CJS220 Research Project
0 people liked this O discussions
READING ASSIGNMENT
Your project must be submitted as a Word document (.docx, .doc). Your project will be individually graded by your
instructor and therefore may take up to five to seven days to grade.
Be sure that each of your files contains the following information:
• Your name
• Your student ID number
• The exam number 80154700
• Your email address
To submit your graded project, follow these steps:
• Log in to your student portal.
• Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on.
• Find the exam number for your project at the top of the Project Upload page.
• Follow the instructions provided to complete your exam.
Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school!
Assignment Background
Fact Pattern
Welcome to Anytown, U.S.A., an average American city in most respects, and a city that, on the surface,
appears to be a great place to live and to raise a family. The trains, buses, and garbage pickups all run
on time, but the municipal workers who ensure this performance are all victims of a criminal enterprise
that has infested the Municipal Workers’ Union. This efficiency masks the victimization that manifests
itself in acts of intimidation, extortion, embezzlement, public corruption, and murder.
The head of this criminal operation is Mr. Big, who has been president of the union for ten years. No one
is able to get a municipal job, promotion, or raise in Anytown unless it meets with the approval of Mr. Big
and his cohorts. This approval comes at a high price in “under the table” cash payments to the union.
Anyone who is unwilling to play ball will not only lose his or her job, but more often than not will disappear
from Anytown.
The illicit gains to which Mr. Big and his union help themselves come in the form of the cash payments, in
addition to charging members exorbitant union dues. However, the major money source is provided by
the systematic looting of the workers’ Pension and Welfare Fund. This fund includes contributions made
by Anytown as well as by the employees, and represents millions of dollars that should be earmarked for
retirement and pension benefits for the workers. Instead, this money, in its laundered form, funds the
various businesses conducted by Mr. Sig’s criminal enterprise, both in numerous states in this country
and abroad. While many individuals form a part of this vast criminal network, the three major “captains” in
the organization are Mr. Muscle, Mr. Accountant, and Mrs. Mayor.
Mr. Muscle
Mr. Muscle answers directly to Mr. Big and is responsible for keeping everyone in line, both inside and
outside the organization. He has many individuals working under him who are very well versed in the
crimes of extortion, intimidation, and murder. All orders originate with Mr. Big and are relayed by Mr.
1/5
Muscle to his henchmen. Over the course of the past ten years, the following is a small sampling of the
kind of crimes committed:
■ When union members balk or complain about making the cash payments or in paying the
exorbitant dues, they’re visited at home by Mr. Muscle or his associates. They’re complimented on
having a “beautiful home” and “lovely family” and told how sad it would be “if any1hing happened to
them.” In most cases the payments are forthcoming. If not, arson and violence quickly follow.
■ When any disgruntled union members seek out law enforcement to report the crimes taking place,
the organization is immediately made aware of such reports, and Mr. Muscle’s crew is dispatched.
The problems—–as well as the witnesses—–effectively disappear. This conduct not only resolves the
issues but serves as a future deterrent to any like-minded disgruntled members.
■ From time to time, rival sanitation and transportation unions have tried to force elections to get a
foothold in the representation of different segments of the municipal workers. Mysterious
“accidents” usually have befallen the leaders of these unions. The unions receive the intended
message loud and clear and always decide that the elective process isn’t the most prudent course
to pursue.
Mr. Accountant
Mr. Accountant is the financial “brain” of Mr. Sig’s operations. He and his staff prepare all of the required
governmental filings, including state and federal tax returns, which are, of course, all fraudulent. He
controls a vast network of dummy corporations, overseas bank accounts, and crooked businesses.
With respect to the large number of cash payments received from the members for job promotions, Mr.
Accountant has arranged to deposit the cash into an account under a fictitious corporate name at the
Any1own National Bank. In return for 10% of the amounts deposited, the bank president, Mr. Greene, has
agreed not to alert the government about the cash deposits, which should have triggered the filing of
Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).
