Gangs and OrganizedCrime in the United

StatesCriminal Justice

Janaree Nagel10/15/2011

Gangs and Organized Crime in the United States is on the rise. With the increase in turf wars, position and the financial gains, gang wars and Organized Crime are linked together in many ways. Within this paper, I will show how they are all tiedtogether in. The M-13’s are the largest reported gang controlling large areas of our states. However, the largest area to which the MS-13’s control is within our own capital, Washington D.C. Their leaders rule all the gangs from inside ElSalvador. I will discuss other gangs, and their ties into Organized Crime.

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Gangs and Organized Crime in the United States

When I first began this research, I was stunned by the

number of gangs that can be accounted for living on US soil. I

wasn’t shocked by the type of activities that they are involved

in ranging from drug trafficking, carjacking, murder, rape and

kidnapping. The news media is constantly reporting the ages to

which individuals join a gang, and the reasons behind their

becoming involved. Most that join look for acceptance, and are

often from families that have one parent, typically run by their

mother who represents head of the household. While others join

gangs because they believe it will make others respect them.

Throughout our course study, we have discussed a number of things

concerning the criminal justice system. In our last couple of

weeks, we covered the various theories of criminal behavior, why

people become involved, why they do the things they do.

Two theories that come to mind when discussing gangs and

their reasoning behind becoming a member of one, these are the

Social Control Theory and the Neutralization Theory. Within the

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Social Control Theory (SCT) “David Matza developed this to

explain how delinquents drift between conventional lifestyles and

delinquent lifestyles, Neutralization Theory (NT) states that

offenders use techniques of neutralization to deflect feelings of

blame and shame. These neutralization techniques are

rationalizations, justifications, and accounts of how the

offending behavior can be excused or explained away (Fuller

2006).”

With the NT, there are five stages in which the theory

operates. The first stage, the denial of responsibility in which

the offenders deny the offense was their fault. The next stage,

denial of injury, where the offender believes their actions

justify their means. Like with drug users, they believe if they

are only harming themselves with their drug use, then why law

enforcement should be concerned with what they do to their

bodies. Stage three involves denial of the victim. Most thieves

believe that those to whom they steal from are not actually a

victim if what they take is insured. While a rapist believes that

the woman wanted to have sex, wanted to be raped, therefore there

was no rape. The next stage in this theory is condemnation of

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condemners. “The offenders claim a morally superior position from

which they reject the legitimacy of those judging them (Fuller

2006).”

While the final stage of the NT is the appeal to a higher

loyalty. In this final stage, the “offenders take responsibility

for their actions but claim they were acting to satisfy their

higher calling (Fuller 2006).” In this last stage, the gang

member believes that the gang is their higher calling. Being with

a gang is their life, their complete acceptance into society,

where they are finally able to be someone, accepted for who they

are when others, such as family members, never truly understood

them. Gangs have a way to get into the minds of young adults,

feeding them what they want to hear, and a way of brainwashing.

This is where the Social Control Theory (SCT) fits in. “SCT

explores the pervasive conforming behavior that makes meaningful

communities possible. Travis Hirschi speculated that the

mechanism that accomplishes this is a social bond that links us

to conventional society. Only when this social bond is weakened

is crime likely to occur. He contended that this social bond has

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four elements; Attachment, commitment, involvement and beliefs

(Fuller 2006).”

In the attachment, when children respect their parents,

appreciate all that they do for them, they are less likely to be

involved in criminal activity. However, when they do not have the

proper guidance, lack of concern for their outside activities,

they tend to stray, and seek out those who show concern for them.

Often it becomes a role model, a close friend, someone to which

they seek approval from. This becomes their attachment bond. In

gangs, this often leads to the higher authority, a person to

which they look up too, to whom they want to become. The level of

commitment involves how far one will go to prove themselves. One

is committed to a gang, to which they consider all members family.

“People who have money, property, and good reputations are

committed to the social system that allowed them the

opportunities for that success (Fuller 2006).”

