Drugs and the Mafia
Works Cited Missing
The Accuracy of Drugs as portrayed in the Godfather by Mario Puzo, as opposed to reality
Throughout history Writers have been writing fictional novels based on real historical events. The Godfather by Mario Puzo is such a book in which Puzo portrays Mafia life and business starting at the late 40’s. The Corleone crime Family in this novel is shown having troubles with the other organized crime syndicates concerning drugs. Many of the other families are pushing the idea of joining the narcotics market, however the Corleones do not want to intervene in such a disagreeable business. Much tension forms as mobster wars starts within the syndicates and most favor drugs.
My purpose of this paper will be to analyze whether Mario Puzo the author of The Godfather , represents an accurate portrayal of narcotics as a major part of Mafia business.
As the demand for illegal narcotics rose in the United States, it was the Mafia who would jump on it as they did all other illegal activities, such as gambling operations, prostitution, extortion, and loan sharking. The whole drawback to this was, from where could they get it. Depending on what it was, it had to be found and brought in from over-seas. From Ecuador they could obtain opium poppies with which to make heroin, and virtually unlimited supply of coca leaves, with which to make cocaine from Bolivia and Peru. Plus their smuggling routes and expertise were solidly established. Hence, the first drug laboratories were established in Medellin, supposedly with Mafia money (Eddy and Hugo, 45). The New York Mafia as well as other American crime families, would buy the drugs from Colombian drug lords. One of the major Colombian syndicates- commo...
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...in importation and distribution in the United States, all charged in the indictment later.
Although Catalano’s organization was located in New York City, the investigation by the FBI revealed that Catalano’s heroin business was tied directly to organized criminal groups in Sicily.(Roemer, 406). Another way they would try to cover up or pay someone elsoe to do all of the work.
Delgiorno and other members of his family would loan a drug dealer to finance the importation of fifty to a hundred gallons of p-z-p(pheno- two- propane, used to make a drug called Meth). Since Delgiorno dealt with loan sharking and this was a loan sharking deal it technically skirted the mob prohibition on dealing drugs.(Anastasia, 114). If any of these acts would have happened a decade earlier it would not have been let go so easily and all of these would have been punished by death.
The drug dealing process went from distributors, who were the Colombians; the supplier who was Max; and the dealers who were all of the other drug dealers that helped with the cocaine industry. The drug dealers were situated in Washington Heights, which was an area known as the “hot spot” for the war on drugs. The crew learned how to make quick money, and ways to get the most out of their money. This is a reason why the kids went from trying the cocaine out before the purchase to it being prepackaged. The members resorted to this lifestyle hoping to have a better life for themselves and their
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
Organized crime is a collective result of the commitment, knowledge, and actions of three components: (1) Criminal groups, who are core persons tied by racial, linguistic, ethnic or other bonds; (2) Protectors, who are persons who protect the group’s interests; and (3) Specialist support, which are persons who knowingly render services on an side-job basis to enhance the group’s interests. In order to thrive, an organized crime group needs many different elements. First, it needs an ensured continuity of members, clients, supporters, funds, etc. Additionally, it needs structure, criminality, violence, memberships based on common grounds, and a willingness to corrupt a power and profit goal. Generally, mafia organized crime groups disguise themselves behind the ownership of a legitimate business to avoid questioning from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) regarding any financial sources. The ille...
... Mafia, had helped criminals obstruct the justice system (10,13). It was claimed to be “impossible to get a jury of men courageous enough to try criminals” because of their power and ruthlessness (10,14). This prevented any violent criminals from being incarcerated and kept many of them on the streets to keep creating violence. Crime groups such as the Mafia run by Torrio controlled elections for their benefit, like in Cicero in April 1924, where gunman and mafia members stood outside election ballots to intimidate the voters (11,909). Criminals such as Dion O’banion, an Irish bootlegger, were treated as celebrities. When O’banion died in 1924, his funeral was attended by nearly 20,000 mourners (12,137). It was clear that due to the power and wealth that the illegal smuggling had given criminals, law and order was certainly at the mercy of organized crime (12,137).
Gang involvement has been quite higher than past years. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimates that about 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had a gang problem (Egley et al., 2010). This represented a 15 percent increase from the year 2002. The total number of gangs has also increased by 28 percent and total gang members have increased by 6 percent (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang related activity is in today’s society. More locations are beginning to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also been on the rise in the past...
more clearer when put in the light of an analysis of how the mafia enterprise
‘The American mafia is often portrayed as the invisible and omnipotent criminal of the movie melodrama" ( Cummings and Volkman 4). "It is neither of them, but the American mafia is one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the world" ( Cummings and Volkman 4). When the American mafia first started people did not pay much attention to the criminal acts that they did and the unholy morals that they stood for. That was until a man from Chicago by the name of Al Capone took the mafia from rags to riches from the late nineteen twenties well into the nineteen thirties. Thanks to Mr. Capone, the American mafia was well known, and became a great force to be dealt with in the world. Mr, Capone also made men of the mafia among the most socially mobile people in America.
During 1869-2014 the Sicilian mafia in America evolved in a number of ways such as: the change in rules, leaders, how it is run, the change in code and power over American society. These topics will be covered throughout this essay and will give you a detailed explanation of the history of the evolution that took place. The Sicilian Mafia started in poor Sicilian ghettos in America and spread into the cities, striking fear into the American society. With around 2,500 members, it is seen as the most powerful and the most active Italian organized criminal group in the United States of America. The Sicilian mafia is more commonly known as La Cosa Nostra.
The other front of the battle of the “War on Drugs” comes from locating and shutting down the manufacturers of cocaine. Cocaine is manufactured from the coca plant, the drug’s main ingredient. When the government imposes sanctions on different nations for growing the coca plant, careful considerations must be made. Just like any other market, there may be underlying circumstances for growing the plant that are perfectly innocent to the illegal cocaine market.
...g violence statistics show that majority of the member in a gang are directly involved in gang related criminal activities and one third of them have no involvement.
“I don’t trust society to protect us, I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.” This quote from The Godfather, which is famous for glorifying the Mafia, reflects the concerns of criminology within organized crime. Using ideas from Sutherland, Rawls and Nussbaum, one might argue that the relationship between organized crime and the governance relating to it plays a significant role and influence on society.
The Mafia is an Italian secret criminal society. The Mafia, or syndicate, impacts cities all around the world. Most of the effects of the Mafia are negative, but there can be several positive effects on the culture and economy of the cities in which it frequents.
These issues are of utmost importance, gang membership does not only present an issue on an individual level, but on a societal level as well. Gangs are well-known for their proclivity for violence, even to those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Youth gang crime is no longer limited to big cities; these problems have now spread beyond those boundaries into suburbs, small cities, and even rural areas (Spergel & Grossman, 1997). These organizations put us all at risk, and are a threat to public safety. Furthermore, these groups put our youth at risk and threaten to destroy their
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of time. These kind of groups, or gangs, usually participate in several criminal and illegal activities that negatively affect society. These activities include theft, robbery, extortion, rape, and many types of vandalism. Gangs have increasingly became a problem society has often had to deal with. People wonder where and how it all started. It is in fact evident that gangs can change a person’s life in a negative way. Many fall into these bad steps by peer pressure or even movies. Being influenced by what the media projects, accepting peer pressure, and how a person is raised in the wrong household are all examples of how one is led into a gang. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. The impacts that gang membership lead to affect society are what people should be aware of.