Entities of Organized Crime

Manuel Payares

Entities of Organized Crime

CAT 100 - 900

1. Known as one of the most lethal the Mexican Mafia thrives on murder for hire, drug trafficking, money laundering, human smuggling, prostitution, extortion and other illegal activities. Its reputation of being deadly stems from its long and bloody history in the prisons of California. Founded in 1957 by Mexican-American inmates who were being constantly bullied by Caucasian and African-American gangs already established in the California prison system. The Mexican Mafia or "La Eme" Spanish for the letter "M" has been proclaimed as an organized criminal entity that rules with an iron fist and will kill on-sight if threaten. The gang retains its power by controlling the drug trade in prison; this is due to the extensive amount of enforcers the organization has at hand. They also control every major prison in the state of California and have additional foot soldiers that enforce and kill for the control of narcotics in the prison and in the streets. The philosophy that the Mexican Mafia uses in the free world is the idea of protection behind bars, since most gang members will one day reach prison, protection is already offered to those "La Eme" approaches. If potential associates of the Mexican Mafia do not comply with their rules and regulations they are given a "green light" or a shoot on-site. Having this philosophy has pushed the numbers in the Mexican Mafia to reach over 10,000 foot soldiers in the streets of California. However their high numbers have also started their demise due to confidential informants that talk about the careless behavior the cliques in the street have.

2. Gangs have become a problem in the United States; these groups are made up of individuals who are the results of neglect, abuse, and sometimes broken homes. The author expresses and proves the ideology of Mexican-American gangs also known as Chicano gangs. These gangs have proven to be organizations that have an undesirable and destructive effect in today's society due to its illicit activities. The main problem that local and federal law enforcement have when it comes to prosecution of these organizations. Is the sense of loyalty that foot soldiers have when joining a gang mainly is the sense of belonging to a family-like environment these teens seek. Having the family-like environment is constantly making it hard and sometimes impossible for law-enforcement to prosecute in a court of law. The reason why the sense of loyalty works is because most members have family, family-ties, and even-child hood friends in the gang making it difficult for the individual to infiltrate the gang and become an informant. To gain membership in a gang like this someone would have to be associated with family or a gang-sponsor that vouches for the individual into the gang. In addition to their loyalty and ruthlessness they also become a problem to law-enforcement by having the easy ability to re-locate