Organized crime or criminal organizations is a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. The Organized Crime Control Act (U.S., 1970) defines organized crime as "The unlawful activities of [...] a highly organized, disciplined association [...]".[1]
Mafia is a term used to describe a number of criminal organizations around the world. The first organization to bear the label was the Sicilian Mafia based in Italy, known to its members as Cosa Nostra. In the United States, "the Mafia" generally refers to the American Mafia. Other powerful organizations described as mafias include the Russian Mafia, the Chinese Triads, the Albanian Mafia, Bosnian mafia, the Irish Mob, the Japanese Yakuza, the Neapolitan Camorra, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, the Indian Mafia, the Unione Corse, Serbian Mafia, and the Bulgarian mafia. There are also a number of localized mafia organizations around the world bearing no link to any specific racial background.
Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are politically motivated (see VNSA). Gangs may become "disciplined" enough to be considered "organized". An organized gang or criminal set can also be referred to as a mob. The act of engaging in criminal activity as a structured group is referred to in the United States as racketeering.
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| “ | "If we take a global rather than strictly domestic view, it becomes evident even crime of the organized kind has a long if not necessarily noble heritage. The word 'thug' dates to early 13th-century India, when Thugs, or gangs of criminals, roamed from town to town, looting and pillaging. Smuggling and drug-trafficking rings are as old as the hills in Asia and Africa, and extant criminal organizations in Italy and Japan trace their histories back several centuries..."[2] | ” |
Today, crime is thought of as an urban phenomenon, but for most of human history it was the rural world that was crime-ridden. Pirates, highwaymen and bandits attacked trade routes and roads, at times severely disrupting commerce, raising costs, insurance rates and prices to the consumer. According to criminologist Paul Lunde, "Piracy and banditry were to the pre-industrial world what organized crime is to modern society."[3]
Organized crime is deeply linked to the moral problem of integrating subcivilized energy into civilized state building. The early Christian world was dubious about an unqualified legitimacy of nation-states. St. Augustine famously defined them as what would now be called kleptocracies, states founded on theft:
| “ | "If justice be disregarded, what are states but large bandit bands, and what are bandit bands but small states? ... Indeed, that was an apt and true reply which was given to Alexander the Great by a pirate who had been seized. For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea, he answered with bold pride, 'What you mean by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you who does it with a great fleet are styled emperor.'"[4] | ” |
A later North African writer, Ibn Khaldun, observing the predatorial conquests of the Mongol leader Tamerlane in the 14th century, developed a theory of state formation based on the periodic conquest of civilized states by barbarians, who are quickly acculturated by urban life, lose their warlike qualities and succumb in turn to conquest by yet another wave of barbarians[4]. As Lunde states, "Barbarian conquerors, whether Vandals, Goths, Norsemen, Turks or Mongols are not normally thought of as organized crime groups, yet they share many features associated with successful criminal organizations. They were for the most part non-ideological, predominantly ethnically based, used violence and intimidation, and adhered to their own codes of law."[3]
Although medieval feudal lords were not usually engaged in what moderns would consider "criminal activities" (except for irregular robber barons, self-enthroned Viking adventurers, and mercenary "free company" leaders), their hierarchical courts, monopoly of violence, extension of protection to their serfs in exchange for labor and a percentage of harvests and durability are structurally similar to classic organized crime groups like the Mafia. In the modern world, it is difficult to distinguish some corrupt and lawless governments from organized crime gangs. These regimes, characteristic of some of the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, use the state apparatus to control organized crime for their own ends.
In order for a criminal organization to prosper, some degree of support is required from the society in which it lives. Thus, it is often necessary to corrupt some of its respected members, most commonly achieved through bribery, blackmail, and the establishment of symbiotic relationships with legitimate businesses. Judicial and police officers and legislators are especially targeted for control by organized crime via bribes.
Organized crime most typically flourishes when a central government and civil society is disorganized, weak, absent or untrusted. This may occur in a society facing periods of political, economic or social turmoil or transition, such as a change of government or a period of rapid economic development, particularly if the society lacks strong and established institutions and the rule of law. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe that saw the downfall of the Communist Bloc and establishment of new systems of democracy and free market capitalism in the region created a breeding ground for organized criminal organizations. Most of the countries fell upon economic turmoil with their markets being flooded with western products that had previously been barred by the communists regimes at exceptionally high prices and a lack of interest in importing from Eastern Europe. This led to many turning to illegitimate means of making a profit, most of the time these efforts were backed by former secret service and police force who were now out of the job.
