Organized Crime in the United States
(History 734)

Fred Viehe
Youngstown University
Youngstown, Ohio, USA

Fall 1994

Note: Dr. Viehe has taught this upper-level undergraduate course since 1991.
The syllabus remains the same,
except that the supplementary readings are changed periodically.


SYLLABUS

READINGS

TEXT Howard Abadinsky, Organized Crime, 3rd edition
    (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1990)
READER Robert J. Kelly, ed., Organized Crime: A Global Perspective
    (Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 1986)
SUPPLEMENTARY READING
(Choose ONE)		 Marilyn Bird, Cynthia: A True Story
    (Salt Lake City: Northwest Publishing, Inc., 1994)

Joe Ianuzzi, Joe Dogs:  The Life and Crimes of a Mobster
    (New York: Pocket Star Books, 1993)

Peter D. Scott, Cocaine Politics:  Drugs, Armies and the CIA in Central America
    (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991 [1992])


PAPERS

Two FOUR-PAGE papers are required containing approximately 1000 words each. In each paper, the student must compare and contrast two chapters from the READER.
  • The first paper concerning Chapters 2-4, 7, and 8 is due Wednesday, October 19;
  • the second paper concerning Chapters 5, 6, and 9-13 is due Wednesday, November 16.
No Chapter may be reviewed twice. Late papers are penalized one full grade for every day late.

BOOK REVIEW

A TEN-PAGE book review containing approximately 2500 words is required. The book review is the SUPPLEMENTARY READING chosen by the student. This review will critically evaluate:
  1. the author's thesis;
  2. the development of that thesis;
  3. the book's major points;
  4. the kinds of sources used;
  5. as well as the book's strengths and weaknesses.
Implicit in this requirement is a presentation of the thesis, and a determination on whether the author relied on primary or secondary sources.

Primary Sources include private papers, government documents, newspapers, journals, personal interviews, etc.
Secondary Sources generally refer to books, magazines, and other published works.
Other items to cover include the book's organization, the author's writing style, and any biases. Finally, the review should include your opinion of the book, and whether you recommend it to others.

The book review is due Wednesday, November 23. Late reviews will be penalized one full grade for every day late.

GRADING

PAPERS: Your book review and papers will be graded on how well they are thought through and organized, how well the subject is dealt with, and how well they are written. Spelling, grammar, sentence structure, organization, and style also will affect your grade.

Footnotes must be used for any direct quotation, or when you paraphrase an author. When you copy the words of another, put those words inside quotation marks and acknowledge the source with a footnote. When you paraphrase the words of another, use your own words and your own sentence structure, followed by a footnote citing the source of the idea. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in the charge of plagiarism.

Plagiarism. Failure to give proper credit is PLAGIARISM. It will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is literary theft. The punishment for plagiarism is either an "F" on the paper or book review, and/or and "F" in the course.

EXAMS: There will be a Midterm and Final Examination.
  • Midterm: Wednesday, October 26
  • Final: Wednesday, December 7, 8-10 a.m.
ATTENDANCE is Mandatory. Roll will be taken. Students with excellent attendance will be given the benefit of the doubt when class grades are determined at the end of the quarter.


GRADES
GRADING Final:   30% of your grade
Midterm:   30%
Book Review:   20%
Papers:   20%
GRADE
DISTRIBUTION		 A = 3.7 - 4.0 GPA
B = 2.7 - 3.69
C = 1.7 - 2.69
D = 0.7 - 1.60
F = 0.69, or below
Failure to do all assigned work will result in an "F" in the course.

 

READING SCHEDULE

WEEK I
TEXT Chapter 7 - The Business of Organized Crime: Drugs
READER "Overview," by Humbert S. Nelli
"Criminal Underworlds: Looking Down on Society from Below," by Robert J. Kelly


WEEK II
TEXT Chapter 6 - The Business of Organized Crime:  Gambling, Loansharking, Theft, Fencing, and Sex
READER "Organized Crime in the United States," by Peter Lupsha


WEEK III
TEXT Chapter 8 - Organized Crime in Labor and Business
Chapter 1 - Definition and Structure of Organized Crime
READER "A Modern Marriage of Convenience: A Collaboration Between Organized Crime and U.S. Intelligence," by Alan A. Block


WEEK IV
TEXT Chapter 3 - The History of Organized Crime in New York, pp. 131-138:  Italian Organized Crime/ Southern Italians, The Black Hand, Unione Siciliana, The Castellammarese War
READER "The Traditional Sicilian Mafia: Organized Crime and Repressive Crime," by Henner Hess
"See Naples and Die: Organized Crime in Compania," by James Walston


WEEK V
TEXT Chapter 5 - Nontraditional Organized Crime


---- MIDTERM ----


WEEK VI
TEXT Chapter 3 - The History of Organized Crime in New York, pp. 101-114:  Media Accuracy and Organized Crime, Tammany Hall
The Tammany Police
The Tammany Gangs
READER "Analyzing the Organization of Crime in Montreal, 1920-1980:  A Canadian Test Case," by Pierre Tremblay and Richard Kedzior
"Organized Crime in Great Britain and the Caribbean," by Joseph L. Albini


WEEK VII
TEXT Organized Crime:  Theories and Antecedents, pp. 59-90:
Historical Antecedents: The Robber Barons;
Historical Antecedents: Urban Machine Politics
READER "Organized Crime in Poland," by Andrzej E. Marek
"Organized Crime and Organized Criminality Among Georgian Jews in Israel," by Menachem Amir


WEEK VIII
TEXT Chapter 4 - The History of Organized Crime in Chicago
READER "Organized Crimes As It Emerges in Regions of Africa," by James S. E. Opolot
"Organized Crime in Japan," by Hiroaki Iwai


WEEK IX
TEXT

Chapter 3 - The History of Organized Crime in New York, pp. 114-131, 138-157
Jewish Organized Crime
Italian Organized Crime:

    Luciano/Genovese Family
    Mineo/Gambino Family
    Reina/Lucchese Family
    Profaci/Colombo Family
    Bonanno Family
READER "Organized Crime in Australia:  An Urban History," by Alfred W. McCoy


WEEK X
TEXT Chapter 9 - Responding to Organized Crime:  Laws and Law Enforcement
Chapter 10 - Organized Crime:  Committees, Commissions, and Policy Debates