ll survive any attempt at suppression – short of near perfect coercion” (192).
Thus we see in The Bluegrass Conspiracy how the relationship between law enforcement and organized crime is constructed. Often those at the highest levels of government and law enforcement responsible for cracking down on organized crime are, in deed, involved in its perpetuation themselves. Thorton’s attempt to leap from an airplane with $75 million in illicit drug proceeds is just one example. The Department of Justice’s cover up is another. The control of politicians by the wealthiest members of society who profit from organized crime is also readily apparent in The Bluegrass Conspiracy. Thus, before anything can occur that helps diminish this situation, the actual structure of society and government would need to change. Short of that, anyone who tries to stop it will be coerced into compliance or undermined in a similar or worse manner to Ralph Ross.
The relationship between state organized crime and the U.S. government is close enough to be fairly indistinguishable from each other. Only governments have the resources and power to carry out state organized crime, since governments are the only social force with the resources and power to make and enforce laws. However, structural contradictions come into play. Laws are enacted in order to maintain some semblance of social order, or at least to project that image to the public. However, when state’s have conflicting goals (i.e. stopping the spread of communism versus maintaining domestic law and order), they often break the very laws they enact and enforce as a means of achieving goals. The assassination attempt on Fidel Castro in order to topple his regime and strike a blow against communism was an example of state organized crime as a result of conflicting goals. It is such contradictory demands that Block argues are responsible for state organized crime having a history th...