Blog # 5 : The Russian Mafia

The Russian Mafia has been selected as the last blog page about organized crime groups in the United States today and in my opinion is one of the most interesting and influential groups that plagues our American society today.  Many facets and smaller sections of the Russian mafia are named after the country they hail from for example the Ukrainian mafia, simply is called the Ukrainian Mafia. All of the former states that were part of the Soviet Union have organized crime facets that have infiltrated the United States and all facets were originated out of Moscow, where the first groups of thieves joined together. Since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union the different groups from each of the former U.S.S.R have created considerable worldwide power and influence.  The Russian Mafia are active in virtually every country in the world, more so in the ones with considerable wealth. So the United States has become an opportunity for these criminals to exploit our government and laws to their financial benefits.  This organization is highly monitored by law enforcement in our country and is considered one of the worst organized syndicates in the world.  Their territories are limitless and financial support from different syndicates is extremely hard to trace, which makes them very dangerous to our country. 

            Organized crime has plagued Russia since the Czars were in power.  Mainly the first forms of these groups’ crimes were thievery, banditry, and pornography.  Early in the syndicate’s history, rules were to be followed and a code to abide by was set.  One rule that was set and in most cases around the world, with any organized group of criminals is not to cooperate with authorities of any kind and to do so, could be punishable by death.  During the Second World War some of the inmates in the Russian prisons made deals with the government, to fight in the armed forces in exchange for reduced sentences. When these men came back from the war they were surprised to find out that the syndicate did not approve of this service and rewarded them with death.  When the soviet economy took a downhill turn is when the Russian Mafia really began to formulate and take serious power.  They took control of the black market in Eastern Europe, which created a huge market and window of opportunity to create serious income and this allowed them increase their power and size.  One of the major events that helped to spark the organized crime development in Russia was the legalized private entrepreneurship act in 1988, which allowed free trade in the countries and provinces.  This however did not implement any securities or regulations I this new economy.  Monopolies were formed and corruption was rampant throughout Russia.  As the slow decline of the Soviet Union was becoming more of destruction, the organized crime flourished. People of all back rounds and trades began getting involved with this crime wave because there was no other means of supporting themselves and families at that time.  In 1993 nearly 80% of the banks in Russia were owned by the mafia.  Also in 1993 1400 people were murdered in Moscow alone due to the overwhelming criminal wave sweeping through the country.  Innocent people were killed and any means necessary were taken by these groups to gain a profit.  The new Russian organized criminal was born, one with a business approach, reinforced by violence and murder.

            Some of the illegal activities that the Russian Mafia engages in to manipulate a financial profit are arms trafficking, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, illegal immigration, kidnapping, murder, prostitution, racketeering and contract killing.  This list describes the major crimes that these syndicates commit, and does not represent the entire body of how corrupt and terrible these groups really are.  Any source of illegal activity that will net a profit, they will engage in.  Around the world the Russian Mafia has had tremendous influence on the different countries and has made several well known associations with other organized criminal enterprises such as the Italian Cosa Nostra, the Chinese Triads, and Latin American drug cartels.  Similar to the other foreign organized crime syndicates, the Russians have migrated to the larger populated cities in the United States due to the large concentration of wealth located in those cities.  The first Russian mafia organized crime boss that was prosecuted by the United States government was Vyacheslav Yaponchik, who operated the New York based Russian Mafia out of New Brighton Beach, in Brooklyn.  The U.S district attorney convicted him of extortion and struck the first blow into their criminal world.  The Russian mafia is believed to have several large legitimate businesses around the world in which they share with other organized criminal groups such as the Latin drug cartels, where they launder their illegitimate funds. 

