Odlomak

Introduction

To many people today, especially in the United States, the Mafia is synonymous with organized crime. The Mafia frequently has been glorified, lionized, and otherwise mythologized through legions of books, movies, documentaries and television series. To many readers of popular crime novels and nonfiction, a gangland of other types of criminals certainly does not exist.

A number of converging forces have altered the criminal landscape tremendously in the United States and around the world. Certainly one of them has been the U.S. government. With crackdowns by the DEA, the FBI, and the U.S. attorney general’s office, by way of the RICO statutes, the traditional Mafia, as it is known, has been severely crippled.

Many of the top capos are either in jail or facing sentencing. Another problem is the makeup of new immigrants. In the past, the Mafia usually drew heavily on the waves of poor and uneducated Italian immigrants, some of whom could be recruited to fill its ranks. It also drew on poor second-generation families of other ethnic backgrounds. However, very few second- and third-generation descendants of immigrants seek membership in nefarious organizations. Between upwardly mobile second- and thirdgeneration Italian families and the dwindling number of immigrants upon which the Mafia traditionally counted for recruitment, the Mafia has had problems filling its ranks.

Within the criminal world, the most powerful of new immigrants are the Asians and Russians. These criminals are now vying for power in our nation’s cities. The Chinese have the triads and the tongs, the Japanese have the notorious Yakuza, and the Russians have the Russian Mafiya. Other groups include South and Central Americans and Caribbeans. These groups are ruthless and are pressing the Mafia for territory and money. Crime is not what it used to be.

However, these are not new organizations. These are groups that have been terrorizing law-abiding citizens in other countries around the world. Southeast Asia has the triads. China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have the tong. Japan has the Yakuza. The Caribbean has the Jamaican posse groups. Russia has its Mafiya. The Latin Americans have the cartels. These organizations, bands of ruthless outlaws, are at work all around the world. What is meant by organized crime? The Interpol definition, adopted by the General Assembly of the member countries of Interpol in 1998, is as follows: Any enterprise or group of persons engaged in a continuing illegal activity which has as its primary purpose the generation of profits irrespective of national boundaries. The OC Branch is dealing with identified criminal organizations. It centralizes, evaluates and analyses information on internationally operating criminal organizations and their activities. It conducts projects of special interest.

The biggest criminal organizations include the triads, the tongs, the Yakuza, Russian organized groups from the territory of the former Soviet Union, the Italian Mafia, the South American cartels, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and so on. Their main criminal activities are racketeering, fraud, car theft, robbery, armed assault, drug dealing, trafficking in weapons and radioactive material, xi The Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime trafficking in human beings and exploitation through prostitution, alien smuggling, smuggling of precious and antique goods, extortion for protection money, gambling, embezzling from industries and financial institutions up to infiltration and control of private and commercial banks, and
controlling of black markets.

 

ADAMS, Patrick

Patrick Adams is possibly one of the most violent organized-crime figures in British organized-crime history. He was particularly adept at using high speed motorcycles in his very dramatic and highly creative mob hits. Adams, on almost all business dealings, defers to the family’s ring leader, Terry Adams; however, Adams has been known to take things into his own hands, such as his dealings with Mad Frankie Frazier and his son, David. The 1991 shooting of Mad Frankie Frazier shortly after his release from prison was seen as Adams’s handiwork. While Frazier survived the assassination attempt, he has refused to discuss the incident openly with the press. According to http://geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates,
“Patrick later turned his knife on Frazier’s son David after a drug deal soured. This run-in left David holding a portion of his ear as a warning not to cross the Adamses again. Many other criminals have not been so lucky as the Adamses are suspected of ordering at least 25 murders over a 3 year period.” See also: ADAMS, TERRY; ADAMS, TOMMY; CLERKENWELL CRIME SYNDICATE.

