Charges against three brothers and associates include money laundering, cocaine trafficking, income tax evasion and selling guns illegally. There are alleged links to Hezbollah, prison gangs and drug cartels. One brother and owner is a person of interest in a cold case murder of a former business associate. 

There was a lot of local press during the raid and soon after. There have been one or two hearings, thus far, for the purpose of setting bail but since the second hearing, there has been virtually no publicity. None of this story seems to have made national news which is very surprising given the fame of The Austin Music Scene. Just days earlier, thousands of fans and hordes of media were in town for SXSW 2012. Almost all the clubs seized hosted SXSW showcases. 

The Yassine brothers entered the Austin, Texas nightclub scene in the mid-90’s. There is some speculation that the businesses might have been set up as a front from the very beginning. Money was being deposited in Swiss bank accounts as well as sent to an uncle in Lebanon who is alleged to have ties to Hezbollah. 

Not only did The Yassine brothers own several trendy and cutting edge nightspots, they also created a vodka which went by the name of Famous Vodka and had a couple of other non-alcoholic locally produced beverage companies.

The entire entertainment district was shocked by the raids and seizures as well as the locals of the city. Nothing quite like this had ever happened in the music scene before. This seems to be the kind of story that would happen more in Nashville, Los Angeles or New York.

So, if you are coming to Austin, Texas anytime soon because of the famous music scene, you will be glad to know that the music scene is still alive and well. But there are several very hip, cool and trendy nightspots that remain shuttered. 

This article will critically discuss that organized crime is strongly linked to drugs. Organized crime is a rapidly fast growing topic that has several interpretations attached to this phenomenon. Organized crime is made up of several activities that is linked to this conceptsuch as racketeering, extortion and drug dealing. This article will also look into the traditional aspect of organized crime and how the Irish and Italians were associated with organized crime which was argued that this is due to poverty. Traditional organized crime had tight connection with the family patronage model However, after the war between the older and younger Italians the younger won their victory and became the leaders group (Known as the non traditional aspect of organized crime.) and replaced their fractious elders with an organization that was on the whole a lot more cooperative, stable and profitable. Also held the view that having connections with non-Italians was good for their business. This article will also elaborate on, as globalization expanded international trade on the other hand the range of organized crime also largely increased in illegal goods especially drug tracking this essay will also focus on other factors such as cooperate crime and terrorism arguing how through organized terrorism drugs travels through many countries before it reaches to U.K or USA.

Organized crime is made up of several ethnic and transnational groups that are in network with legitimate business and political entities. Organized crime was identified as the mafia. For example organized criminal groups are very difficult to be identified due to their covert nature. The link between organized crime and drugs is very fundamental this is due to the expansion of the international tradeand along with that the increase of organized criminal activities which has broadened vastly. The traditional hierarchal forms of organized crime groups have reduced with the result of the collaboration of other countries that are in network helping each other in order to exploit new market opportunities. Transnational organized crime is a major threat to human security as it affects the social, economic and political state of societies worldwide. This phenomenon has manifested itself with many activities such as extortion, money laundering, racketeering and drug trafficking. However, drug trafficking is the most popular and the main illegal activity and has also received great amount of profits. After the confiscation of drugs in USA and UK the successful running of drug trafficking and many other illegal activities has been achieved by terrorist mafias, the best established criminal groups involved in American drug trade.

Drug trafficking is a global illicit trade which involves the process of: cultivation, manufacturing and then distribution of drug substances to different countries. Drug trade is one of the global illicit criminal activities within criminal organization. There are also several groups who are involved within the drug trade; this includes the groups who are involved in trafficking of drugs, such as terrorists. Organized crime and terrorism is normally viewed as two separate crimes. Organized crime is generally more economic and focuses on maximizing profits from the illegal marketshare whereas terrorism is more of an ideological aim, looking for a political change. The concept of terrorism can be defined as the systematic use of terror to obtain “private material gains” . Terrorists and organized criminals share a relationship on the basis of alliance. Alliance exits in both groups. The ties between the two groups can be due to many reasons, such as seeking expert knowledge for example in money laundering, counterfeiting or bomb-making or by seeking operational support, for example by access to smuggling routes.

Established terrorist groups have advanced economic machines that support their activities for example member of IRA are involved in racketeering, drug trafficking, dealing and extortion. However there are limited numbers of terrorists who are actually involved in terrorist attacks. as mentioned above both groups are finding benefits in each other’s services by purchasing materials or receiving expertise.Crime groups supply terrorists with weaponry and at times provide an expert to use them and certain terrorists’ organization are the biggest drug suppliers in the criminal organization such as al-Qaeda.

The formation of alliance also exists in legitimate businesses settings. For example, when the state fails to guarantee business contracts, organized criminal groups get involved by using force and violence, threat or organized extortion to impose their decisions upon the state. For example in places like Sicily and Russia, groups known as mafia are active, their role is to dominate illegal activities in certain territories or country for example, the sale or distribution of drugs. Drug traffickers operate in almost every country in the world and the drug trade relies on organized criminal network with other counties, where they are in strong ties in regard to drug trafficking business. There are several types of illegal drugs which are used for distribution however, this essay will be looking at few drugs that are produced in certain countries then are smuggled through several other countries before the drugs reaches its destination.

Heroin

Because heroin is produced in a relatively unstructured country and many people do it because they cannot rely on the state to provide for them so by producing these drugs this gives them a stable future and prevents them falling into poverty. So on this note poverty can also be a factor that causes people to turn into crime.

The control of cocaine suppliers has been maintained by the cartel of Colombians traffickers. Colombian groups are the largest in their drug trade, wealthiest and they are also very sophisticated in the organization of trafficking cocaine, this can be due to the control of the processing of laboratories that are used to convert coca beans. Cocaine is also produced in Peru and Bolivia. The export of drugs is handled by the Colombian trafficker organization which they send off to United States.

Consequences of Using Drugs

It is important to consider the effects that arise from continuous use of drugs. Studies carried out by United Nations in (2002) revealed that the people who use drugs at an early age eventually drop out of school because they can not balance between being in school and at the same time engaging in criminal activities. The criminal activities provide a reliable source of income that is used to purchase drugs which means their drug supplies would die if they exited from the criminal gangs. Organized crime has many effects especially on countries where the gangs are more active. This is because when the drug traffickers and users are eventually caught by the long arm of the law the government spends a lot of money in accommodating these people in correction centers. Some are lucky because they don’t get caught but from another perspective they are a liability to the government because they make babies that they are not in a position to take care of. In such cases the government is forced to assume full responsibility because if the matter is ignored it could worsen in future.