Under these circumstances, criminal organizations can operate with less fear of interference from law enforcement and may serve to provide their "customers" with a semblance of order and predictability that would otherwise be unavailable. For similar reasons, organized crime also often takes root in many countries among ethnic minority communities or other socially marginalized groups whose members may not trust local governments or their agents. This lack of trust serves both to insulate the criminal organization from the risk that law enforcement will find cooperative witnesses, as well as to encourage community members to trust the criminal organizations rather than the police to handle disputes and protect the community. The existence of a black market, either due to market failure or to legal impediments, also tends to promote the formation of criminal organizations as well. An example of this would be the rise in organized crime under Prohibition in the United States during the 1920s (see American gangsters during the 1920s).
Lacking much of the paperwork common to legitimate organizations, criminal organizations can usually evolve and reorganize much more quickly when the need arises[citation needed]. They are quick to capitalize on newly-opened markets, and quick to rebuild themselves under another guise when caught by authorities[citation needed].
This is especially true of organized groups that engage in human trafficking[citation needed].
The newest growth sectors for organized crime are identity theft and online extortion. These activities are troubling because they discourage consumers from using the Internet for e-commerce. E-commerce was supposed to level the playing ground between small and large businesses, but the growth of online organized crime is leading to the opposite effect; large businesses are able to afford more bandwidth (to resist denial-of-service attacks) and superior security[citation needed]. Furthermore, organized crime using the Internet is much harder to trace down for the police (even though they increasingly deploy cybercops) since most police forces and law enforcement agencies operate within a local or national jurisdiction while the Internet makes it easier for criminal organizations to operate across such boundaries without detection.
In the past criminal organizations have naturally limited themselves by their need to expand. This has put them in competition with each other. This competition, often leading to violence, uses valuable resources such as manpower (either killed or sent to prison), equipment and finances. In the United States, the Irish Mob boss of the Winter Hill Gang (in the 1980s) turned informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He used this position to eliminate competition and consolidate power within the city of Boston which led to the imprisonment of several senior organized crime figures including Gennaro "Jerry" Anguilo underboss of the Patriarca crime family. Infighting sometimes occurs within an organization, such as the Castellamarese war of 1930–31 and the Boston Irish Mob Wars of the 1960s and 1970s.
Today criminal organizations are increasingly working together, realizing that it is better to work in cooperation rather than in competition with each other. This has led to the rise of global criminal organizations such as Mara Salvatrucha and the 18th Street gang. The Italian-American Mafia in the U.S. have had links with organized crime groups in Italy such as the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta, the Rancitelli and Sacra Corona Unita. The Cosa Nostra has also been known to work with the Irish Mob (John Gotti of the Gambino family and James Coonan of the Westies are known to have worked together, with the Westies operating as a contract hit squad for the Gambino family after they helped Coonan come to power), the Japanese Yakuza and the Russian Mafia. The FBI estimates that global organized crime makes $1 trillion per year.
This rise in cooperation between criminal organizations has meant that law enforcement agencies are increasingly having to work together. The FBI operates an organized crime section from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and is known to work with other national (e.g., Polizia di Stato, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), federal (e.g., Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, and the United States Coast Guard), state (e.g., Massachusetts State Police Special Investigation Unit and the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation) and city (e.g., New York City Police Department Organized Crime Unit and the Los Angeles Police Department Special Operations Division) law enforcement agencies.
Perhaps the best known criminal organizations are the Sicilian and American Cosa Nostra, most commonly known as the Mafia. The Neopolitan Camorra, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Apulian Sacra Corona Unita are similar Italian organized crime groups. Other organized criminal enterprises include the Russian Mafia, the Serbian mafia, the Israeli Mafia, the Albanian Mafia, Mexican and Colombian Drug Cartels, the Indian Mafia, the Chinese Triads, Chinese Tongs, Irish Mob, the Corsican Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, the Jamaican-British Yardies, the Turkish Mafia, the Macedonian Mafia and other crime syndicates. On a lower level in the criminal food chain are many street gangs, such as the Sureños, Nortenos, Latin Kings, Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Bloods and Crips.
Criminal organizations may function both inside and outside of prison, such as the Mexican Mafia, Folk Nation, and the Brazilian PCC. Biker gangs such as the Hells Angels are also involved in organized crime.
Another use of the term "criminal organization" exists in human rights law and refers to an organization which has been found guilty of crimes against humanity. Once an organization has been determined to be a criminal organization, one must only demonstrate that an individual belonged to that organization and not that the individual actually individually committed illegal acts.[citation needed]
This concept of the criminal organization came into being during the Nuremberg Trials. Several public sector organizations of Nazi Germany such as the SS and Gestapo were judged to be criminal organizations, while other organizations such as the German Army High Command were indicted but acquitted of charges.[citation needed]
This conception of criminal organizations was, and continues to be, controversial, and has not been used in human rights law since the trials at Nuernberg.
