Introduction
Organized crimes refer to all the illegal activities that are carried out by transnational syndicates that are formed and virtually run by criminals, and which represents exceptionally organized and highly centralized groups of criminals with an objective of generating monetary profits out of widespread participation in unlawful activities. Mostly, these gangs are referred to as mafias including the famous world gangs such as the American mafias, the Cosa Nostra of Italy, the Russian mafias, the triads of China, the Irish mob of Ireland among others across the world (Rudy, 2007). According to the United States organized crime control act of 1970, organized crimes are basically the illegal acts that are carried out by highly organized, centralized, and disciplined gangs whose main objective is to make money out of those unlawful practices (Grennan & Britz, 2006). Consequently, they are characterized by high levels of corruption, violence, high degree of sophistication, connection, highly organized structures, control, either strategic ideology or complete lack of it, a sling of enterprises and networks both locally and internationally, as well as close association with and involvement in legitimate business ventures. Mostly, the illegal business activities of organized criminal syndicates includes drugs trafficking, sex and prostitution, gambling and loan shaking, extortion, organized robberies and threats, smuggling among other illegal business enterprise (Rudy, 2007). However, organized crimes have been at time organized with a political motive especially those executed by terrorist groups like the infamous al Qaeda (Grennan & Britz, 2006). The American Mafias is one if the most dangerous organized crimes syndicate in the United States whose operations have since gone international. This paper there demonstrates how the federal tools and strategies as well as the federal anti-organized crimes legal statutes can be used to investigate the American Mafias with an objective of bringing the syndicate to extinction.
Federal tools and strategies to combat organized crimes (the American Mafias) in the US
Due to the threat that American mafias poses to the national security and as well as socio-economic well being of the united states, coordinated effort have been necessitated to carry out investigations aimed at unearthing and prosecuting the members and perpetrators of these crimes as affiliates. Ideally, the federal law enforcers including the federal bureau of investigations (FBI) are presented with appropriate approaches to combating organized crimes both in the US and internationally and which can be effectively used to combat the American Mafias. Such tools and strategies cover investigations into the organized crimes and operations, strategies to thwart planned crimes operations and preventions of the effecting, netting of criminals and affiliates of the groups as well as facilitating their trial and conviction in the federal courts the latter of which ensure protections of witnesses and their families (FBI, 2008). As such, the American Mafias are no exception hence the same tools can be used to uncover the illicit syndicate and bring the perpetrators to book. According to the latter, the most famous such tools and approaches that can be used to effectively uncover this syndicate includes undercover operations, highly planned and technologically aided round the clock surveillance in tracking criminals operations, use of highly confidential sources in investigations, use of intelligence analysis and sharing as well as use of staged and technologically-assisted forensic accounting. Furthermore, the mafias will also be uncovered using multi-agency investigations as well as using the power of racketeering decrees to uproot the whole organized crimes gangs’ networks. Since American Mafias operations have since become a matter of international concern, the team of investigation will work in close partnership with the international crimes investigation agencies and law enforcers which will virtually involve exchange of criminal investigations personnel with international countries in which the syndicate is expected to have spread, mainly to thwart and destroy the Mafia’s international links and making it easier to combat them (Grennan & Britz, 2006).
Undercover operations
The undercover operations present the most ideal tool to uncover the operations of the American Mafias. In regards to the operations of this syndicate, it is easy to track down their operations using informants the latter of which poses an extremely ideal tool to combat it via seeking to obtain information concerning a plan and impending operation by an organized criminals syndicate. However, the method effectiveness in achieving this objective depends of the ability of the investigation team to authenticate the dependability of the informant as well as rip offs. According to Rudy (2007) the shortcomings in the use of undercover operations is the fact the informants are infamously a challenge to control particularly in cases where established and experienced organized crime gangs are the subjects of investigations; the latter of which is a characteristic of the American Mafia. Although, Grennan & Britz (2006) asserts that the undercover operations are exceptionally useful when investigating organized criminal syndicate that are recently formed and with limited historical information, the strategy/tool presented by undercover operations can still be used to uncover the operations of the American Mafia. Nevertheless, the team must maintain the highest level of efficacy to obtain favorable results of which experience is of the essence. In the undercover operations, the team will work closely with the informant’s information and greatly use their intelligence and other model to ascertain the authenticity and reliability of the informant’s information in regards to the organization and operations of the Mafias. However, the investigating team must understand that any information from the informant regarding the American mafias is a resource to the investigations regardless of the degree of reliability of such information.