Mr. Accountant also uses the Any1own Money Wire Services store to send money to Russia on a regular
basis. The money is used by Russian organized crime members to finance a sophisticated enterprise
operating throughout Europe and the Far East. The syndicate deals in human trafficking, money
laundering, and selling major assault weapons and bombs. They return large amounts of money to the
Mr. Big enterprise after it has been effectively laundered in the Far East. The owner of the wire service,
after being paid a visit by Mr. Muscle’s crew, doesn’t file any Currency or Monetary Instrument Reports
(CMIRs) with the government reflecting the money transfers out of the country.
Mr. Accountant also set up a financial investment corporation that handles the money embezzled from
the union Pension and Welfare account. Mr. Accountant creates fraudulent account statements under the
corporation’s name, falsely showing that the money is being actively invested in stocks and bonds, when
in reality the money is used to finance the ongoing criminal enterprise being conducted by the Mr. Big
group.
Mrs. Mayor
Mrs. Mayor is in her second term as the mayor of Any1own. She is extremely popular with her
constituents and even more popular with Mr. Big and his accomplices. Mrs. Mayor is an integral spoke in
the Mr. Big criminal organization’s wheel. Her primary role is to ensure that town laws, rules, and
regulations don’t serve as impediments to Mr. Sig’s activities. She also makes sure that outside
competition doesn’t divest Mr. Big of his control of the union.
Mrs. Mayor is responsible for enacting local labor and union laws that are so complex, contain so many
loopholes, and, from a rival union’s perspective, are so cumbersome to comply with, that competition in
Mr. Sig’s sphere of influence has been virtually eliminated.
Mrs. Mayor is a savvy and skilled politician with sources of information in every government office in
Any1own and the surrounding jurisdictions. This means that she is made aware of any complaints made
against the union and of any investigation being conducted by law enforcement into their operations. She
expeditiously furnishes the information to Mr. Big, who just as expeditiously dispatches Mr. Muscle to
2/5
“troubleshoot” the problem. The end result is always a satisfactory one for Mr. Big but not so satisfactory
for the complainants and witnesses.
Weekly Meeting
Mr. Big and his three captains-Mr. Muscle, Mr. Accountant, and Mrs. Mayor-meet every week in the
conference room located in Mr. Sig’s office suite. The only other person in attendance at these meetings
is Miss Secretary, who has worked for Mr. Big for many years and is aware of everything that goes on.
The meetings are held this frequently due to the fact that Mr. Big and his captains are reluctant to discuss
certain things on the telephone for fear of wiretaps. At the weekly meetings, everyone speaks openly and
freely discusses all of the important details of the criminal enterprise, with respect to acts that took place
in the past as well as to acts being planned for the future.
Assignment
You’ve just started working in the Anytown District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney.
Since you’re an experienced organized crime prosecutor, you’re assigned to the Rackets/Organized
Crime Bureau. The first case that you’re assigned to investigate is the Mr. Big crime syndicate. You sit
down with your investigators, who have been investigating Mr. Big for years with little to show for their
efforts. They do provide you with past witness statements and confidential informant (Cl) information,
where the witnesses either don’t want to cooperate or can’t be located. This information, however,
provides you with enough data to determine that Mr. Big and his associates are worthwhile targets of a
major investigation which you’ll direct. You discuss it with your supervisor, and she supports your
conclusion. She asks you to prepare a prosecution memo for her outlining your goals and intended
course of the investigative conduct.
Prosecution Memo
The prosecution memo that you’ll prepare for your supervisor will contain four parts: history, facts, law,
and investigative plan. The purpose of the memo is to inform your supervisor as to the criminal charges,
if any, that you think you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, along with an investigative plan as to
how you hope to obtain the necessary evidence.
History
The first part of the prosecution memo will deal with a brief overview of organized crime. The following
points should be addressed:
• What is organized crime, and what kind of criminal activities does it encompass? How is it
structured?
• How does organized crime break down along ethnic lines?
• How is transnational organized crime the same or different than domestic organized crime?
• How does Mr. Sig’s enterprise fit within the definition of organized crime?
