Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 1

Organized Crime

Maryam Ahmadi, Deana Delaire, Barbara Kolemarka, and Yevette Rossell

Neumann University
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 2

Abstract

The paper reviews how organized crime started along with three different cases that have

occurred throughout the timeline. It will also explain how the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI) describes organized crime. In addition, it will explain what the Organized Crime Control

Act is, what it does and what Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations do. From there, it

will get into the rates of organized crime.

In the body of the paper, the paper will discuss the following cases on Forty New Thieves,

Hells Angel Motorcycle Club, and Roslavsko Dubrovskaya.

The conclusion section will describe a closing paragraph that would summarize organized

crime and how organized crime could potentially be resolved.

Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 3

Introduction

Organized crime was invented back in the 1800s. According to Kristin Finklea (2010)
"Organized crime threatens the economy, national security, and other interests of the United
States" (p. 1). Over the years, organized crime has been changing and growing in their crime rate.
Organized crime is essentially illegal activities of individuals or members participating in
supplying illegal goods or services to other individuals and/or members. Often organized crime is
hard to define since many traits are involved with it. “The characteristics of organized crime are
continuity, corruption, illegal enterprises, lack of ideology, legitimate business penetration,
restricted membership, and structure” (Finklea, 2010). All of these attributes could be involved
with organized crime. Ideally, the main purpose of organized crime is for the individuals and/or
members to make illegal money for the goods and services that they are providing for their clients.

Organized crime has had a major impact in the United States in which it has led it to its
long overdue in history. “Organized crime began around the time when Prohibition started in
which grasped the attention of policymakers” (Finklea, 2010). “There are many criminal groups
in which the U.S. federal law enforcement agencies combated through organized crime networks
in the inside and outside of the United States” (Finklea, 2010). These individuals and members
were the following the Chinese Mafia, the Forty New Thieves, Hells Angel Motorcycle Club, the
Italian Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, Roslavko Dubrovskaya, and the Russian Mafia (Finklea,
2010). In the organized crime groups, individuals and members were committing the following
acts: bootlegging, extortion, fraud, gambling, loan sharking, money laundering, murder, narcotics,
prostitution, racketeering, theft, and trafficking. Many of these crimes that were committed by
individuals or members led the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal law enforcement
agencies to investigate and control organized crimes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines organized crime as the transnational
organized crime. Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) can be defined as groups having “self-
perpetuating associations of individuals who operate, wholly or in part, by illegal means and
irrespective of geography" (FBI, 2016, p. 1). These groups mainly seek to obtain influence,
monetary gains, and power (FBI, 2016). The FBI's main job in a transnational organized crime is
to eliminate TOC groups in which poses a major threat to the economic and national security in
the United States (FBI, 2016). According to the "Transnational Organized Crime" article, "The
Bureau has found that even if key individuals in an organization are removed, the depth and
financial strength of the organization often allows it to continue, so the FBI targets the entire
organizations responsible for a variety of criminal activities” (FBI, 2016, p. 1). “The main purpose
of transnationally organized crime groups is through an economic gain meaning that this would
engage an arrangement of lawful and an illegal plan to enhance revenue” (FBI, 2016). There are
numerous different transnational crime threats and programs across the world. The transnational
crime threats and programs are the following the African Transnational Organized Crime Group,
the Asian Transnational Organized Crime Group, the Balkan Transnational Organized Crime
Group, the Eurasian Transnational Organized Crime Group, the Italian Transnational Organized
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 4

Crime Group/Mafia, the Middle Eastern Transnational Organized Crime Group, and the Western
Hemisphere Transnational Organized Crime Group. All these groups are able to locate victims and
execute their plans from anywhere in the FBI. Overall, “Transnational Organized Crime poses a
major threat to national and international security with dire implications for public safety, public
health, democratic institutions, and economic stability across the globe” (FBI, 2016, p. 2).
Therefore, transnational organized crime needs to be prevented from occurring and even stopped.

In 1970, two different acts had been created which were the Organized Crime Control Act
and the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt and Organizations Act (RICO). The Organized Crime
Control Act essentially “strengthens the ability of the federal government to combat and prosecute
criminal organizations” (Finklea, 2010, p. 6). The main purpose that the Organized Crime Control
Act does is it investigates numerous organized crimes. It also lets this act generate reports in
outlining public corruption and organized crime conditions. In addition to this the act also “allows
for witnesses of organized crime to be granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for
testimony” (Finklea, 2010, p. 6). This leads to the Witness Security Program also known as
WITSEC. The Witness Security Program “allows for the protection and relocation of witnesses
and their families, whose lives may be in danger due to their testimony in organized crime”
(Finklea, 2010, p. 6). After, came the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt and Organizations Act also
known as RICO. Racketeer Influenced Corrupt and Organizations Act are known as the most
important piece of organized crime that the legislation had enacted. Overall, RICO “allows for the
prosecution of anyone who participates or conspires to participate in a criminal
enterprise/organization through two acts of "racketeering activity" within 10 years" (Finklea, 2010,
p. 6). Both the Organized Crime Control Act and the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt and
Organizations Act are the two main acts that are used and portrayed in the organized crime
prosecutions.

