ORGANIZED CRIME, PUBLIC CORUPTION: ERNIE PREATE AND THE PENNSYLVANIA CRIME COMMISSION (hardcover)

Organized crime and public corruption are an institutionalized feature of the American political economy. The provision of illegal goods and services, the smuggling of contraband, coordinated thefts and fencing of stolen goods, business and labor racketeering, the laundering of ill-gained money, and an extensive array of frauds are always most significant where there is the passive or active participation of public officials. Taking a cut of the action to “look the other way” is bad enough, but often those elected or appointed to a position of public trust become actively involved in the coordination of criminal enterprises. Sometimes they use their state-granted authority to extort from legal and illegal businesses. Other officials simply sell their office. The role of public servants in the organization of crime is most serious when there exists a political-criminal nexus—that is, a fusion of political and criminal power.