Facts
In this part of the prosecution memo, you’ll summarize the key facts that you deem to be probative in the
investigation. These facts should be relevant to and support the crimes that you discuss in the Law
portion of the memo. You must use the facts as related in the Fact Pattern; however, you’re also free to
amplify and create your own facts that you feel could be developed by your investigative plan.
Law
3/5
This portion of the memo must contain an analysis of the criminal statutes that, in your opinion, have
been violated and would be supported by the evidence. In addition, you must detail which individuals you
would charge as defendants and what evidence you would use to sustain the prosecution of each
defendant.
The primary law that should be analyzed is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)
section of the Organized Crime Control Act (1970). Your analysis must include the following:
• The history of the law, reasons for its enactment, and some of the major prosecutions conducted
under the law.
• The elements of the law that must be proved to sustain a criminal prosecution.
• The individuals who you would or wouldn’t charge under the law, and your supporting rationale for
each such decision.
The other laws that should be analyzed include the Bank Secrecy Act (1970), the Money Laundering
Control Act (1986), and any other laws that you deem to be relevant.
Investigative Plan
In this section, you’re to detail the investigative approaches that you would use, or not use, in gathering
evidence for the prosecution. Your analysis should explore both the strengths and weaknesses of each
approach. The investigative techniques that you should consider include the following:
• Confidential informants
• Investigative grand juries and testimonial or transactional immunity
• Undercover operatives
• Financial records and analysis
• Title Ill of the Omnibus Control Act (1968) (Electronic Surveillance). For this approach, your
analysis should include what kind of surveillance you would pursue (telephone wiretap or room
bug), as well as the evidentiary showing that would be required under the statute to obtain the
surveillance that you would be seeking.
• Any other investigative techniques that you may find to be relevant to the case
Helpful Hints
The following points are offered for your consideration in crafting your investigation:
• Assume that all criminal law statutes in Anytown are identical to the federal laws, especially with
respect to Anytown’s use of RICO and Electronic Surveillance.
• For the investigative grand jury, you can decide what type of immunity it will confer on witnesses,
either testimonial or transactional. The two forms of immunity have important differences.
• In dealing with confidential informants, be sure to include the practical difficulties presented in
finding cooperating witnesses, as well as the attendant credibility and safety issues.
• Research the law concerning accessorial liability, aiding and abetting, and accomplice testimony.
How will these help your investigation? What’s corroboration, and is this something that you should
be concerned with in dealing with accomplice testimony obtained from confidential informants and
witnesses?
• One of the important goals for an organized crime prosecutor is to reach as high up on the criminal
ladder as possible. This usually means that “deals” have to be made with less-than-honest
individuals who occupy the lower rungs.
• Don’t ignore the transnational aspects of the organization. In this regard, consider the Transnational
Organized Crime Rewards Program (2013) as providing a potential source of confidential
informants and witnesses.
• Be creative! You have the authority to expand the facts to fit within your investigative plans.
Grading Criteria
4/5
11/10/21, 8:31 AM lms.pennfoster.edu I CJS220: Organized Crime
The prosecution memo must be double-spaced in Times New Roman font, size 12. The first line of 20%
each paragraph is to be indented by one tab (five spaces). You’ll be evaluated on grammar, spelling,
and sentence structure.
The quality and quantity of the research material that you use must be relevant to the assignment. 30%
There isn’t a minimum or maximum word requirement for this project. At this point in your education,
you must be aware of the importance of relevance, quality, diversity, and content.
You’ll be expected to correctly identify the issues presented in the fact pattern and to correctly apply 30%
those facts, based on your reasoning, to the relevant law. Make sure to include the supporting
reasons for the decisions that you make, since, as with many criminal justice issues, the reasons for
your decisions will lend credence to your final determinations.
You’re expected to submit your own original work, with all research sources used properly cited 20%
using ABA or MLA style. You must also provide a properly formatted Works Cited page at the end of
your paper. Your own original, interesting, and academically relevant presentation is of primary
importance. Please review the school policy with respect to plagiarism and its definition.
5/5