In addition to what is considered traditional organized crime involving direct crimes of fraud swindles, scams, racketeering and other Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) predicate acts motivated for the accumulation of monetary gain, there is also non-traditional organized crime which is engaged in for political or ideological gain or acceptance. Such crime groups are often labeled terrorist organizations and include such groups as Al-Qaeda, Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front, Hamas, Hezbollah, Irish Republican Army, Lashkar e Toiba, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Symbionese Liberation Army, Taliban, and Weatherman Underground.
Organized crime often victimize businesses through the use of extortion or theft and fraud activities like hijacking cargo trucks, robbing goods, committing bankruptcy fraud (also known as "bust-out"), insurance fraud or stock fraud (inside trading). Organized crime groups also victimize individuals by car theft (either for dismantling at "Chop shops" or for export), Art theft, bank robbery, burglary, Jewelry theft, Computer hacking, credit card fraud, Economic Espionage Act of 1996, Embezzlement, Identity theft, and Securities fraud ("pump and dump" scam). Some organized crime groups defraud national, state, or local governments by bid-rigging public projects, counterfeiting money, smuggling or manufacturing untaxed alcohol (bootlegging) or cigarettes (buttlegging), and providing immigrant workers to avoid taxes.
Organized crime groups seek out corrupt public officials in executive, law enforcement, and judicial roles so that their activities can avoid, or at least receive early warnings about, investigation and prosecution.
Organized crime groups also provide a range of illegal services and goods, such as loansharking of money at very high interest rates, assassination, Blackmailing, Bombings, bookmaking and illegal gambling, Confidence tricks, Copyright infringement, Counterfeiting of Intellectual property, Kidnapping, prostitution, drug trafficking, Arms trafficking, Oil smuggling, Organ trafficking, Contract killing, Identity document forgery, illegal dumping of toxic waste, illegal trading of nuclear materials, Military equipment smuggling, Nuclear weapons smuggling, Passport fraud, providing illegal immigration and cheap labor, people smuggling, trading in endangered species, and trafficking in human beings. Organized crime groups also do a range of business and labor racketeering activities, such as skimming casinos, insider trading, setting up monopolies in industries such as garbage collecting, construction and cement pouring, bid rigging, getting "no-show" and "no-work" jobs, money laundering, political corruption, bullying and ideological clamping.
For the concept of crime syndicates in general, see Organized crime.
| Crime Syndicate of America | |
| The antimatter Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa (and counterparts) feature on the JLA: Earth 2 cover. Art by Frank Quitely. | |
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Historical Syndicate: Justice League of America #29, 1964 Modern Syndicate: JLA: Earth 2, 2000 The Society: 52 Week 52, 2007 |
| Created by | Gardner Fox (writer) Mike Sekowsky (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | The Panopticon The Flying Fortress |
| Member(s) | Ultraman Owlman Superwoman Johnny Quick Power Ring |
The Crime Syndicate is a team of fictional supervillains, from one of DC Comics' parallel universes, who are the evil counterparts of the Justice League of America.[1] The original team was specifically known as Crime Syndicate of America and is sometimes abbreviated as CSA. This first superpowered Crime Syndicate team appeared in Justice League of America #29 in August 1964. The primary successive incarnation, known as the Crime Syndicate of Amerika (with the variant spelling of America), first appeared in the 2000 JLA: Earth 2 grahic novel.
A related successive group on Earth-3 is known as the Crime Society of America and first appeared in 52 Week 52.
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The Crime Syndicate of America originally lived on Earth-Three, a world where history was "reversed" from the world we knew (e.g. British colonists declared their independence from America, and President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by Abraham Lincoln). It initially had no superheroes, only the supervillains of the Crime Syndicate, though this changed with the advent of heroic Lex Luthor who used his vast intelligence for good.
In their first appearance, the Crime Syndicate, bored with the ease with which they were able to commit crimes on their Earth (and with no one to truly challenge them), discovered the existence of Earth-One and Earth-Two, and set out to challenge the JLA and JSA to a lengthy fight, after which the Syndicate was ultimately defeated. Following this defeat, they were imprisoned in an unbreakable bubble generated by Green Lantern's power ring, and placed in a "limbo" dimension between the Earths. Over the following years, the Syndicate or one of its members would occasionally escape and attempt to wreak havoc on Earth-One and/or Earth-Two.
