Global Crime Exam 2

What is firearms trafficking?

the illegal transfer, transport, or distribution of firearms across jurisdictions or to prohibited persons

Compared to other international crimes, how does the United States view this problem?

We don’t care

Who is Hugh Crumpler III? What does his story show us about firearms trafficking?

1. He would buy guns and sell them without any paperwork to drug cartels (straw buying) 

2. Crumpler said he believes he sold over 1,000 guns

   1. He made hundreds of thousands of dollars

3. In 2009, he got 30 months…

Does the United States have strict laws that could reduce firearms trafficking?

1. The US has very lax laws for buying a gun compared to other countries

   1. We see the right to own a gun as a right 

   2. However, we fail to see how those right impacts others 

   3. Any suggestion of gun restrictions causes anger

What is the role the United States plays in firearms trafficking?

The border

What role do lobbying groups play in allowing the proliferation of firearms trafficking?

1. The lobbying and culture around guns has worked 

   1. We are very casual about guns being in our society

   2. In 2015, reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed on live TV in Roanoke, VA

Compared to other countries, what role do firearms play in homicides in the United States?

1. We are very casual about guns being in our society

2. In 2015, reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed on live TV in Roanoke, VA

   1. NRA gave kids papers…(national rifle ass,)

   2. The New York Daily News published stills of the shooting showing the gun being fired directly at Parker

      1. People created conspiracy theories saying the shooting was not real

What is the tracing process for firearms in the United States?

1. The ATF has to submit a request to the National Tracing Center in West VA

   1. The request will provide a description of the gun and the serial number 

      1. For EX: a Sig Sauer P365 and the serial # is…

2. The tracing center will call on the phone the manufacturer or importer of the gun and ask who the seller the gun is 

3. Next, the tracing center has to call the gun dealer and ask if they sold the gun

4. The gun dealer is not allowed to keep digital records. So, they have to dig through receipts and find ATF Form 4473, which lists the name of the person who bought it.

What is straw buying? What is the process?

a person legally buys a gun, but does so on behalf of someone who cannot legally purchase a gun

How do Mexican citizens and drug cartel members get guns?

Through straw buying or smuggling

What role does social media play in acquiring guns in Mexico?

use social media and WhatsApp to buy guns from the US

What was Fast and Furious?

1. Sept. 2009-Dec. 2010

   1. ATF, FBI, DEA, and ICE allowed about 2,000 guns to be sold illegally and taken to Mexico

      1. They hoped they would be able to track the weapons and find the top drug cartel leaders

         1. This failed miserably

What is gunwalking?

allow guns to be illegally purchased and then “walked” into organized crime grps

What was Mexico’s reaction to Fast and Furious?

1. Mexican authorities were mad

2. President Felipe Calderon put up a billboard in Ciudad Juarez that said, “NO MORE WEAPONS”

What is Mezzogiorno?

the area south of Rome (this is where most Italian immigrants came from)

How were the Italian immigrants different from the population of the United States?

1. The were poor

2. Catholic 

3. They were not seen as white 

4. Didn’t speak English 

5. Later arrivals than other grps 

6. Were seen in a poor light

What is the La Cosa Nostra?

1. Means “our thing” in Italian

   1. Isn’t called the mafia

What role did southern Italy play in the creation of the mafia?

1. Sicily, became the main area of the Mafia 

2. Southern Italy is very distrustful of the government (northern areas) 

3. The mafia is not concerned with right and wrong, but instead with who gets things done

Who was Benito Mussolini? What role did he play in the creation of the American mafia?

1. came to pwr in 1922

   1. He hated the mafia 

   2. He visited Sicily in 1924 and realized he was not in charge

   3. Wanted to purge any mafia members 

   4. Many came to the US

What is the mafia’s hierarchical structure?

1. Associates

2. Soldiers 

3. Capo (Captain)

4. Underboss 

5. Consigliere 

6. Boss 

What are the five families?

1. Genovese Family

2. Gambino Family

3. Lucchese Family

4. Colombo Family

5. Bonanno Family

What is the Castellammarese War?

