Organized Crime & The FBI norfolk@fbi.gov The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines Organized Crime (OC) as crime committed by any group having some manner of formalized structure whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. OC groups are categorized as either traditional or non-traditional.

Traditional OC is often referred to as the "Mob" or "Mafia."

It's members have been called "gangsters," "mobsters" and "wiseguys" and are considered "public enemy number one."

Actual names include "La Cosa Nostra" (LCN) and Italian Organized Crime. The LCN, also known as the "American Mafia,"

consists of twenty-five crime families with bases of operation in major cities including New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia, but whose reach extends throughout the country.

The existence of the LCN was discovered over 40 years ago, when a Trooper for the New York State Police happened upon a meeting of well-known criminals from different cities across the United States. This discovery verified the existence of a nationwide criminal organization.

Non-traditional OC includes Asian, Russian/Eastern European, and Nigerian/West African groups, among others. Numerous other groups are in existence whose principal criminal activity involves drug trafficking.

Excluding the drug trafficking groups, OC groups are involved in criminal activities such as gambling, extortion, prostitution, loan sharking, labor racketeering, and murder for hire, as well as numerous financial crimes such as financial institution fraud, health care fraud, fraud against the government, money laundering and securities fraud. The primary objective of OC is to make as much money as possible through illegal activity, often relying on violence to accomplish their goal.

In 1970, Congress enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute to combat OC. Under this statute, proof of the existence of a "criminal enterprise" and the commission of multiple criminal acts by the enterprise which are linked can bring about stiff penalties. The FBI has utilized the RICO statute, and sophisticated investigative techniques such as electronic surveillance and undercover operations, to make a substantial impact on OC. In the past decade, convictions have been obtained against most of the heads of the LCN families in the country and their criminal organizations seriously disrupted.

In March 1996, the FBI launched "Operation Button Down." This five-year strategic initiative was designed to discourage LCN rebuilding efforts nation-wide after the very successful prosecutions of heads of many of the crime families and other members and associates. Through 1998, this initiative had resulted in the indictment and conviction of over 995 members and associates and is continuing.

In the FBI's Norfolk Division, FBI Special Agents work closely with seasoned investigators from the Virginia State Police and local police departments in the conduct of OC investigations.

If you have information indicating violations of the law which you believe are being committed by OC groups, contact your nearest FBI Field Office or the Norfolk Division. All calls are strictly confidential.
--
The Skeptic Tank http://www.skeptictank.org/ frice@skeptictank.org
http://www.nots.org/ http://www.taxexemptchildabuse.net/
http://www.xenu.net/ http://mp3.cafepress.com/skeptictank/
http://www.bobminton.org/

Go Back