            The Russian Mafia is one of the most ruthless and violent organized crime groups in the world and their influence in the United States is an ever-growing problem in this country.  Law enforcement officials believe that the criminal element that has been growing for the last 30 years could be worse than that of the Italian Cosa Nostra. This could affect our society dramatically and have an irreparable effect.  The Russian mafia has not established the amount of legitimate businesses that the Italians did and do not have the abilities to corrupt officials and law enforcement but certainly are gaining strides in intentional ties and the development of their international businesses that directly fund and support their organizations. 

www.cbsnews.com/.../07/.../main217683.shtm

lnews.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special.../russian_mafia/70485

.stmwww.csmonitor.com/.../At-least-69-alleged-Russian-mafia-arrested-in-European-crackdown - Cached

www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000247b.pdf - Si

www.guardian.co.uk/world/.../spain-russian-mafia-

books.google.com/books?isbn=1555533744...

www.cbsnews.com/.../main4094344.shtml

Blog #4 Chinese Triad Organized Crime Syndicate

The next organized crime group that has been chosen as an area of focus for this blog page on organized crime in the United States today is the Asian underground society known as the Triads. Triad is a term that is defined as a member of the many branches of Chinese criminal organizations based out of China. These organizations have significant influence in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and any other heavily populated area with people of Chinese decent. The Triads criminal organization was originally started as a resistance of rebel forces who opposed the Manchu rule in China during the reign of the Qing Dynasty. Formed around the 1760’s the Heaven and Earth Society was formed to over throw the Qing dynasty and restore the late Han dynasty and the outlaw triad was born. A symbol of a triangle was adopted to represent the three harmonies the group stood for and the term triad was labeled to them by the British authorities in colonial Hong Kong. In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party came into power and the illegal operations and existence of the triads became a target of the new government. Estimated at this time the Triad organization was around 300,000 members with many other associates. Hong Kong became a serious haven for the Triads because it was still a colony controlled by the British and the communist influence was not as influential there. Each province in Hong Kong had different sub societies which were made up of the Triads and nine major sectors. Throughout the 1900’s and the massive migrations of the Asian communities to the United States, the Triads have expanded their global influence to the major metropolitan cities in our country. California is one of the largest cities that has been infiltrated by the Asian organized crime element in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Oakland. The ever growing Asian population in the United States and California is a direct link to the criminal threat posed by the Triads in our society.
The Triads engage in a majority of crimes throughout the world and here in the United States. Some of their criminal activities include, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, prostitution rings, smuggling, counterfeiting goods such as videos, music, software, also goods such as clothes, jewelry, and money. In the Northern California region the Triads involve themselves heavily with drug and human trafficking, prostitution rings, involving massage parlors as fronts for legitimate places of business. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the triads were heavily involved in counterfeiting Chinese currency and has incorporated this in their different factions all across the world as one of their major sources of illegitimate income. With the evolution of technology and the advancement of peoples standard of living, many organized crime facets, especially the triads have progressed to producing counterfeit technological goods. These organizations of triads also rely dramatically on internet scams and computer hacking as sources of income to fund their criminal enterprises.
Being Initiated into the Triad organization is similar to the other organized crime groups, like the Italian mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. They are deeply connected to historic and tradition based way of new members joining. New members are typically subject to several different ceremonies that consecrate their new membership. The ceremony takes place on a holy alter and they are surrounded by incense and sacrifice an animal as part of the offering for their Gods. Usually the animal is a chicken, pig or sometimes even a goat. After the newly appointed member drinks a mixture of blood and wine they will pass beneath an arch of swords while reciting their spiritual oath’s. The paper that the candidate has read from will be burned at the alter as an obligation to honor their gods and perform the duties asked of them. Three fingers on the candidates hand will be raised and the ceremony will be over. An interesting fact about the Triads is that if a member commit’s a mistake in any way, shape or form and their superior council decides punishment, the disciplined member will have to remove a finger from his own hand to pay for the mistake he has made.
The Triads are one of many foreign organized crime groups that have migrated to the United States and created a negative influence in our society. The Asian groups as well as others tend to target their own kind here in America because they can exploit them and know that they will not be turned into the police. Many cases foreigners do not trust the police and turn to these criminal groups for money, help, and even access to this country, in return for pretty much slave labor that never ends For women many times they are exploited to become sex slaves and men usually are initiated as a solider and commanded to follow orders, with the hope of one day being freed, which usually is simply not true. This has created serious problems for our law enforcement and immigration departments across our country. It is extremely difficult to engage these foreign people because of the depiction our law enforcement officers are illustrated to be through these criminal groups and because there is such a difference in culture and customary practices. Law enforcement has taken new measures to countering this influence of the Triads on exploiting their own people and are implementing new practices when dealing with this threat. The Triads are an ancient and historically major facet of organized crime that has evolved into one of the worlds most notorious criminal entities, that has caused problems in the United States in the past and continues to be a burden on our democratic and free society.