Trading in drugs is a very luxurious venture because latest reports suggest that the trade generates more than $ 400 billion every year. The revenues earned from this trade are used by terrorist groups and other criminal gangs to fund their activities. This is why fighting this trade has not been effective owing to the fact that the two factions are dependent on each other. For instance terror groups can not operate without funds and thus they have to participate in drug trafficking to survive.

Criminal groups operate like military units and thus they use the revenue obtained from drug sales to purchase firearms and if this is not possible they negotiate fro trade-ins.This means that the drug barons give out their drugs to firearms dealers in exchange of armunition.Firearms are a necessity because drug trafficking is a very dangerous venture because the competition is very stiff among the peddlers.

Organized criminal groups run and manage the areas where the drugs are produced under close supervision of terror groups. The criminal gangs act as the marketers while the terror groups assume the role of regulating the market. The terror groups use the money from drug trade to fund their activities such as building their own houses and buying their own vehicles. The criminal groups are cautioned from any external and internal invasion by the terror groups and in such cases government forces can not interfere with this trade.

There are many police informers who have been killed by these terror groups and rumor has it that those who go untouched are well connected with such groups. This argument suggests that if the trade is to be eliminated then governments have to eliminate these terror groups before pursuing the drug barons. Among the most dreaded terror groups include the al Qaeda, Tamil tigers and Abu sayyaf group among many others.

Drug Producing Countries

The Open Society Institute report (2005) has identified Afghanistan as the major producer of opium which is the crop that is used to manufacture narcotic drugs. The crop is grown in large farms that are protected by al Qaeda and Taliban. Opium farming forms the backbone of Afghanistan because the crop yields more profits compared to other crops and the margin is usually much bigger by far.

In fact the lives of most farmers in opium growing regions has improved drastically and in deed majority of the farmers are aware of the risks involved in this trade but then they can never make such huge returns from growing other crops such as wheat. Crop farming is just like any other business where the merchants are out to make profits and thus no one would grow a crop that does not yield huge profits.Columbia is another source of cocaine where the fields are managed by a group that is commonly known as Cali which is cartel group that is based in the same region.

The Financing of Organized Crime Groups

The organized criminal groups benefit from multiple streams of income. Their immediate funds are drawn from individuals who reside in their areas of operation. Secondly corporate entities also make contributions to these groups as a sign of allegiance to the groups. When the individuals and organizations don’t submit their contributions at their free will they are forced to make daily contributions or face the wrath of the organized groups. Besides that the people who are out of the country make voluntary or forced donations when they come back home for them to be recognized by the group.

In groups where the members come from one ethnic community then the ethnic and religious leaders from such communities have a mandate of giving monetary handouts to the groups. The groups are then called upon to help the leaders during their greatest hour of need to fight their opponents who are viewed as threats to the leaders’ political aspirations. Furthermore the organized groups engage in forgeries, robberies and in legal business ventures like in the transport industry where some one some fleets.

Organized crime groups enhance the trade in drugs because they capitalize on the inhibitions of the law towards the trade. They therefore act as the channel of distribution because they conduct this business in a very discreet manner. One needs to compare this argument with those of legal drugs to get a clear picture. The organized groups facilitate this trade by enrolling more members into the group. Initially the new members are offered the drugs for free until they become used to it. The new comers indulge into taking drugs as a way of seeking acceptance from the group members.

Most organized crime groups especially the Italian groups are based on family ties and this may influence the members of such families because when children grow up seeing their seniors consuming drugs they think it’s acceptable because it eventually becomes their family’s culture. Other than that criminal gangs act as a refuge to youths who have been affected by the ever increasing rates of unemployment. Belonging to an organized gang gives them a sense of belonging. Besides that any one who does not belong to an organized group is viewed as an outcast and feels isolated.

Joining an organized gang but leaving it is not easy because defaulters risk being killed and this is because they are thought to be potential traitors who could reveal the group’s secrets to government agencies. Other than that some people find their first encounter with drugs quite appealing and thus they develop a taste for the drug but since the drug is illegal they have to join the criminal gangs to ensure they have sufficient supply. The drug traffickers are very cautious and hence they don’t sell to every Dick and Harry. This implies that one can not make a purchase if he/she is not recognized by the group members. Moreover the members of an organized gang have unique phrases that can not be understood by non members.

The market for narcotic never declines and thus gang members appreciates it because it offers the job security that every other person is longing for. As mentioned earlier joining organized crimes is easy while exit is almost impossible. Additionally after new comers have used drugs for so long they can no longer live without them. Some look sickly when they miss a dose and the only way of remedying the situation is to take a dose. They become enslaved such that they can’t do any task without the influence of the drug and in deed it’s the drugs that make them feel brave. Research has proved that the murders that are committed by members of an organized gang are induced by drugs. This means that under normal circumstances they would not engage in criminal activities.

The members of an organized group have their own way of dealing with law enforcers to ensure that they don’t interfere with their ventures. Such law enforcers are given monetary handouts in exchange of immunity. In fact some of those drugs are sold in broad day light and the police officers know it but since they have vested interests in the trade they opt to ignore the trade. Some drug barons are well connected with influential members of the society hence there is no point of arresting them because they will hardly get to the docks.

Drug traffickers employ very effective marketing techniques to ensure they reach their sales targets. They observe their potential clients very well and when they enroll them into the group they observe their interests and thus when such a member does not show up they know exactly where to get him/her from. There are long chains of commands in organized crimes and that’s why police officers find it difficult to get the real culprits because they are hardly present during the transactions. Amazingly most drug peddlers don’t consume the staff probably because they know the effects associated with drugs.

Technological advancement has further enhanced drug trafficking because the traders are able to reach their clients at the click of a button. Most drag traffickers have legitimate businesses that are used for camouflaging purposes. For instance a drug trafficker can be operating a barber shop but a keen look of his/her lifestyle suggests that his/her livelihood does not depend on the barber shop. In this case the barber shop is only used as a meeting point.

