-Clara
How has organised crime/the american gangster changed throughout the 20th century?
As time has gone on the view on organised crime has changed. In some cases it has been looked on more comically and in others it has simply been forgotten. There is not as much organised crime coverage of specific figures in society as there was in the 1920's, Al Capone's day, and there is a more fictional element involved when we deal with organised crime and watch productions such as Bugsy Malone as we as a society look on organised crime as it having happened a longer time ago than it actually did. We commit it to a history which also stores things that happened back in the 1600's even though it happened not very long ago and similar events happen today but they are just more undercover and receive less media coverage. New Technology has allowed organised crime to happen on an even larger scale, so there isn't a typical American Gangster figure anymore which is maybe why we seem to be so ignorant of organised crime today as we have lost the familiar face of gangsters such as Al Capone. Equality for women in organised crime has changed dramatically along with the rest of society however it is still not entirely equal as women are perceived as not being ruthless enough for the job. Finally, the actual smuggling of alcohol has stopped and been replaced with other illegal substances such as heroin and marijuana. Of course when alcohol became legal there was no need to smuggle it in anymore so organised crime became much more centered around drugs. -Clara Nowadays, drug trafficking is more a problem than alcohol smuggling; this isn't a necessity anymore as alcohol is now legal whereas drugs such as marijuana and heroin aren't. This in fact brings up the issue of whether making these drugs legal will benefit society. When experts and politicians try to decide this they look at the 1920-30's prohibition era and how the ban on alcohol affected society and how society and crime levels changed when alcohol was legalized. Many people argue that by making various drugs legal would allow people to live more normal lives than they would've done before when they had to pay large sums of money to satisfy their cravings. In fact many users of Class A drugs could even hold a job and have children if they were allowed to obtain these drugs legally through their local pharmacy. On the other hand, legalizing drugs like these may encourage people to try them which could have a larger impact on people who have to provide these drugs for addicts. Having too many people relying on drugs is a bad thing as it makes people weak and vulnerable to others. Gangs are still around, however these consist more of young people trying to obtain drugs and alcohol when they're bored. http://www.worldometers.info/drugs/ This link takes you to a website which shows how much money is being spend on illegal drugs this year.
-from http://www.drugabuse.net/drug-policy/drug-trafficking-statistics/ by Clara Bugsy Malone was set in the 1920's Prohibition era, this can be determined by the clothes the characters wear and certain events such as the characteristic shoot-outs between rival gangs, these mimic actual events such as the Valentine's day massacre. The territory that the gangs are fighting over is 'Fat Sam's' ,which can be symbolic in representing larger areas in cities that gangs may have fought for. The comical use of pies in this movie is genius as it replaces a very dark and forbidding situation of men ruthlessly killing each other for illegal business with rather comical and stupid characters that are fighting for a far less dark reward. This is then emphasized with the use of children portraying these characters as it makes the situation even more innocent. The mixture of iconic music in this show tackles so many issues in society, such as racism and of course the dark reality of gang crime. Only my own analysis used.
-Clara What was the effect of WW2 on organised crime? Well as you can see in this diagram there was a slight decline in the income of the USA at the start of WW2 which then goes on to become even more jumbled during the actual war. This is because, although the USA didn't enter straight away, when they did they needed to spend lots of money on weapons to beat Hitler, which they successfully did. Although organised crime seems to have gone down in these times because everyone was focused on the war efforts, evidence shows that many army deserters went back to places such as New York and Chicago because of the lure of brothels and black market money, why settle for a soldier's salary and an imminent chance of death when you could just as easily escape off to a city and make lots of money illegally during a time when the authorities may be too preoccupied to notice? Money was tight anyway as shown in the diagram above with the drop in income per person. "Highly organised, armed to the teeth and merciless, these deserters used their US uniforms as another tool of their trade along with the vast arrays of stolen weapons, forged passes and hijacked vehicles they had at their disposal." This quote from the daily mail, written by Laura Collins, suggests that when these men deserted the army they sold various items they had acquired while abroad as well as military weapons and uniform that they had bribed officials into getting. If anything