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126-825: Numerous law enforcement and international intelligence agencies classify the Bandidos as an organized crime syndicate. The Bandidos Motorcycle Club was founded by 36-year-old dockworker Donald Eugene Chambers on March 4, 1966, in San Leon , Texas. Chambers named the club in honor of the Mexican bandits who lived by their own rules, and he recruited members from biker bars locally in Houston as well as in Corpus Christi , Galveston , and San Antonio . Like other outlaw motorcycle clubs, they call themselves "one percenters",

252-420: A gang , crime family , mafia , mob, (crime) ring, or syndicate; the network, subculture, and community of criminals involved in organized crime may be referred to as the underworld or gangland. Sociologists sometimes specifically distinguish a "mafia" as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi-law enforcement. Academic studies of the original "Mafia",

378-424: A "prospect" and then "probation". The length of this process is decided by each chapter president, and ends when the chapter's members vote unanimously to allow the probationary member to enter the club. A screening process is carried out to prevent infiltration by law enforcement. Upon joining the Bandidos, each member must sign their motorcycle over to the club. Each club chapter follows a structured hierarchy, with

504-520: A competitive advantage for some groups; however, it is inaccurate to adopt this as the only determinant of classification in organized crime. This categorization includes the Sicilian Mafia , 'Ndrangheta , ethnic Chinese criminal groups , Japanese yakuza (or Boryokudan ), Colombian drug trafficking groups , Nigerian organized crime groups, Corsican mafia , Korean criminal groups and Jamaican posses . From this perspective, organized crime

630-432: A degree of organizational rationality. Members saw themselves as organized criminals; gangs were formal-rational organizations, Strong organizational structures, well defined roles and rules that guided members' behavior. Also a specified and regular means of income (i.e., drugs). Padilla (1992) agreed with the two above. However some have found these to be loose rather than well-defined and lacking persistent focus, there

756-403: A few families and business oligarchs that may be deemed or may devolve into organized crime groups in practice. By their very nature, kleptocracies , mafia states , narco-states or narcokleptocracies , and states with high levels of clientelism and political corruption are either heavily involved with organized crime or tend to foster organized crime within their own governments. In

882-513: A financial crime, counterfeiting also involves manufacturing or distributing goods under assumed names. Counterfeiters benefit because consumers believe they are buying goods from companies that they trust, when in reality they are buying low quality counterfeit goods. In 2007, the OECD reported the scope of counterfeit products to include food, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, electrical components, tobacco and even household cleaning products in addition to

1008-484: A given network), while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions (such as retrieval of stored confidential data, corruption of information, or interception of transmissions). Worms and Trojan horses, like viruses, may harm a computer system's data or performance. Applying the Internet model of organized crime, the proliferation of computer viruses and other malicious software promotes

1134-650: A gold background. The Bandidos' color scheme was inspired by that of the United States Marine Corps and chosen by Chambers, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War . Patches denoting a member's rank and chapter are worn, as are various other patches which have specific meanings. Although the particular meaning of each patch is not publicly known, various law enforcement agencies have identified Bandidos patches which they believe are related to criminal activity. For example, police have reported that

1260-408: A greater propensity for imitation. Gangs and traditional criminal organizations cannot be universally linked (Decker, 1998), however there are clear benefits to both the adult and youth organization through their association. In terms of structure, no single crime group is archetypal, though in most cases there are well-defined patterns of vertical integration (where criminal groups attempt to control

1386-514: A legal defense fund. Club bylaws state that any member who commits suicide will not receive a Bandidos funeral. The Bandidos have an estimated membership of between 2,000 and 2,500 worldwide. In the United States, the majority of the club consists of white and Hispanic males. The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is organized by local chapters, with state and regional officers, as well as a national chapter made up of four regional vice-presidents and

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1512-852: A merger with the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club in Quebec in 2000. After establishing further chapters in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, the club's operations in Canada ceased in November 2007 as a result of infighting, law enforcement efforts, and pulled status from the club's American leadership. In 2004, the Bandidos formed a chapter in Costa Rica . The first Australian chapter was formed in 1983, in Sydney , by former members of

1638-520: A nation-state to penetrate another nation's computers or networks with the intention of causing civil damage or disruption. Moreover, it acts as the "fifth domain of warfare," and William J. Lynn , U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense , states that "as a doctrinal matter, the Pentagon has formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain in warfare . . . [which] has become just as critical to military operations as land, sea, air, and space." Cyber espionage

1764-589: A national president. The leadership of the club consists of an international president, known as "El Presidente", who has authority over every club chapter. The club also has Nomad chapters , made up of members not bound by geographical location, which are responsible for security, counterintelligence and internal discipline. The Bandidos' "mother chapter" is based in Houston , Texas. The club has 303 chapters worldwide, located in twenty-two countries in North America, Oceania, Europe and Asia. The United States

1890-515: A nomad has the right to be hosted by any charter he appears at, he cannot direct a charter, as each one acts as an autonomous unit within the rules of the parent club. Most motorcycle club members wear a territorial rocker (i.e., the bottom patch on the back of the jacket) that signifies what city/locale, state, or province their charter is located in. A nomad's territorial rocker, however, will simply say "Nomad" or "Nomads". There are clubs named "Nomads Motorcycle Club" in several countries, such as

2016-554: A particular territory, facility, or enterprise." Some reasons youth join gangs include to feel accepted, attain status, and increase their self-esteem. A sense of unity brings together many of the youth gangs that lack the family aspect at home. "Zones of transition" are deteriorating neighborhoods with shifting populations. In such areas, conflict between groups, fighting, "turf wars", and theft promote solidarity and cohesion. Cohen (1955): working class teenagers joined gangs due to frustration of inability to achieve status and goals of