Theory of Social Control

This theory states that it’s the immediate society that hinders one from joining a criminal gang. This is because one would not want to taint his/her image and thus would want the society to recognize him/her as a morally upright person. The theory further states that individuals who intend to join criminal gangs first evaluate the pros and cons of becoming a member but since the advantages outweigh the disadvantages they opt to go for the kill.

From a normal person’s perspective there are many risks which makes the initiative worthless but the criminal gang makes it look and sound like a walk in the park. The organized gang members are motivated by their greed to acquire wealth without having to toil and hustle. Others use the opportunity to correct historical injustices by punishing the people who may have offended them in the past.

Albanese’s Theory of Typologies

This theory points out that people join criminal groups because they were not brought up in the appropriate environment. The theory argues that people who hail from poor backgrounds are most likely to engage in criminal activities because they lacked a role model while they were still at a tender age. The above statement implies that if all children hailed from well up families then there would be no criminal gangs. According to this theory the people from humble background feel offended because they feel they were denied an equal opportunity to realize their dreams.

From the classical point of view people are influenced by happiness and suffering which are part and parcel of criminal gangs. An individual may consider enjoying life for a limited period of time rather than spend his/her entire life in poverty. Those who fear suffering can not dare join a criminal gang which means the gangs are not meant for faint hearted.

However the structural view of the same theory explains that criminal gangs are meant to advocate for equal distribution of resources. The criminals view the wealthy persons as selfish people who are only concerned about their welfare. The ethical view explains that those who join criminal gangs don’t know what is good or right because they were not enlightened on such matters and that’s why good people are more compared to criminals.

Sutherland’s Theory of Differential Association

Sutherland explains that when an individual interacts with a group that behaves in a given manner then he/she becomes accustomed to the behavior of that group. When the period of interaction becomes lengthy then the person who is interacting with the group becomes adopted to the culture because with time they become unified by their ambitions. During the said interactions the potential candidates is taught about the ways of the criminal gang and when he/she is certain that he/she understands them a union is formed. The criminal groups are always on the lookout for new members because they reckon that the existing members will age some day and they may not be in a position to fulfill the mandate of the group.

How to Combat Narcotic Drugs and Organized Crime Groups

Organized crime groups and drugs are directly related and thus both vices must be addressed as one entity. Governments have been putting a lot of efforts towards the campaigns that are meant to enhance the fight on drugs. The communities have been incorporated into these campaigns because they are the most reliable sources of information and can help the state agencies identify the drug barons.

The volunteers are drawn from neighborhoods that are most prone to crimes associated with illegal drugs. The volunteers partner with police officers in an effort to prevent the trade in narcotics from taking place in those neighborhoods. In conclusion the governments are also conducting awareness campaigns that are targeting the drug traffickers. During these sensitization workshops the drug traffickers are enlightened on the risks of using narcotic drugs. This approach after it was discovered that majority of them don’t understand the risks they pose to the users. Organized crime and drugs pose a great threat to political and economical stability of countries and thus more efforts should be directed towards fighting the menace. Organized crime and the trade in narcotics will continue as long as there is a global market of these drugs.

The U.S. Treasury Department declared the freezing of assets also include the organization’s key members, including leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kenichi Shinoda. The move is the first time following the insistence of presidential decision last year.

However, the U.S. Treasury Department did not provide a detailed description of the value of assets frozen.

President Barack Obama issued an executive decision in 2011 to “target and disrupt criminal organizations critical transactions.”

Under the rules, members of criminal groups to be identified, those assets that are within U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and their supporters are prohibited to conduct any transactions in the U.S.. “They are using our financial system, they use our system to penetrate the commercial market, to disrupt the market and to obtain their illicit income,” said U.S. Treasury officials who deal with the problem of terrorism and financial intelligence, Thursday (23/2).

The U.S. Treasury Department also includes a list of eight people – two of the Yamaguchi-gumi and seven of the Circle of Sisters – as the subject of financial sanctions. Brotherhood of circles described as “multi-ethnic criminal groups” that operate in at least four continents.

Journalism can be a very dangerous occupation sometimes.

Luz Marina Paz was shot dead by gunmen on motorbikes just outside her home in Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

The 38-year-old journalist and her driver were hit by bullets from armed men on two motorbikes as she was about to leave for work. According to police, Ms Paz died instantly at the scene.

Ms Paz, who is one of the best-known outspoken journalists, hosted the famous morning programme, Three In The News which broadcasts every morning on the Honduran News Channel. In the programme, Ms Paz usually discussed topics on politics and narcotics trafficking.

In 2009, Ms Paz was very critical of the coup in which former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was deposed at gunpoint.

Prior to her death, Ms Paz had received numerous death threats from organized criminals to whom she vowed never to pay extortion.

Reports indicate that the Honduran capital is rapidly becoming one of the world’s worst homicide areas due to massive corruption and heavy drug-trafficking.

According to human rights advocates, at least 23 journalists have been killed in Honduras since 2003 – mostly for stepping on the toes of drug traffickers and criminals.

Reports from the United States indicate that about half of the cocaine consumed in the United States is offloaded along the coasts and forests of Honduras.

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Hi Martin,

I’m so sorry for the delay.

We will send you a payment to your PayPal payment next Monday.

There was a slight error that prevented your payment from going out this week which I will get fixed right away.

Best wishes,
Lindsay

In Reply To:
Hello,

Your FAQ says that payment will be automatic every monday when i reach the requested amount, please remit to my paypal which address is HYPERLINK “mailto:HYPERLINK “http://us.mc1107.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=wonblaise@yahoo.com“wonblaise@yahoo.com“HYPERLINK “http://us.mc1107.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=wonblaise@yahoo.com“wonblaise@yahoo.com!

best regards,
martin monroe

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RE:RE:payment

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 4:03 PM

From:

“CD Baby”

Add sender to Contacts

To:

wonblaise@yahoo.com

Hi Martin,

I’m sorry for the confusion.

Your current account balance (amount owed) is $0.84.

We won’t be sending you a payment until you reach $10.00.

Let me know if you have any further questions about this.