officials in WW2 would've been more likely to accept bribes to send home to their families in case they die, it would've also been difficult for matters such as corruptness in the higher ranks to be investigated during the war as all focus was towards saving lives and actually winning the war. On a slightly unrelated note, many German gangsters were exterminated by Hitler as he had devised a law called the "Wehrkraftzersetzung" (destroying of the power of the army). It meant that every sentence was based on the thinking that it was war and any crime that was committed that took advantage of the situation of war would receive an automatic death sentence. To give an example: there is a thief stealing a rabbit from his neighbor, stealing usually would sentence you to a few months in prison. But if you stole it at night when everything was dark and no light was allowed on in the houses because of the bombardments, which allowed you to steal it more easily (your action was based on the circumstance that there was war) this meant that you would be given an automatic death sentence. Although this seems extreme it actually got rid of most of the gangsters in Germany and reduced crime by a very large extent. The gangsters didn't just have a negative effect though, some gangsters who had been caught by the authorities and put in prison before the war, actually helped the war effort. During World War II, the U.S. government struck a secret deal with the Luciano. In 1942, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence was concerned about German and Italian agents entering the United States through the New York waterfront. They also worried about sabotage from their own side. Knowing that the Cosa Nostra controlled the waterfront, the Navy contacted Meyer Lansky about a deal with Luciano. To get the negotiations going, the State of New York transferred Luciano from Clinton prison to Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York, to allow Luciano to be in the heart of the action. The Navy, the State of New York and Luciano eventually agreed on a deal. In exchange for an extermination of his sentence, Luciano promised the complete assistance of his organization in providing intelligence to the Navy. Luciano's ally Albert Anastasia, who controlled the docks, allegedly promised no dockworker strikes during war. In preparation for the 1943 allied invasion of Sicily, Luciano allegedly provided the U.S. military with mafia contacts in Sicily. A 1954 report ordered by Governor Dewey stated that Luciano provided many valuable services to Naval Intelligence. The enemy threat to the docks, Luciano allegedly said, was manufactured by the sinking of the SS Normandie in New York harbor, supposedly directed by Anastasia's brother, Anthony Anastasio. However, the official investigation of the ship sinking found no evidence of sabotage, in which case Luciano got very lucky. On January 3, 1946, as a presumed reward for his alleged wartime cooperation, Luciano's sentence was exterminated on the condition that he did not resist deportation to Italy. Luciano accepted the deal, although he still maintained that he was a U.S. citizen and not subject to deportation. On February 2nd, 1946, two federal immigration agents transported Luciano from Sing Sing prison to Ellis Island in New York Harbor for deportation proceedings. On February 9, the night before his departure, Luciano shared a spaghetti dinner on his freighter with Anastasia and five other guests, a good way to say goodbye. How much do you think Luciano contributed towards the war efforts? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Sources: www.gapminder.org/ http://crime.about.com/od/gangsters/a/luciano.htm http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2151027/Black-white-pictures-mob-leader-Charles-Lucky-Luciano-high-class-prostitutes-led-1936-arrest.html -Clara The Valentine's day massacre is commonly known as one of the most notorious and bloody killings of the 1920's gangster era, but it also propelled Al Capone to fame. A quick summary is: "On February 14th 1929 at about 10:30 a.m., four men burst into the SMC Cartage Co. garage that Moran used for his illegal business. Two of the men were dressed as police officers. The quartet presumably announced a raid and ordered the seven men inside the garage to line up against a wall. Then they opened fire. Witnesses, alerted by the rat-a-tat staccato of sub-machine guns, watched as the gunmen sped off in a black Cadillac touring car that looked like the kind police used, complete with siren, gong and rifle rack.The victims, killed outright or left dying in the garage, included Frank "Hock" Gusenberg, Moran's enforcer, and his brother, Peter "Goosy" Gusenberg. Four of the other victims were Moran gangsters, but the seventh dead man was Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer, an optician who cavorted with criminals for thrills. Missing that morning was Capone's prize, Moran, who slept in. Capone missed the excitement too. Vacationing at his retreat at Palm Island, Fla., he had an alibi for his whereabouts and disclaimed knowledge of the coldblooded killings. Few believed him. No one ever went to jail for pulling a trigger in the Clark Street garage, which was demolished in 1967. Although Moran survived the massacre, he was finished as a big criminal. For decades to come, only one