafia. According to
proponents of alien conspiracy theory, sometime around 1900, a group called the Black hand ( a
lower east side Manhattan gang modelled after the Sicilian Mafia) led by Johnny Torrio, leader
of the Five Points gang, set up a national syndicate of 25 or so Italian-dominated crime families
calling themselves La Costa Nostra ( LCN or “this thing of ours”, also called the Mob or Mafia).

Prohibition

The outlawed of the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages in America
through the amendment of its Constitution on January 16, 1920. This was said to be the
factor that fuel the creation of criminal groups. At this period, Jobs were scarce and
people needed to provide for their families, gangsterism was dangerous but provided an
easy way to make money.Police resources that were used to fight other crime were
diverted to the prevention of alcohol consumption.

Three main approaches to understand the Organized Crime Organizations

 Organizations as rational system: Highly formalized structures in terms of

bureaucracy’s and hierarchy, with formal systems of rules regarding authority and highly
specific goals;
 Organizations as natural system: Participants may regard the organization as an end in
itself, not merely a means to some other end. Promoting group values to maintain
solidarity is high on the agenda. They do not rely on profit maximation. Their perversity
and violence in respect of relationships is often remarkable, but they are characterized by
 their focus on the connections between their members, their associates and their victims;
and
 Organizations as open systems: High levels of interdependence between themselves
and the environment in which they operate. They are adaptable and change to meet the
demands of their changing environments and circumstances.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZED CRIME

A. It is a conspiracy activity involving coordination of members

B. Economic gain in its primary goal
C. Economic goal is achieved through illegal means
D. Employs predatory tactics such as intimidation, violence, and corruption
E. Effective control over members, associates, and victims
F. It does not include terrorists dedicated to political change

The Nature of an Organized Crime

 Conspiracy - - fronts will be used to disguise the real operations; cover-up being an
essential feature of conspiracy
 Hierarchy - - planning, organizing, executing; three or more permanent levels of rank
with a division of labor or specialization; Kelly (1986) calls these “interactions patterns”,
meaning they refer to specialized roles and statuses
 Ideology of economics - - it’s just business, nothing personal; it’s also accurate to say
they have no ideology, no politics; in criminology, organized crime is the perfect
“instrumental” crime because there’s no emotional satisfaction derived from it
 Perpetuity/continuity - - the organization is designed to last through time, beyond the
lifespan of current members; being an organized criminal requires a “lifetime careerist
orientation” (Kelly 1986)
 Monopoly - - they often seek 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; in criminology, they form a cartel (rather than a cabal); a
cartel being organized around source and distribution of something and a cabal being
organized around mutual trust
 Strict discipline - - the group control its members promptly and deadly; there’s a code
of silence, secrecy, extensive rules and regulations; extensive attempts will be made to
insulate key members from identification by authorities.
 Restricted membership – usually on ethnic, kinship, criminal record, or other grounds;
applicants need a sponsor; not anyone can join
 Immunity from persecution – the group controls its members promptly and deadly;
there’s a code of silence, secrecy, extensive rules and regulations; extensive attempts
will be made to insulate key members from identification by authorities.
 Motivation – power and influence resulting from the accumulation of wealth
 Subversion – subversion of the society’s institutions, legal and moral values
 Diversity – to further insulate criminal organizations from dependence on one criminal
activity only. Engaging to two or more number of illegal activities to bring great
influences and power
 Bonding – individual to individual, and individual to organization for protection
 Violence – use without hesitation to further the criminal organization’s aims. Organized
criminals take their violence seriously. They also take threats of violence seriously.
Criteria that Manifest a Syndicated Group to be considered Organized

a. It is composed of many members – at least by the hundreds

b. Its structure by a complex as any legitimate business corporation can be
c. It is subject to laws more rigidly enforced than those of legitimate government
d. Its organization is usually structured along hierarchical line – a chieftain supported by
close advisors, and then lower echelon members
e. Its actions are not impulsive, but rather the result of intricate conspiracies
f. Responsibilities are distributed through long term activities; and
g. It has highly sophisticated technology

organized and enterprising crime groups focus mostly in the following activities:

 Drug trafficking
 Illegal migration
 Arms trafficking
 Exploitation of women and children
 Widespread public and private corruptions

Conditions of Italy where almost everyone was below the poverty line and was treated with
contempt by the government, began emigrating to the United States in the 1800s with the dreams
of the perfect American life.

Legal means, some of them brought the ways of the Sisilian Mafia with them.

OMERTA

This is the mafia’s code of secrecy, an informal, unwritten code of organized crime,
which demands silence and loyalty, among other thing, of family members (Abadinsky, 1991).

Omerta implies “the categorical prohibition of cooperation with state authorities or

reliance on its services, even when one has been victim of a crime.

Important Component Members of the Mafia

1. Enforcer – one who makes arrangement for killing and injuring (Physically,
economically, psychologically) the members or non- members.
2. A Corrupter – one who bribes, buys, intimidates, threatens, negotiates, and sweet talks
into a relationship with the Police, public officials or any else who might help for the
members security and maintain immunity from arrest, prosecution and punishment
3. A Corruptee – a public official usually not a member of a the organization family, who
can wield influence on behalf of the organization’s interests.

