Government to Expand Efforts Against International Crime

• November 17, 2009
• by Collateral Staff
• In the News

[caption id="attachment_1327" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="The US plans on cracking down on international crime."][/caption]

The Justice Department is stepping up efforts to combat international organized crime, which, according to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, poses a greater threat to the United States in many respects than did the traditional Mafia. The Justice Department has drafted a new strategy to combat international organized crime, a summary of which was released in April.

In a speech that day at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington [D.C.] think tank, the Attorney General said that in addition to money laundering and the smuggling of drugs, weapons and other contraband, international criminals have also penetrated the energy market, the internet, and the securities market and have ties to terrorist organizations.

The challenge posed by the new generation of international criminals is far different from the challenge that the Mafia posed in the 1960s. The Attorney General said, "They are more sophisticated, they are richer, they have greater influence over government and political institutions worldwide, and they are savvier about using the latest technology - first to perpetrate and then cover up their crimes." Mukasey said that international criminals are involved in many facets of American Life. "They touch all sectors of our economy, dealing in everything from cigarettes to oil, clothing to pharmaceuticals," he said. "These criminals invest some of the millions they make from illegal activities in the same publicly traded companies as we hold in our pension plans and 401(k)s. They exploit the internet and peddle their scams on eBay, and they're responsible for a significant chunk of the spam e-mail we get." Not all international criminals are foreigners, Mukasey said. Some are based in the United States.

The new strategy was developed by the Organized Crime Council, which was originally formed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The council met for the first time in 15 years earlier this year to examine the threat of organized international crime. The public part of the strategy outlines the threats in general terms and proposes goals. The first step in the department's new initiative, Mukasey said, is developing a high-priority list of people and organizations that pose the greatest threat. These will be targeted first. He said the department will gather information on organized crimes from various sources - law enforcement, the intelligence community, foreign partners and the private sector - so that groups can be identified and connections drawn between them.

In addition, the Attorney General said, "we have to use every tool at our disposal - whether it is the Secret Service to identify counterfeit currency, the IRS to locate financial assets, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to find contraband weapons. It was famously said that Robert Kennedy's prosecutors would bust mobsters for spitting on the sidewalk. Our prosecutors are just as aggressive today."

Reprinted with permission by Ed Bertholet from Indiana Bail News. Ed Bertholet has been in the bail industry for 40 years. With his daughter Kelly Bertholet, Bertholet Bail Bonds has almost 70 agents throughout Indiana. Call Bertholet Bail Bonds at