2142-447: A pattern of maltreatment on their own children years later. Klein (1971) like Spergel studied the effects on members of social workers' interventions. More interventions actually lead to greater gang participation and solidarity and bonds between members. Downes and Rock (1988) on Parker's analysis: strain theory applies, labeling theory (from experience with police and courts), control theory (involvement in trouble from early childhood and

2268-562: A person who is coerced by another to engage in sexual activity. Official numbers of individuals in sexual slavery worldwide vary. In 2001 International Organization for Migration estimated 400,000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated 700,000 and UNICEF estimated 1.75 million. The most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and

2394-496: A phrase coined by the former president of the American Motorcyclist Association who once stated that 99 percent of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens and 1 percent "outlaws". By the early 1970s, the club had over one hundred members, including many Vietnam War veterans. Ronald Jerome Hodge took over from Chambers as the Bandidos' president in 1972. Hodge was nicknamed "Mr. Prospect" because of

2520-670: A politically motivated group. Notable groups include the Medellín Cartel , Corleonesi Mafia , various Mexican Cartels , and Jamaican Posse . Organized crime groups generate large amounts of money by activities such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, extortion, theft, and financial crime. These illegally sourced assets are of little use to them unless they can disguise it and convert it into funds that are available for investment into legitimate enterprise. The methods they use for converting its 'dirty' money into 'clean' assets encourages corruption. Organized crime groups need to hide

2646-437: A president, vice-president, sergeant-at-arms, road captain and secretary/treasurer. Members must abide by various by-laws, such as not wearing the club patch while riding in a car or truck, and are required to attend meetings (known as "Church") four times per month. These rules also dictate that any member who fails to attend mandatory group motorcycle rides is fined and must forfeit the title of his motorcycle. Another requirement

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2772-726: A range of business and labor racketeering activities, such as skimming casinos, insider trading, setting up monopolies in industries such as garbage collecting, construction and cement pouring, bid rigging, getting "no-show" and "no-work" jobs, political corruption and bullying. The commission of violent crime may form part of a criminal organization's 'tools' used to achieve criminogenic goals (for example, its threatening, authoritative, coercive, terror-inducing, or rebellious role), due to psycho-social factors (cultural conflict, aggression, rebellion against authority, access to illicit substances, counter-cultural dynamic), or may, in and of itself, be crime rationally chosen by individual criminals and

2898-696: A result MS-13 is known to commit acts of violence against members of the Minutemen, to prevent them from interfering with their illegal immigration activities. Throughout the world there are various anti-gang vigilante groups, who profess to be fighting against gang influence, but share characteristics and acts similarly to gangs, including Sombra Negra , Friends Stand United , People Against Gangsterism and Drugs , and OG Imba . Gangs that are involved in drug trafficking often commit violent acts to stop or force out independent dealers—drug dealers with no gang ties—to keep them from taking customers. In America, there

3024-605: A result, marine biologists say that the local fishery is recovering. In Mexico a vigilante group called Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria was formed to counter the illegal loggers , the La Familia Michoacana Cartel and a drug cartel/ cult known as the Knights Templar Cartel ; as they grew, they were being joined by former cartel members and as they got bigger they began to sell drugs in order to buy weapons. The Knights Templar Cartel

3150-595: A salt form that is white. The former is mainly produced in Afghanistan and some south-west countries while the latter had a history of being produced in only south-east Asia, but has since moved to also being produced in Afghanistan. There is some suspicion white Heroin is also being produced in Iran and Pakistan, but it is not confirmed. This area of Heroin production is referred to as the Golden Crescent. Heroin

3276-408: A sense of detachment between the perpetrator (whether that be the criminal organization or another individual) and the victim; this may help to explain vast increases in cyber-crime such as these for the purpose of ideological crime or terrorism. In mid July 2010, security experts discovered a malicious software program that had infiltrated factory computers and had spread to plants around the world. It

3402-605: A source of heroin." With respect to organized crime and accelerating synthetic drug production in East and Southeast Asia, especially the Golden Triangle , Sam Gor , also known as The Company, is the most prominent international crime syndicate based in Asia-Pacific . It is made up of members of five different triads. Sam Gor is understood to be headed by Chinese-Canadian Tse Chi Lop . The Cantonese Chinese syndicate

3528-643: A study, they estimated that in 2009, money laundering equated to about 2.7% of global GDP being laundered; this is equal to about 1.6 trillion US dollars. The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an intergovernmental body set up to combat money laundering, has stated that "A sustained effort between 1996 and 2000 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to produce such estimates failed." However, anti-money laundering efforts that seize money laundered assets in 2001 amounted to $ 386 million. The rapid growth of money laundering

3654-964: A visit to the United States. Hodge was sentenced to five years in prison in December 1988 for conspiring to bomb homes and automobiles belonging to members of a rival club, and he died of heart disease in 1992. In 1989, the club was established in Europe when a chapter was formed in Marseille , France. Subsequent expansion into the Nordic countries in the 1990s led to a violent feud with the Hells Angels . The third Bandidos international president, James Edward Lang, as well as his successor, Charles Craig Johnston, were each sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on drug charges in November 1998. George Wegers, who served as international president between 1998 and 2005,

3780-423: Is a tendency to distinguish "traditional" organized crime such as gambling , loan sharking , drug-trafficking , prostitution , and fraud from certain other forms of crime that also usually involve organized or group criminal acts, such as white-collar crime , financial crimes , political crimes , war crimes , state crimes, and treason . This distinction is not always apparent and academics continue to debate