In a gang, being a member of a respected gang, means that

they too will have respect by those outside of the gang, and will

often be in fear of your presence. As in the MS-13, individuals

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who are quite familiar with this particular gang know that it is

a matter of survival of their own existence to cross a gang

member; therefore, the ordinary citizen will be wise to give way

to the member. In the mind of an MS-13, this is the commitment to

the family as they now have all of what they could possibly want;

money, property, and the reputation.

The authorities in Washington D.C had no clue how bad the

MS-13 had become within the bounds of the nation’s capital until

2004, when the MS-13 went on a killing spree, killing fourteen

individuals, just to kill. When the main leaders, who reside in

El Salvador, are displeased with how the gang’s actions are being

conducted, they will send a member from El Salvador to show them

how to do things the proper way. In 2004, Victor Ramirez, aka:

Mousey, came in from El Salvador to show the DC gang how to

operate. Mousy led gang members into Riverdale, MD, where they

open fired and killed innocent individuals who were not linked to

the gang, or had done anything to the gang to warrant being

killed. The MS-13’s just killed these individuals just to kill.

The El Salvador leaders wanted to get the DC gang in line, so,

they sent in their trigger happy member, Mousy. All of this was

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done to simply terrorize the rival gangs into submission. “During

the four-week trial in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, the jury

heard witnesses describe the long reach of the international

gang, from dark prisons in Central America to the neighborhoods

around Washington. (McCabe 2009)

“Victor Ramirez’s mission was to boost the level of MS-13’s

criminal activities on the streets of Maryland,” said Assistant

Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer. MS-13

was formed in Los Angeles in 1980 by immigrants from El Salvador

and has about 10,000 members in the United States and Central

America. Outside of California, the gang has been most active in

Langley Park and Takoma Park near the D.C. border and in Northern

Virginia. Prosecutors showed video of Ramirez, taken in the

overcrowded Quezaltepeque prison in northern El Salvador,

flashing MS-13 gang signs and displaying a “Mara Salvatrucha”

tattoo across his abdomen. After Ramirez arrived in the United

States, he represented MS-13’s Teclas Locos Salvatruchos clique

in meetings in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia,

prosecutors said.

Ramirez was sent to make sure the TLS was following gang rules

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and to make it more violent. He also started a scheme, called

“The Program,” to rob and extort houses of prostitution and other

illegal businesses. (McCabe 2009)

During an Oct. 9, 2005, meeting in Prince George’s County, a

gang leader in jail in El Salvador spoke to members by cellular

telephone. Afterward, Ramirez met with members from other MS-13

cliques to arrange a hit on rivals in Riverdale. Later that day,

two rivals were killed and another was wounded. Two weeks later,

Ramirez handed his gun to a MS-13 gang member and ordered the hit

of a suspected rival in Langley Park. Ramirez was captured the

next month by Montgomery County police after the gang robbed a

brothel in Wheaton, tied up three men and raped a prostitute at

gunpoint. An unsuspecting undercover detective investigating an

unrelated carjacking case was posing as a neighbor when she

knocked on the door to the apartment. Three MS-13 members at the

doorway tried to grab the detective, not knowing she was a police

officer. Law enforcement officers rushed inside and arrested

Ramirez and four other suspects. (McCabe 2009)”

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MS-13 began extorting pimps, prostitutes, drug pushers, shop

owners who were operating within their turf for protection. Those

who wanted no harm to come to them by members of the MS-13, or

even other rival gangs willingly pay the protection. As they

realized it would be unwise not too. Anyone that hit, robbed or

beat those who were under the protection of the MS-13’s quickly

learned that was a high price, as you did not interfere with

their turf, or anyone under their protection. The biggest

concentration of the MS-13 thrives in Langley Park, MD. They are

also linked to the Mexican Mafia. Extortion is their main source

of income. A member who carries the title of the First Word is

the one who calls the shots, the leader. The Second Word is the

second in charge, only when the first is unavailable, most likely

when they have been incarcerated, and in jail before they can get

out on bond. Those with the title of soldiers are considered the

rest of the gang members.

