Essay - Organized Crime Impacts Firmly Rooted in the American Social Structure...

Organized Crime Impacts

***** rooted in the American social structure, organized crime, which is protected by corrupt politicians and law enforcement officers, and legal advice, profits from such activities as gambling, prostitution, and narcotics (Organized 2006). Much like multinational corporations, organized crime h***** also made the transition to a service economy, diversifying and establ*****hing an international commodities market (Organized 2006). In 1988, a U.S. report on organized *****s affirmed the bribing of public officials and labor uni*****s ***** settle disputes, and in recent years, Hispanic, Chinese, and other groups have gained a foothold in org*****nized crime through drug traffick*****g in ***** cities (Organized *****).

Dur*****g the last few decades, organized crime began moving away from blue-collar crime such as extortion, construction, and trash removal rackets, yet still continues its activities in gambling and loan-sharking, while moving into white-collar crime such as health insurance fraud, fake telephone cards, and stock swindles (Organized 2006).

Organized crime tears ***** social fabric of communities, and effects every segment of society with a v*****st range of ***** ***** as drug trafficking, money laundering, *****, smuggling everything from cigarettes to people, theft from computer software ***** motor vehicles for the global *****, counterfeiting everything from money to aircraft parts, violence, corruption of corporate and public employees, ***** the operation ***** legitimate businesses acquired with laundered money (Murray 1998). Direct victims of organized ***** pay ***** broken dreams, shattered lives, and bankrupt businesses, while the rest of society pay tens of billions ***** dollars a year in greater cost for ***** care, *****surance premiums and taxes, reduced incomes ***** lost jobs, and more "insidious ways" (Murray 1998). Organized crime is different from petty crime, for example, corporations can fail and hundreds of innocent people lose *****ir jobs due to corporate fraud as opposed to a liquor store robbery (Murr*****y 1998). Corporate ***** hurts the economy of the entire nation, something no bank robbery will ever do (Murray 1998).

Organized crime reaches far and wide, ***** its effects are pervasive and deadly (***** 1998). Legitimate ***** suffer because organized crime creates competing businesses using laundered *****, and society suffers through a loss of tax dollars, as well as rising health care costs and drug use among the youth (Murray *****). Society ***** suffers from telemarketing fraud which often steals life savings, rise in property crimes and violent crimes, *****t to mention the ***** upon communities ***** humans are smuggled in***** ***** country il*****ly (Murray 1998). In truth, the list of adverse effects ***** organized crime on ***** goes on and on (Murray 1998). Organized crime is not about gangsters compet*****g with ***** gangster over turf, it ***** about undermining ***** social fabric of the ***** (Murray 1998). It is about senior citizens who get a call to invest in something that is not real, it is insurance fraud that makes *****yone's rates go up, and it is a car stolen ***** a neighborhood street (***** 1998).

Before buying ***** leg*****imate business, money must first be laundered, and in