Best wishes,
Lindsay

In Reply To:
Hi Linsey,

I was just wondering about that payment, it’s Monday and I don’t see it in my Paypal account. As a struggling musician every little bit helps!

thanks,
Martin

— On Wed, 7/20/11, CD Baby <cdbaby@cdbaby.com> wrote:

From: CD Baby <cdbaby@cdbaby.com>
Subject: RE:payment
To: wonblaise@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 1:11 PM

Account balance

Friday, July 29, 2011 9:33 AM

From:

“CD Baby”

Add sender to Contacts

To:

wonblaise@yahoo.com

Hi Martin,

I’m so sorry for the confusion and frustration caused by the problem with your account balance.

There was an erroneous deduction of $14.59 that occurred on January 5, 2011.

That brought your account balance to a negetive amount ($-14.59).

Now that we’ve added that amount back to your account, your balance is now correct at $0.84.

In other words, since you were last paid (on 12/5/2010) you have earned $0.84 for your music sales.

If you go through your accounting transactions and add up all your music earnings since 12/5/10, you will see the amount of $0.84 is correct.

I understand this might be confusing so please let me know if you have any questions about it.

Best wishes,
Lindsay K.

On the other hand some types of organised crime have been developed more recently due to changes in technology such as credit card fraud. Organised crime is generally regarded as highly detrimental economic, political, and social impacts upon modern societies. Organised crime as will be evaluated has consequences that no national government at the beginning of the 21st century could ignore, and the majority of national governments would attempt to reduce or minimise so as to prevent economic, political, and social impacts. As well as considering the economic, political, and social impacts of organised crime further consideration will be given to assessing the threat that the phenomenon of organised crime represents to national governments and societies in the 21st century.

There is several economic impacts that organised crime could have upon modern societies and their national governments. Perhaps the first economic impact of organised crime is that it could and indeed does adversely affect the actual income of national governments due to the phenomenon of tax evasion and avoiding the payment of duty on certain products. High value products such as alcoholic drinks, tabacco and cigarettes, as well as petrol or other fuels. Of course tax evasion is nothing new as a form of crime. Although given the amount of tax revenue which modern national governments could potentially or in many cases actually lose through the organised avoidance of tax. National governments consider lose of tax revenue as a serious economic impact of organised crime. Tax evasion takes various forms, some could be carried out by individuals, whilst organised crime carrying out tax evasion will have a more serious impact. Governments tend to put taxes on products such as alcohol, drinks, tobacco and cigarettes or fuel that are potentially harmful health-wise or cause environmental pollution. Taxes and duties are an invaluable source of revenue and are often used to fund healthcare services and transport infrastructure. Ordinary citizens might not believe that buying products without paying duties on those items is a serious crime, or that it is a form of organised crime that has a serious economic impact. However, that belief is not founded upon fact as declining tax and duty revenues can have a major impact on the economic wellbeing of national governments. In the past national governments such as Italy and Russia have found it very difficult to function effectively due to the inability to collect taxes and duties due to organised crime. Even in countries such as Britain that traditionally have low rates of tax evasion and an effective tax gathering administration have felt the economic impact of organised crime. The British government has noticed a sharp increase in the number of people that have evaded paying duties on alcoholic drinks and tobacco products in recent years. The Exchequer has been to quantify how much tax evasion and fraud is reducing its revenue, an estimated £7 billion in 2002-03 for example.1

To some extent the British government expected some reduction in the revenue from duties due to changes in the amount of duty paid items that people are allowed to import into Britain as part of the European Union single market. Organised crime gangs have taken advantage of the increase in duty paid personal allowances to import large quantities of drinks and cigarettes to sell on illegally. Besides people bringing back duty paid products to sell on, organised crime gangs have smuggled into Britain without paying duties. To prevent the loss of revenue from evasion of duties the British government has introduced various measures. For instance, alcoholic drinks and cigarettes are marked to denote that duties have been paid in Britain. Custom officers have also stopped and searched people that they believed were carrying amounts of products which exceeded personal levels of duty paid goods. Efforts to reduce the evasion of duties was hampered when the government lost a court case relating to the confiscation of goods from people that had been stopped and who had more than the persona allowance of those goods.2

Another economic impact of organised crime is the loss of profits form private companies caused by the sale of counterfeit goods and products. The sale of counterfeit goods breaches copyright laws and fraudulently take money from consumers that believe they are purchasing genuine products. Selling counterfeit clothing, music, and films has been lucrative for many organised crime gangs, money that they put towards funding other forms of criminal activity. The selling of counterfeit goods is another form of crime that not only denies profits to the makers of the genuine articles; it denies national governments the revenue from sale taxes such as value added tax (VAT) in EU member states. The United States government has been one of the keenest governments when it comes to clamping down on the sale of counterfeit goods. For instance, the United States government encourages American based companies to protect their copyright positions internally and abroad. The United States government regards counterfeiting as being as damaging to international trade as high trade tariffs or armed conflict.3 In the United States the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the IRS take responsibility for the reduction of organised gangs in producing counterfeit goods and will also persuade individuals and businesses to take legal action abroad to uphold their interests.4

Meanwhile, in Britain the Police are committed to reducing the level of counterfeit goods that are sold, as are customs and Trading Standards Offices. The production, distribution, and sale of counterfeit goods are done on a global basis with little regard to national borders, copyright laws, and paying taxes. There is a more sinister side to the sale of counterfeit goods than just allowing people to buy cheap copies of the latest blockbuster film or hit album. The organised crime gangs that produce and distribute counterfeit goods are also linked with making of illicit pornographic or violent films and magazines, which are banned by the vast majority of British governments. The production of such material has the social impact that people and even children could be harmed in the making of these films and magazines. Organised crime gangs will primarily produce, distribute, and sell illicit material solely for profit making without any regard for the economic, political and social impacts of their actions. The Home Office estimates that such actively has an annual cost of £9 billion.5 The techniques that organised crime gangs use to produce, distribute, and sell counterfeit and illicit goods have been used by terrorist groups to publicise their objectives and in order to recruit new members. For instance, in Britain the Police have confiscated videos, DVDs, and tapes of extreme Islamic groups as part of their anti-terrorist operations.6