The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970
The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 is a piece of legislation that was instituted in 1970 and that sought to provide legal framework to fight organized crimes in the United States of America. Basically the act was enacted with the American Mafia as the main consideration and reason behind the enactment. As such, the statutes contained therein guides the federal government, strengthens the ability of the federal in organized criminal investigations, trial, and convictions of netted criminals and syndicates affiliates as well as protection of informants witnesses and their families (Grennan & Britz, 2006). In effects it presents the team destined to uncover the American Mafias.
Ideally, application of the act would greatly foster the investigations team’s effectiveness in the combating organized crime syndicates, particularly. More importantly, they offers the team a clear leeway of prosecuting, trying, and convicting (punishing) the netted members of the America mafias via the provision and establishment of a special grand of juries bestowed with the responsibility of investigating the multi-jurisdiction organized crimes within the United States (Rudy, 2007). As a matter of fact, the special grand juries established under the act would have the ability and power of investigating and presenting reports in regards to public corruption as all cases related to illegal activities perpetrated by the American mafias in the districts that constituted their specific areas of jurisdiction. Furthermore, the act virtually favors the investigations in to the illegal syndicate’s operations since it guarantees the witnesses of organized crime immunity from prosecution as well as guaranteed the absolute security of such and their families as a strategy of getting more Americans to come out and volunteer information valuable to fight such crimes.
Since its enactment, the act has been amended severally and improved to foster its efficiency and effectiveness in combating organized crimes. Among such amendments includes the Title IX of the act that incorporated the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act (RICO) which is in fact the most significant law in the fight of organized crime and which has since its establishment predominantly used in prosecuting suspects of organized crimes in the US. Others amendments include Title II of Chapter III—the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984, Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 and Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, which guides the fight against organized crimes in the United States. They also guide prosecution of netted organized criminal gangs and syndicates affiliates (Rudy, 2007) hence presents ideal guide for netting and prosecution of those suspected to be members and perpetrators of organized crime under the American Mafias syndicate. In effect the act coupled with the varying forms of its amendment presents the investigation team with a humble tool to fight the Illicit Mafias.
Lesson
From the knowledge and application of organized criminal investigations in the investigation, uncovering and prosecution of the American Mafias, what comes out is that tools and strategies for investigations cannot be static but should be flexibly varied to meet new organized crimes challenges particularly in regards to the American Mafia syndicate syndicates. Furthermore, state- of -the -art technology has been necessitated to effectively meet the challenge of organized crimes particularly the American mafias that keeps on advancing every other day in terms of organization and operations.
Conclusion
Combating organized crimes particularly the American mafias is indeed a daunting challenge for law enforcers and the federal government in the United States. Organized crime is ranked top on the threats to national security and economy. However, coordinated efforts to fight the organized crimes are evident across the US and elsewhere in the world and their achievement so far is unmatched. However, organized crime syndicates continue to advance in regards to organization, sophistication, and centralization as well as change in mode of operation. In retaliation, the strategies employed by law enforcers to investigate and prosecute organized crimes keep on being varied and enhanced to effectively meet the challenge. While this paper applies the knowledge o investigate and uncover the operations of the American mafia, the team made use of such tools and strategies as undercover operations, highly planned and technologically aided round the clock surveillance in tracking criminals operations, use of highly confidential sources in investigations, intelligence analysis and sharing as well as use of staged and technologically-assisted forensic accounting.
Furthermore, team employed multi-agency investigations and use of the power of racketeering decrees to uproot the whole organized crime gangs’ networks. Also the US Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 which guides prosecutions of organized crimes suspects and netted syndicate’s affiliates provides an ideal tool for investigation and prosecution.
Reference List
Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2008). Organized Crimes: US department of justice. Web.
Grennan, S. & Britz, M. (2006) Organized crime: A worldwide perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Rudy, G. (2007). Organized Crime Investigation: “Yes, Mr. Hoover, there is a Mafia”. Web.