3906-496: Is also not uncommon for drug farms to also host livestock , both to have a legal source of revenue to help disguise the dirty money and so that the livestock can provide a source of organic fertilizer (such as manure ) for the drug crops. There are multiple instances where traffickers set up some of their drug farms, safe houses and drug labs in remote wilderness areas. Once produced, the fully processed narcotics are then transported to more populated areas to be sold. Oftentimes

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4032-671: Is an animal welfare organization called Rescue Ink, in which outlaw biker gang members volunteer to rescue animals in need and combat against people who commit animal cruelty, such as breaking up cockfighting rings, stopping the killing of stray cats , breaking up dog fighting rings, and rescuing pets from abusive owners. In the American prison system, prison gangs are often known to physically harm and even kill inmates who have committed such crimes as child murder , serial killing , pedophilia , hate crimes , domestic violence , and rape , and inmates who have committed crimes against

4158-416: Is argued that rational choice is not represented in this. The choice to commit a certain act, or associate with other organized crime groups, may be seen as much more of an entrepreneurial decision - contributing to the continuation of a criminal enterprise, by maximizing those aspects that protect or support their own individual gain. In this context, the role of risk is also easily understandable, however it

4284-419: Is commonly used interchangeably with "youth gang," referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups that meet "gang" criteria. Miller (1992) defines a street gang as "a self-formed association of peers, united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization, who act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including the conduct of illegal activity and control of

4410-583: Is considered "the first attack on critical industrial infrastructure that sits at the foundation of modern economies," notes the New York Times. Corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity having a separate legal personality from the natural persons that manage its activities), or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity (see vicarious liability and corporate liability ). Corporate crimes are motivated by either

4536-741: Is credited to the club's founder, Donald Chambers . The "Fat Mexican" bears a resemblance to the Frito Bandito – a cartoon mascot of the Fritos corn chips brand – and according to Bandidos lore, Chambers took the club's name and logo from the mascot. However, the Frito Bandito was not developed until 1967, the year after the Bandidos' foundation. In addition to the "Fat Mexican" and diamond-shaped " 1%er " emblems, club members also wear other patches on leather or denim vests – known as " colors ". These patches consist of red lettering displayed on

4662-481: Is currently debating whether such activities as commercial espionage or theft of intellectual property are criminal activities or actual "breaches of national security." Furthermore, military activities that use computers and satellites for coordination are at risk of equipment disruption. Orders and communications can be intercepted or replaced. Power, water, fuel, communications, and transportation infrastructure all may be vulnerable to sabotage . According to Clarke,

4788-407: Is debatable whether the underlying motivation should be seen as true entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship as a product of some social disadvantage. The criminal organization, much in the same way as one would assess pleasure and pain, weighs such factors as legal, social and economic risk to determine potential profit and loss from certain criminal activities. This decision-making process rises from

4914-557: Is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime as "...the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national". This practice has increased over the past few decades and today now accounts for a significant portion of illegal immigration in countries around

5040-404: Is dependent on the types of crime the organization is involved in (as well as their organizational structure or cultural tradition) aggressive acts range on a spectrum from low-grade physical assaults to major trauma assaults . Bodily harm and grievous bodily harm, within the context of organized crime, must be understood as indicators of intense social and cultural conflict, motivations contrary to

5166-431: Is due to: Money laundering is a three-stage process: Means of money laundering: The policy aim in this area is to make the financial markets transparent, and minimize the circulation of criminal money and its cost upon legitimate markets. Counterfeiting money is another financial crime. The counterfeiting of money includes illegally producing money that is then used to pay for anything desired. In addition to being

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5292-573: Is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually. A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy , literally meaning "rule by thieves". There are three major regions that center around drug trafficking , known as the Golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand), Golden Crescent (Afghanistan) and Central and South America. There are suggestions that due to the continuing decline in opium production in South East Asia, traffickers may begin to look to Afghanistan as

5418-528: Is home to 93 Bandidos chapters, located in sixteen states. The club is concentrated in Texas but extends into Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington and Oklahoma. The Bandidos incorporated in Texas as a non-profit organization in 1978. The club has subsequently incorporated in other states, including Washington and Alabama. The Bandidos expanded into Canada following

5544-533: Is no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition of terrorism . Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (e.g., neutral military personnel or civilians ), and are committed by non-government agencies. Some definitions also include acts of unlawful violence and war, especially crimes against humanity ( see

5670-415: Is not a member of a specific charter of the group. Some nomads live in geographical areas that have fewer than the required numbers to form a charter. They may even have been sent to the area with a mandate to establish a chapter. Other nomads may have just chosen somewhat solitary lives. While nomads are not members of a charter, they are respected and accepted widely by the club as full members. Whilst

5796-566: Is not a modern phenomenon - the construction of 17th and 18th century crime gangs fulfill all the present day criteria of criminal organizations (in opposition to the Alien Conspiracy Theory). These roamed the rural borderlands of central Europe embarking on many of the same illegal activities associated with today's crime organizations, with the exception of money laundering. When the French revolution created strong nation states,

5922-414: Is not restricted to these activities. The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, certain political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or poorly defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone

6048-519: Is not the only drug being used in these areas. The European market has shown signs of growing use in opioids on top of the long-term heroin use. Drug traffickers produce drugs in drug laboratories and drug farms. A drug lab can range in size from small workshops to the size of small towns (such as Tranquilandia ). A drug farm is a place where drug crops are grown before being made into illegal narcotics. A drug farm can range in size from smallholdings to large plantations. In addition to drug crops, it

6174-399: Is primarily for prostituting women and children into sex industries . Sexual slavery encompasses most, if not all, forms of forced prostitution. The terms " forced prostitution " or "enforced prostitution" appear in international and humanitarian conventions but have been insufficiently understood and inconsistently applied. "Forced prostitution" generally refers to conditions of control over

