INVOLVEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN THE AMERICANIZED ITALIAN MAFIA: TOWARDS AN ASSOCIATIVE THEORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME Thomas John Speicher A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology and Criminology University of North Carolina Wilmington 2013 Approved by Advisory Committee . Steve McNamee Jean-Anne Sutherland . Cecil L Willis . Chair Accepted by . Dean, Graduate School TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………...v DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………..viii INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...1 DEFINING ORGANIZED CRIME…………………………………………………………….....5 HISTORICAL CONTEXT………………………………………………………………………..6 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY……………………………………………………………......11 STRUCTURED CRIMINAL OPPORTUNITY…………………………………………………18 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………..22 METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………………29 INITIATION: EMERGING THEMES FROM THE LIFE HISTORY NARRATIVES………..35 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO INITIATION IN ORGANIZED CRIME…………………..48 STRUCTURE OF THE AMERICANIZED ITALIAN MAFIA………………………………...56 SUSTAINABILITY: EMERGING THEMES FROM THE LIFE HISTORY NARRATIVES...60 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTAINABILITY IN ORGANIZED CRIME………...…79 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS …………………………………………………………87 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………….102 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………109 iii ABSTRACT Many studies have looked at association formation and associative sustainability within a non-deviant group, but none have looked at association formation and sustainability within an organized criminal syndicate. Also, while increases in deviance resulting from association with deviant others has been studied on a number of occasions and in a number of contexts, most of these studies focus on adolescent deviance and/or life-course offending within unrestricted and fluid social networks or non-structured groups. A review of the literature indicate that none have looked at life-course offending and the variables that predict initiation into and sustainability within a semi structured or strictly hierarchal organized criminal network. There are two research questions that guide this study; what interactive and normative definitions contribute to initiation and sustainability within the Americanized Italian Mafia, and what structured criminal opportunities contribute to initiation and sustainability within the Americanized Italian Mafia? Using insights from social learning theory and structured criminal opportunity theory, this study looks at the subjective acceptability of definitions and the objective criminal opportunities that contribute to initiation and sustainability within the Americanized Italian Mafia. Answers to the above research questions in tandem with insights from social learning and structured criminal opportunity theory are used to help develop a theoretical framework predictive of initiation and sustainability within any organized crime group. Such a theory can help in the development of a broader understanding of the field of organized crime and potentially allow for the development of more effective counter measures. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thanks go to Joseph Marinello, Judge Richard Boner and Dr. Paul Friday of the University of North Carolina Charlotte for aiding in the cultivation of my interests in criminology, and for encouraging me to further my education at the graduate level. I am especially thankful to Dr. Benny Andres of the University of North Carolina Charlotte and his very detailed critiques of my writing; while they were harsh, they have certainly provided me with a skill that will serve me well in the future. My research on organized crime and a number of components for this thesis would have been lackluster without the guidance and assistance received from committee members including Dr. Stephen McNamee, Dr. Jean-Anne Sutherland and Dr. Cecil Willis. While I appreciate the help that I received from all committee members, this thesis would not have been possible without the insights and unparalleled mentoring I received from Dr. Willis. Throughout the writing process, Dr. Willis provided genuine and sincere personal support. The endless conversations about various criminological theories and their applications to this study at hand will never be forgotten. Thank you for your assistance and friendship. Also, I would like to thank all of the professors from the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, for their support and dedication to ensuring my intellectual stimulation and growth. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Annie Speicher, for her support and patience with me and this project. I am sure that seeing her husband for an hour per day for two years was not what she expected when I initially registered for graduate school. v DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother, Veronica Doyle. As a single parent, she provided me with everything I ever needed and then some. vi LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1.) Initiation within the Americanized Italian Mafia Model of Structured Criminal Opportunities and Interactive and Normative Definitions…………………………………...55 2.) Sustainability within the Americanized Italian Mafia Model of Structured Criminal Opportunities and Interactive and Normative Definitions…………………………87 3.) Organized Crime Association Model of Structured Criminal Opportunities and Interactive and Normative Definitions……………………………………………….………96 vii INTRODUCTION Organized crime in the United States has plagued law enforcement officers, legislators and the like for more than a century. While there are a number of organized crime groups currently operating in the United Statesi, few, if any have posed the sort of lasting and dynamic threat to the stability of the economy in a manner comparable to the Americanized Italian Mafia (AIM) or La Cosa Nostra (LCN). There are a number of organized crime groups operating in the US with Italian originsii, although, the AIM is by far the most prominent (Finklea 2010). While the AIM has historically been associated with deviant activities such as gambling, prostitution, bootlegging alcohol, labor racketeering, fraud, protection scams and political corruption scams (Abadinsky 1981), criminal activities in areas such as strategic commodities, insurance and money laundering, could be considered “bread and butter” activities of the modern-day AIM as well as most other organized crime groups (Finklea 2010). According to Finklea, when organized crime groups participate in illicit activities in areas such as strategic commodities, insurance and money laundering, consequences “have the potential to further destabilize the at-present weak economy because they result in a loss of tax revenue for state and federal governments” (1). Still, it is important to recognize the argument that organized crime groups such as the AIM, have aided in the establishment of a number of legal, lucrative enterprises, from which modern-day state and federal taxes are levied. According to the primary source from which this life history/case study is based, the AIM has aided in the establishment of a number of revenue sources that state and federal governments currently draw from. In this regard, the subject stated; “The mafia made Las Vegas a happening place. Before the mob took control of Vegas, there was nothing there. You couldn‟t even see it when you flew over it in an airplane. Now the state of Nevada and the federal government are receiving billions in tax dollars through casinos in Vegas. It is all because of what gangsters did out there, years ago.” There are dozens of crime families that fall under the auspices of the AIM or LCN umbrella. However, there are five historically prominent families within the AIM including the Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Gambino and Luchese, all of which have been operating in the US since at least 1930. All five of these families are believed to be operating in some capacity in the US today. Each family has its own unique history as well as a long line of leaders or dons extending back to the 1930‟s (see Appendix A). New York has in the past, and continues to serve as the primary area from which these five families operate. Other places, from which the AIM families currently operate, include Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami, just to name a few (Finklea 2010). This study explores the structured criminal opportunities and social learning experiences that contribute to becoming involved in organized crime and sustaining membership within the Americanized Italian Mafia. This study examines the interactive and normative definitions, gained through differential association with intimate group members and organizational members, which contribute to initiation and sustainability within the AIM. With regard to structured criminal opportunity, this study gauges the prerequisite structural opportunities that are necessary for entrance and thus initiation into the AIM, as well as the structured criminal opportunities that foster sustainability and eventually disengagement from the organization. There are two research questions that guide this study. The first question asks; what interactive and normative definitions contribute to initiation and sustained involvement within the AIM? In order to inform this question, I present an examination of the literature that looks