Organized Crime - The Mafia in America

Many people see two main divisions when they think of crime: ordinary criminals, such as burglars and thieves, and organized crime. Although organized crime may not impact your day-to-day life, it is still important to be aware of its existence and its impact on the world.

The Mafia is perhaps the most well-known organized crime group in the world today. The American Mafia, which is also known as Cosa Nostra, is an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia, an Italian criminal society. The origins of the Mafia in Italy are believed to date back as far as the Middle Ages, when groups of wealthy families controlled Sicily through their social standing. The organized crime group known as the American Mafia first emerged at the end of the 1800s on the East Coast following a wave of immigration from Southern Italy.

The first Mafia groups in America started in New York City, where gangsters would threaten immigrants with extortion. By 1890, organized crime had spread to New Orleans, where the Police Superintendent was murdered, execution-style, allegedly by Mafia members. As organized crime grew on this side of the ocean, the criminal activities expanded from extortion to drugs and alcohol, robbery, kidnapping, murder, loan-sharking, and dozens of other nefarious crimes. In 1920, prohibition resulted in a significant increase in alcohol sales and related activities by the Mafia.

By the end of the 1920s, there were two main factions of the Mafia in the United States. This caused a major mafia war for the control of organized crime in New York City which lasted throughout the 1930s. It is during this time that Al Capone (or Scarface) led the Chicago Outfit, one of the main Mafia crime families, and amassed a fortune reportedly over a hundred million dollars. Like many Mafia kingpins, he was chased by the law for years, before he was finally caught for tax evasion.

By this time, the Mafia is believed to have infiltrated most of the major labor unions throughout the country, particularly the Teamsters Union. Little of the inner workings of the Mafia were known by outsiders, even law enforcement agencies, until 1963, when Joseph Valachi became the first Mafia member to provide a detailed look of the organization to the FBI. He exposed much of the secret structure of the mafia, including its ranking system and how Mafia members did business.

According to the FBI and other agencies, the American Mafia still has a significant level of control in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City, among other major cities. Today, although the word 'Mafia' is used to refer to almost any forms of organized crime, it is believed that there are about 26 major American Mafia families throughout the United States, as well as offshoot groups and associates in many smaller cities. The Mafia and its reputation have been portrayed in movies, TV shows, books, and video games. It is believed that Cosa Nostra has is hand in many major areas of crime, including labor racketeering, gambling, corruption, drug trafficking, pornography, tax fraud, and even stock manipulation.

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Street Crime in America

Unfortunately, street crime is still with us. Muggings, robberies, rapes and assaults are occurring at an alarming rate every day, and the financial and psychological cost of these crimes are devastating the lives of the victims. Americans have been rudely awakened from their false sense of security and they are angry and afraid. Who is committing these crimes? The majority of these crimes are committed by habitual criminals. Criminologist Marvin Wolfgang asserts that of the males born and raised in Philadelphia between 1945 and 1958, just 7 percent of each age group committed two-thirds of all violent crime.


Nationwide, law enforcement made an estimated 13,687,241 arrests (except traffic violations) in 2009. Of these arrests, 581,765 were for violent crimes and 1,728,285 were for property crimes. The arrest rate was 4,478.o arrest per 100,000 inhabitants of the total estimated United State population.
The arrest rate for violent crime (including murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) was 191.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the arrest rate for property crime (including burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) was 571.1 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Two year arrest trends showed violent crime arrests declined 2.3 percent when compared with 2008 arrests, while property crime arrests increased 1.6 percent when compared with the 2008 arrests.
Arrest of juveniles for all offenses decreased 8.9 percent in 2009 when compared with the 2008 number; arrest of adults declined 1.2 percent.
Nearly 75 percent (74.7) of the persons arrested in the nation during 2009 were males.They accounted for 81.2 percent of persons arrested for violent crime and 62.2 percent of persons arrested for property crime.
In 2009, 69.1 percent of all persons arrested were white, 28.3 percent were black, and the remaining 2.6 percent were of other races.

Are there any answers to the question of what can be done to deter street crime? Many communities are adopting a variety of laws, procedures and practices aimed at reducing street crime.


Putting more police on the street.
Sending more criminals to prison.
Keeping criminals in prison longer.
Develop programs intended to deter crime.

Many people are choosing to take responsibility for their own safety in a variety of ways, some are choosing to take self-defense classes, and even more are arming themselves with self defense products like Personal Alarm and Pepper Sprays.

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Violent Crime in America

For families and individuals residing in America the threat

of violent crime is a fear that we all have to live with.

Just pick up your local newspaper or turn on your T.V. and

see the headlines of murder, rape and assaults reported from

coast to coast. There is an answer to the realization that

you may be a victim of a violent crime, and that is to be

prepared to defend yourself should you find yourself in a

situation that warrants it.

A crime of violence or violent crime is a crime in which the

attacker or offender uses or threatens to use violence or

violent force against the victim. These include crimes in

which the violent act is the objective of the attack, such

as murder, along with crimes in which violence is the means

to an end, such as robbery. Males are the primary victims of

crimes of violence, with the exception of rape which

accounts for 6 percent of all violent crimes.