Earth-Three and the original Crime Syndicate were destroyed along with the rest of DC's parallel worlds in the 1985 twelve-issue maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths. The inhabitants of that world were swallowed by an anti-matter wave, with the Crime Syndicate, having decided to be heroic for once, charged straight into the wave defiantly, although Lex Luthor and his wife Lois Luthor managed to send their infant son, Alexander Luthor, to the safety of Earth-One. This was the last appearance of the Crime Syndicate that decade until the post-Crisis version was introduced several years later.
The duplicates of the original Earth-Three Syndicate members have made a few post-Crisis appearances as in Animal Man series and most recently in Infinite Crisis when Earth-Three was temporarily recreated, and models of the Earth-Three Ultraman, Superwoman, and Alexander Luthor, Sr. were almost merged with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Superman of Earth-Two and Wonder Woman of Earth-Two to create so called perfect beings.
A post-Crisis version of the team, simply known as the "Crime Syndicate" (not 'of America'), was eventually introduced. This post-Crisis version (revealed in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8) was composed of Qwardians (residents of the antimatter counterpart of Oa) as well as being "more powerful than their counterparts" and "long gone" and shown to be different from the Earth-Three incarnation by their enlarged eyes reflective of the Weaponers of Qward. This version of the Crime Syndicate is never mentioned again, it is quite possible this version was wiped out by Zero Hour or suffered some other fate.
The first appearance of a Crime Syndicate post-Zero Hour was in the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel in 2000 by Grant Morrison, which combined the pre-Crisis parallel Earth idea with the pre-Zero Hour antimatter universe concept. The Crime Syndicate's post-Zero Hour antimatter Earth possesses a "reversed" history similar to Earth-Three's, but with a much darker tone to both the team and its world. JLA Secret Files 2004 provided additional history of this team, showing that they did once resemble the Earth-Three Syndicate. Unlike the Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three, this Crime Syndicate of Amerika are able to rule their world (a change from their pre-Crisis counterparts, who were unsuccessful in conquering their world) though allow governments to continue operating and honest people are able to continue operating in pockets such as Gotham City Police Commissioner Thomas Wayne Sr. (father to Owlman and counterpart of the murdered father of Batman). The antimatter Crime Syndicate's motto is "Cui Bono?" ("Who profits?"). The only universally respected principle on their world is that of the "favor bank"—if someone does you a favor, you owe them a favor in return that must be repaid whenever the favor is called in.
Along with the heroic analogue Alexander Luthor, other opponents include the heroic "H.I.V.E." (Hierarchy for International Virtuous Empowerment), the Missile Men and the "Justice Underground", a reversed analog of the Legion of Doom and Secret Society of Super-Villains consisting of General Grodd, Lady Sonar, Quizmaster, Q-Ranger, Sir Solomon Grundy and Star Sapphire.
In an early 2000s issue of Superman, Ultraman and Superwoman appear to have had a child together, but the child actually turns out to be a rogue Brainiac.[2]
2003's JLA/Avengers crossover written by Kurt Busiek seemed to involve the destruction of the Crime Syndicate's universe, but this was later reversed when the special's villain, Krona, was defeated. The Crime Syndicate later reappeared in the Syndicate Rules arc where they learn of the 'reboot' of their universe which shows the blonde haired Power Ring being succeeded by a John Stewart space marine counterpart.
Other criminal organizations on the Crime Syndicate's Earth include the Crime Lodge (anti-matter analogues to the Justice Society) and Young Offenders (anti-matter analogues of the Teen Titans/Young Justice). They are mentioned at the end of the Syndicate Rules arc as prepared to take advantage of the Crime Syndicate's weakness, but are not shown.
Superman/Batman Annual #1 (2006) details Superman and Batman's first encounter with Ultraman and Owlman. Set years ago, before Superman and Batman knew each other's identities, a vacationing Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Lois Lane meet Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman when their antimatter counterparts appear on a cruise ship. This story also features the first appearance of Deathstroke's unnamed antimatter doppelganger. The Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman presented in the story have the same costumes as the anti-matter universe version of the Syndicate. However, it should be noted that this tale is being told by Mister Mxyzptlk and as such, may not actually be canonical.
The antimatter Clark Kent, the Ultraman of this team appears in Kandor, posing as Superman.[3] Saturn Queen, last seen in the "Absolute Power" arc of Superman/Batman, explains how Ultraman and she arrive in the city. When Alexander Luthor, Jr. brought the multiverse back in Infinite Crisis, her alternate reality (the Earth featuring the original Legion of Super-Villains) was recreated briefly. When the Multiverse collapsed, she found herself stranded in the Phantom Zone, where she found Ultraman. She viewed Ultraman as a suitable replacement for the version of Superman who was her son in her reality and placed him under mind control so that he would believe her to be his mother. She was also able to put Supergirl under her control and initiated plans for the two to marry, but Supergirl was able to break free of her control and viciously beat Ultraman. Saturn Queen gave information regarding Argo City to Supergirl in exchange for Ultraman's life.