orgcrime.tripod.com
Washington times.com/news
associated content.com/organized crime/triads
Uk.ibtimes.com/article/high rollers-triad-and las vegas
Staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/crimjust/or crime.htm
www.reseau-asie.com/chinesetriads-southeast asia/criminology.org
Chinahistoryforum.com

The Mexican Mafia Organized Crime Group

The Mexican Mafia, otherwise known as “La Eme” is one of the oldest and most powerful organized crime organizations in the United States. Originally formed as a prison gang in Duel Vocational Institution in Tracy California in 1957 by Luis Flores, has become one of the super powers in the organized crime world heavily influencing the streets as well as the correctional facilities of the United States. Members were originally recruited to carry out violent acts towards other inmates to control the black market trade in the correctional institution. Throughout the years this once small prison gang has evolved into a massive organized crime syndicate that has vast territories throughout the United States. This is no low level street gang but a multi-million dollar corporation, comprised of some of the most ruthless, violent, and sociopathic criminals in the world.
The Mexican Mafia has incorporated many business ventures to accumulate wealth, in the prison system and out of it. Drug trafficking, extortion, murder, human trafficking, gambling and all other illegal activities that can net a profit they are involved in. According the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department Of Corrections the Mexican Mafia has emerged as one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates in California inside prison and outside of it. During the 1970’s the Mexican Mafia often took control over various community groups In southern California. One reason they did this was to influence and have contact with the youth on the streets and possibly find new recruits, also this was a source for them to launder their money and embezzle money to finance their illegal activities on the streets. An example of this would be the collation between the Mexican Mafia and the Italian-American mafia in Los Angeles, accumulating funds from the non-profit organization “Get Going”. This was a taxpayer funded program founded to help drug addicts in Los Angeles County. In 1995 22 members of the Mexican Mafia were arrested and charged with racketeering, which included charges of extortion, murder, and kidnapping. Members of the Mexican Mafia are extremely loyal to their syndicate inside prison and outside of prison. The members outside usually are very inconspicuous and tend to blend in to mainstream society very well. They control a heavy influence over most of Southern California with some influence in the Northern prison gangs but are very limited. La Eme collects tax from Chicano street gangs, with threat of violence if refused. Many of the Mexican Mafia’s leaders who are incarcerated are in segregation 22-23 hours of the day but are still able to pass messages to their members and shot callers.
The Mexican Mafia is not controlled by a single leader, although founded by Luis Flores and controlled for many years by a “dictator” , the syndicate has evolved into a full on organized crime facet, that a single leader would be nearly impossible. Tests of loyalty are required to become a member and carrying out a murder usually in prison or outside is usually is part of the initiation process. If refused, by a prospect to the organization can often lead in death. Usually to become a member one must be sponsored by an already “made man” , prioritizing the organization over ones family, deny the organization at all cost and under any circumstance, showing respect for all members and dissolving street conflicts before their incarceration are keys elements to becoming a full pledged member. Once a person is in the Mexican Mafia they are a member until death. If they leave or quit, there is a contract placed on their life and eventually executed.
Some of the rivals of the Mexican Mafia are the Nuestra Familia, which is a heavily organized prison gang that is located and controls the prisons in northern California. The Black Guerilla Family is an African American prison gang that is extremely hated by the Mexican Mafia and stands as one of their worst enemies. The 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles is a very big threat to the organization outside prison walls in southern California, which is comprised of Chicano members who engage in the same criminal activities, which creates competition. Some of the organization’s allies are the Aryan Brotherhood, which is a prison gang and organized crime facet spread across the United States and the world. The Mexican Mafia and Aryan Brotherhood share common enemies in the Black Guerilla family and the other low level street gangs in Southern California. Other Hispanic allies include the MS-13 street gang and the New Mexico Syndicate. The Mexican Mafia is heavily allied itself with the powerful drug cartel throughout central America and through this alliance have created their drug market and have a direct pipeline to the source.
The Mexican Mafia has become one of the most powerful prison gangs in the United States and slowly evolved into a major criminal organization. They pose a threat to all law enforcement and correction officers throughout the United States. They are a heavy contributor of drug trafficking in our country and are responsible for vast amounts of violence in prison and on the street. They have influences throughout our communities and their illegal enterprises threaten our free society.