There are four offenses that are considered to be violent

crimes; they are murder and non-negligent manslaughter,

forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. These

violent crimes may also involve the use of force or the

threat of force.

In 2004, there were an estimated 1,367,009 violent crimes

reported in the United States. Of these, aggravated assaults

comprised over 62 percent of all reported crimes, robbery

over 29 percent, forcible rape or sexual assault over 6

percent, and murder comprises a little over 1 percent of all

reported violent crimes.

Here are a few alarming statistics about Violent Crime in

the U.S.

1. Over 94,000 forcible rapes were reported in 2004 an

increase of 4.9 percent since the year 2000. Approximately 6

out of 100 females in the United States will be a victim of

forcible rape.

2. Over 16,000 murders were reported in 2004 an increase of

3.5 percent since 2000, but showed a decline in the number

of murders reported in 2003.

3. There were over 850,000 aggravated assaults reported in

the United States in 2004. This crime usually has the

highest percentage of incidents reported each year. But

research has shown a steady decrease in aggravated assault

occurrences for the last 11 years.

4. In 2004 there were over 400,000 robberies reported in the USA,

robbery is defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)

as the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the

care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or

threat of force or violence and by putting the victim in

fear.

Now that you are aware of these statistics, and the need for

people in America to have the ability to protect themselves

from violent crimes, or if you are concerned about your

personal safety or the safety of your family, then stay

alert and be prepared and visit us at

http://www.safeselfdefense.com for all of you personal protection

needs.

Fight Back - Don't Be A Victim!

Sheri Gray is writer and webmaster for J & S Enterprises and online force in the personal self-defense products market. Serving the industry since 2004 J & S Enterprises offers Tasers, Stun Guns, Pepper Sprays, and Mace Defense Sprays. For more information on the products offered by J & S Enterprises and a link to check for Sex Offenders in your area go to: http://www.safeselfdefense.com

Violent Crime is on the Rise in America Today

Today, it's hard to turn on the TV or radio without hearing about a recent violent crime that has occurred somewhere in the nation. The headlines from coast to coast warn of the potential for assault, rape, murder, and other violent acts. As a result, today most families are aware of this growing threat. On the other hand, far too many people believe that crimes only happen to "other people," and therefore never take steps to protect their safety or prepare for the possibility of being attacked. Just how common are violent crimes in America today?

The four major categories of violent crime are murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. In addition, there are dozens of other crimes that may turn violent, such as a home invasion or a carjacking. In fact, violent crime is often defined as any crime that utilizes violence or a threat of violence, whether the intention of the act is the violence itself or the perpetration of some other crime.

Every year, there are nearly 1,400,000 serious crimes reported around the country. Aggravated assault tops the list at a staggering 62 percent of all reported violent crimes. While it is believed that the rate of assault has declined over the past few years, it still accounts for nearly 850,000 crimes every year, in nearly every city across the country and in rural areas too. You can never be sure that such a crime will not happen to you or to your family or friends, even if you live in an area that you consider safe.

After aggravated assaults, robberies account for the next highest numbers of violent crimes. At nearly 30 percent of all violent crimes committed within the United States, over 400,000 robberies occur in the U.S. each year. Robbery is defined as the taking of personal property by the use of violence or the threat of violence. In addition to attacks on the street with an aim of robbery, there are also carjackings, business break-ins, and home invasions as well as other property crimes that may turn violent.

Rape and sexual assault accounts for over 94,000 reported crimes each year. Approximately 6 of every 100 women currently living the United States will become a victim of rape or sexual assault during her lifetime. Sexual assault is the only category of violent crime in which females are the primary victims. For all other types of violent crimes, men fall victim more often than women. Your appearance, no longer how confident or "tough looking" you are, is not enough to keep you safe from a violent attack.

Murder accounts for about one percent of all reported violent crimes. Although statistically small, this means about 15,000 murders each year. This high number is enough to strike fear into anyone, giving you more than enough reason to purchase pepper spray, home security alarms, and other devices to keep you and your family safe from this and other violent crimes. If you do find yourself in a situation that is potentially violent, wouldn't you want to be able to protect yourself and the ones you love from harm?

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Proposed Federal Law Would Be a Hate Crime Against America

"We're not going to win this case, but that's okay. Once we get 'hate crime' laws on the books, we're going to go after the Scouts and all the other bigots."

This was a remark made in the gallery by the Clinton White House liaison for "gay" issues during U.S. Supreme Court hearings on the Boy Scouts case in 2000. She had whispered it to the Rev. Rob Schenck, whom she mistakenly thought was one of those liberal clerics who think God is still making up His mind about sexual morality.  

The point is that the proposed federal "hate crime" law before the Senate is less about righting wrongs than it is about elevating sexual preferences - all of them - to civil rights status so they can be used as a battering ram against people with traditional values.  

"Hate crime" laws ensure unequal justice. They empower some groups of victims at the expense of others. A grandma using an ATM machine should have as much protection under the law as a man walking out of a "gay" bar. But under the proposed federal "hate crimes" law, an assailant of a man perceived as homosexual would face greater penalties than grandma's mugger.  