Ultraman and Saturn Queen remained in Kandor, until it was discovered that the bottled city was not the true Kandor. Though it is not known where Saturn Queen went upon the city's abandonment, Ultraman somehow returned to the Anti-matter Universe — which, not being part of the Multiverse but a reflection of it, was not destroyed in Infinite Crisis — and later appeared in The Brave and the Bold, where he was forced to briefly team up with Superman and Final Crisis: Superman: Beyond!, where he was recruited by Superman to be part of a team of Superman looking for a way to save the Multiverse. In both these appearances, he shows no signs of ever having left his home, even to the point of mentioning to Superman that they still have a score to settle; this calls into question the canonicity of the Supergirl story in which he appeared.
The full five base members of the antimatter Crime Syndicate, including the aforementioned Kent (his return to his source reality is unrevealed at this point along with the mentioned Justice League team up with the antimatter Crime Syndicate to drive off the Weaponers of Qwards attack) next appear in Trinity #9. It is revealed that their world was badly damaged by an attack from the Weaponers of Qward. The antimatter Crime Syndicate have adopted open active control of their Earth and have been abducting people from throughout all of the individual fifty-two universes in the current positive matter Multiverse to use as slave labor in their source Earth's repair. After the Trinity defeat and imprison their anti-matter counterparts and free the slaves, the anti-matter Earth falls into even worse chaos than their first visit, without the controlling influence of Ultraman, Owlman and Superwoman to watch over it.
Template:Seealso In 52 Week 52, an alternate version of Earth-Three is shown as a part of the new Multiverse. In the depiction are characters that are altered versions of the original Justice League of America, plus the Martian Manhunter. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the two panels in which they appear.[4]
Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three, making these new characters unrelated to previous versions. In Countdown #31, the name of this team is revealed to be the Crime Society of America. The Society are said to be evil dopplegangers of the heroes of Earth-2, and make their first solo appearance in Countdown Presents The Search for Ray Palmer: Crime Society #1 written by Sean McKeever and illustrated by Jamal Igle,[5][6][7][8] Appearing in Countdown, the Crime Society's greatest parallel to the Justice Society is their larger roster (which is not strictly limited to Justice Society counterparts), featuring evil versions of Green Arrow, Wildcat, Black Canary, Hawkwoman, Dr. Fate, Stargirl, and The Spectre alongside better-known CSA members Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring and Johnny Quick.[9] Later issues introduce Annataz Arataz, the evil counterpart of Zatanna,[10] and counterparts of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) and Booster Gold. However, although villains are the majority of Earth-3, there are a few heroes that are active on this earth as well. Most of the heroes revealed-to-date are good versions of Batman's famous enemies such as The Joker (known as The Jokester), The Riddler, and Two-Face (Three-Face, a woman named Evelyn Dent).[11]
Shortly after the Crime Society's introduction, they are offered a place among Monarch's army. Already recruited into Monarch's army, Johnny Quick wins a place in Monarch's elite squad when he defeats his Earth-9 and Earth-2 counterparts in the Countdown: Arena miniseries.
After the first destruction of Earth-51, it is unknown if any of the CSA somehow survived.
In both the Crime Syndicate and Crime Society, the five permanent members are:
The JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel featured several costumes in the CSA Watchtower, three of them labeled Doctor Noon (Doctor Mid-Nite's counterpart), White Cat (Black Canary's counterpart) and Spaceman (Starman's counterpart).
The Crime Syndicate's universe also included counterparts of J'onn J'onzz, Aquaman and Hawkman, known as:
The CSA's Post-Crisis world is primarily governed by the "favor bank"; unofficial but ironically the only rule that is not consistently broken. If any person should grant a favor for someone else, that person is entitled to compensation whenever they see fit, no matter what the cost or hardship to the latter. Failure to pay back a favor results in inordinately harsh consequences; as seen in the beginning of "Syndicate Rules". A mobster, Jackson "Rat-Eyes" Drake, who failed to follow up on a favor owed was put on "trial" by Owlman, who then had him incinerated by Ultraman as a favor.
A team of Qwardians based on the then-current Justice League International roster appeared on the Post-Crisis Pre-Zero Hour Earth, although they did not call themselves the Crime Syndicate.[15] Its members were:
It is not clear if any of these characters exist in post-Zero Hour or post-Infinite Crisis continuity.
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