NCJ Number
38623
Date Published
1976
Length
18 pages
Annotation
THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF SYNDICATES AS SYSTEMS OF POWER AND THEREFORE AS PATRON-CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SYNDICATE MEMBERS THEMSELVES AND SYNDICATE MEMBERS AND LEGITIMATE SOCIETY.
Abstract
PATRONS ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN WIELD POWER AND OFFER FAVORS, WHILE THE INDIVIDUAL WHO SEEKS PROTECTION OR FAVORS IS A CLIENT. THERE ARE VARIOUS LEVELS OF PATRON-CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS SO THAT A PATRON IN ONE RELATIONSHIP MAY BE A CLIENT IN ANOTHER. THE SIZE AND FUNCTION OF PATRON-CLIENT NETWORKS ARE BASICALLY DETERMINED BY THE TYPE AND SCOPE OF THE ACTIVITY INVOLVED, AND THIS COMPLEXITY IS FURTHER INCREASED BY THE PRESENCE OF KINSHIP, FRIENDSHIP, AND CONTRACTUAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE STRUCTURE OF SYNDICATED CRIME. IN THE AUTHOR'S DEFINITION, SYNDICATED CRIME DOES NOT HAVE A RIGID STRUCTURE WHICH CAN BE FORMALIZED SINCE IT MAKES USE OF WHATEVER RESOURCES OR PERSONS NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT ITS FUNCTIONS. ACCORDINGLY, HE MAINTAINS THAT IT IS NOT REALLY USEFUL FOR DEFINITIONS AND ANALYSES OF ORGANIZED CRIME TO BE FORMULATED AS ANALOGUES OF THE CORPORATE BUREAUCRATIC STRUCTURES FOUND IN AMERICAN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY WHICH ARE BOUND BY RIGIDLY SET ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP. THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF SYNDICATED CRIME, HE SAYS, IS FLEXIBLE AND FLUID, BASED UPON THE RELATIONSHIP OF POWERITS POSSESSION OR THE LACK OF IT---BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS. THE AUTHOR SEES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYNDICATED CRIME AND SOCIETY AS SYMBIOTIC, WITH THE STRUCTURE OF PATRON-CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS INTERSECTING BOTH THE LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE SECTORS OF SOCIETY AS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE CASE OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHO RECEIVES A BRIBE FROM ORGANIZED CRIME AND THUS RELATES THE TWO SYSTEMS TO EACH OTHER. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)