Europe at Present [Spring 2003]

ORGANISED CRIME IN EUROPE

I Organised crime in general

When most people think of organised crime their point of reference is often one that is informed by American gangster films. The portrayal is of a somewhat romantic hierarchical 'mafia' family, who hale from the 'old country' of Sicily, and dominated by an immigrant Italian Godfather who came to prominence through the importation of olive oil. The term Mafia is often used generically to describe all organised crime, but this is somewhat  misleading. Much of the organized crime that exists in Europe today is extremely varied in its makeup and structure. At the opposite end of the scale to the tightly woven fabric of a Mafia hierarchy that forges strong 'family' allegiances, is the loan operators who buys in criminal expertise from freelancers, who specialize in violence, and sophisticated organized theft etc., as and when it is required. There also appears to be much co-operation and interaction between criminals, which can serve to make themselves more profitable and more efficient, benefiting from each others skills and criminal expertise.

But the problem in any study of organised crime is the lack of research in this field, largely because of the necessity of organised crime to remain clandestine in its operations. Many observers have pointed to the fact that there still exists a Mafia 'Godfather' myth attitude towards organised crime within many policing and security institutions within Europe. This has hampered criminologists attempts at formulating an operational definition of organised crime in order to reach a de facto understanding of the complexities of organised crime. Much of the evidence on organised crime is based on empirical studies only, and as a consequence this has led to simplistic definitions that have given rise to the idea of organised crime as an homogenous entity, and without variation. The Mafia, hierarchical family-based model, as discussed above, is an all pervasive definition. Another is that all criminal group activity that requires some form of co-operation should be defined as organised crime.

2. Finest and detailed definition of organised crime.

The Fijnaut group, created in 1995 by a Dutch Parliamentary Committee, more usefully defines organised crime as 'a group or network of people which is primarily focused on illegally obtained profits, and in a systematic way commit serious crimes with great societal consequences. These groups or networks are capable of effectively covering up their crimes, in particular by using violence or means of corruption.' (cited by Jansen and Bruinsma, 1997, pp.85-98). They also seek to distinguish organised crime from professional, corporate and white collar crime, and terrorism. In essence, organised crime then falls into two distinct criminal categories: the supply of illicit consumer goods (esp.drugs) and services and the infiltration of legitimate business such as banking, toxic waste industry, transportation, construction industry etc. etc. (Jansen and Bruinsma, 1997, pp.85-98).

What seems to mark out organised criminal activity from ordinary crime is the high level of entrepreneurial skill that is applied to its operations. This leads to the conclusion that many organised criminals are highly intelligent, and often possibly highly educated, extremely adaptable and adept at utilising and exploiting  political and economic changes and technological advances. They then make use of these factors and take advantage to their great benefit, ultimately amassing huge amounts of money and making massive profits.

3.Terrorists- should we count them to organised crime groups and why?

It is perhaps even more erroneous to exclude terrorism from a definition of organised crime. This can be argued on three levels: firstly, historically, organised crime has been known to evolve from political resistance groups; the IRA, perhaps, empirically provides an example of the blurring of terrorism and organised crime. Secondly, it is widely thought that there is a high level of collusion between terrorist and conventional organised crime groups. Thirdly, the areas of criminal activity that are profit motivated are identical.

It could be argued that the only difference is one of ultimate motivation, namely the furthering of political ideology rather than profit for its own sake. But it is, perhaps, naïve to regard their criminal activities as the pursuit of ideology only. Terrorist groups are well documented as being involved in drugs trafficking, and making extremely large profits. The PKT are said to command much of the drugs trafficking flowing through Turkey that eventually ends up in Europe. The profits made from drugs is said to be used to buy arms for the Kurdish revolt against Turkey. It has also been suggested that they also launder money, and this has '...grown into a full-service business co-ordinating the production, use, and transportation of illegal drugs, particularly in Western Europe.'

Within the above definitional framework it could be argued that the criminal behaviour of terrorist organisations, such as the PKK, is very much akin to that of more conventional organised crime. With drugs production, trafficking and the subsequent laundering of money, arises the assumption of a high level of organisation and high level of entrepreneurial ability; one of the major defining factors and aspects of organised crime. 