But ultimately, the first word, receives their orders from

the main leaders in El Salvador. They hold skip parties,

typically held on Friday the 13th, which represents their gang.

These skip parties are used to recruit new members, typically

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high school and middle school kids. Females are often invited to

attend these parties, upon which they decide whether to rape them

or not. It can also be used as a first initiation phase.

November 22, 2003 the gang led a rival gang member into an

apartment and killed him. A female member, who helped lure the

murdered victim into the apartment, was killed 6 hours later

because they believed she would snitch. When given a green light

order, that is the signal to kill someone believed to be a

possible snitch. On October 9, 2005, Mousy led a group of MS-13’s

new recruits into a part of the district, Takoma Park, where they

killed a group of Hispanics simply because they had come upon

their turf.

The 18th Street Gang is MS-13’s most rival gang. However,

the MS-13’s hate cops more than anything, and will not hesitate

to take down a police officer, or someone thought to be a police

officer. A particular murder case that caught the attention of

the Metropolitan Police Department when a female gang member was

found murdered after she agreed to turn state’s evidence to help

break down the MS-13. On July 13, 2002 she was found murdered

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with a single gunshot to her head. The other female who was with

her was also shot, but managed to survive to tell the authorities

what had happened. Mousy was later arrested and charged with this

murder. He now serves a life sentence in a federal prison. It was

learned through the trial, that Mousey had given the green light

on the girl. Green light signifies the call to take out a snitch.

(T.V 2011)

Other notorious gangs include the already mentioned 18th

Street Gang, Hells Angels, Latin Kings, Neustria Familia, Black

P. Stones, and another famous gang is the Five Points gang, which

included none other than Al Capone. “The Five Points Gang was

particularly influential. Its co-leader, Johnny Torrio, became a

significant member of the Sicilian Mafia (La Cosa Nostra).

He recruited street hoodlums from across New York City to

the Five Points Gang, including a teenaged Brooklyn boy of

Italian descent named Alphonse Capone, better known as Al Capone

or “Scarface.” Capone became a member of the James Street Gang,

which the Five Pointers considered a minor-league outfit. The

Five Points Gang became the major league to many young street

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gangsters and a farm club for the Mafia. The gang also

specialized in supplying bodies to political entities, in keeping

unsympathetic voters away from the election center. It was a

symbiotic relationship; each group benefitted from the influence

of the other.” (Moore 2010).” This demonstrates the gang

influence into Organized Crime, with their political ties, the

money laundering, bribes, and white collar corruption.

Years later, in 1919, being sought by authorities in

connection with a gangland murder in New York, Al “Scarface”

Capone moved to Chicago when Torrio needed his assistance in

maintaining control of Chicago mob territories. “Al Capone

eventually became the most violent and prolific gangster in

Chicago, if not…the United States, that law enforcement has ever

experienced” (Moore 2010).” Anyone that knows of Al Capone knows

that he was one of the most highly visible mobsters, known for

his actions in racketeering, tax evasion, bootlegging, and a

number of different crimes. “On June 16, 1931, Al Capone pled

guilty to tax evasion and prohibition charges. He then boasted to

the press that he had struck a deal for a two-and-a-half year

sentence, but the presiding judge informed him he, the judge, was

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not bound by any deal. Capone then changed his plea to not

guilty.

On October 18, 1931, Capone was convicted after trial and on

November 24, was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison,

fined $50,000 and charged $7,692 for court costs, in addition to

$215,000 plus interest due on back taxes. The six-month contempt

of court sentence was to be served concurrently. While awaiting

the results of appeals, Capone was confined to the Cook County

Jail. Upon denial of appeals, he entered the U.S. Penitentiary in

Atlanta, serving his sentence there and at Alcatraz.

(Investigation n.d.)”

“Capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling

houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries

and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year. He

even acquired a sizable interest in the largest cleaning and

dyeing plant chain in Chicago. Although he had been doing

business with Capone, the corrupt Chicago mayor William "Big

Bill" Hale Thompson, Jr. decided that Capone was bad for his

political image. Thompson hired a new police chief to run Capone

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out of Chicago. Capone had headquarters in Chicago proper in the

Four Deuces at 2222 S. Wabash, the Metropole Hotel at 2300 S.

Michigan Avenue, and the Lexington Hotel at 2135 S. Michigan

Avenue. He expanded into the suburbs, sometimes using terror as

in Forest View, which became known as "Caponeville." Sometimes he

simply bribed public officials and the police as in Cicero. He

established suburban headquarters in Cicero's Anton Hotel at 4835

W. 22nd Street and in the Hawthorne Hotel at 4823 22nd Street. He

pretended to be an antique dealer and a doctor to front his

headquarters. (Society 1999)”

Black P. Stones Gang – “The Black P Stones street gang was

formed at the St. Charles Juvenile Correctional Facility in 1960.

It was originally known as the Blackstone Rangers because members

were based on Blackstone Avenue in the Woodlawn neighborhood of

Chicago's South Side. The gang's name eventually evolved into the

Almighty Black P. Stone Nation (often abbreviated BPSN).

The BPSN controlled South Side neighborhoods through various

incarnations and even legitimate businesses. They were once

considered community protectors and their leader, Jeff Fort, was

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seen as "Robin Hood" for the downtrodden. By the early 70's, they

were the most powerful and organized street gang in Chicago...

In 1986, after he converted to Islam and gave the gang an Islamic

doctrine, Fort, along with other high-ranking BPSN members, was

indicted for attempting to purchase high-powered rocket launchers

from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Fort is currently in prison

under a no human contact order. More than 600 people, gang

members and civilians, have been killed as a result of the

activities of the Black P Stones. Members can be found in almost

every state in America. (Black 2011)

The majority of gangs or mobsters, especially those that are

extremely well known have at one point in time been connected

with Organized Crime, also known as white collar crime. Al Capone

ran his mobsters and controlled cities by pay offs and bribery.

Organized crime came about during the time of prohibition, when

selling liquor was against the law. The old mafia families such

as: the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno, Colombo,

DeCavalcante and Bruno organizations.

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“While gambling, drug dealing, prostitution, loan-sharking,

extortion and other

such strong-arm activities remain the foundation criminal

activities of the

underworld, the collective face of organized crime is adapting.

Innovative

segments of new and old criminal groups have increasingly adopted

sophisticated

schemes that twist legitimate businesses into enterprises making

money illegally.

Carefully contrived and highly lucrative frauds, for example,

have been mounted

from within the health-care and telecommunications industries –

as exemplified

by a recent (February 2004) federal racketeering indictment

charging members

and associates of the Gambino LCN organization with bilking

consumers out of

more than $200 million in bogus telephone billings.

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Moreover, organized criminals bent on manipulating stock

markets have infiltrated Wall Street brokerage firms. And, as

both a world financial center and a mecca for gamblers visiting

Atlantic City’s casinos, the region also remains an integral

transshipment point in the international money-laundering

circuit. (S. o. Investigation 2004)”

Organized crime, when it first came to be, was into loan

sharking, moonshine, illegal gambling and protection money.

During the years of Al Capone’s ruling as mob boss, he controlled

a large portion of New York through his assistance of protection

money, and loan sharking. Even though the authorities made

several efforts to charge him in these crimes, they could not

directly link him to any of it for quite a long time, up till his

final conviction in 1931 for rackettering and several other

charges.

The first known mafia family in the United States came in

1878, when Guiseppi Esposito and other Sicillians arrived in the

United States. Don Vito Cascico Ferro fled Sicily in fear of

facing the death penalty. Sicillion’s fled Mussolini, coming to

America in the 1920’s that led to the years of ruling under La

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Cosa Nostra who was considered the greatest mob boss, Lucky

Luciano when he took over the mob in the 1930’s. The La Cosa

Nostra accounts for 24 mob families currently in the United

States. All families have anywhere from 20 to 70 members, and

each family has selected a particular city in the U.S. to operate

out of, calling that city their home.