http://foia.fbi.gov/mafia_mexican/mafia_mexican_part02.pdf
articles.latimes.com/keyword/mexican-mafia –
http://www.insideprison.com/mexican-mafia-prison-gang.asp
Department Of Corrections California: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/
Federal Bureau Of Investigation : http://www.fbi.gov/California: Organized Crime Report 2005, www.ag.ca.gov

Outlaw Motorcycle Club: Hell's Angels

Blog #2 : Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

The first organized crime division group that has been selected is the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. This group consists of 230 chapters in the U.S and 22 foreign countries, with over 3,000 current members. The clubs are consisted of men usually Caucasian, ranging anywhere from 20-60+ years of age. Many women are involved with these clubs mostly being one of the guys old ladies or wives. The Angels are spread all through the United States with their strongest numbers one the west and east coasts. Through the course of the clubs existence there has been some 5,000 total members. This the largest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in the country. The Oakland chapter is considered the mother chapter of the club and still today is one of the most powerful and influential in the biker world. Hell’s Angels are known for being the biggest, baddest, and toughest and have built this reputation over the course of many years through various acts of violence and intimation. The Angels have many different enemies including the Pagans, Outlaws, Mongols, and Sons Of Silence. There are many other smaller biker gangs that conflict with the Angels but these are the major threats to the club.
The structure of the club is very simple, every chapter has a president, vice president, sergeant at arms, treasurer, and many other full members who carry out specific duties such as intelligence on law enforcement and rival clubs. The next level is called being a prospect, which means they are part of the club but are getting to know everyone in the charter before they are voted to full membership, which has to unanimous. Being a hang around is the first step for all of this process. They join the parties and hang out
with the charter and club members but are not recognized as being a member. Each
different charter follows the same set of bylaws that were made in the beginning of the club. Each charter has ability to activate new members. On major issues concerning the entire national club every head of each charter has a vote in the decision. So they are highly democratic in that sense. The symbol for the Hell’s Angels is called a Death Head, which is a skull with a motorcycle helmet with wings behind it. This is found on all club personnel and usually is on back middle part of the members “cut” which is their leather vest. This is their most prized possession and if lost or damaged would surely be followed with swift repercussions. Hell’s Angels is spelled on the back of their cut in red and white, with the area they are from on the bottom or which charter they belong to. The club owns the full copyright to their logo and name and don’t usually respond peacefully to anyone who is wearing their emblems without club permission. If a member has a tattoo and gets kicked out of the group, they will either burn or cut it of the individual.
The activity level in the club is very high. The club is first and everything else is second. Many members have regular jobs but on a blink of an eye will drop everything and tend to club business
In most cases the Hell’s Angels have been negatively marked by the media and all of the bad deeds they are involved in they are exposed for. Sonny Barger even stated in his book that they are never recognized for any of the good they do but exploited for all the bad they are involved in. From different member being indicted on gun or drug or murder charges to simple bar fights that get out of control, they get publicly slammed for. I’m sure that every bar fight in California was not related with the Hell’s Angels. An
example of a newspaper article about the Angels is from The Mercury News out of San Jose, California explaining how two members were recently acquitted of attempted murder in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They allegedly were involved in a 2006 gun fight with the major rival group the Outlaws and after three days of deliberation were set free. They still might face conspiracy charges from another incident but that has not yet been determined. This is just one example of the negative illustration that the media paints about these guys. Another newspaper article comes from The Oakland Tribune and talks about the murder of the San Francisco chapter president Mark “Papa” Guardado, who was murdered September 2nd,allegedly by a member of the Mongols. The article talked about that there were over two thousand Angels that showed up for support and was one of the largest funeral processions from San Francisco mission district to a cemetery in Colma. It seems that all of their publicity has to deal with some kind of tragedy or serious crime and there are never articles about the toy runs they do for children or other acts they do which positively effect the community. Their public image will probably stay the same with the way the current media only shows and depicts tragedy throughout the nation.
References:
Bay Area Census- City Of Oakland Alameda County 2000 www.bayareacensus.ca.gov
Oakland Crime Statistics(CA). www.Cityrating.com copyright 2002
Oakland California Crime Reports, Crime News and Statistics, www.HelloOakland.com 2005/2006
Barger, Ralph. Zimmerman, Keith/Kent. “The Life And Times Of Sonny Barger And The Hell’ Angels Motorcycle Club” 2000 William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers
United States Department Of Justice: Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs/ Violent Gangs www.usdoj.gov
California Department Of Justice: Organized Crime Report 2005, www.ag.ca.gov
United States Drug Enforcement Agency. www.usdoj.gov/dea C.S.U.S, Criminal Justice Class 139 Lecture: week 13-14 Outlaw Motorcycle Groups Professor Hernandez
The Mercury News. San Jose, California “2 Hells Angel Bikers Acquitted” written by Carson Walker: Associated Press 11/20/2008
The Oakland Tribune: “2000 Attend Funeral of Slain Hells Angel Leader” By Evelyn