Another area of organised crime that has wide- ranging economic, political and social impacts are the production, trafficking, and sale of illegal drugs. Organised gangs have a long history of producing, trafficking and selling prohibited substances. For instance, the Chinese triads have been linked with the opium trade for centuries, whilst the prohibition of alcohol in the inter-war the United States inadvertently allowed the Mafia to spread their operations. In the United States, the Mafia is the organisation that dominates the organised crime scene, which is strongly connected with the illegal drug trade.7 For the Mafia to be able to distribute illegal drugs it has to obtain supplies of these drugs from the countries in which they are grown. Thus the Mafia will trade with other organised crime gangs in Asia to obtain heroin, as well as buying supplies of cocaine from organised crime syndicates in Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Peru. The United States government alongside the FBI and the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) who have been tasked with reducing the illegal drug trade has found it very difficult to do so. When the law enforcement agencies fail to confiscate any significant amounts of drugs then the cost of such drugs on the street is lower and thus could be afforded by more drug addicts and tempt more people to try illegal substances. However, on the occasions in which the FBI, the DEA and the Police have seized substantial quantities of illegal drugs it has caused a rise in the cost of those drugs that makes the economic, political and social impacts worse rather than better. Such are the profits which can be made from the illegal drugs trade that organised crime gangs fight each other to maintain or increase their share of the profits.8

On the occasions in which the United States government and its law enforcement agencies have succeeded in imprisoning organised crime members and closed down illegal drug selling networks, new suppliers have quickly emerged to take their place. The United States government has also attempted to tackle the illegal drug trade by taking action in the countries in which those illegal drugs are grown and produced. This strategy has involved gaining the assistance of other governments like those of Columbia and Peru in destroying the drug crops before the organised crime gangs have the opportunity to harvest those drugs.9 In extreme circumstances the United States government and its law enforcement agencies have taken unilateral action to destroy drug crops. An alternative approach used by the United States government has been to pay foreign farmers compensation to stop growing drug crops that gave them a much higher level of income. In Colombia, Communist rebels in the FARC (Foro Nacional por Colombia) actively co-operated with drugs cartels to export cocaine to the United States.10

Efforts to reduce the illegal drug trade have failed to stop increasing numbers of people taking drugs, leading to the social impact of people committing crimes to pay for their drug habit. Drug addicts are more likely to commit crimes such as mugging and robbery, and may resort to prostitution to pay for drugs. The United States is certainly not alone in finding that the organised crime liked with the drugs trade has the social impact of causing an upsurge in unorganised crime to fund people’s addictions.11

Britain has had similar experiences to the United States when it comes to the economic, political and social impacts of the illegal drug trade. British governments have tried various means of reducing the use of illegal drugs. For instance, using drugs awareness campaigns to stop people trying to take drugs in the first place, through to rehabilitation programmes and tougher prison sentences for drugs traffickers and dealers. British Police forces have found it very difficult to get to grips with the problems that the illegal drug trade brings with it.

A turning point for the growth of the illegal drugs trade cam in the early 1980s when the demoralising effects of recession coincided with an influx of cheap heroin from Afghanistan.12 At present the British government estimates that there are 280,000 drug users who commit 50% of all crime.13

The use of illegal drugs had been steadily rising since the late 1960s, yet increased drastically from the early 1980s, with proportional increases in other crimes such as theft and prostitution to fund drug habits. Besides the drastic rise in crime figures and the prison population there were social impacts of the illegal drugs trade, such as drugs taking and prostitution being responsible for spreading the HIV/AIDS virus.

 To a large extent that latter impact was lessened by the introduction of needle exchanges and safe sex advice to prostitutes. Britain has witnessed more debates about decriminalising or prescribing illegal drugs on the National Health Service to take control of the drugs trade away from organised crime gangs. However, the decriminalisation of illegal drugs would be unlikely to occur as British governments and a majority of the general public would find such a move politically unacceptable. The only step towards decriminalising illegal drugs in Britain was the reclassification of cannabis from being a class A to being a class C drug. Illegal drugs and the strong almost unbreakable link to organised crime gangs looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, despite the creation of a dedicated organised crime agency to tackle the problem. Unless the British government, the Police and the other enforcement agencies are unable to stop the profitability of the illegal drug trade they are likely to remain fighting a losing battle.14

Not only has the illegal drug trade in Britain got links to organised crime gangs it also has strong links with terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland such as the Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Volunteer Force.15 Overall the government estimates that the use of Class A drugs cost £13 billion annually.16

Another area of activity undertaken by organised crime gangs that has economic, political and social impacts is the smuggling of people into other countries. Organised crime gangs have found that the smuggling of people is a very profitable enterprise to undertake. For the United States the experience of organised crime gangs smuggling people into the country to evade immigration controls was not a particularly new occurrence, as people have consistently tried to illegally enter the United States from Mexico for many decades. For other parts of the world the experience of people smuggling is a more recent event caused by some of the most significant political developments at the end of the 20th century. Such events included the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the wars in the former Yugoslavia and Somalia, which caused a great deal of chaos, poverty and violence.17 Organised crime gangs were quick to offer people the chance to get smuggled in to countries where they would be safe. Britain was one of the most popular destinations for people that wished to leave their own countries.18

Amongst the economic, political and social impacts of organised crime gangs transporting people into Britain was a dramatic increase in the number of asylum seekers attempted to stay permanently in Britain. For the organised crime gangs the smuggling of people across borders is a means to make a great deal of money without paying much attention towards the safety of the people that are transported long distances in sometimes very dangerous conditions. Some organised crime gangs simply transported people from one country to another for large sums of money, whilst other organised crime gangs forced their passengers to work for them once they arrived in their destination countries.19 The organised crime gangs certainly managed to get large numbers of asylum seekers into Britain, many of whom went on to apply for social security benefits and would cause a serious backlog in the dealing of immigration applications made to the Home Office. The slowness of the Home Office to deal with asylum seekers has proved unpopular with the general public in Britain and has caused the New Labour government considerable political embarrassment even if the Conservatives have not been able to turn that to their electoral advantages.20 An official estimate of the cost of the organised crime linked with immigration into Britain is £3 billion every year.21

The British government found that dealing with illegal immigration has had a costly economic, political, and social impact on Britain. For instance, the Home Office has had to recruit more staff to deal with the backlog of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, whilst their presence in Britain has increased social security expenditure and placed a strain upon housing and other social services. The Home Office has also discovered that members of foreign organised crime gangs took advantage of the chaos and delays within the immigration system to gain illegal access to Britain to fraudulently claim social security benefits and to link up with other organised crime gangs. Improving the administrative performance of the immigration sections within the Home Office would probably be the best way to counter organised crime gangs smuggling people into Britain.22

