changing face: as governments around the world have clamped down on the Mafia, Asian gangs are moving in to take its place, The

When the words "organized crime" are mentioned, almost everybody thinks of the Mafia -- a secret society made up of people of mostly Italian descent with a reputation for extreme viciousness in protecting their criminal activities. But, organized crime has become far more than that. Complicated international linkages have formed to control the drug trade, and Asian gangs have moved in on some old Mafia turf.

Italians are trying to come to terms with the knowledge that the Mafia's tentacles have reached into the country's highest political office. The group's origins are in Sicily and it still operates in that island as a kind of shadow government. Not much goes on in Sicily without the Mafia's approval; it's said to control the awarding of all government contracts and to decide who gets elected to public office. Anybody who crosses it is very quickly dealt with.

In the summer of 1992, three of Italy's most senior anti - Mafia investigators were murdered in separate incidents. The most prominent of these, Judge Giovanni Falcone, had sent 350 Mafia members to jail in 1987. He was in charge of the fight against organized crime when the Mafia exploded a one - tonne bomb under his armour - plated car on a busy highway near Palermo, Sicily. Judge Falcone was heavily guarded at the time, but the Mafia still got him.

The attack on Judge Falcone and others provoked the Italian government into a more vigourous pursuit of the Mafia. Lured by offers of money and new identities, 250 informers have come forward. Several top Mafia bosses have recently been picked up in Sicily, but, closing down this group will be difficult. The Mafia has so many friends in high places, and in the police and judiciary, that it is well protected. And, if somebody such as Judge Falcone does start causing serious trouble there's always the bullet and the bomb.

Luciano Violante is the chair of an anti - Mafia parliamentary committee. He says getting rid of the organization will be "like pulling out the roots of a huge tree."

Elsewhere, closing down the Mafia has become a priority. In the United States, several Mafia bosses and dozens of foot soldiers are now cooling their heels in prison. However, with 24 "families" and 1,700 active members the Mafia is far from going out of business in America.

The same is true of Canada. Police here say the Mafia's activities are concentrated around Toronto and Montreal. Favourite occupations for organized crime are: drug running, loan - sharking, gambling, protection rackets, and prostitution. However, Mafia operations are more and more cloaked in respectability with strong links to the construction and land development industries in southern Ontario.

Contrary to popular belief there is no "Godfather" figure from whom all power flows. As many as 16 different Mafia cells operate in Ontario, and turf wars among them have left at least a dozen people dead over the last two or three years. Most of the Mafia people in Canada have links with American families but are said to operate on their own on a day - to - day basis.

If police have trouble penetrating the "code of silence" that stops most Mafia members from talking about their operations, imagine their difficulty in dealing with the Asian gangs that are changing the face of the underworld in North America. The cultural and language gulfs between the Asian and Western communities are leaving police groping for ways to stop the gangs.

Since the 1970s, Asian gangs have been moving into Canada, and they are replacing the Mafia in many areas. Members hide among the legitimate immigrants who have been coming here from Hong Kong and elsewhere. Over the past five years, Canada has issued about 120,000 immigration visas in Hong Kong. Recently, Canadian immigration officials revealed they were reviewing the immigration applications of 31 people known to be members of secret Chinese societies known as triads. One government report describes 16 of these triad members as among "the world's most ruthless and vicious criminals." They prey on people in their own community. As 70% of Hong Kong immigrants settle in British Columbia that's where the triads are most active.

Kenneth Yates, a top detective in Toronto, calls the triads "criminally brilliant." This does not mean that they turn their backs on "old - fashioned" crime. The Asian gangs are involved in drugs, extortion, robbery, gambling, smuggling of aliens, prostitution, and other crimes. They are also master forgers and have been working some very sophisticated fraud rackets and credit - card swindles. Vietnamese gangs specialize in home invasions. A group breaks into a home while the occupants are present. They terrorize their victims, usually Asians, in order to force them to tell them where they keep their valuables (many Asians don't believe in banks and keep their money and jewellery in their homes).

The smuggling of aliens into the United States is said to bring in $2.4 billion a year. Most of the people smuggled in can't afford the $30,000 cost of a one - way ticket. As a result, they end up working for the triads as drug pushers, prostitutes, and enforcers to pay off their debt.

Worldwide, the Chinese triads have become enormous. The Sun Yee On group is said to have more than 40,000 members and to be active in North America, Asia, and Australia. The 14K group has 20,000 members, with operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These are the major league triads; in total there are 50 to 60 triads, most of them based in Hong Kong, with a global membership of more than 100,000. There is no evil genius at the head of all triads. They all compete with each other, often very violently, for territory.

But, there is cooperation too. Police are uncovering more and more links among the Sicilian Mafia, Colombian drug lords, and the Chinese triads. The heroin trade in America, once dominated by the U.S. Mafia, is now controlled by the triads. Meetings have taken place in Canada involving Chinese, Colombian, Lebanese, Jamaican, Jewish, Iranian, and Nigerian groups. The Nigerians are said to be one of the fastest - growing organized crime groups with solid links to the drug trade.

As organized crime goes global it's getting more and more difficult for police forces to penetrate their networks and put the leaders and followers behind bars.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. "When it comes to treating gangsters with a guilty mixture of awe and horror, America has no equal." Discuss this statement which appeared in The Economist.

2. Placing the sale and distribution of now illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, under government control would have the effect of cutting into organized crime's biggest source of revenue; but, would it be an appropriate activity for government? Discuss.

Copyright Canada and The World Feb 1994
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