6300-562: Is primarily involved in drug trafficking, earning at least $ 8 billion per year. Sam Gor is alleged to control 40% of the Asia-Pacific methamphetamine market, while also trafficking heroin and ketamine . The organization is active in a variety of countries, including Myanmar, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and Taiwan. Sam Gor previously produced meth in Southern China and is now believed to manufacture mainly in

6426-453: Is that Bandidos must follow the philosophy "All members are your brothers and your family", and must "not fear authority and have a general disdain for the rules of society". Any member who cooperates with law enforcement, for example, is susceptible to disciplinary action. All Bandidos regalia, including tattoos, is considered club property. Membership fees are required, and are used to cover club expenses, such as funeral costs, and contribute to

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6552-433: Is the practice of obtaining confidential, sensitive, proprietary or classified information from individuals, competitors, groups, or governments using illegal exploitation methods on internet, networks, software or computers. There is also a clear military, political, or economic motivation. Unsecured information may be intercepted and modified, making espionage possible internationally. The recently established Cyber Command

6678-404: Is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright , infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights , such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works . Whilst almost universally considered under civil procedure , the impact and intent of organized criminal operations in this area of crime has been the subject of much debate. Article 61 of

6804-513: Is to prevent heavy levels of community policing , that could be harmful to their illicit businesses; additionally the vigilante acts could help the gangs to ingratiate themselves in their communities . In the US during the roaring twenties, the anti-catholic and anti-semitic Ku Klux Klan was known to be a staunch enforcer of prohibition, as a result Italian , Irish , Polish and Jewish gangsters would at times have violent confrontations against

6930-699: Is vast, including but not limited to pharmacies, import-export companies , check-cashing stores , tattoo parlors, zoos, online dating sites, liquor stores, motorcycle shops, banks, hotels, ranches and plantations, electronic stores, beauty salons, real estate companies , daycares, framing stores , taxicab companies, phone companies, shopping malls, jewelry stores, modeling agencies, dry cleaners, pawn shops, pool halls , clothing stores, freight companies , charity foundations , youth centers, recording studios, sporting goods stores, furniture stores, gyms, insurance companies, security companies , law firms , and private military companies . Labor racketeering, as defined by

7056-605: The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) requires that signatory countries establish criminal procedures and penalties in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale. More recently copyright holders have demanded that states provide criminal sanctions for all types of copyright infringement. Organized criminal groups capitalize on consumer complicity, advancements in security and anonymity technology, emerging markets and new methods of product transmission, and

7182-787: The Comanchero Motorcycle Club . The club has since expanded substantially in Australia and there are forty-five Bandidos chapters throughout the country. The Bandidos have a small but growing presence in New Zealand after a rocky start in 2012. They claim to have more than a dozen patched members and prospects in the Christchurch area. There are approximately ninety Bandidos chapters in Europe. The first European chapter opened in Marseille in France in 1989. This

7308-779: The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada , Europol and the Australian Federal Police consider the Bandidos to be a criminal organization. Law enforcement agencies in the United States also identify the Bandidos as one of the "big four" motorcycle gangs , along with the Hells Angels , the Outlaws and the Pagans , and contend that the club is responsible for organized crime activity such as drug dealing, arms trafficking, prostitution, extortion, money laundering and murder. In Australia,

7434-605: The Golden Triangle , specifically Shan State , Myanmar , responsible for much of the massive surge of crystal meth in recent years. The group is understood to be headed by Tse Chi Lop , a Chinese-Canadian gangster born in Guangzhou , China. Tse is a former member of the Hong Kong-based crime group, the Big Circle Gang . In 1988, Tse immigrated to Canada. In 1998, Tse was convicted of transporting heroin into

7560-784: The Italian Mafia , as well as its American counterpart , generated an economic study of organized crime groups and exerted great influence on studies of the Russian mafia , the Chinese triads , the Hong Kong triads, and the Japanese yakuza . Other organizations—including states, churches, militaries , police forces , and corporations—may sometimes use organized-crime methods to conduct their activities, but their powers derive from their status as formal social institutions. There

7686-602: The Nuremberg Trials ), Allied authorities deeming the German Nazi Party , its paramilitary and police organizations, and numerous associations subsidiary to the Nazi Party "criminal organizations". The use of similar tactics by criminal organizations for protection rackets or to enforce a code of silence is usually not labeled terrorism though these same actions may be labeled terrorism when done by

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7812-620: The Search Bloc , which would eventually lead to the dismantling of the Medellín Cartel and the death of Pablo Escobar. Because of the high levels of corruption, the Oficina de Envigado would do things to help the police and vice versa, to the point where the police and the cartel would sometimes do operations together against other criminals; additionally the leaders of La Oficina would often act as judges to mediate disputes between

7938-514: The Sinaloa , Jalisco New Generation , Juárez , Gulf , Los Zetas , and Beltrán-Leyva cartels as the six Mexican TCO with the greatest influence in drug trafficking to the United States. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to combat all forms of organized crime as part of the 2030 Agenda . In some countries, football hooliganism has been linked to organized crime. Various models have been proposed to describe

8064-1170: The black market can avoid, or at least receive early warnings about, investigation and prosecution. Activities of organized crime include loansharking of money at very high interest rates, blackmailing , assassination , backyard breeding , bombings , bookmaking and illegal gambling , confidence tricks , forging early release prison documents, copyright infringement , counterfeiting of intellectual property, metal theft , fencing , kidnapping , sex trafficking , smuggling , drug trafficking , arms trafficking , impersonating armored truck drivers, oil smuggling, antiquities smuggling , organ trafficking , contract killing , identity document forgery , money laundering , bribery , seduction , electoral fraud , insurance fraud , point shaving , price fixing , cargo theft via fictions pickup, illegal taxicab operation , illegal dumping of toxic waste, illegal trading of nuclear materials, military equipment smuggling, nuclear weapons smuggling, passport fraud , providing illegal immigration and cheap labor, people smuggling, trading in endangered species, and trafficking in human beings . Organized crime groups also do