 
ADAMS, Terry
According to http://geocities.com/OrganizedCrime Syndicates, “The brains behind the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, a vast criminal conspiracy, is 48-year-old Terry Adams, a man so secretive” that public photos of him are extremely scarce. Terry Adams is easily the most powerful and charismatic British gangster since the Kray twins. He is athletically built, with silver, shoulder-length hair, and stands an impressive 6 1 . Terry Adams is the undisputed leader of the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, known simply as The Firm. Former associates and surviving ex-employees have described him as a Machiavellian ruler who exercises control through both cunning and violent force if necessary to establish his unquestioned authority. The British press has noted his love of  antiques, fine drink, and fancy cars (his favorites being custom-built Cadillacs and Bentleys). Adams and his family shun the press as much as
possible. Photo ops are strictly forbidden, and even mention in text is said to be abhorrent to the elusive prince of the British underworld. Even legendary Brit gangsters—especially one of the most famous, Mad Frankie Frazier, long known for his willingness to expound on any subject—refuses to discuss The Firm with the press. Frazier suffered a gunshot wound to the head after being released from jail, and his son David lost a piece of his ear after some dealings with the Adamses allegedly ran afoul. According to http://geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates, “Terry Adams is thought of as a star by his minions, who all stand as he enters a room. The immaculately attired hood favors long black coats and white frilly 1 ADAMS, Tommy shirts. In the London underworld, he is the closest thing to John Gotti.” See also: ADAMS, PATRICK; ADAMS, TOMMY; CLERKENWELL CRIME SYNDICATE.

 

ADAMS, Tommy
Tommy Adams is alleged to be the financier for the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate run by his brother Terry Adams. He is also the most well known of the three Adams brothers. In 1985, Tommy, a favorite Fleet Street mention, survived a highly publicized trial, being acquitted of laundering the proceeds of a gold-bullion heist. According to http://geocities.com/OrganizedCrime Syndicates, “Tommy is presently serving a 7 year jail term for masterminding a large hash-smuggling ring. Tommy secured an $80 million credit line with Columbian cartels and made important contacts with the yardie gangs through an underling. Tommy is 3 years into his sentence and is sure to return to the gang’s fold upon his release.” See also: ADAMS, PATRICK; ADAMS, TERRY; CLERKENWELL CRIME SYNDICATE.

 

AGCA, Mehmet Ali
Mehmet Ali Agca is a Turkish terrorist who shot Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, in an assassination attempt. Originally Agca claimed to be a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and later confessed to being a part of a Bulgarian/KGB plot to kill the pope due to his support of Poland’s Solidarity movement. Both were found to be untrue.
It has since been discovered that in 1981, a contract was issued by one of Turkish godfather Abuzer Ugurlu’s “chief lieutenants on the life of Pope John Paul II. Ugurlu reportedly authorized the payment of 1.7 million U.S. dollars for the murder of the pontiff,” reported http://geocities.com/Organized CrimeSyndicates. Agca was sentenced to life imprisonment in Italy but was pardoned by president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in June 2000. Agca returned to Turkey, where he was imprisoned for the murder of a newspaper editor. In 1979 Mehmet murdered the chief editor of the Milliyet, Abdi Ipekci. When Agca was arrested, the police discovered a false passport in the name of Mehmet Oezbey that belonged to Abdullah Catli. On May 13, 1981, insiders mentioned Abdullah Catli in connection with the assault against the pope. He is currently in a Turkish prison. See also: BASAK, HUSEYIN; CATLI, ABDULLAH; DONMEZ, OSMAN; KILIC, DUNDAR; OZBIZERDIK, ONUR; UGURLU, ABUZER.

 

AGLIERI, Pietro (a.k.a. U Signurinu; the Little Gentleman)
With the capture of Corleone clan chieftain Giovanni Brusca, Pietro Aglieri ascended to the top of one of Italy’s most feared and noted crime clans. His taking control of the reins of power capped an unusually fast climb to the top of Italian organized crime. Aglieri had made a name for himself by killing Salvatore Riina, one of Italy’s most notorious crime figures and a huge rival of the Corleone clan. This accomplishment catapulted Aglieri’s name to the top of the ranks. “Thirty six years old at the time of his coronation, Aglieri was three years younger than his predecessor,” wrote http://geocities.com/OrganizedCrime Syndicates. “In spite of his youth and misleading nickname (the Little Gentleman), Aglieri was every bit as violent as the rest of the Corleone bosses before him. Aglieri’s reign proved to be one of the shortest on record as Italian authorities captured him at a farmhouse outside of Palermo in June of 1997.”

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