Crime & Punishment

WOULD WE HAVE BEEN BETTER IF THE MAFIA STILL EXISTED AS IN THE PAST?

By: Stephen Sachs

Organized crime has a very colorful history in America. Born of the ghettoes of major cities during the first half of the 20th Century, many different ethnic groups competed for leadership in various criminal enterprises. Jews, Italians and Irish groups were particularly prominent, not to mention Chinese Triads. These groups formed a certain fait accompli insofar as each organized and controlled various rackets ranging from prostitution to narcotics, from gambling to unions. However much they seemed anarchic, in fact, these groups controlled a sub-culture very prominent in America, and perhaps more importantly, one which would not go away.

As prohibition came about, the street-gang formation of these groups changed into a more syndicate-type of direction. Almost as if a board of directors, leaders of various groups in various cities came together to direct their illicit activities and even to work together on various investments in different ventures. What resulted was a sort of cartel where this one group, composed primarily of Italian and Jewish gangsters, took control of many of America's rackets. As time went on, there was still violence, but that violence was restricted to primarily those who were involved in the illegal action, a sort of honor amongst thieves.

The 1950s brought about a change in this whole formula. Kefauver and his commission in the Senate decided to expose organized crime. The purpose was to bring down this polluting element of America. In a nutshell, slowly those binds that kept organized crime organized began to come undone. That is not to say organized crime was on the verge of falling, in fact with Sam Giancana's aid, President Kennedy stole an election from Richard Nixon in 1960. However, Kennedy's administration, led by his brother Robert, continued the assault on organized crime, resulting in the downfall of organized crime during the 1960s and 1970s.

Organized crime in America during the 1960s and 1970s was changing. Italians and Jews were being pushed out. Meanwhile, Las Vegas began to transform into a metropolis where organized crime elements could not remain as prominent as they were. Large corporations led by Howard Hughes, began to buy out mafia held casinos, though one still notices the hand of the mafia strongly involved in Las Vegas even today. Moreover, the 1970s saw the rise of organized drug use. Narcotics became popularized by the 1960s hippie culture. However, the 1970s saw a different type of drug use. LSD and marijuana moved to the background as cocaine reemerged from a dormancy of about 50 years, and heroin again became popular, though not as much as cocaine.

As cocaine became more popular, organized crime became weaker and weaker. Traditionally narcotics were controlled in the United States by organized crime. It is believed that Arnold Rothstein, the man who rigged the 1919 World Series set up networks for narcotics and alcohol to be brought into the country during prohibition. Rothstein was one of the earliest advocates of organized crime and although executed in 1928, his legacy endured on a couple of young men named Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Organized crime therefore controlled narcotics for a good 50 years before the government began to assault them en masse.

Eventually however, government infiltration became too much. Organized crime in its traditional form began its decline as many of the older leaders died, whether natural or not, and no strong leaders emerged to fill the void. Moreover, the fact cocaine was manufactured in South America led to new groups to jump into the void left by disintegrating organized crime ranks. Columbians and Mexicans, not to mention Jamaicans and other groups from South America came to gain power during this period. Jumping into the fray, these groups began a reign which has yet to be challenged.

Narcotics became more disorganized as gangs took over from organized groups. Rules and mores of innocent by-standers were altered, and anyone near a certain case was not a target. Anarchy reemerged as groups began to fight for control of areas being vacated by older organized elements. The street fighting emerged that has plagued America from 1900-1920, where small groups of ethnically united men would fight over turf. Born out of poverty, the groups emerged as organized. Now however, we have returned to a new anarchy, one far more dangerous than anything hitherto known.

As America has entered the 21st century, our criminal landscape has altered quite drastically. Gangs now control narcotics. New ethnic groups from Russia and China are more prominent, not to mention other Asian Triads. These groups are more ruthless than those attacked by Kennedy and Kefauver. America is battling groups in many different countries. Our drug wars have gone to Columbia and other South American countries. Mexico just elected a new President who has already begun to talk about the drugs and their flow into America. Canada and its borders along Washington and British Columbia have become an area of focus as drugs are either grown in British Columbia or brought in through the Port of Vancouver and brought across the border to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. What was once a controlled and local business is now multi-national. Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego, New York, Washington, and other major cities are now battlegrounds where narcotics are moved in and out. Gangs fight for turf. Small town America has been brought into the fray with drugs moving out of these major cities into impoverished small towns. Big city battles are now waged miles from them.

What has truly happened is that our criminal elements have lost control. Money has grown far too large and organization was taken away with the purges in the 1960s and 1970s. Today there is a large void to be filled and interestingly, America would have been better off had its Justice Department realized there would be no way to eliminate crime, and to accepted a status quo insofar as organized crime, with all its faults, is better than anarchy. Instead, with hindsight, we can sit back and take solace in the fact we are now in anarchy. Certainly our criminal element is more dangerous and more omnipresent than every before. Not to slight the memory of Mr. Kennedy, but do you think we are better off today than if he did nothing?

*If you are interested in reading about America's infatuation with narcotics and a pretty good summation of organized crime, see Jill Jonnes, Hep-Cats, Narcs, and Pipe Dreams, A History of America's Romance with Illegal Drugs, Baltimore: John's Hopkins, 1996.