8190-509: The elderly , animals , the disabled , the poor and the less fortunate. In many minority communities and poor neighborhoods, residents often distrust law enforcement, as a result the gang syndicates often take over to "police" their neighborhoods by committing acts against people who had committed crimes such as bullying , muggings, home invasions , hate crimes, stalking , sexual assault , domestic violence and child molestation , as well as mediating disputes between neighbors. The ways that

8316-552: The hit man has been generally consistent throughout the history of organized crime, whether that be due to the efficiency or expediency of hiring a professional assassin or the need to distance oneself from the commission of murderous acts (making it harder to prove criminal culpability). This may include the assassination of notable figures (public, private or criminal), once again dependent on authority, retribution or competition. Revenge killings, armed robberies, violent disputes over controlled territories and offenses against members of

8442-463: The "Expect No Mercy" patch is awarded to those who have committed murder on behalf of the club, while the "TCB" ("Taking Care of Business") patch is worn by club officers and nomads . Similar to the "Expect No Mercy" patch, the "CDG" ("Coup de Grâce") patch reportedly signifies a member who has committed a significant act of violence. The Bandidos' mottos include "Cut one, we all bleed", "God forgives, Bandidos don't", "Our colors don't run" and "We are

8568-739: The American Jewish community to help defend against the Nazi bund, even going as far as attacking and killing Nazi sympathizers during bund meetings. Vigilante groups such as the Black Panther Party , White Panther Party , and Young Lords have been accused of committing crimes in order to fund their political activities. While protection racketeering is often seen as nothing more than extortion, criminal syndicates that participate in protection rackets have at times provided genuine protection against other criminals for their clients,

8694-449: The Bandidos also have a number of "support" clubs . These groups usually wear reverse colors (gold border with red background rather than the Bandidos' red-border–and–gold background). They also commonly wear a unique patch (known as the "Heart Patch") consisting of a round patch in Bandidos colors on the front upper left of the colors (vest), as worn by the member. Most of these clubs are regional. The United States Department of Justice ,

8820-841: The Bandidos are included among the "big six", with the Hells Angels, the Comanchero , the Finks , the Mongols and the Rebels . While individual chapters had previously been banned in Germany, the Netherlands became the first country to prohibit the club as a whole in December 2017 when a court in Utrecht outlawed both the Dutch department of the Bandidos and the international organization on

8946-582: The KKK. On one occasion FBI informant and mobster Gregory Scarpa kidnapped and tortured a local Klansmen into revealing the bodies of Civil rights workers who had been killed by the KKK. During World War II, America had a growing number of Nazi supporters that formed the German American Bund , which was known to be threatening to local Jewish people, as a result Jewish mobsters (such as Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel and Jack Ruby ) were often hired by

9072-645: The Medellín Cartel's war against the Colombian government, both the Norte del Valle Cartel and Cali Cartel formed and operated a vigilante group called Los Pepes (which also comprised members of the Colombian government, police and former members of the Medellín Cartel) to bring about the downfall of Pablo Escobar; they did so by bombing the properties of the Medellín Cartel and kidnapping, torturing and killing Escobar's associates as well as working alongside

9198-517: The United States Department of Labor, is the infiltrating, exploiting, and controlling of employee benefit plan, union, employer entity, or workforce that is carried out through illegal, violent, or fraudulent means for profit or personal benefit. Labor racketeering has developed since the 1930s, affecting national and international construction, mining, energy production and transportation sectors immensely. Activity has focused on

9324-455: The United States and served nine years behind bars. Tse has been compared in prominence to Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Pablo Escobar . The U.S. supply of heroin comes mainly from foreign sources which include Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle , Southwest Asia, and Latin America. Heroin comes in two forms. The first is its chemical base form which presents itself as brown and the second is

9450-532: The United States has been Cosa Nostra ( Italian-American Mafia ), but other transnational criminal organizations have also risen in prominence in recent decades. A 2012 article in a U.S. Department of Justice journal stated that: "Since the end of the Cold War, organized crime groups from Russia, China, Italy, Nigeria, and Japan have increased their international presence and worldwide networks or have become involved in more transnational criminal activities. Most of

9576-410: The United States provided by Hannigan, et al., marked an increase of 35% between 2002 and 2010. A distinctive gang culture underpins many, but not all, organized groups; this may develop through recruiting strategies, social learning processes in the corrective system experienced by youth, family or peer involvement in crime, and the coercive actions of criminal authority figures. The term "street gang"

9702-437: The United States, according to a report by UNODC . People smuggling is defined as "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents". The term is understood as and often used interchangeably with migrant smuggling, which

9828-543: The United States, the Organized Crime Control Act (1970) defines organized crime as "[t]he unlawful activities of [...] a highly organized, disciplined association [...]". Criminal activity as a structured process is referred to as racketeering . In the UK, police estimate that organized crime involves up to 38,000 people operating in 6,000 various groups. Historically, the largest organized crime force in

9954-479: The bodies in trash or landfills, feeding the bodies to animals (such as pigs or rats ), destruction by industrial process (such as machinery, chemical bath, molten metal or a junked car), injection into the legitimate body disposal system (such as morgues, funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoriums, funeral pyres or cadaver donations) or covert killings at health care facilities, disguising as animal flesh (such as food waste or restaurant food), creating false evidence of