The Big Six Transnational Criminal Organizations

1. Italian Criminal Enterprises

2. Russian Mafia
3. Japanese Yakuza
4. Chinese Triads
5. Colombian Cartels
 6. Mexican Federation

Italian Criminal Enterprises

Sicilian Mafia

Organizations shared by the Sicilians. They aide each other, side with their friends, and
fight the common enemies even the friends are wrong and the enemies are right; each must
defend his dignity at all costs and never allow the smallest slight to go unavanged; they must
keep secrets and beware of official authorities and laws. Their members are called Cosa Nostra.

Neapolitan Camorra

An organization developed in Spanish prisons during the Bourbon rule of the two Sicilies
(the Mezzogiorno) early in the 19th century. The term Camorra is believed to have derived from
the Castilian kamora meaning “constetation” and to have been imported into Naples during the
years of Spanish domination.

Spanish brigands of the Sierras known as the gamuri. Not a passer by nor a vehicle escaped their
watchful eye and their fierce claws so that travelling or going from one place to another on
business was impossible for anyone without sharing with the ferocious watchers.

Ndrangheta

Organization from the province of Clabria. In Clabria, the term ndrangheta means “
society ofmen of honor”. In a Greek term, it comes from the word andra gateo which means “to
behave like an able man”. Sometimes this organization is referred to as the Cabrian Mafia.

Sacra Corona Unita

Means Sacred United Crown . As the names suggests the SCU uses a great deal of roman
Catholic imagery as part of its rituals. But despite these religious trappings, the SCU originated
as a criminal organization.

Non cooperation with the authorities and the vendetta (blood washes blood) where the only basis
of loyalty and trust is the famiglia (family) blood of my blood.

Russian Mafia

Because of the lack of reliable legal system in the former Soviet Union, vulnerable
businessmen, rely a “shadow justice” provided by organized crime. Among these crime groups,
the Vory v zakone, “thieves with a code of honor”, developed among hardcore prison camp
inmates and organized into tight networks that operate across the country. Vory members are
given special status of respect in the Russian American underworld.

Japanese Yakuza

Yakuza is derived from an old card game whose object was to draw three cards adding up
as close as possible to 19 without exceeding it, similar to our game “21” .8,9,3 which total 20, a
useless number. It means Good for nothing. They are well known with their extensive tattooing
that often cover their bodies from necks to ankles, and clipped fingers that have been self
amputated with a short sword in a ritual called yubizumi
Chinese Triads

The term triads refer to the Chinese societies common mystical symbol: an equilateral triangle
representing the three basic Chinese concepts of heaven earth, and man.

ChineseTongs

Tong is the Anglicization of the mandarin word tang. This in turn translates as ‘hall or
lodge’, but it usually refers to the organization itself, not the building it might meet in. Tongs
were first established in San Francisco in the 1850s as benevolent societies.

Colombian Cartel

The drug Cartels in Colombia, a country with a history and culture of violence, are the
major distributors of cocaine and more recently heroin.

Mexican Federation

Mexican Organizations focus on enterprise that nevertheless often brings them into
violent conflict with competing groups. Originating as Heroin distributors, links with Colombian
Cartels led to a new emphasis on cocaine.

Generics Types of Organized Crimes

1. Political Graft – manned by political criminals who use of force and violence of a means
to obtain profit or gain, and or achieving political aims or ambitions. An example of this
is vote buying, and the employment of private armies to control a certain political area.
2. Mercenary/Predatory Organized Crime - crimes committed by groups for direct personal
profit but prey upon unwilling victims. Example of this is extortion or racketing.
3. In- Group Oriented Organized Crime – groups that are manned, by semi organized
individual whose major goals are for psychological gratification such as adolescent
gangs.
4. Syndicated Crime – the organization that participates in illicit activity in society by the
use of force, threat or intimidation.

White Slavery - refers to the engagement in the business for profit, or enlistment of services of
any other person for the purpose of prostitution.

Piracy - refers to robbery committed in the high seas;

- It may also refer to the unauthorized use of another’s products, inventions, or

conceptions especially in infringement of a copy right.

Modern Types of Transnational Crimes

Drug Trafficking

Drug trafficking refers to illegal drugs being sold and distributed.

Money Laundering

Money laundering refers to the process of criminals disguising the illegal origins of their
money.

Arms Trafficking
 Arms trafficking refers to the smuggling og guns, ammunition and other weapons.

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves the sale, transportation, receipt
and harbouring of human beings through the use of force, threats or coercion with the intent to
exploit the individuals.

Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC)

Created under Executive Order No. 62 s1999. Its purpose is to establish a shared central
database among concerned agencies for information on criminals, methodologies, arrests, and
convictions on transnational crime in all its forms.

Agencies Under the Supervision of the PCTC

1. National Action Committee on Anti Hijacking and Terrorism (NACAHT)

2. International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO-INTERPOL)
3. Police attaché of the Philippine National Police
4. Political Attache/Counsellors for Security Matters of the DILG

Differences between Terrorism and Organized Criminal Organization

1. organized crime group engaged in organized criminal activity such as drug trafficking to
support themselves, while terrorism uses funds to further political ends, to overthrow the
government and impose their world view.
2. Members of the organized crime groups are motivated purely on gaining money, while
terrorists give their activities an altruistic aura to justify their acts and to solicit sympathy
for their cause.
3. Organized crime groups prefer to carry out their activities secretly, whereas terrorists
seek to maximize media coverage to promote their message and publicize their goals.

“The distance between studying and passing is the same distance between your knees and the
ground”

Sir cueno, 2013