II Organised crime in certain countries

Italy is often referred to as a home of all organised crime, as in this country mafia was created. The origin of the word mafia is a bit of a mystery. Some say that it is derived from an Arabic word for refuge, while others say that it is derived from a Sicilian adjective implying courage, strength, agility, quickness, endurance, and intelligence. Others claim that the word mafia was an acronym for Morte Alla Franciese Italia Annella, which meant Death to the French is Italy's Cry and that it was at the beginning a resistance group fighting against the usurping French Bourbons, who annexed Italy around 15^th century.⁴⁸⁹ I have come across two others theories concerning the origin of mafia. According to the first one the Mafia was started in Sicily during medieval times to protect the estates when the landlords were not there. The second one claims that the mafia originated in Sicily as a secret society to unite the Sicilian natives, who had fled to the hills in order to escape from Arab and French invaders.

By the 19th century, the Sicilian mafia had grown larger, more powerful, and more criminally oriented. The members were sworn by a strict ethical code called omerta. That was a group of rules and if you broke one you died. The Mafia became so strong that they became politicians and were able to influence police forces and gain access to weapons. By 1924, the Italian mafia had become powerful enough to attract the attention of Mussolini⁴⁹⁰. The Italian government under Benito Mussolini tried to control the Mafia but it came out strong again after World War II. Because of Mussolini being so strict members of the Mafia moved to the United States where they then led many criminal activities especially during Prohibition. By the 1930's it moved into other illegal activities. What is interesting is that the Mafia helped the Allied forces during invasion of Sicily in 1943 and Allied forces in return gave the Island back to the Sicilians ( that is also to the Mafia )⁴⁹¹.

After the World War II mafia got interested in drug trafficking⁴⁹² .Since than the face of the mafia has changed from the faceless, mysterious, and impenetrable power that it was fifty years ago. Fifty years ago, no member of La Cosa Nostra would have considered breaking omerta, the code of silence which, in many ways, is responsible for the power of the mafia. To do this was to be labeled a "rat" (called that because a rat will do anything to survive) and be marked for certain death. Today, things are different. It has been blamed on drugs, and it has been blamed on youth. One thing is certain: powerful members of the mafia have broken omerta, and the entire organization has paid the price.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s the mafia was making an explicit attempt to seize actual power in Italy. They were corrupting⁴⁹³, or decapitating, the legitimate leadership of the civil state. Everything started with the declaration of a war pitting the Castellemmarese and their sometime ally, the Corleone fraction headed by the ruthless Toto Riina, against two enemies: other mafia clans, who for their own reasons opposed the new strategy, and the Italian state. Since the struggle began in 1978 as many as 900 Italians per year have died in its gunfire and bombings. In the mid 1980’s government decided to put an end to this blood bath. Thanks to testimonies of Mafiosi Tomasso Buscetta and splendid work of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borselino in 1984 maxi trials nearly 400 mafiosi were put behind bars. But the Mafia was not defeated.

In the end of 1980’s and 1990’s it started to cooperate with organizations based in Turkey and post-Soviet Russia; the Colombian cocaine cartels and their operations in Spain; and ethnic Chinese triads from East and Southeast Asia, which have established key overseas bases in Rotterdam and London. At a lower level, the transport and marketing of contraband was and still is managed by syndicates of Nigerians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Lebanese, Albanians, and a potpourri of ex-Yugoslavs.

In 1992 – after judges Falcone and Borselino were both brutally murdered⁴⁹⁴- another war against the Mafia has begun. 1993 one of top mafiosi Toto Riina was arrested and sentenced and Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti⁴⁹⁵ was indicted for connections to organized crime. But this war is still far from being won by authorities. Some people claim that the front-page arrests were only to distract public opinion and that mafia is now stronger than ever⁴⁹⁶.

Proof for that might be the research by the French government, according to which more than $20 billion per year in laundered cash alone winds up in Palermo.

What is more Palermo ranks a dismal 80th among Italian urban areas in reported per capita income (it has virtually no legitimate profitable industries or commercial significance) - but a dynamic fifth in annual consumer spending.

By tradition, only men could take the blood oath that seals entrance into the Honored Society, as the Mafia calls itself, however nowadays evidence is building that many women are now as much a part of the Mafia as their men. Some women have taken the place of their arrested husbands, taking over businesses ; some are lending their "clean" names to money-laundering businesses ; others are used by the mafia to slip messages in and out of high-security prisons.