10080-595: The bodies of their victims on display as a form of psychological warfare against their enemies. Criminal syndicates often commit acts of vigilantism by enforcing laws, investigating certain criminal acts and punishing those who violate such rules. People who are often targeted by organized criminals tend to be individualistic criminals, people who committed crimes that are considered particularly heinous by society, people who committed wrongdoings against members or associates, rivals or terrorist groups. One reason why criminal groups might commit vigilantism in their neighborhoods

10206-585: The circumstances of death and letting investigators dispose of the body, possibly obscuring identity, abandonment in a remote area where the body can degrade significantly, while exposure to elements (such as rain, wind, heat, etc.) as well as animal activity (such as consumption by scavengers ) can contaminate the crime scene or destroy evidence before being discovered, if ever, such as a wilderness area (such as national parks or nature reserves) or an abandoned area (such as an abandoned building, well or mine). However, there are also many instances of gangsters putting

10332-836: The civilian realm is also at risk, noting that the security breaches have already gone beyond stolen credit card numbers, and that potential targets can also include the electric power grid, trains, or the stock market. The term "computer virus" may be used as an overarching phrase to include all types of true viruses, malware , including computer worms , Trojan horses , most rootkits , spyware , dishonest adware and other malicious and unwanted software (though all are technically unique), and proves to be quite financially lucrative for criminal organizations, offering greater opportunities for fraud and extortion whilst increasing security, secrecy and anonymity. Worms may be utilized by organized crime groups to exploit security vulnerabilities (duplicating itself automatically across other computers

10458-641: The club has also expanded heavily into Spain, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, England and Ireland. Additionally, it is reportedly considering establishing a presence in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 2001, the Bandidos were established in Thailand via a merger with the Diablos Motorcycle Club in Pattaya . The club further expanded to Malaysia and Singapore in 2006. Like other major motorcycle clubs,

10584-407: The club's website, the Bandidos' Western Hemisphere chapters became autonomous from the international chapters in Europe and Australia on July 17, 2007. The American chapters began wearing a redesigned patch in 2011. The Bandidos' insignia, known as the "Fat Mexican", consists of a caricature of a Mexican bandit wearing a sombrero and holding a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. The design

10710-424: The consistent nature of these provides a stable financial basis for other areas of organized crime. Cyberwarfare refers to politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage . It is a form of information warfare sometimes seen as analogous to conventional warfare although this analogy is controversial for both its accuracy and its political motivation. It has been defined as activities by

10836-487: The context of organized crime, both may serve as means through which other criminal activity may be successfully perpetrated or as the primary goal themselves. Email fraud , advance-fee fraud , romance scams , employment scams , and other phishing scams are the most common and most widely used forms of identity theft, though with the advent of social networking fake websites, accounts and other fraudulent or deceitful activity has become commonplace. Copyright infringement

10962-439: The continuation of their operations. Identity theft is a form of fraud or cheating of another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name. Victims of identity theft (those whose identity has been assumed by the identity thief) can suffer adverse consequences if held accountable for

11088-862: The criminal gangs moved to other poorly controlled regions like the Balkans and Southern Italy, where the seeds were sown for the Sicilian Mafia - the linchpin of organized crime in the New World. While most of the conceptual frameworks used to model organized crime emphasize the role of actors or activities , computational approaches built on the foundations of data science and artificial intelligence are focusing on deriving new insights on organized crime from big data . For example, novel machine learning models have been applied to study and detect urban crime and online prostitution networks. Big data has also been used to develop online tools predicting

11214-604: The entrepreneurial efforts of the group's members, their motivations and the environments in which they work. Opportunism is also a key factor – the organized criminal or criminal group is likely to frequently reorder the criminal associations they maintain, the types of crimes they perpetrate, and how they function in the public arena (recruitment, reputation, etc.) in order to ensure efficiency, capitalization and protection of their interests. Culture and ethnicity provide an environment where trust and communication between criminals can be efficient and secure. This may ultimately lead to

11340-489: The eventual decision that the costs outweigh the benefits) and conflict theories. No ethnic group is more disposed to gang involvement than another, rather it is the status of being marginalized, alienated or rejected that makes some groups more vulnerable to gang formation, and this would also be accounted for in the effect of social exclusion , especially in terms of recruitment and retention. These may also be defined by age (typically youth) or peer group influences, and

11466-422: The gangs would punish such individuals could range from forced apologies, being threatened, being forced to return stolen objects, vandalizing property, arson, being forced to move , bombings , being assaulted or battered , kidnappings, false imprisonment , torture or being murdered. Some criminal syndicates have been known to hold their own "trials" for members of theirs who had been accused of wrongdoing;

11592-493: The general rigidity of their internal structures. They focus more on how the operations works, succeeds, sustains itself or avoids retribution, they are generally typified by: However, this model of operation has some flaws: While bureaucratic operations emphasize business processes and strongly authoritarian hierarchies, these are based on enforcing power relationships rather than an overlying aim of protectionism, sustainability or growth. An estimate on youth street gangs in

11718-400: The government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Forms of corruption vary, but include bribery , extortion , cronyism , nepotism , patronage , graft , and embezzlement . While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking , money laundering , and human trafficking , it

11844-566: The grounds that the club forms a threat to public order. Organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational , national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups , rebel forces , and separatists , are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within

11970-408: The groups they form. Assaults are used for coercive measures, to "rough up" debtors, competition or recruits, in the commission of robberies , in connection to other property offenses, and as an expression of counter-cultural authority; violence is normalized within criminal organizations (in direct opposition to mainstream society) and the locations they control. Whilst the intensity of violence

