Organized crime has plagued America for a full century and has had a serious
             affect on Society. Organized crime is any group having some manner of formalized
             structure whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. Through
             violent tactics, organized crime is often very affective. The Mafia, more specifically the
             Italian-American Mafia is a group of criminals organized into "families", and operating
             primarily in North America. Organized crime is a widespread topic of concern among
             many Americans due to its popularity in the media and entertainment industry. The public
             is aware of its existence, yet is not fully aware of why and how this complex "underworld"
             exists. In order to completely understand this area of criminology, one must take into
             account the characteristics of organized crime and the individual motives to commit this
             The beginnings of organized crime can be traced back to periods of vast amounts
             of immigration within the United States. Many of the immigrants sought wealth and
             prosperity upon their arrivals but inevitably found themselves to be members of the lower
             class. While some groups, such as the Jews, were able to climb the social ladder, other
             groups faced hostility and racism, hindering their acquisition of wealth. Their movement
             toward crime can be explained by Differential Opportunities theory. This says that there
             are both legitimate and illegitimate means to achieve desired goals. In the immigrants' case
             they want what American society offers and expects of all success yet they are prevented
             from legitimately achieving this goal because of opportunity blockage, that is poverty and
             discrimination. In turn, the immigrants turned to a criminal subculture as means to attain
             their goals. They begin violating an extreme amount of criminal statutes such as extortion,
             murder, bribery, fraud, narcotics, and labor racket...