mob, that of Capone and his successors, would run organized crime in Chicago. But the Valentine's Day Massacre shocked a city that had been numbed by "Roaring '20's" gang warfare over control of illegal beer and whiskey distribution. "These murders went out of the comprehension of a civilized city," the Tribune editorialized. "The butchering of seven men by open daylight raises this question for Chicago: Is it helpless?" In the following years, Capone and his henchmen were to become the targets of ambitious prosecutors." -Chicago Tribune News, by John O'Brien This blood bath happened at the end of the 1920's, so what was it like at the start of the 1920's? Well like most things that start out small, they gain popularity and end up becoming the norm until they disappear for good, in this case organised crime disappeared on for a short while during WW2. At the start, killings were carried out on a smaller scale because organised crime was less prominent and less of a necessity; as people were more willing to abide by the law and found no need to break it (generally). At this time there was little money to be made in organised crime however when prohibition was introduced, which was a law that prohibited anyone from drinking alcohol, organised crime began to fill the void that had been cut off by the law. This meant that more gangs were formed as previous ones expanded because it provided jobs and lots opportunities for men who would've been unemployed otherwise. So small scale killings that previously went on in between small gangs over bits of territory suddenly became a lot bigger and more brutal as big time players, such as Al Capone and Moran, wanted more territory and business so set out trying to eliminate their opposition. Eventually killings became less messy as people gained more practice and fluency during the 1920's; rival gangs would be simply lined up along a wall and shot full of bullets. This then further evolved into the 1930's, the depression, when everyone was 'out-of-pocket' and so illegal activity became even more of a necessity. Killings in this decade were more desperate and messy as the gangs scrambled over territories. -Valentine's Day Massacre, Moran Gang. -"Machine Gun" Jack McGurn Born Vincenzo Antonio Gibaldi, McGurn got his start on the Chicago mob scene when he ruthlessly murdered the three mobsters in revenge for killing his father. He was involved in the planning of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, but was never tried. In 1930, McGurn's name appeared fourth on a list of top 28 public enemies, issued by the Chicago Crime Commission. This made McGurn a liability to the Outfit. On February 16, 1936, McGurn, who by then had become estranged from the mob, was killed by three men with machine guns at a bowling alley. -photo taken by the LAPD in 1933, shows the aftermath of a mob-related double-murder in a restaurant.
Sources used: www.crimelibrary.com www.chicagotribune.com/news/ -Clara Name: Arthur Flegenheimer Birth-Death: 1902-1935 Nickname: Dutch Schlutz or Beer Baron of the Bronx Enemies: Legs Diamond and Vincent Coll Gang/s belonged to: Various Gangs in the Bronx City: New York, the Bronx Business: Beer smuggling and Organised Murder Name: Salvatore Luciana Birth-Death: 1987-1962 Nickname: Charles 'lucky' Luciana Enemies: Marazano Gang/s belonged to: His family were the top crime family in New York, Italian Mafia City: New York Business: Controlled the whole of the the East coast liquor smuggling Name: Stephanie St Clair Birth-Death: 1886-1969 Nickname: Queenie Enemies: Head of the New York gang, the forty thieves Gang/s belonged to: Partnership with 'Bumpy' City: New York, Manhattan Business: Organised crime Name: Dean Charles O'Banion Birth-Death: 1892-1924 Nickname: Dean O'Banion Enemies: Johnny Torrio and Al Capone Gang/s belonged to: North Side Gang City: Chicago Business: Organised killings and controlled organised crime from his Florist shop. Name: George Clarence Moran Birth-Death: 1891-1957 Nickname: Bugs Moran Enemies: Al Capone and Dean O'Banion Gang/s belonged to: North Side Gang City: Chicago Business: Dog racing and horse thievery etc. Name: John Dillinger Birth-Death: 1903-1934 Nickname: Gentleman John Enemies: FBI Gang's belonged to: The Terror Gang City: Chicago Business: Bank robber and involved in other organised crime Overview
Overall, men seemed to dominate the organised crime in America however there were a few strong-willed women too who were just as ruthless as the men they went up against. Most gangsters specialized in organised crime which was harder for the authorities to catch them for, this meant that they could become as famous as they wanted for their crimes without being easily caught by the FBI. Furthermore, although the FBI caught a few of these gangsters most of them met their demise by involving themselves in rival gangs and killing each other. The big money was made in smuggling in alcohol, many gangsters then aimed to control the smuggling of alcohol for whole cities or in some cases countries. One of the main things that gangs did was offer people protection for large sums of money, that is mainly how large crime families got involved in the untouchable world of organised crime. All information is sourced from various websites as well as from my own knowledge. www.biography.com www.crimelibrary.com www.fbi.gov -Clara |