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.


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