At the beginning of last week, Civil Beat’s Madeleine Valera had a good story looking at the state of organized crime following the racketeering conviction of former Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske Jr. (“The Miske Criminal Enterprise May Be Gone But Other Powerful Crime Networks Remain“).
Valera’s story looked at the history of local organized crime, some well-known figure of the past, as well as taking a quick look at recent crimes associated with illegal gamerooms, as well as at least one well-known prison gang.
I have a feeling that organized crime has, by and large, grown past the stage of rival gangs of drug-dealing thugs, although those still obviously exist. Crime, like business, has gone global, has become entrenched in the corporate world, and utilizes technology and financial tools to both enrich and protect its profits.
Focusing local gangs like WestSide, North Shore Boyz, and La Familia, it seems to me, misses the “big picture.”
Remember the wise words attributed to the famous gangster of the 1930s to the 1950s, Willie Sutton. He was asked, “Why do you rob banks?”
“Because that’s where the money is,” Sutton replied.
So where is the money now?
So I sat down and quickly tried to list out areas in which organized crime groups could, and probably are, actively involved. I’ve often used this kind of brainstorming to loosen up my thinking and try to see beyond the things we already know.
Here’s my initial list for discussion purposes. Feel free to suggest additional categories, or local examples of any of these.
• Cybercrime
• Drug trafficking
• Gambling
– Cock fighting
– Game rooms and security/protection
– High stakes gambling
– Sports gambling
• Weapon sales and trafficking
• Fraud
-Health care fraud
-Bank and credit card fraud
-Tax and securities fraud
• Trash hauling
• Extortion/Protection
• Construction fraud
• Labor racketeering
• Human trafficking (Laborers, sex workers, foreign fishing crews, etc)
• Money laundering via real estate, cash businesses
• Bid Rigging
• Public corruption
• Campaign finance fraud
• Counterfeit products
• Prostitution
• Predatory lending
• Insurance fraud
• Identity theft
• Bankruptcy fraud and “bust outs”
• Organized retail theft
• Fencing of stolen property
• Aerial fireworks
• Environmental crime (hazardous waste dumping, etc)
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Thus the sad state of affairs!????
Chop shops? Or would they fall under the ‘Organized Retail Theft’ and “Fencing Stolen Property’ categories?
Notary fraud; real estate title fraud; elder-abuse fraud.
Thinking about it some more, maybe these items actually fall into a broader category like cybercrime? Not so sure that local organized crime may be involved yet in these specific areas. Think they are more mainland-based at this time.
I would imagine they would fall under the broader category of ‘Fraud’. When you say “Elder Abuse Fraud”, are you referring to phone scams and the like?
Yes. It’s incredible how many phone calls and phony emails come in from scammers. They’re hoping to scare some vulnerable kupuna into giving up important info or access to the computer.
Anyone who drives a vehicle on Oahu can attest that tow companies have the shady air of something affiliated with organized crime.
https://abc7news.com/post/fbi-raids-san-francisco-tow-company-history-illegal-towing-owners-charged-money-laundering/15161965/
ALL criminal profits easily protected in offshore banking/laundering systems like Panama, Luxembourg the Cayman Islands, etc. to legitimize crimes and reinvest the profits in real estate, private equity, and even venture capitalism.
How many Kakaako 8 figure apartments are owned by unknown and untraceable entities???