It is highly likely that organised crime gangs will continue to have a prominent role in the migration patterns that will develop throughout the 21st century, especially when the poverty and political instability in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa will drive people to emigrate away from their countries in desperation. People smuggling as a form of organised crime is more likely to increase rather than to decrease in the next few decades as conditions in the world’s poorest countries continue to decline even further.23

Other economic, political, and social impacts of organised crime include more violent societies. More violent societies are a consequence of cultural, social, and economic changes that organised crime gangs have helped to create and have also to a large extent taken advantage of. In Western societies such changes and tendencies towards violence were first noticeable in the United States during the late 1960s and the early 1970s, mainly caused by the increase in the use and trading of the illegal drugs trade. The growth in the illegal drug trade was a major cause the increasing levels of violent and organised crime within the United States and then other parts of the Western world. Just as the United States plays a prominent role in legal trades it has played a major part within the global development of organised crime. For instance, the United States is the country that has the greatest consumer demand for legal products so it not surprising that it is the country that consumes the greatest amounts of illegal products. In economic terms, organised crime gangs will have similar decision-making rationales as multinational corporations; they will operate in the locations, which seem to offer the greatest prospects for making a profit.24

Over the long term the policies adopted by American governments to counter the increase in the illegal drug trade will continue to fail, just as they seem in most other countries. The phenomenon most closely linked with the illegal drug trade is the seemingly ever increasing levels of crime especially violent crime that can grip entire neighbourhoods and districts. The spread of the illegal drug trade also helps to increase the fear of crime in Britain as it does elsewhere. Drug and crime prevention measures only ever seem to have a limited scope for success when it comes to slowing down the spread of organised crime.25

Therefore, organised crime can be regarded as having had profound economic, political, and social impacts upon the societies of the two countries that were examined, Britain and the United States. In many ways the United States has faced the problem of organised crime longer than Britain has due to the virtually never- ending presence of the Mafia within the United States. Organised crime gangs have penetrated quite deeply into the economies and the societies of these two countries. Organised crime gangs make substantial profits in the United States and Britain through the production, distribution, and selling of counterfeit and illicit goods which the respective national governments have often attempted to restrict or confiscate whenever possible.

The sale of counterfeit and illicit goods causes financial loses to companies and individuals. Such goods can also spread unlawful information, images, or beliefs. The sales of such products also costs the British and American governments revenue from sales taxes. Organised crime gangs may contend that they are only selling what people want to buy for less than the retail price in shops yet that is denying the sinister purposes for which funds from pirated goods are put towards. Both the British and American governments regard tax evasion as an element of organised crime that has undesirable economic, political, and social impacts within their respective countries. The largest area for concern when it comes to the economic, political, and social impacts of organised crime relates to the illegal drug trade.

Bibliography

Evans G & Newnham J, (1998) The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations, Penguin, London

Ferguson N, (2007) The War of the World, Penguin, London and New York

Franklin J A and Morris R J, International jurisdiction and enforcement of Judgments in the era of global networks: Irrelevance of, goals for, and comments on the Current proposals, Chicago-Kent Law Review (vol. 77, 2002)

Hobsbawm, E (1994) Age of Extremes, the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, Michael Joseph, London

Home Office, (2004) One Step Ahead – A 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organised Crime, Crown Copyright

Judt T, (2007) Post-war – A History of Europe since 1945, Pimlico, London and New York

Molano A (1988) ‘Violencia y colonizacion’ Revista Foro: Fundacion Foro Nacional por Colombia, 6 June 1988

Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke

1 Home Office, 2004 p. 8

2 Jones et al, 2004 p. 626

3 Brown with Ainsley, 2005 p. 123

4 Franklin J A and Morris R J, , Chicago-Kent Law Review (vol. 77, 2002) p. 1215

5 Home Office, 2004 p. 8

6 Home Office, 2004 p. 10

7 Hobsbawm, 1994 p. 333

8 Home Office, 2004 p. 8

9 Hobsbawm, 1994 p. 366

10 Molano, 1988 pp 25-37, quoted from Hobsbawm, 1994 p. 366

11 Home Office, 2004 p. 2

12 Evans & Newnham, 1998 p. 9

13 Home Office, 2004 p. 2

14 Jones et al 2004 p. 626

15 Home Office, 2004 p. 10

16 Home Office, 2004 p. 8

17 Ferguson, 2007 p. 642

18 Judt, 2007 p. 740

19 Judt, 2007 p. 642

20 Seldon & Kavanagh, 2005 p. 331

21 Home Office, 2004 p. 9

22 Moran, 2005 p. 198

23 Ferguson, 2007 p. 642

24 Hobsbawm, 1994 p. 366

25 Jones et al, 2004 p. 622

On December 30, 1918, Al Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin, an Irish woman, who had given birth to their child earlier that month and the boy was named Albert Francis Capone. A couple of years later, Al Capone along with his family left New York for Chicago. Specialists estimate (Kobler, 2003, p.224) that he moved to Chicago with his family because of the invitation of Torrio, a criminal whom Al Capone was acquainted with. Torrio acquired the crime empire which inherited from another criminal James Colosimo murdered presumably by Frankie Yale. In such a way, Al Capone joined the organized crime, the family, where he started from the low positions but progress rapidly. By this time, i.e. by the early 1920s, Al Capone was suspected of two murders but he was not tried and avoided punishment.

However, he was dissatisfied with his current position and looked for a better position to provide for his family. As he arrived to Chicago, he became Torrio’s right-hand man and worked various administrative jobs in the Four Deuces speakeasy and brothel. By 1921, Al Capone was the full manager of the facility (Pasley, 2004, p.186). After the death of his father in 1920, the entire Capone family moved to Chicago where he purchased a new house at 7244 South Prairie Avenue on the city’s South Side (Kobler, 2003, p.311). This house served as Capone’s first headquarters.

In fact, the 1920s were the golden age of Capone’s criminal empire. It was the epoch of Prohibition when the illegal alcohol trade brought fabulous profits and allowed Capone became a wealthy and prosperous person, though officially he remained a furniture dealer. By the way, Al Capone did not have any accounting records in his own name. Nevertheless, he led a posh lifestyle, worn expensive suits, he became a true gourmet and actually joined the upper class, though, in actuality he was a criminal.

