Gangster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more organized crime, complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, television series, and video games. Usage In modern usage, the term "gang" is generally used for a criminal organization and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal. Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drug Cartel
A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the illegal drug trade and maintaining prices at a high level. The formations of drug cartels are common in Latin American countries. Rivalries between multiple drug cartels cause them to wage turf wars against each other. Drug cartels often transport both drugs and narcotics, and most often the term "Narcotics cartel" is not used to describe an organization that transports the latter legally defined set of illegal substances, such as marijuana. Structure The basic structure of a drug cartel is as follows: Falcons Considered as the "eyes and ears" of the streets, the "falcons" are the lowest rank in any drug cartel. They are scouts, who are responsible for conducting reconnaissance, such as reporting the activities of the police, the milit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Five Families
The Five Families refer to five American Mafia, Italian American Mafia Crime family, crime families that operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were Organized crime, organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano, and Gagliano families, which are now known as the Bonanno crime family, Bonanno, Colombo crime family, Colombo, Gambino crime family, Gambino, Genovese crime family, Genovese, and Lucchese crime family, Lucchese families, respectively. Each family had a demarcated territory and an organizationally structured hierarchy and reported to the same overarching governing entity. Initially, Maranzano intended each family's boss to report to him as the ''capo dei capi'' ("boss of all the bosses"). This led to his assassination that September, and that role was abolished for The Commission (mafia), the Commission, a ru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Organized Crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, terrorist groups, rebel groups, and Separatism, separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarianism, authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state (such as illegal drugs or firearms). Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts protection racket, protec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Camorra
The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type organizations in Italy , by Umberto Santino, in: Albanese, Das & Verma, ''Organized Crime. World Perspectives'', pp. 82–100 criminal organization and criminal society originating in the region of Campania. It is one of the oldest and largest Organized crime in Italy, criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century. The Camorra's organizational structure is divided into individual groups called "clans". Every ''capo'' or "boss" is the head of a clan, in which there may be tens or hundreds of affiliates, depending on the clan's power and structure. The Camorra's main businesses are Drug Trafficking, drug trafficking, racketeering, counterfeiting, and money laundering. It is also not unusual for Camorra clans to infiltra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Criminal Syndicate
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, terrorist groups, rebel groups, and Separatism, separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarianism, authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state (such as illegal drugs or firearms). Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts protection racket, protec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crips
The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips began as an alliance between two autonomous gangs, and developed into a loosely connected network of individual " sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members have traditionally worn blue clothing since around 1973. The Crips are one of the largest and most violent associations of street gangs in the United States.U.S. Department of Justice, ''Crips''. With an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 members in 2008, the gangs' members have been involved in murders, robberies, and drug dealing, among other crimes. They have a long and bitter rivalry with the Bloods. Some self-identified Crips have been convicted of federal racketeering. Etymology Some sources suggest that the original name for the alliance, "Cribs", was narr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bloods
The Bloods are a primarily African Americans, African American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for Crips–Bloods gang war, its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs. The Bloods comprise various subgroups known as "Set (gang), sets", among which significant differences exist, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since the gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States. History The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Crips in Los Angeles. The Crips–Bloods gang war, rivalry originated in the late 1960s when Raymond Washington and other Crips attacked Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, two students at Centennial High School (Compton, California), Centennial High School in Compton, California. As a result, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Triad (organized Crime)
A triad ( zh, t=三合會, s=三合会, hp=sān hé huì, cy=sāam hahp wúi) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China with outposts in various countries having significant overseas Chinese populations. The triads originated from secret societies formed in the 18th and 19th centuries, some influenced by white lotus societies of the 14th century, with the intent of overthrowing the foreign then-ruling Qing dynasty. In the 20th century, triads were enlisted by the Kuomintang (KMT) during the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republican era to attack political enemies, including assassinations. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China and subsequent crackdowns, triads and their operations flourished in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities. Since the Chinese economic reform, triads and other triad-like "black societies" re-emerged in mainland China. In modern times, triads overseas have been reported to have conne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gang
A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a community and engages, either individually or group behavior, collectively, in Crime, illegal, and possibly Violence, violent, behavior, with such behavior often constituting a form of organized crime. Etymology The word ''gang'' derives from the past participle of Old English , meaning . It is cognate with Old Norse , meaning . While the term often refers specifically to criminal groups, it also has a broader meaning of any close or organized group of people, and may have neutral, positive or negative connotations depending on usage. History In discussing the banditry in American history, Barrington Moore, Jr. suggests that gangsterism as a "form of self-help which victimizes others" may appear in societies which lack strong "forces o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Organized Crime In Italy
Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in Southern Italy, the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organizations that are heavily active in Italy. The most powerful of these organizations are the Camorra from Campania, the 'Ndrangheta from Calabria and the Cosa Nostra from Sicily. In addition to these three long-established organizations, there are also other significantly active organized crime syndicates in Italy that were founded in the 20th century: the Sacra Corona Unita, the Società foggiana and the Bari crime groups from Apulia; the Stidda from Sicily and the Sinti crime groups, such as the Casamonica clan, Casamonica, the Spada and the Fasciani clan from Lazio. Four other Italian organized crime groups, namely the Banda della Magliana of Rome, the Mala del Brenta of Veneto, and the Banda della Comasina and Francis Turatello, Turatell ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the Sicilian Mafia Commission, Sicilian counterpart, comprises three subordinate bodies known as ''mandamenti''. These include a ''mandamento'' for clans on the Ionian Sea, Ionic side of Calabria (including the Aspromonte mountains and Locride), a second for the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian side (the plains of Gioia Tauro), and a central ''mandamento'' for the city of Reggio Calabria. A July 2019 article published in Canada summarized the traditional 'Ndrangheta structure. According to this report: "For decades, the 'Ndrangheta families of Siderno operating in Canada—about seven of them—have been governed by a board of directors, called the "camera di controllo", or chamber of control. The local board, as in other countries around the world ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |