NCJ Number
104332
Journal
Rutgers Law Journal Volume: 16 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1985) Pages: 439-494
Date Published
1985
Length
56 pages
Annotation
Following an overview of the origins and growth of La Cosa Nostra in the United States, particularly its structure and activities in the Delaware Valley, this article explores the harms caused by organized crime and describes governmental responses to organized crime.
Abstract
The social and economic damage caused by organized crime is occasioned by its wide range of criminal activities that include murder, drug trafficking, loansharking, gambling, arson, the corrupting infiltration of labor unions and legitimate businesses, and the corruption of police and politicians. Although governmental response to organized crime in the United States has been fragmented and largely ineffective from the early to the mid-1900's, relatively recent governmental efforts have been highly successful in weakening organized crime. An effective structure for combating organized crime was established in 1966 with the 'Strike Force' program, which uses regional units of specially trained prosecutors and investigators from Federal, State, and local agencies to target organized crime activities in their assigned regions. The centerpiece of Federal legislation to counter organized crime is the 1970 Organized Crime Control Act. Among its provisions are the creation of special investigating grand juries, the provision of use immunity to gain testimony from important witnesses, the easing of requirements for perjury convictions, the protection of government witnesses, and special sanctions for organized racketeering activities. The effectiveness of some of these measures is illustrated in cases prosecuted by the Philadelphia Strike Force. 259 footnotes.