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CHAPTER 12: WHITE COLLAR, CORPORATE CRIME AND RELATED
TYPES OF OCCUPATIONAL/WHITE COLLAR CRIME
Many basic types: Occupational, Corporate, and Criminal
corporations. Three common ones:
1. OCCUPATIONAL: Commited by individuals in the course of their
occupations for direct personal gain. Embezzlement, employee
theft, pilfering are examples.
Much embezzlement comes from computers. One estimate is that the
average (inside) computer crime nets about $400,000, and
inside computer embezzlement costs us about $100-300 million
a year.
Occupational fraud is another example: Examples--insider
trading, medical insurance fraud, or "over-prescribing" tests,
surgery, or medicine.
2. CORPORATE CRIME: Illegal or socially injurious acts of
intent or indifference that occur for furthering the goals of
a corporation that physically or economically abuse or harm
individuals.
a) Corporate violence: On-the-job dangers. About 6,000 million
US workers are killed ANNUALLY in job-related accidents, and as
man as 100,000 die from exposure to dangerous substances, most
of which are not through carelessness but unsafe practices.
Other examples include ecological pollution and knowingly
unsafe products (mention mark).
b) Corporate theft: Property taken from people--not face-to-face,
but more subtlely. a) Deceptive advertising, shady practices,
(mention EF Hutton).
c) Transnational crime--doing illegal things abroad from a US
base. Bribery, influencing political outcomes (United Fruit
on central america).
3. CRIMINAL CORPORATIONS: Not just a criminal act, but rather
the corporation exists *because* of criminal activity.
Examples: a) waste management firms; b) long-term fraud; c)
ponzi schemes
POINT:
1) When we focus on street crime or crimes by individuals, we
gloss over crimes that are less visible
2) In developing theories of crime, when focusing on street crime,
we don't explain many other types
3) These crimes APPEAR less serious because the "victims" are
not as obvious
4) Law enforcement does not target this type of crime or punish it
as severely.
5) It is VERY costly to society, both in dollars and in social
disruption
6) The media do not focus on this type of crime
7) When we think of adding more "police," we may be targetting
the wrong element
INTERNET THEFT (TYPES)
Estimated 2004 costs: $400 BILL (FBI)
(Identity theft in 2003 cost US Businesses almost $50 BILL
--Investment Schemes Online
--Business Opportunity/"Work-at-Home" Schemes Online.
--Auction and Retail Schemes Online.
--Credit-Card Schemes
--Identity theft
--Nigerian 419 scam ($2 BILL; $4,000 avg "take")
Non-deliverable merchandise and non-payment accounted for 20.3 percent of
complaints and Nigerian Letter fraud made up nearly 15.5 percent of complaints.
Credit/debit card fraud was also among the top categories of complaints.
SYNDICATED CRIME (organized crime): The provision of illegal
goods and services in a society that displays continual and
considerable demand for such goods and services.
MAFIA: A METHOD, a way of getting things done (early 1800s)
-- Emerged from Italy (remnants of feudalism
-- Middle-class persons (called GABELOTTI) paid absentee
owners to "rent" an estate, and then "sublet" to peasants
-- A buffer between peasants and landlords
-- Little state control (decentralized system in centrlized state
-- Functioned as law/social control
-- This created a system of PATRONAGE (service and loyalty
in exchange for protection and resources)
There was no MAFIA as such in the US during this time, and it
wasn't a term used in the US to describe organized crime.
THE US
There was lots of organized crime in large cities, especially in
the mid-1800s. "Bosses" and groups, in collusion with corrupt
business people, police, and politicians controlled considerable
illegal activities, esp. gambling, cocaine, and prostitution.
MAFIA (as we call it today) emerged in the US from the political,
ecoomic, and social conditions, and it was only after the turn of
the century that this METHOD became prevalent.
-- Volstad Act (1919) was the prime factor
-- Not yet a "nationwide" "syndicate" (that came later)
-- Prohibition (1920-33) greated need for services, and
the "mafia" form of organization (esp. amongst immigrants)
was useful for delivering them.
Debate remains on when and how "mafia" became "national." Donald
Cressey argues that th "Mafia" was superceded by "Costra Nostra"
(after the 1930s).
1) 24 tightly knit families
2) "Familes" were primiarily Italian/Sicilian
3) Linked together by understandings, agreement, treaties
4) "boss" of each family directed *that* family
5) Syndicate run by "bosses" of most powerful families
Continued to control "illegal" goods, especially gambling.
SYNDICATED CRIME TODAY
Our text says that today, "syndicated crime" (in many forms) is
based on PATRON-CLIENT relationships (drawing from work of
Albini). This means that no rigid structure exists, but rather
syndicated criminals differ in kinds of relationships that exists
and who protects them. Politicians, police, legit business people
may contribute in many ways.
These form INVISIBLE CRIME NETWORKS
Organized crime in 1986 grossed $66 Billion (at least twice
that today) making it a major industry (more than, say, steel)
The goods include:
1) Gambling (legit and non-legit)
2) Prostitution
3) Drugs
And the means include:
1) Bribery
2) Coercion ("protection")
3) Legit businesses
4) Loan sharking
5) Organized labor (mining, construction)
6) Hazardous waste disposal
SYNDICATED CRIME
The book argues that syndicated crime creeps into: construction,
garment industry; waste removal; food processing/retailing;
legal gambling; entertainment; real estate; hotels; bars;
over-seas businesses (eg, Vesco)
The State/Gov't, while opposed to organized crime, has on occasion
used it (eg, CIA recruiting it for "dirty business" and data)
RICO: "Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act" of the
1970s. An "organization" is two or more people engaged in a
"pattern" of illegal behavior (two or more incidences). This
allowed gov't broader powers, especially in confiscation and
forfeiture, and has led to what some see as abuses of the Act
in fighting drugs and even computer "hackers."
Questions:
1) Which are people more afraid of: Organized crime or street crime?
2) Which costs society more?
3) Which is the most dangerous to the social order?
4) How should we distribute resources between the various types
crime we have discussed to combat it?
POLITICAL CRIME
Several kinds:
1) Political Crimes against the state; 2) Domestic political
crimes BY the state; 3) International political crimes BY
the states
Political Crimes AGAINST the state
What we usually think of when thinking about "political crimes"
This generally means a violation of the law that have BOTH
the purpose AND consequence of challenging the state's authority.
The act can be directed AT the state (eg, bombing a gov't office)
or against a non-state target (eg, terrorism). Sociologists are
not in full agreement on this definition, but it's broad enough
to satisfy most.
Generally, they are carried out to change existing social conditions
through acts that violate the law.
Violent Crimes
--revolution
--rebellion
--terrorism
--symbolic protest
Nonviolent Crimes
--civil disobedience
--rejection of authority (eg, non-payment of taxes)
DOMESTIC POLITICAL CRIMES BY THE STATE
--state corruption
--state political oppression (eg, red squad)
INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL CRIMES BY THE STATE
International political crimes by the state include:
1) Acts against other countries or persons abroad that violate
our own laws (murder, bribery)
2) Acts that violate the laws of other countries
3) Acts that violate international laws.
Usually, such acts violate at least two of the above
Who violates these laws? Most countries:
1) French blowing up Rainbow Warrior
2) US kidnapping Noriega
3) Viet Nam war
4) Terrorism
5) Iran-Contra
6) Drug smuggling
ARGUMENTS FOR:
1) It may be necessary for the national interests
2) It may be the lesser of evils
3) Other countries do it
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
1) "Might" doesn't make right
2) The US should set the moral standard
3) We can't expect other countries to follow rules if we don't
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