Over time organized crime has posed many threats to the Department of Justice and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation which has therefore made organized crime more complicated than
ever before. According to Kristin Finklea (2010), "Within the law enforcement domain, this shift
can objectively be seen in the field agents assigned to organized crime casework, the cases
investigated, and the cases handled by the U. S. Attorneys' Offices” (p. 11). As shown in Figure 1,
it demonstrates how the allocation of agents has remained the same, while the actual utilization
has diminished (Finklea, 2010).
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 5

Figure 1. FBI Allocation and Utilization of Agents on Organized Crime Matters, FY2000-
FY2004

800

700

600

500

400
Agent Allocation

300

200

100

0
FY 2000 FY 2001 FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, The
External Effects of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Reprioritization Efforts, Audit
Report 05-37, September 2005, pp. 73-75,
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0537/final.pdf.

Notes: The data on organized crime agent allocation come from the OIG analysis of FBI
Resource Management and Allocation (RMA) Office data. The data on organized crime
agent utilization comes from the OIG analysis of FBI Time Utilization Recordkeeping
(TURK) data. The FBI utilized 35% fewer agents on organized crime matters in FY2004
than it did in FY2000. FBI organized crime agent allocation data were not available to the
OIG for FY2000 because prior to FY2001, the FBI allocated organized crime and drug
resources together. (Finklea, 2010, p. 12).

In 2000, 682 field agents opened 433 organized crime cases (Finklea, 2010). In 2004, the
FBI had 433 field agents and 263 crime investigations (Finklea, 2010). This showed the decline
between both years, however, the FBI utilized 35% fewer agents in 2004 than it did in 2000
(Finklea, 2010). This led the FBI to lose fewer agents due to the higher priority issues such as
terrorism. Thus, as seen in Figure 1 chart it shows the FBI Allocation and Utilization of Agents on
Organized Crime Matters between the years from 2000 to 2004.
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 6

Forty New Thieves

The Forty Thieves were the first gang in New York. They were named after “Ali Baba and
the Forty Thieves.” According to the article, The Forty Thieves were not the first gang in New
York, they were just the first gang to get caught. In the 19th century New York City, gangs were
made out to be something more than what they really were. They were given the illusion of being
this “exotic” organization. This was believed by many because no one seemed to understand what
gang life was like. Gang members portrayed themselves as rich, mysterious men, who had many
women, and more money than the average person. “The areas of New York City at that time were
Hell’s Kitchen, The Tenderloin, The Forth Ward, and The Sixth Ward. Five Points was the center
of the Sixth Ward” (Boys, 2015). The Forty Thieves were the FIRST recorded gang in New York
City, and Five Points is where they started. The Forty Thieves were a gang made up of almost all
Irish Immigrants, and the gang consisted of well over 40 members (Boys, 2015). The gang got
their start in the back room of a ‘grocery store,' which was owned by a woman named, Rosanna
Peers.

Ms. Peers ran what you would call today as a “corner store,” with a liquor license. She sold
“hard liquors along with “brown-streaked cabbages and tattered lettuce.” According to the article,
Ms. Peers establishment was the first bar on Centre Street in 1825, but it most certainly was not
the last (Boys, 2015). Her establishment seems to attract the most unsavory characters because she
had cheap booze. The cheap booze seemed to cause the unsavory characters to form unions with
each other. The men made a commitment to watch each other’s backs, protect their “territory,”
and to share their ill-gotten wealth, through stealing, and pick-pocketing. Ms. Peers’ establishment
was the home base to many other “gangs,” not just The Forty Thieves.

The First leader of the gang was a man named, Edward Coleman. Edward was a ruthless
man who had a special knack for gathering up criminals to perform elaborate jobs. These jobs were
surveillance their corner and protection, (keeping their corner safe from other gangs). He oversaw
this as well as the stealing and pickpocketing. The Forty Thieves, under Edward, instituted a quota
system, if you did reach your quota for the day you were either thrown out, "disposed of, or you
fled to join another gang." Edward led the gang members until he was hung at the new Tombs
Prison in 1838. The reason he was being hung was because he violently beat and killed his wife,
for not making an adequate wage for the day (Boys, 2015).

