Organized Crime Has Been Romanticized in American

Organized crime has been romanticized in American film and television media. Although some of the depictions are stereotyped and exaggerated, many of the core elements revealed in fictionalized accounts of organized crime are real. The history of organized crime in America is linked with important historical and political events including the prohibition of both drugs and alcohol.

According to the United States National Security Council (2013), organized crime is defined by the primary goal of economic or financial gains. Organized crime exists often because underclass groups seek a means of acquiring wealth and status, or bolstering opportunities for pursuing or achieving the American Dream. This fundamental feature distinguishes organized crime from, say, terrorist groups that might have a primary goal that is more political in nature such as the recognition of a new nation state of ethnic minority groups. Another definition of organized crime takes into account the more recent trans-national scope of the organizations related to the use of new technologies to further criminal goals (Dobovsek, 1996).

Organized crime syndicates do rely on violence as a core tactic of intimidation, social control, and the means by which to acquire or maintain power. However, organized crime uses politics and corrupted politicians as a means to an end. Both illegitimate, or illegal, businesses and legal businesses provide the means by which to secure financial reward. Money laundering, drug dealing, human trafficking, and weapons trafficking are a few of the many business that organized crime syndicates are involved with. Sometimes the line between organized crime and legitimate business and political enterprise is a thin one. Infiltration of law enforcement, government, and business is a key strategy of organized crime leaders. Organized crime creates gray and black-market systems that can be every bit as lucrative, if not more so, than legitimate means of acquiring wealth. Because of the attractiveness of wealth accumulation, organized crime remains a significant problem around the world.

According to Finkenauer (n.d.), the problem with defining organized crime is not how to define the crime, but how to define "organized." The diversity of organized crime syndicates makes it difficult to narrow down a definition. Similarly, organized crime syndicates have changed over time. Eight of the most notable attributes of organized crime include the following. First, organized criminal bodies have a distinct type of structural organization. Hierarchical organizations are the most common, but the structure of the organization may also be related to cultural, contextual, and historical constraints. Second, the use of violence is condoned or even encouraged in organized crime. Third, organized crime often uses "front" businesses that are legitimate in nature, blending white market and black market activities in ways that can serve as convenient covers and offer immunity from a legal perspective. Fourth, related to the use of legitimate businesses is the use of attorneys in a clever way to present the criminal syndicate as a disenfranchised and maligned organization. This is evident, for example, in the scene in The Godfather Part II, in which Michael Corleone is on trial. The use of the legal and judiciary systems to maintain the success of the organization is something that will vary from place to place, including variances in the nature of local politics and judicial systems. For instance, an organized crime syndicate uses legal representation differently in Mexico vs. The United States.

Fifth, one of the critical components of organized crime is the ability to profit on business activities of all types. Profit is the driving motivator in organized crime, and without profit there would be no organized crime. Herein lies the argument against prohibition of drugs. The prohibition of alcohol failed because it allowed organized crime syndicates to control the alcohol marketplace at unprecedented levels. Sixth, one of the qualities of organized crime is the corruption and use of politicians and businessmen. The complicity of politicians and businessmen has been and remains a cornerstone of the success of criminal groups. Seventh, organized crime groups are engaged in a diversified portfolio of activities to maximize profits and also to maximize immunity from the law. Finally, organized crime is rather elusive in nature, making it difficult for law enforcement to control criminal behaviors.