Organized Crime In the

U.S.A.
By: Andrea B., Joseph B.,
Michael D., Ryan F., Jenoshan
J., and Ryan M.

The Major Crime Families

New York- Crime Capital in the country.
Had 5 major families:

All of the other cities only had one crime

family each, if any.

The Lucchese

The Chicago Outlet - Chicago

The Bonanno

The Patriarca Family - New England

The Gambino

The Magaddino Family - Buffalo

The Genovese
The Colombo

Families of New York

Bonanno Family
Formed by Joseph Bonanno with nearby Sicilians
Drug trafficking created the most income
Gambling, loan sharking, racketeering
First family to be kicked out of the Commission

Colombo Family

Formed by Joe Profaci in 1928

Known to be the most violent of the Five
1000s of murders committed
Used tactic of hit army
Second Family to be kicked off the
Commission

Had various civil wars - Joseph Massino

Movie created based on Bonanno Family
A Godfathers Story
Joe Profaci

Families of New York Continued

Gambino Family
Most powerful of the Five
Large numbers
5,000 men with 18,000 to
20,000 associates
1910-2004 control of 1000+
cities

Genovese Family
Most intelligent of the Five
Goal was to stay under the
radar
Took extreme precautions
Less deadly
No illegal talk

Lucchese Family
Most peaceful of the Five
Worked with the Gambino
Family
Lucchese was able to
avoid conviction for 44
years

Other Major Crime Cities

Chicago
Chicago Outlet - Italian Origin

Buffalo
Magaddino Family Italian Origin (Sicily)

Well Known Leaders

Leader
Giacomo Colosimo
Stefano Magaddino
Al Capone introduced in 1919 (below)
The Chicago
Outlet gained
wealth
through the
American
Prohibition.

Worked against prohibition by

shipping Canadian alcohol through
the Niagara border.

Other Major Crime Cities Cont.

Boston
Patriarca Family - Italian Origin

The Irish Mob

Tied close with the Colombo family.

Led by Frank Wallace until his murder by

Italian gangsters, in 1931.

Owned a lot of land in Maine, Rhode Island

and Mass. in the mid-20th century

Had a large war with Italian gangs

Rose into power later in the century.

The Jewish Mob - led by Mickey Cohen
Put in charge of Mafia operations in Los Angeles when his friend, Bugsy Siegel, was murdered.
Ran many casinos in the Los Angeles area.
Louis Buchalter - ran a private hit service in New York.
Meyer Lansky - formed the bootlegging group of the Syndicate which aligned many Italian and Jewish
gangs.

Roaring Crimes Before the Roaring Twenties

Even prior to the twenties and the prohibition epoch, illicit activities were still conducted.
Gangsters, at the time, found a lucrative market in gambling and prostitution.
Gambling was found in the form of activities such as roulette, craps, miscellaneous card games (such as faro), and
wagering on horse races.
Often, pool halls were utilized as alibis for gambling operations, which is attributed to the taboo nature of the activity.
Substantial demand for gambling opportunities were prevalent in cities, especially Chicago.
Gambling was presided by gambling kings, such as James Patrick OLeary and Mont Tennes.
Gangsters would get away with gambling if politicians were privy to it via campaign funds and bribery.
Gangsters were also involved in prostitution.
In cities, such as Chicago, gangsters created, operated, and managed a multitude of whorehouses. Many of the
female participants were young adolescents.
Organized crime also encompasses activities such as hijacking, theft, and contract killing.

Organized Crime Today

Organized crime has grown from being a domestic problem to an international problem
Nigerian crime enterprises, most significant of the african criminal enterprises, work in
over 80 countries, primarily doing drug trafficking and financial fraud
Asian crime syndicates are very mobile and adaptable, extensive financial capabilities,
white-collar crimes and mix illegal and legal businesses

Eurasian organized crime has cost the U.S millions of hundreds of dollars through their
businesses, investors, taxpayers, sophisticated fraud scheme and public corruption
The Mafia has more than 3000 members and affiliates in the U.S, major threat is drug
trafficking, heroin, particularly, and money laundering, industry experts in Italy estimate
that their worldwide criminal activity is worth more than 100billion annually

Organized Crime Today continued

Bribery
Sports Bribery
Counterfeiting
Embezzlement of Union Funds
Mail Fraud
Wire Fraud
Money Laundering
Obstruction of Justice
Murder for Hire
Drug Trafficking
Prostitution
Sexual Exploitation of Children

Alien Smuggling
Trafficking in Counterfeit
Goods
Theft from Interstate
Shipment
Interstate Transportation
of Stolen Property
Murder
Kidnapping
Gambling
Arson

Robbery
Bribery
Extortion
Drugs

Bootlegging
Production, distribution, and selling of forbidden
goods
Dominated by alcohol in the 1920s
Brought into states through outside sources
Kickstarted organize crime
Rise of organized gangs
Gangs extended organized crime from bootlegging
to other crimes
Such as narcotics, racketing, prostitution
Prohibition died in 1933 but bootlegging lived on

Famous Bootleggers

Arnold The Brain Rothstein

Al Scarface Capone

Public Enemies
Outlaws were formed because of organized
crime and the prohibition era
Crime was favoured
1929 The Great Depression
The Depression Era
People needed money

Famous Outlaws

John Dillinger

Bonnie and Clyde

Connection With The Great Gatsby

Relates to the control that these groups had with the
rich.
Anyone rich who was not born with wealth, was
associated with organized crime.
Organized crime relates to the rotting of the American
Dream.

Citations
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@GlobalMafiaNews. "The Rise & Fall of the Patriarca Crime Family." Global Mafia News. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

http://americanmafia.com/Cities/Buffalo.html
"AmericanMafia.com 26 Mafia Cities - Buffalo, New York." AmericanMafia.com 26 Mafia Cities - Buffalo, New York. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/bootlegging
"Bootlegging." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.
http://www.umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/nkazmers/organizedcrime1.html#prostitution
"Organized Crime - The Status before Prohibition." Organized Crime - The Status before Prohibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov.
2016.

http://americanmafiahistory.com/
Curator. "American Mafia History." IMDb. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.

Citation continued
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime
"Organized Crime." FBI. FBI, 2016. Web. 24 Nov. 2016.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/law/crime-and-law-enforcement/organized-crime
Organized Crime. Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Encyclopedia.com, www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/law/crimeand-law-enforcement/organized-crime.