It is worth mentioning the fact that his criminal empire faced significant difficulties in 1923 when the local authorities headed by the mayor, W.E. Dever attempted to expel Al Capone and other criminals out of the city limits. As a result, Al Capone criminal empire had to move its headquarter to Cicero, Illinois, where Al Capone had reached a tremendous success. In 1924, Al Capone took over of Cicero town government. In spite of the opposition of local gangsters Myles and William O’Donnel that resulted in the bloodthirsty war, Al Capone managed to establish its control over the city, though the gangster war led to 200 deaths. Remarkably, Capone’s mayoral candidate announced that he would run Capone out of the town, but Capone met with his puppet-mayor and personally knocked him down the down hall steps (Pasley, 2004, p.218). 

The triumphant victory of Capone in the mayoral campaign was overshadowed by the tragedy which occurred to his family. His brother Frank was shot dead by the police. Al Capone was shocked by this tragedy and he ordered the closure of all the speakeasies in Cicerop for a day as a mark of respect to his dead brother (Pasley, 2004, p.221).

In the mid-1920s, Al Capone started to grow in power in Chicago, especially when he inherited Torrio’s criminal empire as the latter retired after the assignation attempt in 1925 organized by the North Side gang. In such a way, Al Capone became the head of the former Torrio-Capone alliance. At the same time, the retirement of Torrio allowed Al Capone to return and strengthen his positions in Chicago. But the growth of his empire was accompanied by numerous conflicts with other gangs and Al Capone even survived several assassination attempts organized by his rivals in Chicago. “Bugs” Moran was the major criminal rival of Al Capone in Chicago. At the same time, Moran amply used force and murders to grow in power in Chicago and Al Capone perfectly realized the threat from the part of this opponent. In order to “get rid of” this rival, the St. Valentine Day’s massacre was organized by the Capone’s mob. As a result, seven victims were practically cut in two by the machine gun fire, though Moran survived but got serious injuries and carried to the hospital. However, it was a serious defeat and Moran’s gang could not have recovered after such a massacre.

At first glance, it was a successful operation conducted by Capone’s gang, but, in actuality, St Valentine Day’s massacre became a turning point in the history of Capone’s criminal empire. In fact, the massacre had changed the public opinion dramatically. Before the massacre many people sympathized Al Capone for his open contempt in relation to the Prohibition and efforts of the government to ban the sales of alcohol. Before, he was perceived by the public as a brave bootlegger, a “businessman giving the people what they wanted” (Kobler, 2003, p.263). After the massacre, he was perceived as a kind of butcher, a man who ordered to kill other people.

As the public dissatisfaction grew stronger, the authorities also started their campaign against Al Capone. The President Herbert Hoover ordered to have a closer look at Capone’s activities. As a result, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies started to investigate Capone’s activities in details. However, they did not have a chance to arrest and sentence Al Capone for his illegal activities. Unexpectedly, the investigators discovered in a desk drawer in one of Capone’s facilities what was clearly a crudely coded set of accounts. Due to this discovery, Al Capone was pursued for his failure to pay tax. Eventually he was arrested and accused of tax evasion. As a result, in 1932, he was sentenced to eleven years in a federal prison and one year in the county jail and he also had to pay fines and court costs totaling $80,000 (Kobler, 2003, p.348). In fact, this was the end of Al Capone’s criminal career.

However, he did not serve his full term and was released from prison in 1939, but he could not resume his life of the boss of a powerful criminal crime since he was seriously ill and suffered from progressing syphilis which he contracted at his youth. On January 21, 1947 he had an apoplectic stroke. Even though he regained consciousness, he contracted pneumonia on January 24, suffered a cardiac arrest next day and died.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that Al Capone was one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century. He managed to create a powerful criminal empire which challenged the formal authorities and which was so influential that could even win the mayoral campaign. Nevertheless, his empire was based on murders, racketeering, bootlegging and other illegal activities. His power was based on terror which became the major tool with the help of which he managed to establish the control over Chicago’s underworld. However, his successes in the criminal world and his open neglect of the law led him to the downfall which was followed by imprisonment after which he would have never recovered. Today, Al Capone is a symbol of the criminal world.

As a rule, criminals that committed the most terrible crimes became familiar to the public because their crimes shocked people and attracted the attention of media and entire society. In this respect, Al Capone may be enlisted into the cohort of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century. However, unlike many other criminals, Al Capone was a very controversial person because, in spite of all his crimes, there were many people who really admired him and perceived him as a positive person. Nevertheless, such a view of Al Capone was apparently erroneous because it is hardly possible to find one more criminal who was responsible for so many crimes. He was one of the first criminals who had managed to establish a real criminal empire with the help of which he could terrorize civilians and he actually challenged the official authorities since his power grew stronger to the extent that he could even attempt to take control of the mayoralty in Cicero and Chicago. In a way, he was a genius, though he was a criminal genius, who, in spite of all his efforts, was sent to prison that was a just punishment for his crimes. Such an ending of his criminal career was very symbolic because it proved that American authorities did control the situation in the country and they debunked the myth about almighty criminals. In such a situation, it is very important to study the life and work of Al Capone since it helps to better understand the criminal world, its principles and weak points as well as causes of crimes and the formation of organized crime. This knowledge can help consistently contemporary law enforcement agencies to cope with crime, decrease the crime rates and prevent the formation of organized crime on the state or even federal level.

Alphonse Capone was a son of immigrants from Italy, Gabriele and Teresina Capone. He was born on January 17, 1899 (Kobler, 2003, p.13). Capone family had nine children and basically could be referred to as a low-income family since the father of Al Capone, Gabriele worked as a barber in Brooklyn. However, originally, they arrived to Canada from Italy and it is only later they moved to the US in search of a better life for them and their children. Nevertheless, while working as a barber and having nine children, Gabriele Capone and his wife, Teresina Capone could not afford the high standards of life. As a result, their children lived in a poverty stricken-environment and they did not receive a lot of attention from the part of their parents who were mainly concerned on earning money to feed their children. As the parents were focused on the surviving of the family, children, including Al Capone, did not have enough of parental care that could be one of the reasons for the development of criminal inclinations in Al Capone.