The organization of the mafia family falls under a

hierarchy. First is the Boss, who maintains order and a maximum

profit. The Underboss, aka: the Vice President collects and sends

information from and to the boss. The Consigliere follows the

same code of the Underbosss but only function as an advisor to

the boss. Caporegime acts as a buffer zone between the upper and

lower levels of the hierarchy. Soldati (Soldiers) operate the

business, they are the loansharks,, gamblers, hit men, the

brusiers, strong arms. They carry out the orders from the

Underboss and Consigliere. The last tier of the hierarchy are the

employee’s, they are just your ordinary people, typically these

individuals are legitimate businessmen that operate on the

straight and narrow. Most of the individuals within the higher

hierarchy of the family are of Italian decent, except for those

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who fall under the role of the employee’s, which are just

ordinary average people. Some of the famous mobsters are: John

Gotti, Vincent Gigante, Frank Locascio who was John Gotti’s right

hand man. Other famous mobsters such as; Albert Anselmi, Carolo

Gambino and Paul Castelao who took over for Carlo Gambino in 1976

still have families that rule with an iron fist in the United

States. A famous quote from John Gotti “I never lie to any man

because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you

are afraid.” (Gangland.Net n.d.)

Even though the Mafia families have quieted down, and are

not visibly seen as much as they have been in the past, does not

mean that they are non-existant, they still are active and have

learned from their past run-ins with the law and federal officers

to keep low profile. With the change in times, and changes in

modern technologies, the families have moved with the times of

the information age. As computers and technology grow, so do

their businesses.

When I was conducting my ride along, I learned that the MS-

13 often visit my county, where they travel down to Point Lookout

State Park to fish. However, their presence in the county is

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quickly noted and law enforcement is aware the moment they cross

out of the lines of the District of Columbia. Their movements are

constantly being reported, and to which direction they are

moving. So far, as of this report, the MS-13 has not caused

problems within St. Mary’s County, nor the surrounding counties.

However, I have learned that they are taking up residence inside

the vicinity of Lusby, MD. Where exactly, I do not know, nor do I

wish to know. But rest assured, as I am quite assured, our local

law enforcement agency knows each move they make, or attempt to

make. I have complete faith and confidence in our local agencies

to keep a close eye on their activities and feel secure to know

that should anything happen, it will be dealt with in a very

quick and highly regarded manner.

Works Cited:

Fuller, John Randolph. "Criminal Justice Mainstream and Crosscurrents Second Edition." In Criminal Justice Mainstream and Crosscurrents Second Edition, by John Randolph Fuller, 100 - 101. Columbus: Pearson, 2006.

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Gangland.Net. American Mafia. n.d. http://www.gangland.net/usmafia.htm (accessed October 16, 2011).

Investigation, Federal Bureau of. The Federal Bureau of Investigation - Famous Cases and Criminals. n.d. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/al-capone (accessed October 15, 2011).

Investigation, State of New Jersey Commission on. Changing the Face of Organized Crime in New Jersey. May 2004. http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/ocreport.pdf (accessed October 16,2011).

McCabe, Scott. The Washington Examiner. May 4, 2009. http://washingtonexaminer.com/maryland/2009/05/md-ms-13-gang-member-gets-60-years-prison (accessed October 15, 2011).

Moore, James C. Howell and John P. National Gangng Center Bulletin. May 2010. http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/History-of-Street-Gangs.pdf (accessed October 15, 2011).

Society, Chicago Historical. Al Capone. 1999. http://www.chicagohs.org/history/capone.html (accessed October 15, 2011).

T.V, Spike. "Gangsters." Spike T.V . October 7, 2011.

Black P Stones, The History Channel website,

http://www.history.com/shows/gangland/articles/black-p-stones

(accessed Oct 16, 2011).

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