Nieves Associated Press Writer 9/16/2008

Blog #1 An Overview Of Orgainzed Crime

Organized crime is an element in our society that has plagued our civilization as humans for hundreds and possibly even thousands of years.  A basic definition of organized crime is the grouping of centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activities.  The central or main goal of these enterprises is to gain profit with no limitations or restrictions from the government and to avoid paying taxes on the money that they make.  Throughout human history the rural world was a safe haven for these organized groups of criminals such as the open highways, trade routes, and open sea, which was controlled by the pirates.  These criminals in the past paved the way for the modern gangsters and criminals. They illustrate an immense disregard for law and civil control and most importantly a disregard for human life.  Organized crime flourishes in periods of political and economic turmoil or transition.  These are times when society lacks strong and established institutions and rule of law, thus creating an opening for these criminal syndicates to infiltrate.  These criminal organizations engage in such illegal activities as drug trafficking and manufacturing, weapon sales, murder, extortion, racketeering, prostitution, human trafficking, illegal gambling, kidnapping, passport fraud, assassinations, bombings, copyright infringement, counterfeiting, organ trafficking, contract killing, document forgery, blackmailing  and pretty much any activity legal or not that they can gain a profit off of. Today such crimes as identity theft and online extortion have become extremely prevalent in society.

The most notable of the organized crime factions were the five families’ structure stationed in New York. They were the Genovesse, Gambino, Lucchese, Columbo, and Bonanno families that almost in a sense were the celebrities of the criminal underworld.  These organized crime factions are strictly Italian and Sicilian based.  In essence these divisions in organized crime set the blueprint for how crime syndicates should be run and how they can operate successfully.  Throughout the years the crime world in the United States and the world have evolved dramatically. The term MOB does not only refer to the Italian and Sicilian mafia any more but ranges from a wide variety from Russian organized crime to Mexican organized crime.  Basically in almost every country in the world there is some faction of organized crime.  In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the ever growing street gangs in America became and serious problem and presently they pose that same threat.  The alliances that have been made throughout the different divisions in criminals , such as the participation and recruitment of street level gangsters by organized and lucrative criminals has added to the list of problems that law enforcement has to address. Another serious and rampant problem that is expanding are the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs. In my opinion these groups are the present day Italian MOB. They have extremely different regulations and business practices but they are the ones that are taking the center stage as far as getting recognition for their involvements in organized crime activities.  All of the other organized crime factions such as the Italian, Russian, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese and all other notable syndicates are still around and continue to participate in activities but the day of the O.M.G has come and they are getting serious attention in the United States and around the world.

            Organized crime has become widely accepted in mainstream society and glorified throughout our entertainment industry.  It is very entertaining how these criminal divisions maintain their power and culture.  It has been accepted by many people in the United States because a large percentage of people have never or will never experience a consequence of one of these criminals’ actions. Meaning they have never been the victim of a crime committed by a syndicate member.  Being a victim of street level criminal is much different than that of one by a member of an organized crime faction.  The street level criminal commits the crime out of necessity and the organized crime member does it because it is part of the way he or she conducts business.  Some level of organized crime will always exist in society and maybe that is for the better to keep a balance between the good and evil people in the world but in times of economic uncertainty and troubles, which the world and especially the United States is going through right now the organized crime factions are flourishing. Our necessity as a country is first and foremost to take care of the people and stability of our country. If these issues of organized crime are not addressed properly and swiftly the damage could be irreparable.