Organized crime in America

The "Mafia" has dominated organized crime in America for over 60 years. Ruled by immigrant Sicilian Italians and grounded in the tradition of family and loyalty, the Mafia is a loose association of criminal groups called families. In actual, a large number of the members are related by blood, marriage or through the godfather/godson relationship. Its gross income is somewhere in the vicinity of $150 billion annually, almost all of which is clear untaxed profit (Harris, 1984, p. 9).

The business/criminal activities of the Mafia range from drugs to gambling, which are its largest sources of illegal profits, to loan-sharking, labor racketeering, pornography and prostitution (Harris, 1984, p. 9). Much of their success has entailed corrupting police departments, prosecutors' offices, local, state and federal officials, as well as the ability to influence Congress and perhaps even the Presidency.

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on or, it not possible, defeating it. Today, outright bribes are too easily discovered, so the preferable way of "doing business" is by giving them in the form of political campaign contributions. The result is the same. Las Vegas and the State of Nevada's view of its number one source of revenue is a perfect example of how the Mafia has been able to carry on the business of organized crime with the apparent "blessing" of its politicians. Supposedly regulated by the agencies of the state, Las Vegas is a wide-open city. In reality, the regulations are very loose. Ward Morehouse II, in The Christian Science Monitor, says: "In Nevada . . . there has never really been a concerted legislative effort to clamp regulations on the casinos" (Harris, 1984, p. 51). Since gambling provides 50 percent of the state's revenues, there is little incentive for enforcing the law, especially in light of the fact that gaming contributes heavily to state and local political campaigns and provides about 30 percent of all jobs in Nevada (Harris, 1984, p. 51). Though Nevada law bars known organized crime figures from owning and/or operating a casino, there is nothing preventing them from doing it through "fronts." The Mafia's interest in the
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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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