It is worth mentioning the fact that his criminal inclinations were revealed at quite an early age. To put it more precisely, at the age of 14 he was expelled from the school after punching a public school teacher (Pasley, 2004, p.48). Al Capone was on his 6th grade only, but after such an “accident” he could not remain in school. He dropped out of school never to return and, in such a way, his academic education was over. Obviously, Al Capone got poor education and it is possible to estimate that streets were his main school, while the public school was a place where Al Capone had little to learn or, to put it more precisely, where he failed to learn anything.

At the same time, such a background played probably the determinant role in his future career of the criminal and later one of the most outstanding bosses of the criminal world. Obviously, Al Capone paid a little attention to his education and his family background and social environment influenced his views on education substantially. He did not have well-educated parents or relatives. All his friends and peers were representatives of low-income families which paid little attention to education and for which work was prior to learning. Moreover, children started to work at the early age because they had to help their parents to earn money. Therefore, the survival was the key word which defined the life in Brooklyn where Al Capone spent his childhood.

It proves beyond a doubt that poor education contributed consistently to the formation of Al Capone as a criminal because he failed to learn basics values and his personality was shaped not under the impact of basic humanistic ideals he could learn at school but under the impact of his neighborhood and his friends. At this point, it is important to underline the negative impact of the social environment on the formation of the personality of Al Capone. Like many other boys in the neighborhood he learned the rules of the streets quickly and these rules had little in common with legal norms and law. The crime rates in Brooklyn were extremely high at the epoch and the crime was not perceived by Al Capone and his peers as well as people living in the neighborhood as something abnormal, as a violation of the law, offense of rights and liberties of other people. In stark contrast, the crime was perceived as a norm and it was probably the main rule Al Capone had learned by his teens, while the law was quite an abstract and practically unknown concept, which Al Capone, in all probability, was not fully aware of.

On witnessing permanent crimes and offenses in his neighborhood, Al Capone acquired negative models of behavior which he attempted to follow himself. In this respect, his violence against the teacher in the public school was probably the first open manifestation of his disobedience and neglect to the existing laws. At the same, this violence reveals quite negative psychological features which were characteristics of Al Capone. What is meant here is the fact that the aggression against an adult in the public school was an unacceptable and unthinkable aggression, which overwhelmed Al Capone to such an extent that he could not control himself. Consequently, he could not fully control his actions, while aggression often influenced his actions and behavior.

At the same time, it is possible to enlarge the interpretation of Al Capone’s aggression against the teacher of the public school. In fact, it is possible to view this aggression as a challenge to the authorities since the teacher had a formal power and Al Capone could not offend him either physically or verbally. Nevertheless, he ignored the formal authority of the teacher and punched him that means that he demonstrated publicly his negligence of the official rules and norms. Such a behavior is apparently anti-social in its essence and reveals a number of psychological problems of Al Capone, such as inability to control his feelings and emotions, high level of aggression, and poor socialization.

In such a context, it is possible to speak about certain innate traits of character of Al Capone which contributed to the formation of his criminal inclinations, but it is impossible to ignore the negative impact of his social environment which could produced even more significant impact than his heritage (Pasley, 2004, p.61). On the other hand, it is necessary to take into consideration the conditions of life of Al Capone which also forced him to violate existing laws and legal norms. The life in poverty and need naturally evoked a strong feeling of social injustice that could probably ruin the belief of Al Capone in justice in the American society at large. Being disenchanted in the system of justice and suffering from social inequality, Al Capone was ready to use all possible means to improve his life, change it totally and succeed.

The way he chose was not extraordinary in his social environment. At first, he was expelled from the school he attempted to find some job and he worked at different places in Brooklyn, including the candy store. However, soon he joined the local gangs which comprised of adolescents and young people who lived in the same neighborhood. These gangs continued the education of Al Capone but this education was quite different from the one at school. He joined such gangs as The Junior Forty Thieves and later the Five Points Juniors (Kobler, 2003, p.191). Later he met a racketeer Frankie Yale, who became his mentor and who employed Al Capone as a bouncer. It is about this age, Al Capone got scars on his left cheek when he inadvertently insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club, provoking the fight with her brother Frank Gallucio, who was later employed by Al Capone as his bodyguard. After this fight and injury he got the nickname “Scarface” (Pasley, 2004, p.124). Later he misrepresented his scars as the war wounds. This fact is also noteworthy because it reveals an interesting side of Al Capone’s psychology. He apparently tended to be a hero, but in his social environment he could gain the fame and public respect only as a criminal. At any rate, it was the easiest way to gain the respect in the streets and the readiness of Al Capone to meet this goal indicates to his vanity and ambitions.

A day after the earthquake, the Inagawa-kai (the third largest organized crime group in Japan which was founded in 1948) sent 25 trucks filled with four tons of disposable diapers, instant ramen noodles, batteries, flashlight, drinks and daily necessities to the Tohoku region.
A member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, the second largest group of criminals also offers protection to foreigners.
Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest crime group under the leadership of Tadashi Irie, also opened offices nationwide to the public and send a truck filled with supplies, but quietly.

Between midnight and early morning March 12 March 13, Inagawa-kai members are here to send 50 tons of supplies to the City Hall Hitachinaka in Ibaraki area.

Supplies including cups ramen noodles, bean sprouts, disposable diapers, tea and drinking water. Travelling from the city takes 12 hours. Members of the Inagawa-kai in Kanagawa also sent 70 trucks into the area of ​​Ibaraki and Fukushima to deliver supplies in areas of high levels of radiation.

Overall, the Inagawa-kai supplies over 100 tons of supplies to the Tohoku region. They are exposed to the radiation without any protection or take potassium iodide pills.
Members of the Yamaguchi-gumi in which the author found, said: “Please do not say anything more about what we do.”

For those who do not recognize the yakuza, it may be surprising to hear their philanthropy, but this is not the first time they showed the spirit of humanity.

In 1995 after the Kobe earthquake, Yamaguchi-gumi’s most active channel supply to the affected area.

They recognize that the supply of money paid to the results of extorting people in the area but no one can deny that they deserve when people need help.

Might confuse the yakuza, who also organized criminal groups, to get revenue from illegal activities such as collecting protection money, intimidation, blackmail and fraud, has the nature of a civic nature.

However, in Japan since the war they had always played an important role in ensuring security.