Word: mafia
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...create an atmosphere that helps the Mob to flourish. Without a profound shift in public attitudes, even the most aggressive law enforcement drive against the Mafia and organized crime has scant chance of permanently cutting into their activities, let alone putting them out of business...
...trying to survive in competition with state-run betting operations; the loan shark's 20%-a-week bite seems almost reasonable to a businessman who must raise cash fast but cannot qualify for a loan at a bank. Abetting this ethical blind spot are the romanticized accounts of the Mafia in novels and movies. Says Stephen Schiller, executive director of the Chicago crime commission: "The public doesn't realize how bad these people are. The Mob makes for good talk. We have made these bums folk heroes." Adds Ralph Salerno, formerly the New York City police department's leading Mafia...
While law enforcement officials know the identity of the major mobsters and the nature of their crimes, turning up enough hard evidence to put them in prison is often impossible. The Mafia's reputation for vengeance frightens many victims, witnesses and potential informers into not cooperating with authorities. To make matters even easier for the Mob, the growing public concern over street violence has prompted city and state police to concentrate less of their limited resources on organized crime. Federal strike forces, made up of investigators from several Government law enforcement agencies, were established as front-line squads...
...impact on American life, the Mafia is a remarkably small organization. As reckoned by the FBI, the Mafia numbers about 5,000 "made men," or members...
Then why does the Mafia attract so much attention? Many Italian Americans complain that the notoriety is excessive, and damaging to millions of law-abiding citizens; to assuage their sensibilities, the Justice Department has stopped referring to the Mafia by name. No matter what the organization is called, it dominates much of American crime. Many nonmember gangsters are allied to it, usually kicking back a share of their take to the dons; some criminologists estimate that at least 50,000 hoods can be considered confederates of the Mafia. The Mafia is by far the best organized criminal group...