Controlling and Responding to Organized Crime

undercover operations hallmark of

organized crime

(covert operations)

•Criminal organizations conceal information

Makes it

hard to obtain

how to obtain info on crim orgs

undercover agents

undercover agents have a dangerous job , need to

be well trained to uncover valuable information

undercover agents once inside

–Learn the role of persons involved in the criminal rackets

–Learn the locations where criminal discussions take place

–Identify resources used by organized crime members

Common technique of undercover ops

•“buy and bust” technique 

–Officer – pretends to be drug purchaser

–Following purchase – arrest

limits of buy and bust technique

–Dangerous

–Officer becomes known to org crime syndicate

undercover ops

•Questions pertaining to Actual ability to infiltrate? –

dealing w low level dealer who doesn’t know what happens above them

informants can be

Important tool for law enforcement agencies

informant

“…anyone who provides information about a criminal case, but who is not a complainant, witness, or victim.” (Lyman, 397)

–Citizen, criminal

–If u become an informant: we’ll give u Benefit for testimony

informants

controversy

•Plea bargain – drop charges, more lenient sentence

informants

•Lack of undercover police?

One issue can be

be Informant infiltration into policing organizations

•Managing informants – problematic

–“drifting allegiance” someone working for fbi might be warning informant

–Might become “too close” to criminals

intelligence operations

•Organized crime – covert enterprise

How do you

–get Identity of individuals?

and figure out Scope of organizations?

intelligence operations

information gathering for purposes of investigatioin

really important

intelligence operations are

covert and the least understood

distinctions btwn intelligence investigations vs criminal investigations

regarding the crime

•1. intel. Proactive (before) vs. crim. reactive (after the fact)

distinctions btwn intelligence investigations vs criminal investigations

regarding files

•2. intel. Closed vs. crim. open

distinctions btwn intelligence investigations vs criminal investigations

regarding results

•3. intel. Measured with respect to report of activity vs. crim. Based on arrest

•How to improve intelligence operations?

Argument – is you need to follow the

•money – bc the money will lead to you perpetrator

–Will give you Valuable information more than buy and bust:

–Will tell u where Cash deposits r made

–Where they are storing their money - Property transactions

–Real estate ownership

–Foreign currency transfers

•Point of accumulation of those above^– that’s where the power is

intelligence ops- follow the money

•Focus on: (ex. where supplies money etc is coming from)

–Distribution

–Manufacturing

–Supply

–Financing

intelligence operations

involvement

upper or under world  (ppl working at visa offices that allow ppl to cross borders for illicit activities, ppl at bank who don’t care about filing suspicious transaction report)

intelligence operations

understanding is not based on

preconceived notions of bureaucracy

intelligence operations

importance of separating

arrest and convictions

intelligence operations

proper gathering - no

quick arrest (the quick arrest will be someone at a lower level)

intelligence operations

quickest arrests are the easiest cases where they lack

valuable information

intelligence operations

best way of measurement of success

quality of information obtained not number of arrests

intelligence operations

Focus should be on

•legitimate institutions (banks)

intelligence operations

•Target: being the

“upper world gatekeepers”

•Enablers of money laundering vs. lower levels

•Cooperation: banks, executives with ppl working in the upperworld

Evaluating Efforts to Control Organized Crime

The government – has

this conspiratorial view of organized crime

Evaluating Efforts to Control Organized Crime

the police target

the boss who is at the top of org crime (their conspiratorial view)

•Headhunting: 

“…going after crime bosses” (Lyman, 413)

•

–Has a Long history – Capone, Luciano, Gotti  (going after crime bosses)

the headhunting strategy

Has the Assumption:

organized crime operations are too well organized and too complex to be proved in court.”

the headhunting strategy

•Something that’s done is called Flipping:

–Make a Low-level arrest

–Minor charge

–Use of their testimony – against their boss/higher up than them

problems with Headhunting

•No assessment/evaluation of the process

impact of •No assessment/evaluation of the headhunting process

–Has been questionable bc its based on Misunderstandings of organized crime

problem w headhunting

–Org groups are very

Adaptable – can change their structures/practices if they feel threatened

problem w headhunting

“The irony of the situation is that

the more successful federal investigators and prosecutors become in incarcerating organized crime leaders, the more the industry responds by decentralizing and maintaining  temporary and ephemeral working relationships.”

problem w headhunting

•Based on only

a Small percentage of all crime entrepreneurs

problem w headhunting

potential result of it being based on small % of criminals

•(even if u get rid of one, theres still others)

–Strengthening of other groups by

–Removing their competitors from the illicit market

problem w headhunting

•Targeting – of easy cases

•Where Success – is very visible/highly public

–But the ppl theyre getting/arresting

generally lack organizational influence

•Not always effective

problem w headhunting

•Targeting – of easy cases

•Leads to important Question?

•So Many prosecutions throughout history– what affect has it had on organized crime? 

Fighting Corruption

•Rather than focusing on Deterrence of customers? (focusing on consumers)

–Can and should deter corruption

•Remove

Resources – from consumer to “corruption links”

•

•Solution?

–Increased/comprehensive reporting

Why won’t org crime pass on?

•Org crime is More than crime

–Org crime is predicated on

exploiting Societal weakness

•Criminal cooperation vs. legitimate competition

•As long as ppl want to:

–Gamble

–Drugs

–Borrow money

•As long as there are markets:

org crime will flourish

documentary

winterhill gang

•Whiety bulger and Steve flemmi

–Helped with the fall of the mafia (worked as informants)

–They worked for the gov’t

–But also involved with murders (of other informants that would’ve threatened them?)

–They knew that if they gave info on mafia then they wouldn’t be looked into about their gambling

•Boston Massachusetts

•Buriel sites- police found murdered bodies

–First site undercovered jan 2000 after getting a anonymous tip

•Weed

•3 ppl- one was _mcintyre, chris’s brother