Today (Thursday, June 25), the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909), which passed the House on April 29 in a largely partisan vote of 249 to 175, with 10 abstentions.  

Named after the Wyoming college student beaten to death in 1998 and whose killers received the maximum in a state without a hate crimes law, S. 909 is not only unnecessary but poses an acute threat to constitutional civil rights. It's a massive federal power grab over state criminal law, giving the attorney general's office the power to intervene into a "hate crime" case whenever they feel it is necessary.  

It would add "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to a list of specially protected classes such as race, ethnicity, sex and religion.  If this bill passes, the Congress of the United States will be officially creating a new civil rights category based on sexual confusion. Like "sexual orientation," "gender identity" is infinitely flexible, and includes transvestitism (cross-dressing) and transsexualism (believing that one is in the wrong sex's body and sometimes surgically changing one's sex organs).  

In the House version, an effort to amend the bill to exclude "pedophilia" was defeated in committee along party lines. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) even read a partial list of paraphilias from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, including pedophilia, and declared that "all of these philias and fetishes and isms that were put forward - need not live in fear because of who they are."  

This is why some of the bill's opponents call it the "Pedophile Protection Act."  

Here's how the law would work in practice: It would add penalties on top of those levied for criminal convictions, based on the perpetrators' perceived beliefs or the victims' group identification. In order to prove that the defendant holds particular beliefs, his or her speech, writing, reading materials and organizational memberships would become key evidence.  "Have you now, or have you ever been involved with a homophobic organization (like, say, Catholic Charities)?"  

Two paragraphs were inserted to mollify such concerns:  

(3) CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any constitutionally protected speech, expressive conduct or activities (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), including the exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment and peaceful picketing or demonstration. The Constitution does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence.  

(4) "FREE EXPRESSION- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual's expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual's membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs."  

But American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) attorney John Armor notes, "This is a head fake for citizens who don't understand freedom of speech protections."  

Ken Klukowski, an ACRU senior legal analyst, explains, "Paragraph (3) is only a statement of the obvious, so it has no legal effect. No statute can abridge constitutionally-protected speech. If any speech is burdened, and the speaker files suit, then the process and the result is the same regardless of whether there is any paragraph such as (3). The court then looks to the speech in question, the nature of the burden on that speech, and what protection the First Amendment extends to that particular speech. The court does not look to language such as (3) in deciding the case. If the burden in the specific case is unconstitutional, then it's impermissible whether the statute acknowledges the fact or not. So (3) is just there to help pass the bill by giving people a talking point to say 'this law does nothing to violate anyone's free speech rights.' It makes no difference in court whatsoever."  

The bill also would create a federal slush fund for hate crime prevention programs at the state and local levels, including school programs that equate traditional morality with "bigotry." The Justice Department's "hate crime" section relies on material from groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, which lumps legitimate conservative and Christian organizations with "hate groups."  

Besides its threats to basic freedoms, the law is unnecessary. America is not awash in an epidemic of hate crimes, which constitute a microscopic portion of the more than 11 million crimes reported in the United States annually. In the latest crime report released in October 2008 by the U.S. Justice Department for 2007, nearly 80 percent of the 7,624 incidents of "hate crimes" listed in "crimes against persons" involved "intimidation" (47.4 percent) or "simple assault" (31.1 percent), which could involve nothing more than words.  

The proposed federal hate crime law, like all hate crime laws, politicizes crime, leading to pressure on police and prosecutors to devote more of their limited resources to certain victims at the expense of others. For example, homosexual activist groups descended on Wyoming and created a media circus around the Matthew Shepard case, costing the state heavily for public relations. Meanwhile, the story of Kristin Lamb, an eight-year-old girl who a month before Shepard's death was killed in Wyoming and her body thrown into a landfill, received virtually no news coverage or concerns about a possible "hate crime."   Hate crime laws lay the groundwork for assaults on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In Canada, Great Britain and Sweden, clergy have been investigated and arrested for advocating traditional morality.  

"Hate crime" laws are already being used to silence people in the United States. A pastor in New York's Staten Island saw two billboards with a Bible verse on them taken down in 2000 under pressure from city officials, who cited "hate crime" rhetoric.  

In Philadelphia, 11 Christians were arrested and jailed overnight for singing and preaching in a public park at a homosexual street festival in 2004. Five of them were bound over and charged with five felonies and three misdemeanors, totaling a possible 47 years in jail. These charges, based on Pennsylvania's "hate crimes" law, hung over them for months until a judge finally dismissed them.  

Freedom-loving Americans deplore any violence against innocent victims (including homosexuals), but strongly oppose "hate crime" laws as unjust and dangerous.   All people deserve impartial justice under the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. The proposed federal hate crime law imperils that cherished right on many levels.

Robert Knight is Senior Writer and Washington D.C. Correspondent for Coral Ridge Ministries. A widely quoted journalist, commentator, and editor, Mr. Knight's latest book, Fighting for America's Soul, is available from Coral Ridge Ministries.