The United States Organized Crime Strike Force was created in the late 1960s for the purpose of finding and prosecuting illegal

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

. It was formed in a congressional effort led by Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

. Specifically, the Strike Forces were directed toward the identification and investigation of

taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an Taxpayer Identification Number, identification number, a reference number issued by a government to Citizenship, citizens or Company, f ...

s and labor officials who derived substantial income from organized criminal activities. The coordination of enforcement efforts and close cooperation and liaison with other federal, state, and local enforcement agencies are necessary for effective Strike Force operations.Internal Revenue Manual - 9.5.6 Organized Crime & Strike Force
/ref> Many of the early investigations conducted by the Strike Forces, particularly those involving labor racketeering, were led by the Labor Department's Office of Organized Crime and Racketeering. Since 1966, the Labor Department had been investigating the connection between organized crime and organized labor as part of a Justice Department task force. Under Senate pressure the department created a separate office and put it under the inspector general's control. From 1978 to 1984, the office brought 95 cases against alleged mobsters and union racketeers, securing 201 convictions and 55 acquittals. By 1990, "There were 14 strike forces around the country, composed of Justice Department lawyers and agents from Federal investigative agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Postal Service and the Labor Department. Since 1980, their efforts have led to the convictions of Mafia leaders in Boston, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Haven, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Rochester."
/ref> Around 2000, the federal Strike Forces were largely disbanded in favor of state or local efforts. However, during its time, the organizations were jointly responsible for the successful investigation and conviction of high-ranking Mafiosos such as

Joseph Aiuppa Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien" and "Joey Doves", was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit from 1971 until his skimming conviction in 1986. Early career Joseph A ...

of the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

Anthony Salerno Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno (August 15, 1911 – July 27, 1992) was an American mobster who served as underboss and front boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 until his conviction in 1986. Early life Salerno was born and ...

of the

Genovese Family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Italian-American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...

of the

Gambino Family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Am ...

, in addition to removing large amounts of corruption from The Teamsters. Moreover, though no longer proceeding in a formal strike force, agencies such as the Labor Department’s Office of the Inspector General continued to pursue labor racketeering and organized crime investigations.https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/laborracpaper.pdf {{Bare URL PDF, date=May 2022 From October 2003 through September 2004, the OIG's labor racketeering program had 130 open cases involving organized crime groups. In addition, during this time frame, its racketeering investigations resulted in over $36.5 million in monetary accomplishments, including restitutions and forfeitures, plus 260 indictments and 143 convictions.

References

https://www.irs.gov/irm/part9/irm_09-005-006.html

Defunct federal law enforcement agencies of the United States