1. 1930-1931 - starts off here 

   1. Joe “The Boss” Masseria vs. Salvatore Maranzano

      1. Mustache Petes (old people) 

      2. Lucky Luciano worked for Masseria and killed him in 1931

      3. Maranzano declared himself the “Don of Dons”

      4. Lucky Luciano killed Maranzano in 1931

Who was Lucky Luciano? What role did he play in the five families?

1. He helped to create the mafia as we know it today 

   1. To make sure all the mafia members did not begin fighting, Luciano restructured all the Italian gangs into families 

   2. He also came up with the idea of “the commission” to regulate the families 

      1. The Commission - gathering of the families from around the country to divvy up crimes, locations, etc..

What is the background of the Genovese family?

1. Luciano restructured all the Italian gangs into families 

   1. He was deported and went to Italy and Cuba

      1. Frank Costello took over the family when Luciano went to prison (1937) 

         1. Someone attempted to kill Costello in 1957, so he retired 

   2. Vito Genovese became the boss on 1957

   3. Vito is believed to have ordered Costello’s hit

What is the background of the Gambino family?

1. Frank Scalise was only boss from 1930-1931 

2. Vincent Mangano took over in 1931 (killed a lot of ppl, Created Murder Inc.)

3. Albert “Lord High Executioner” Anastasia was a part of Murder Inc. and the Underboss – became boss after Mangano disappeared

4. Carlo Gambino became the boss and died in 1976 of natural causes

What is the background of the Lucchese family?

1. Tommaso “Tommy” Gagliano took control of the family around 1931

   1. We are not sure when he died (1951 or 1953)

   2. We don’t know much about Gagliano 

2. Thomas ”Three-Finger Brown” Lucchese became boss in 1951

   1. Lucchese lost two fingers working in the manufacturing plant 

      1. He died in 1967 of natural causes

What is the background of the Colombo family?

1. Starts with Joseph Profaci – was viewed as mean ($25 dues)

   1. The Gallo Wars 

      1. Colombo and Lucchese stepped in 

   2. Joseph Magliocco became the boss 

      1. Joseph Bonanno and Magliocco plotted to overthrow the commission 

2. Joseph Colombo became the boss in 1964 

   1. He founded the Italian American Civil Rights League (IACRL)

   2. He used the dues to fund many illegal activities 

      1. He positioned himself as a civil rights leader 

   3. In 1971, at the Annual Unity Day Parade he was shot and paralyzed 

      1. Joe Gallo ordered the hit 

      2. Joe Gallo was killed in front of actor Jerry Orback in 1972

      3. Colombo died in 1978 of natural causes

What is the background of the Bonanno family?

1. Joseph “Don Peppino” Bonanno 

   1. He is believed to be connected to murder attempts on Anastasia, Costello, Gambino, and Lucchese

   2. Tried to overthrow the commission 

      1. Nicknames Joe Bananas 

   3. Banana Wars 

      1. He agreed to retire in 1968

         1. Other families said that “he would be killed on the spot” if he ever got involved in the mafia’s business

         2. He wrote an audiobiography “Man of Honor” on 1983

      2. The line of bosses in the family is a bit messy 

         1. Some people believed Bonanno continued to rule the family and others say no 

            1. Donnie Brasco (Joseph Pistone) infiltrated this family, further weakening it 

         2. The Bonano family is viewed poorly by the others, and some refuse to work with his family 

            1. He died in 2002 at the age of 97

What is headhunting?

the heads of the Mafia are targeted by law enforcement

What are RICO and WITSEC?

RICO (1970) – try to show this is an organization with criminal ties

WITSEC (1970) – witness protection

With the power of the mafia reduced, what is happening?

1. However, it seems that other gangs have filled the vacuum

   1. There appears to be joining of the mafia with some of these other gangs

What role does Albania play in organized crime today?

1. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Albania provided weapons to various grps 

   1. Today, we know that Albania provides support to Kosovo in its attempt to break away from Serbia 

   2. Albania supports terrorist activity in Serbia

What is racketeering?

extorting money illegally or carrying on illegal business activities

What is extortion?

forcing someone to give you money through coercion or violence

What were the labor wars?

After the Civil War (1861-1865) war profiteers began investing in a number of other industries

What was a walking delegate?

1. The walking delegate would call a strike at any moment 

   1. They were not employed by the business but were employed by the union 

   2. They were there to make sure the factory followed the rules 

What role did the labor wars play in allowing organized crime to become involved in unions?

Organized crime began getting their men hired as walking delegates

What is the International Longshoremen’s Association? How is it connected to organized crime?

1. He would order his “workers” to slowly unload ships unless the business gave him a kickback 

   1. Businesses willing to pay the kickback would signal they would pay by placing a toothpick in their ear 

   2. Sometimes they would simply steal the cargo off the ships

Who is Jimmy Hoffa? What is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters?

1. In 1957, Jimmy Hoffa became president

   1. He has connections with the mafia (the underworld) 

   2. He installed Tony Provenzano, a captain of the Genovese Fam, as VP

What was the “Get Hoffa Squad”?

1. Robert creates the “Get Hoffa Squad” 

2. In 1962, they charge Hoffa with the violation of the Taft-Hartley Act, which was a misdemeanor

   1. The trial lasted two months and there was a hung jury 

   2. The federal gov has never spent so much money and manpower on a misdemeanor 

Why was the garbage service susceptible to organized crime takeover?

They are essential and offer high profitability, also easy to money launder

What is money laundering?

Illegal process of disguising the origin of money obtained through criminal activities

What are placement, layering, and integration?

1. Placement - getting the money into the bank 

2. Layering - making the money hard to know where it came from 

3. Integration - making the money available to criminals

What is a cashier’s check? What role does it play in money laundering?

1. Where you give the banker cash and receive a check

   1. Smurfs use this process to withdrawal cash from several banks

What is a smurf?

Smurfs are people that go to banks and ask for a cashier’s checks

How has technology made money laundering easier?

1. From your computer you can transfer money to other banks 

   1. Once the money is in the bank it can be sent to the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Panama, and so on

   2. This would make the money impossible to follow 

What is the chop system?

1. Using gold shops, money exchanges, travel agencies, and so on 

   1. The cartel owns several businesses 

      1. The criminal comes into the shop and gives them their money, which is then converted into a chop

      2. The chop is like a note saying how much money you have

What role does Colombia play in organized crime?

What was Bogotazo?

What was La Violencia?

Why do drugs increase the price of goods on everything?

What is basuco?

What is the structure of the drug cartels?

What is the Medellin Cartel?

Who were some of the Medellin Cartel members?

What is the Cali Cartel?

Who were some of the Cali Cartel members?

What is a carelitos?

What role does Mexico play in organized crime?

What is a plaza?

What was the Guadalajara Cartel?

What happened to the Guadalajara Cartel?

Who was Nazario Moreno?

Who were the Knights Templar?

What does it mean that many black organized crime groups teamed up with others? Why?

Who are Bumpy Johnson and Stephanie St. Clair? What role did they play in organized crime?

What is a policy bank?

Who is Dutch Schultz?

What deal did Bumpy Johnson and Lucky Luciano work out?

Who is Frank Lucas?

Who are the country boys?

What does it mean that Frank Lucas wanted to be famous?

How did Lucas get involved in drugs?

How did Lucas get drugs into the United States?

Why did Lucas get out of prison?

What role does Nigeria play in organized crime?

What is shot gunning?

What role does Jamaica play in organized crime?

What is the Shower Posse?

What are Yardies?

What role does Somalia play in organized crime?

What does it mean that Somalia is a failed state?

What is piracy?

What is the War on Drugs?

How long have humans been using drugs?

What is a patent medicine?

What was a soldier's disease?

What role did Great Britain and China play in the War on Drugs?

What were the opium wars?

How did opium dens develop in the United States?

Who were the average drug users in the 1800s in the United States?

How did most people in the United States view drug laws in the early 1900s?

What is heroin? Where is heroin mainly grown?

What role does Myanmar (Burma) play in heroin production?

What is the history of Myanmar (Burma)?

Why is heroin profitable to poor farmers?

Why has Afghanistan become a major heroin producer? Why doesn’t the United States stop heroin production?

What is a drug cartel?

Why do drug cartels help in community development?

Why would drug cartels be located and thrive in Mexico?