African-American Organized Crime

Paper Summary:

While stories of organized crime most often dwell on groups like the Mafia and Chinese Triad or Tongs, African-Americans also have a long history of organized crime. This paper examines what a history of these criminal networks teach us about the social, political, and economic challenges that face African-Americans today. It shows what is specific to African-American organized crime and how these networks differ from the criminal organizations of other racial and ethnic groups. The paper covers, amongst others, the game of Bolito, Harlem policy banks, Casper Holstein, Roland "Pops" Bartlett, Queenie and drug involvement.

From the Paper:

"Historically, many ardent supporters of illegal numbers gambling were in the African-American community. Over the decades, the illegal lotteries and numbers games were actually controlled by the La Cosa Nostra (LCN), and black operatives worked within the framework established by them. Today, that control has begun to diminish in some areas of New Jersey. In Camden County, for instance, one such African-American numbers group has been operating independently for several years under the control of Leonard A. Jones. This group also conducts its illegal gambling in parts of Gloucester and Burlington Counties and is estimated to net nearly $1 million dollars per year."

More papers on African-American Organized Crime:

• Term Paper # 120943 : "Black Organized Crime in America"
• Term Paper # 147760 : "An Account of Organized Crime in Chicago"
• Descriptive Essay # 108579 : "Organized Crime within the Bloods"

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