American organized crime of the 1980s
American organized crime in the 1980s was characterized by multifaceted operations involving various ethnic groups, most notably the Italian American Mafia, which had established itself as a significant force by this time. The Mafia, particularly active on the East Coast, engaged in a range of illicit activities including drug trafficking, racketeering, and extortion, often using violence to maintain control over their operations. Concurrently, younger Mafia members shifted toward drug-related enterprises, previously deemed unacceptable by older generations. This period also saw the rise of African American gangs, such as the Crips and the Bloods, which engaged in fierce territorial battles primarily over drug sales, reflecting the socioeconomic challenges faced in their communities.
The federal government responded to the growing threat of organized crime with measures like the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which allowed for more comprehensive prosecutions of crime syndicates. High-profile figures, like John Gotti of the Gambino family, emerged, gaining notoriety and media attention that glamorized gang life, despite its violent realities. The cultural impact of organized crime during this decade was significant, influencing movies, music, and public perception, ultimately leaving a complex legacy that attracted both admiration and condemnation.
American organized crime of the 1980s
Definition The illegal activities of groups of professional criminals
Shifting socioeconomic patterns and changing penal codes during the 1980’s brought about changes in operations for gangsters and law enforcement officials alike.
By the 1980’s, American gangsters had built multimillion-dollar enterprises, and even as the federal government sought to find ways to prevent the growth of organized crime, the depiction of various types of gangsters as hardworking men simply making a living in spite of the system glamorized the image of the American gangster. Modern depictions in film and popular song increased the gangster allure.
The Italian American Mafia
At the beginning of the decade, probably no faction of organized crime loomed larger in the American imagination than the Italian American Mafia, immortalized on screen in motion pictures such as director Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974).With its focus on honor and loyalty, the cinematic portrait of the Mafia portrayed the Mafia don as a family man and a shrewd businessman with numerous complicated decisions to make—an image to which many mainstream American moviegoers could relate.
The Italian American Mafia was based primarily on the East Coast of the United States, particularly the New York City area, although the group’s members did operate in other locations, including Arkansas and Las Vegas. The Mafia created its flow of income from territorial monopolies on both illegal and legal businesses (the latter often funded by illegal operations). Small-business owners were routinely bullied into accepting “protection” from the Mob for a fee, risking their lives and their businesses if they refused. By the late twentieth century, the Mafia was heavily involved in waste management, construction, drug trafficking, racketeering, loan sharking, and murder for hire.
By 1980, the American Mafia had undergone obvious changes. The older gangsters were dead, dying, or retired. Younger members were challenging the antiquated means of generating income and were more willing to become involved with the sale and distribution of street drugs, an enterprise previously looked down upon because of its association with African Americans. However, racketeering—obtaining money through the threat of violence—remained a major source of income for organized crime factions in the United States.
The most serious threat to organized crime in the United States was the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. The statute was passed in 1970 by Congress under the Organized Crime Control Act. RICO was intended to prevent any individual or organization from receiving or using income obtained from racketeering. The statute allowed law enforcement agencies to prosecute several members of organized crime factions at once, for crimes committed over several years.
In Philadelphia, Nicodema “Little Nicky” Scarfo became the second Philadelphia Mob boss sentenced as a result of RICO, proving the vulnerability of organized crime to the new statute. However, in 1985, a Gambino family underboss named John Gotti orchestrated the murder of “Big” Paul Castellano, head of the Gambino crime family, outside a New York City steak house. As a result, Gotti became the boss of the Gambino crime family.
Gotti’s rise to power symbolized the changing of the American Mafia guard. In previous decades, the Mafia as a whole had striven to maintain a low public profile. With Gotti as leader, the American Mafia gained a positive image in the American public imagination. Nicknamed the “Teflon Don” (because authorities found it difficult to make criminal charges stick to him) and the “Dapper Don” (for his designer suits), Gotti was more of a public figure than almost any don before him.
While the Italian American Mob had garnered much attention from the U.S. federal government, other ethnic groups were not without their organized crime factions. Russian and Asian gangs had tremendous influence in their respective neighborhoods in a number of large American cities. However, particularly on the West Coast in the United States, African American gangs were growing in number.
African American Gangs
The primary African American gangs were the Crips and the Bloods. After the decline of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (which officially disbanded in 1982), these two gangs emerged as opponents in a war for territory in economically deprived neighborhoods. The groups also included Latino members. The groups were known by their colors: the Bloods for their red bandannas and handkerchiefs (later, T-shirts, shoes, and other articles of clothing could be worn to denote an individual’s actual or implied allegiance with the group) and the Crips for their blue bandannas and other clothing items. Chiefly, the turf wars fought between the the Crips and the Bloods focused on the sale and distribution of cocaine and crack, with each side claiming certain city blocks as theirs to use as locations from which to sell the drugs.
The inner-city gangs most thrived in the decade’s changing socioeconomic conditions. West Coast gangsters could move around the country, wherever they had friends and family, and start another faction of their group. The gangs provided pseudofamilies in areas that suffered from large numbers of unemployed black males and fatherless households. Adolescent sons without father figures looked up to gang leaders when gangsters took them in. By meeting deprived youngsters’ unmet needs, gang leaders created street soldiers committed to maintaining the group’s territory.
Inner-city gangsters were depicted as fearless men determined to make incredible amounts of money in the burgeoning genre of music known as “gangsta rap.” Groups such as Los Angeles-based N.W.A. illustrated the unfairness of life for African American inner-city youth, especially in terms of interactions with Los Angeles police officers.
Impact
The gangster activities of the 1980’s stimulated federal law enforcement efforts, resulting in a reduction in organized criminal activities. However, the romanticization and glorification of gang life in popular culture from videos to music left a lasting legacy, creating a variety of American gangster images that proved attractive to moviegoers and music fans, especially teenage youth.
Bibliography
De Stefano, George. An Offer We Can’t Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America. New York: Faber & Faber, 2006. Discusses the decline of the Italian American Mafia and traces the history and significance of the organization in relation to its American incarnation. Also provides coverage of the Italian American gangster in film and television.
Gambetta, Diego. The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993. Details the roots of the American version of the Mafia through examination of the Sicilian original. Explores the reasoning behind the rules and actions of the Sicilian Mafia that influenced the American Mafia.
Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. Covers not only the Italian American Mafia but also the organized crime activities of other ethnic groups in the United States, such as Asians, Russians, and African Americans. Includes definitions of criminal justice terms.