After the death of Edward Coleman, the gang would continue to thrive. They even were
doing well enough with their nefarious activities to organize an off-shoot of the Forty Thieves.
Also, known as the Forty Little Thieves, these were juvenile delinquents, who specialized in being
the look-out for the police, and pickpockets (Boys, 2015). The Forty thieves lasted for over 25
years, then they eventually faded away, or they were incorporated into other more powerful, better
politically connected gangs. The 2002 movie "The Gangs of New York," were about The Forty
Thieves and a few more well- known gangs of the period.
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 7

Hells Angel Motorcycle Club

Hells Angel Motorcycle Club was created on March 17, 1948, and was founded in San
Bernardino, California. This group was not created to cause illegal issues throughout the United
States it was created on behalf of the veterans who were involved in World War II. Over the years
there is constant change in society and this motorcycle group began to take part in illegal activities
in order to gain more income. In 2013, the three leaders of Hells Angels (David Oiler, Mark Baker,
and Bruce Long) of Columbia South Carolina was charged with racketeering conspiracy (FBI,
2013). While six members of the gang were found guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering,
and firearm offenses. The other six group members were "engaged in narcotics trafficking,
narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, firearms trafficking, use of firearms in relation to crimes
of violence and drug trafficking, attempted armed robbery, and other offenses" (FBI, 2013, p. 1).
Mark Baker is also known as Lightening was the Hells Angels chapter president. Mark would
coordinate the criminal activity that he wanted the members to cooperate in and the members who
participated had to give a cut to Mark (FBI, 2013). Dan Bifield also was known as Diamond Dan
was the drug supplier for the motorcycle club. Dan supplied cocaine to Bruce, and he would
distribute it. After a while of business, Dan and his wife turned the cocaine business over to Bruce
and only wanted to get a cut of the profits. In addition, to the cocaine business, Dan was also
supplying high-quality methamphetamine on numerous occasions (FBI, 2013). Dan’s primary
supplier was Kerry Chitwood, Kerry and Dan been friends ever since they joined the motorcycle
gang together. Once, Kerry was done providing services to Dan he would contact Mark to supply
him as well. All the illegal drugs that these men were selling was what they had in their inventory
but, they were also selling prescription drugs such as Percocet's (FBI, 2013). Mark had a
connection with a fellow Hells Angels member Big Frank he sold Percocet’s and oxycodone pills.
The first mistake the gang made was an arrangement between Mark and Big Frank to sell
some of the pills to a customer. However, the gentlemen were not aware that Frank would be
selling the product to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. Meanwhile, this illegal
activity is not what brought the men down it was members of the Hells Angels selling illegal
firearms to an informant. These firearms were not regular handguns they were firearms such as
assault rifles with extended mags, machine guns, silencers and more (FBI, 2013). The men gave
40 of these weapons to the informant knowing that the guns were supposed to be used in a drug
robbery (FBI, 2013). The men knew that the informant had a felony but they did not realize that
the man was working for the feds. The informant started to wear wiretaps in additional meetings.
After he reported to law officials about the weapons that were given to him in which they took the
proper steps to create a RICO case against the members.
Furthermore "these firearms were taken off the street by the coordinated sting operation by
law enforcement" (FBI, 2013, p. 1). Mark Baker and David Oiler had a month-long trial and were
charged with several charges such as RICO conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, money laundering,
etc. (FBI, 2013). Majority of the members plead guilty and are facing up to 20 years in prison.
This case was a joining investigation, which included numerous organizations like, the FBI,
Lexington Police Department, Rock Hill Police department, and many more who were not named.
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 8

Roslavko Dubrovskaya

The organized crime group called Roslavsko Dubrovskaya was initiated in 2004 in a small
city called Roslavl in Smolensk region, Russia (Crime Russia, 2018). The leader of this vicious
crime organization was called Igor Galantsev (Crime Russia, 2019). Igor Galanstev's multiple
allies were accused and prosecuted for numerous counts like murder, carrying unauthorized
weapons, banditry, and building a community that participates in crime (Crime Russia, 2019). Igor
Galantsev was the leader of his gang for more than 4 years, shortly after that three other gangs
joined their group. Not long after, the group led by Igor Galantsev started expanding its impact on
the neighboring districts (Crime Russia, 2018). This caused a few other criminal groups from the
urban areas of Bryansk, Vyazma, and Smolensk to join their gang (Crime Russia, 2018). This
caused an expansion, and their power and influence to grow rapidly.

Furthermore, prosecutors believed that the whole gang altogether committed various
crimes which included 40 other murders from their rivals (Crime Russia, 2018). The 40 murders
were connected to the murder of code – bound thief Merab Tabagua, and former prosecutor
Nikolay Prokopvich. Besides the brutal killings, the gang terrorized a shopping mall while being
under the influence of alcohol. From there, another gang member called the Vertolyotovskies were
robbing 5 resident homes which totaled an amount of 1.5 million Rubles which is equivalent to
23,400 in U.S. Dollars (Vertolyotovskie Gang Members and Its Leader Detained, 2018). In the
article, “Vertolyotovskie Gang Members and Its Leader Detained” (2018) it stated that “during the
searches at the place of residence, there were unregistered traumatic weapons, a Kalashnikov
assault rifle with percussion grenades, and documents on cars that were used while committing
crimes which were found and seized upon (p. 2). The reason the Vertolyotovskie gang members
stole was that that the criminal group was under the threat of spreading defamatory information
(Vertolyotovskie Gang Members and Its Leader Detained, 2018).

In 2015, the criminal case was cleared by the Moscow Regional Military Court. However,
the criminal case was denied by the Supreme Court and the case was joined with the two other
gang member cases (Crime Russia, 2019). The other two gang member cases were compromising
of 230 volumes of the remand prisoners' preliminaries that went on for about 18 months (Crime
Russia, 2018). The Supreme Court needed to confine the time on these procedures in order for it
to occur. The case then concluded with that the jurors had been placed under pressure in making
such a decision (Crime Russia, 2019). This made the lawyers of the criminal groups build up a
negative image on law enforcement officers in which "by stating the officers had offered the
accused to confess or at least something and turn their allies in” (Crime Russia, 2019, p. 3). The
lawyers were also stating that the criminal gang members had not taken any part in the crime wars
(Crime Russia, 2019). Thus, this leads to the organized crime groups to plead not guilty and all of
the charges were disregarded.
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 9

Conclusion

Organized crime was invented in the 1800s. From there, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation got involved with the Transitional Organized Crime. It then led to creating The
Organized Crime Control Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. These
organizations showed the rates of organized crime and how it has changed over the years. The first
gang to perform organized crime was called Forty New Thieves. After, the first gang committed
organized crime other gangs and individuals had risen. Next, came another gang called Hells Angel
Motorcycle Club in committing organized crime. Later, came an individual by the name of
Roslavko Dubrovskaya in committing organized crime. In each case, the only similarity all the
gangs had was they all committed a federal crime. All were sentenced to jail time for their crimes.
As a result, organized crime needs to be resolved because ever since it was created the numbers
have continuously increased.

The Organized Crime Control Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
were made to prevent organized crime from continuing. Essentially, Congress needs to enhance
these acts and organizations to fully discontinue and stop organized crime from occurring. It is
best for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to put forth more time and effort into preventing
organized crime. Organized crime needs to be one of their many priorities instead of just pushing
it off. Another option could be that Congress increase the funding for organized crime to the FBI
and other federal law enforcement agencies. This idea could help diminish organized crime from
escalating so quickly. Another option would be to have Congress provide direct funding in regards
to organized crime. This would ensure that an increase in organized crime funds would go directly
towards criminal acts, organizations, or programs. Currently, the federal budget in crime is more
used in counter-terrorism rather than in organized crime. Therefore, with the assistance with
Congress, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies should be using their time to prevent
organized crime with their federal budget.
Running head: ORGANIZED CRIME 10

References

Boys, B. (2015, January 14). Beware the Forty Thieves, very first gang of New York. Retrieved
from http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2009/03/beware-40-thieves-very-first-gang-
of.html

Crime Russia. (2018, September 24). 40 murders. Roslavsko-Dubrovskaya organized crime

group to be judged again. Retrieved from https://en.crimerussia.com/organizedcrime/40-
murders-roslavsko-dubrovskaya-organized-crime-group-to-be-judged-again/

Crime Russia. (2019, January 15). General Procurator's Office tells about gangland wars in 3
regions in Russia with 40 victims. Retrieved from
https://en.crimerussia.com/organizedcrime/general-procurator-s-office-tells-about-
gangland-wars-in-3-regions-in-Russia-with-40-victims/

FBI. (2013, March 20). Hells Angels Members Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy for Their
Dealings with Drugs, Guns, Armed Robbery, and Money Laundering. Retrieved from
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convicted-of-racketeering-conspiracy-for-their-dealings-with-drugs-guns-armed-robbery-
and-money-laundering

FBI. (2016, May 03). Organized Crime. Retrieved from

https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime

Finklea, K. (2010, December 22). Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for
Congress. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40525.pdf

Vertolyotovskie gang members and its leader detained. (2018, September 4). Retrieved from
https://en.crimerussia.com/organizedcrime/vertolyotovskie-gang-members-and-its-leader-
detained/