12096-499: The importation of cheap or unfree labor , involvement with union and public officials ( political corruption ), and counterfeiting . Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality , is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with

12222-432: The individuals desire or the corporations desire to increase profits. The cost of corporate crimes to United States taxpayers is about $ 500 billion. Note that some forms of corporate corruption may not actually be criminal if they are not specifically illegal under a given system of laws. For example, some jurisdictions allow insider trading . The different businesses that organized crime figures have been known to operate

12348-474: The insurgent groups were trying to steal land, kidnap family members, and extort money from the drug barons. As a result the drug lords of the Medellín Cartel formed a paramilitary vigilante group known as Muerte a Secuestradores ("Death to Kidnappers") to defend the cartel against the FARC and M-19 , even kidnapping and torturing the leader of M-19 before leaving him tied up in front of a police station. During

12474-431: The legal economy. Launderers will also co-mingle illegal money with revenue made from businesses in order to further mask their illicit funds. Accurate figures for the amounts of criminal proceeds laundered are almost impossible to calculate, rough estimates have been made, but only give a sense of the scale of the problem and not quite how great the problem truly is. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime conducted

12600-737: The likelihood of criminals to participate in tax evasion. As most organized crime is perpetrated in the liminal state between legitimate and illegitimate markets, these economic factors must adjusted to ensure the optimal amount of taxation without promoting the practice of tax evasion. As with any other crime, technological advancements have made the commission of tax evasion easier, faster and more globalized. The ability for organized criminals to operate fraudulent financial accounts, utilize illicit offshore bank accounts, access tax havens or tax shelters , and operating goods smuggling syndicates to evade importation taxes help ensure financial sustainability, security from law enforcement, general anonymity and

12726-406: The matter. For example, in failed states that can no longer perform basic functions such as education, security, or governance (usually due to fractious violence or to extreme poverty), organized crime, governance, and war sometimes complement each other. The term " oligarchy " has been used to describe democratic countries whose political, social, and economic institutions come under the control of

12852-490: The middle class; Cloward and Ohlin (1960): blocked opportunity, but unequal distribution of opportunities lead to creating different types of gangs (that is, some focused on robbery and property theft, some on fighting and conflict and some were retreatists focusing on drug taking); Spergel (1966) was one of the first criminologists to focus on evidence-based practice rather than intuition into gang life and culture. Participation in gang-related events during adolescence perpetuate

12978-544: The money's illegal origin. This allows for the expansion of OC groups, as the 'laundry' or 'wash cycle' operates to cover the money trail and convert proceeds of crime into usable assets. Money laundering is bad for international and domestic trade, banking reputations and for effective governments and rule of law. This is due to the methods used to hide the proceeds of crime. These methods include, but are not limited to: buying easily transported values, transfer pricing, and using "underground banks," as well as infiltrating firms in

13104-684: The organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state (such as illegal drugs or firearms). Sometimes, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, such as when a gang extorts protection money from shopkeepers. Street gangs may often be deemed organized crime groups or, under stricter definitions of organized crime, may become disciplined enough to be considered organized . A criminal organization can also be referred to as an outfit ,

13230-404: The people our parents warned us about". Another, more generic, saying of the club is "Bandidos forever, forever Bandidos" ("BFFB"). Bandidos members must be male and own at least one Harley-Davidson motorcycle (although other American-made motorcycles can also be allowed). Prospective members must undertake a three-stage process before being initiated, beginning as a "hangaround", before becoming

13356-606: The permanence or consistency of their criminal activity. These groups also form their own symbolic identity or public representation which are recognizable by the community at large (include colors, symbols, patches, flags and tattoos). Research has focused on whether the gangs have formal structures, clear hierarchies and leadership in comparison with adult groups, and whether they are rational in pursuit of their goals, though positions on structures, hierarchies and defined roles are conflicting. Some studied street gangs involved in drug dealing - finding that their structure and behavior had

13482-406: The perpetrator's actions, as can organizations and individuals who are defrauded by the identity thief, and to that extent are also victims. Internet fraud refers to the actual use of Internet services to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme. In

13608-515: The public must also be considered when looking at the dynamic between different criminal organizations and their (at times) conflicting needs. After killing their victims, the gangsters often try to destroy evidence by getting rid of the victims remains in such a way as to prevent, hinder, or delay the discovery of the body, to prevent identification of the body, or to prevent autopsy. The different ways that organized criminals have been known to dispose of dead bodies include but are not limited to hiding

13734-499: The punishments that the accused member would face if "found guilty" would vary depending on the offense. In addition to what is considered traditional organized crime involving direct crimes of fraud swindles, scams, racketeering and other acts motivated for the accumulation of monetary gain, there is also non-traditional organized crime which is engaged in for political or ideological gain or acceptance. Such crime groups are often labelled terrorist groups or narcoterrorists . There

13860-494: The reason for this is because the criminal organization would want the business of their clients to do better so that the gang can demand even more protection money, additionally if the gang has enough knowledge of the local fencers , they may even be able to track down and retrieve any objects that were stolen from the business owner, to further help their clients the gang may also force out, disrupt, vandalize, steal from or shutdown competing businesses for their clients. In Colombia

13986-509: The rest of the world's population in history. Most are debt slaves , largely in South Asia , who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders , sometimes even for generations. It is the fastest growing criminal industry and is predicted to eventually outgrow drug trafficking . Nomad (motorcycle club membership) A nomad is a member of a motorcycle club (which may or may not be an outlaw motorcycle club ) or similar club who

