Organized Crime - Some information that matters
Russian organized crime has become a huge problem for California law enforcement. The law enforcement agencies are aware of four structures Russian organized crime organizations in California. These groups compromised the former Soviet Union. These groups operate in many major cities throughout California. These organized crime groups have been involved in extortion, prostitution auto theft insurance credit card fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and murder. The California organized crime groups have spread to over 6 cities including Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami and Cleveland. They all communicate with to each other and in most cases have connections to each other. “The growth of organized crime threatens the political and economic development of Russia and creates conditions that could help bring the national socialists to power” stated a report presented to president Boris Yelstin by Russia’s Analytical Center for Social and Economic Policies.
During a senate hearing on April 21, 1994 James Woolsey, a CIA director, said ‘Organized crime is so rampant in Russia that it threatens Boris Yeltsins’ presidency and it raises concern that syndicates will obtain and smuggle Russian nuclear weapons to terrorists or foreign agents.”
James Woosley recognized this threat and he established an office in Moscow that focuses on Russian groups and the potential to move to the United States as well as the potential threat of trafficking in the nuclear weapons. The United States law enforcement agencies now consider organized crime a major threat. They have begun to form task forces to counter the threat.
In the past five years the majority of growth to the United States by organized crime has occurred. History tells us that it has been growing for twenty years. In August 1993 the FBI reported 15 crime groups in the United States. The level of the structure of these groups is debatable among law enforcement agencies. Many of the Russians that are involved in the criminal activity may be career criminals that specialize in crime and have nothing to do with Russian groups.
The organized crime groups that are in the United States do communicate with the Russian organized crime groups. There is information that the east coast groups communicate with the west coast groups. It is also noted that the Russian groups are not well organized and have no structure; they are influenced by ethnic or regional background.
Here are some descriptions of the more publicized Russian organized crime groups in the United States.
In the San Francisco Bay area including San Jose there are approximately 300 former Soviet Union members. This is according to the law enforcement agencies. In Las Angeles it is reported that there are 600-800 Russian figures, which is also the city where the second largest number if Russian immigrants call home. The above listed figures include Russian and Armenian organized crime groups.
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