Deck 17: Organized Crime

Question 1

The Chicago criminal gang headed by Al "Scarface" Capone consisted of more than ______ gunmen at its most prosperous heights.

A)400
B)700
C)900
D)2,000

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In the 1920s, the passage of which of the following prompted a rise in crime, violence, and political corruption related to organized crime?

A)Harrison Act
B)McClellan Commission
C)Sarbanes-Oxley Act
D)Volstead Act

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Albanese (2000) identifies criminal opportunities created by motivated offenders, including:

A)gambling
B)pornography
C)extortion
D)all of these

Answer 3

C

Question 4

La Cosa Nostra membership is restricted to males of ______ descent.

A)Spanish
B)Italian
C)Sicilian
D)German

Question 5

Memoirs of the members of La Cosa Nostra show that they had

A)come from involved and intact families
B)received good educations
C)viewed crime as more lucrative than legitimate opportunities
D)all of these

Question 6

Most of organized crime's income is derived from all the following goods and services not available in the legitimate market EXCEPT

A)prostitution
B)gambling
C)strip clubs
D)drugs

Question 7

______ is committed by structured criminal enterprises that maintain their activities over time by violence and/or corruption.

A)corporate crime
B)occupational crime
C)organized crime
D)white-collar crime

Question 8

What is not a major element important to predicting the incidence of organized crime?

A)opportunity factors
B)strong cohesion or hierarchy
C)criminal environment
D)skills required to carry out the activity

Question 9

A promising criminal who is not of Italian descent, but who has qualities useful to the organization, may become a(n) ______ of La Cosa Nostra.

A)associate member
B)counselor
C)lieutenant
D)soldier

Question 10

______ crime groups are probably the oldest and largest in the world.

A)American
B)Italian
C)Japanese
D)Russian

Question 11

Intelligence agencies in the United States feel that because of their higher level of criminal sophistication, ______ will present a greater threat to American society than the traditional Italian-American crime families ever have.

A)Japanese organized crime groups
B)La Cosa Nostra
C)Russian organized crime groups
D)Tammany Society

Question 12

Criteria for involvement in La Cosa Nostra includes which of the following?

A)being male
B)being of Italian descent
C)having proven criminal expertise
D)all of these

Question 13

The view of La Cosa Nostra as a loose connection of criminal groups held together by kinship and patronage is known as the ______ model.

A)corporate
B)feudal
C)hierarchical
D)organizational

Question 14

Which of the following is considered the most serious organized crime threat in the world today?

A)Japanese Yakuza
B)La Cosa Nostra
C)Russian "Mafiya"
D)Tammany Society

Question 15

The Morielitos organized crime group specializes primarily in

A)drug trafficking
B)illegal gaming
C)professional arson
D)sex trafficking

Question 16

______ was a corrupt political machine associated with the Democratic Party that ran New York City well into the twentieth century from the "Hall."

A)Japanese organized crime groups
B)La Cosa Nostra
C)Russian organized crime groups
D)Tammany Society

Question 17

Al "Scarface" Capone was brought down by

A)a down on his luck mugger
B)an intense two-day FBI shootout
C)tax evasion charges
D)a setup orchestrated by an angry ex-mistress

Question 18

The national ruling body of the La Cosa Nostra consists of five ________ families and four bosses from other important families located in other cities.

A)Los Angeles
B)New York
C)Chicago
D)Philadelphia

Question 19

The ______ of La Cosa Nostra is groomed for succession to the top position.

A)Counselor
B)Don
C)Soldier
D)Underboss

Question 20

There are alleged to be ______ La Cosa Nostra families.

A)24
B)18
C)12

Question 21

Which of the case studies Albanese (2000) analyzed best supported his predictive model?

A)Morrisburg
B)New York City, China Town
C)Former Soviet Union
D)The Netherlands

Question 22

While many assumed the La Cosa Nostra to be defunct, in January of 2011 the FBI swept up over 120 LCN mobsters on a variety of charges.

Question 23

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act outlawed the consumption and manufacturing of alcohol.

Question 24

The Apalachin meeting provided further evidence for the existence of a ______ and coordinated crime syndicate.

A)international
B)statewide
C)national
D)countywide

Question 25

The primary function of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is the ______ of money laundering.

A)prevention
B)detection
C)punishment
D)both a and b
E)both b and c

Question 26

The ______ allows federal prosecutors to grant lower-level members of organized crime groups immunity from prosecution for their own crimes in exchange for testimony incriminating higher-level members.

A)Witness Immunity Provision
B)Witness Protection Program
C)Organized Crime Control Act
D)RICO statute

Question 27

The motorcycle gang "Hell's Angels" is one example of an organized crime group.

Question 28

The greater the wealth, the greater the organized crime.

Question 29

The Russian "Mafiya" is considered to be the most serious organized crime threat in the world today.

Question 30

The lower the rule of law in a country the lower the level of organized crime.

Question 31

The organizational structure of La Cosa Nostra is best described as hierarchical.

Question 32

All of the following are considered events that affirmed the existence of organized crime EXCEPT

A)organized
B)LCN
C)committee
D)commission

Question 33

Ethnicity remains a strong predictive and causal factor in the explanation of organized crime.

Question 34

La Cosa Nostra is the only organized crime group operating in the United States.

Question 35

In the "big four" motorcycle groups of the United States, women enjoy full and equal membership.

Question 36

The Yakuza of Japan are well known for their ability to operate in the underworld without being detected.

Question 37

The Tammany Society began as a fraternal and patriotic society, bust soon evolved into a corrupt political machine associated with the ______ which ran New York well into the twentieth century.

A)democratic party
B)independent party
C)republican party

Question 38

The headquarters of one Yakuza group, complete with the gang emblem hanging proudly outside, is only three doors away from the local police station.

Question 39

Definitions of organized crime are numerous but often vague.

Question 40

The ______ is a catch-all phrase for a group of organized gangs that many experts consider the most serious organized crime threat in the world today.

A)The Commission
B)The Yakuza
C)The Mob
D)Russian "Mafiya"

Question 41

Name 5 of the 11 organized crime groups identified by the President's Commission on Organized Crime.?Possible Answers: La Cosa Nostra, outlaw motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, Triads and Tongs, Vietnamese gangs, Yakuza, Marielitos, Columbian cocaine rings, Irish, Russian, Canadian

Question 42

Discuss the history and structure of La Cosa Nostra.

Question 43

Explain the link between political corruption and organized crime.

Question 44

Describe Jan Van Dijk's statistical model of the relationship between prevalence of organized crime, corruption, the rule of law, and country wealth.Where does the United States fall and why?

Question 45

Briefly describe the structure of organized crime groups according to the feudal model.

Question 46

Explain what the continuum of corruption means.

Question 47

The Kefauver Committee formed in 1980 to investigate organized crime's involvement in interstate commerce.

Question 48

What was the Castellammarese War?

Question 49

Compare and contrast witness immunity and the witness protection program.

Question 50

What was the Tammany Society?

Question 51

Explain what laundering money means.

Question 52

How is La Cosa Nostra like a mature corporation?

Question 53

What are the five major opportunity factors identified by Albanese (2000)?

Question 54

The La Cosa Nostra is still very much a major crime threat, although it is not as powerful as it once was.

Question 55

What do the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statutes address?

Question 56

La Cosa Nostra prospective members must be sponsored by who?