14112-1356: The risk for an individual to be a victim of online sex trade or getting drawn into online sex work. In addition, data from Twitter and Google Trends have been used to study the public perceptions of organized crime. Organized crime groups provide a range of illegal services and goods. Organized crime often victimizes businesses through the use of extortion or theft and fraud activities like hijacking cargo trucks and ships, robbing goods, committing bankruptcy fraud (also known as "bust-out"), insurance fraud or stock fraud (insider trading). Organized crime groups also victimize individuals by car theft (either for dismantling at "chop shops" or for export), art theft , Metal theft , bank robbery , burglary, jewelry and gems theft and heists, shoplifting , computer hacking , credit card fraud, economic espionage , embezzlement , identity theft , and securities fraud (" pump and dump " scam). Some organized crime groups defraud national, state, or local governments by bid rigging public projects, counterfeiting money, smuggling or manufacturing untaxed alcohol ( rum-running ) or cigarettes ( buttlegging ), and providing immigrant workers to avoid taxes. Organized crime groups seek out corrupt public officials in executive, law enforcement, and judicial roles so that their criminal rackets and activities on

14238-415: The security of the public, and other psycho-social factors. Murder has evolved from the honor and vengeance killings of the yakuza or Sicilian mafia which placed large physical and symbolic importance on the act of murder, its purposes and consequences, to a much less discriminate form of expressing power, enforcing criminal authority, achieving retribution or eliminating competition. The role of

14364-428: The short amount of time in which he was awarded his club membership, and he later became known as "Step Mother" in deference to Chambers' moniker "Mother". Under Hodge's leadership, the Bandidos became an international motorcycle club when the first foreign chapter was established in Sydney , Australia in 1983. The Australian branch was founded by Anthony Mark Spencer, who had previously encountered Bandidos members during

14490-403: The structure of criminal organizations. Patron–client networks are defined by fluid interactions. They produce crime groups that operate as smaller units within the overall network, and as such tend towards valuing significant others, familiarity of social and economic environments, or tradition. These networks are usually composed of: Bureaucratic/corporate organized crime groups are defined by

14616-482: The supply and demand), as is the case in arms, sex and drug trafficking. The entrepreneurial model looks at either the individual criminal or a smaller group of organized criminals, that capitalize off the more fluid 'group-association' of contemporary organized crime. This model conforms to social learning theory or differential association in that there are clear associations and interaction between criminals where knowledge may be shared, or values enforced, however, it

14742-433: The surrounding terrain and local wildlife might serve to deter or impede either investigative authorities or rival gangs if the location of the clandestine compound were revealed. While usually thought of as an urban issue, drug trafficking is also known to be a problem in both suburban and rural areas as well. Human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a major cause of contemporary sexual slavery and

14868-409: The traffickers stationed in these remote criminal settlements, sustain themselves with a combination of survival skills and with food, supplies and workers being brought to them by associates. The reason that traffickers have been known to establish such remote compounds is so that the surrounding area can help to provide varying degrees of natural cover. Additionally the traffickers may also hope, that

14994-542: The usual films, music, literature, games and other electrical appliances, software and fashion. A number of qualitative changes in the trade of counterfeit products: The economic effects of organized crime have been approached from a number of both theoretical and empirical positions, however the nature of such activity allows for misrepresentation. The level of taxation taken by a nation-state, rates of unemployment, mean household incomes and level of satisfaction with government and other economic factors all contribute to

15120-411: The various different drug gangs throughout Colombia, which according to some helped prevented a lot of disputes from turning violent. On Somalia coastline many people rely on fishing for economic survival, because of this Somali pirates are often known to attack foreign vessels who partake in illegal fishing and overfishing in their waters and vessels that illegally dump waste into their waters. As

15246-506: The world's major international organized crime groups are present in the United States." The US Drug Enforcement Administration 's 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment classified Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) as the "greatest criminal drug threat to the United States," citing their dominance "over large regions in Mexico used for the cultivation, production, importation, and transportation of illicit drugs" and identifying

15372-418: The world. People smuggling generally takes place with the consent of the person or persons being smuggled, and common reasons for individuals seeking to be smuggled include employment and economic opportunity, personal or familial betterment, and escape from persecution or conflict. The number of slaves today remains as high as 12 million to 27 million. This is probably the smallest proportion of slaves to

15498-549: Was convicted of racketeering charges in October 2006. The Bandidos embarked on a failed endeavour to establish themselves in Canada after merging with the Montreal -based Rock Machine Motorcycle Club in 2000. The Bandidos ceded Quebec to the Hells Angels at the conclusion of the province's deadliest biker war in 2003. In 2007, the Bandidos' Canadian chapters went defunct following the internal Shedden massacre . According to

15624-586: Was eventually defeated and dissolved by the vigilantes' actions but they ended up forming their own cartel called Los Viagras , which has links with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel . The Minuteman Project is a far-right paramilitary organization that seeks to prevent illegal immigration across the US-Mexico border ; however, doing so is detrimental to gangs like Mara Salvatrucha , who make money through people smuggling , and as

15750-611: Was followed by expansion into the Nordic countries, with branches being established in Denmark in 1993, Sweden in 1994, and Finland and Norway in 1995. The German department of the Bandidos was chartered in 2000. Chapters were then founded in Italy in 2001 and on the Channel Islands in 2003. The Bandidos formed its first chapter in the Netherlands in 2014. The club was prohibited in the country in 2017, however. In recent years

15876-547: Was relatively low cohesion, few shared goals and little organizational structure. Shared norms, value and loyalties were low, structures "chaotic", little role differentiation or clear distribution of labor. Similarly, the use of violence does not conform to the principles behind protection rackets, political intimidation and drug trafficking activities employed by those adult groups. In many cases gang members graduate from youth gangs to highly developed OC groups, with some already in contact with such syndicates and through this we see

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