Domestic Trafficking

Chapter 8 discussed domestic drug trafficking organizations. It distinguished the traditional and nontraditional organized crimes. The problem of organized crime in the United States is nothing new. The drug trade has changed organized crime by creating new, violent, and more sophisticated criminal groups. Although these groups often clash, they mostly work together in order to generate a bigger profit. In this chapter, the booked examined some of the largest and most active organized crime groups in the domestic illicit drug trade. One gang discussed was the Mafia. The Mafia, known as, â€Å"La Cosa Nostra, which has been a source of controversy for years. Its roots are in Italy and Sicily during the mid- 1800s. The Mafia is common referred to as a domestic criminal organization, with two factions of traditional organized crime operated in the United States, American and Sicilian Mafia. Mafia families would meet to divide territory, choose rackets, approve new members, and arbitrate disputes between the families. During the late 196s and early 1970s, France became well known as a distribution point fir an estimated 80 percent of the world’s heroin. Marseilles became the center of heroin laboratories that processed raw opium brought in from Turkey. Heroin was then smuggles into the United Stated by French Corsicans as well as Sicilian Mafia members. France is no longer considered a major producer of heroin sold on the U. S. market Associations with known Mafia type is illegal, whether a crime is committed or not. Association also applies to the Camorra and other â€Å"Mafia-type† groups. Exile is the locations for convicted Mafiosi have been established I towns with populations of fewer than 10,000, and an unauthorized exit of the location shall result in imprisonment. Property and other assets are subject to confiscation. Telephone wiretaps are authorized on people suspected of belonging to â€Å"Mafia-type† organizations. The term omerta is defined in its most negative connotation as a â€Å"conduct of noncooperation with public safety fficials due to fear. There is much controversy on what it is that the Mafia actually does. They argue that the evidence to support the existence of such a group is weak and open to other interpretations and that empirical research has failed to confirm the existence of such a dominant, complex, hierarchically organized criminal group. The historical evidence is sometimes weal and contradictory and empirical research conducted on organized crim e fails to demonstrate the existence of the Mafias a single conspiracy. There is little doubt that some individuals in linked with the Italian dominated criminal organizations in both the United States and Sicily have been involved in Large-scale drug trafficking. Outlaw Motorcycle gangs have created a historic role in organized crime and in the drug trade. According to U. S. Treasury’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, OMG have evolved into one of the most reprehensible types of criminal organizations, consisting of killers, psychotics, panderers, and social misfits. The Hells Angels, The Outlaws, The Pagans, The Bandidos are all notorious motorcycle gangs.