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Police reports. Alongside with the media deceives us to believe that the most ungenerous delinquencies are ordinary street crimes (burglary, assault, drug dealing, etc. ). The problem with these reports is that the real issues remain under the surface, unreported and undulate with. Today’s competitive culture led to the rise of the greatest financial crimes of history to date. Most criminologists ignore white- collar crime, partly because of the complexity of these crimes and partly because of the difficulty to investigate them.
Such crimes of the elite are concealed and extremely lucrative, but are also damaging to the economy, nature, and most importantly, they indirectly affect human lives. As Mayer Mescal Rothschild argued ‘Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws’ (demonstrates. Com). Large corporations are one of the most dangerous criminals of the modern world, using their power to manipulate politics and law topic, not only for criminologists, but for the general public as well. This paper is about the crimes of the powerful, approached from a rather unusual perspective.
Those few criminologists who are interested in investigating these crimes often analyze the internal activities of these corporations but pay no attention to external elation. The main aim of this essay is to highlight these affairs, the influence of U. S. Corporation interests on political decisions and how these, in turn, cause the self- corruption of U. S. Police forces. We start with questioning the Police, FBI and CIA practices by focusing on the influence of politics on them. Then, we proceed to analyze the link between political wrongdoings and corporation securities.
The police is the lowest law enforcement agency in the hierarchy, mostly dealing with street crimes, but large monetary awards can graft officials and rapidly transform these street crimes into more serious offences. Inquiries conducted by Federal and State committees exposed a notable number of cases that involved police corruption. The criminal drive behind this is obvious, if we consider the highly-valued commodity officers can provide: invulnerability from the law. Other than that, crystallizing a list of actions, allow the existence of highly profitable black markets, such as prostitution or drug dealing.
As the vast profit of these markets, it is not surprising that individuals who are involved in illicit industries are willing to buy protection. Payments are common in large cities as New York, Los Angels, San Francisco, Miami ND others. In some cases corruption becomes so integrated in the police community that officers who refuse to accept payoffs are marginalia. Other investigations discovered a list of other serious offences that included drug dealing, false arrests and testimonies; and planting fake incriminating evidence. Coleman, 2002) In the misdeed of the New York Police Department in 1968, officers collected weekly fees from illegal lottery spots operated by the notorious Coos Nostril. The minimum Charge for running a shop, including resistance from arrest by any policemen was $2500 a month. Such illegal lotteries are commonly used for money laundering by organized criminal groups. Once an officer crosses the line of legality, corrupters will demand [his] services more frequently.
If [he] declines to help, corrupters might blackmail [him] with previous offences; if discovered, [he] might be kidnapped or It may seem paradoxical that this section concentrated on illegal markets and criminal groups, rather than large corporations, but there are multiple reasons for this. First, as previously mentioned, the Police is mostly concerned with ordinary crime as a substitute to fraud and antitrust violations. Second, it does not hold the authority to influence 3 governmental relations and policy changes, hence it is rarely targeted directly by big companies.
Third, these corporations may cooperate with criminal organizations for their own benefit (e. G. Money-laundering), but due to my time limit I will not elaborate on this. It is essential to point out that even if the police is not directly contacted by powerful companies, in the event of social disorder and riots as a result of political corruption, the police is used as a striking force to reestablish social order and to protect politicians. (Ross. 2012) Federal Bureau of Investigation ere FBI is one of the most prominent, indirect targets of these enterprises.
Political pressure is often used to collect and/or plant incriminatory evidence about political leaders who oppose business goods. A number of branches, including the FBI, retain confidential files, claiming that the content of these documents may Jeopardize national security. A substantial quantity of such records are obtained through unlawful domestic spying and warranties wiretaps. The use of wiretaps by law enforcement agencies was first declared illegal in 1934; the legislation has undergone important changes of liberalizing since then.
Today, the use of wiretaps by federal agencies is still prohibited by the statutory law, unless prior Juridical authorization is provided. Regardless of this restriction, the FBI is still using such Narrates gadgets as common practice. In fact, the FBI is more involved in illegitimate surveillance than any other agency. To add to this, in 2000 the FBI developed a software, called carnivore that allowed federal agents to scan millions of e-mails and online forums in a matter of seconds, and find any information about a particular person.
The list of wrongdoings doesn’t stop here, the FBI was repeatedly accused of supporting Right-Wing politics. (Coleman; 2002; Frederic’s, 2010) In 1956, the FBI started COUNTERPOINT (Counter Intelligence Program), which was an umbrella for the diverse criminal actions the agency was involved in, particularly espionage. The main aim of the program was to gather information about- and to eliminate environmentalist’s and Left-Wing party members. Working together Ninth Right-Wing representatives, the FBI started to leak incriminatory evidence obtained from COUNTERPOINT) about left party members.
In time, the FBI expanded the program to every group on the Left and reconstructed right-wing paramilitary troops, called SAA Secret Army Organization). Using government money, the FBI sponsored 75 percent of SAA expenses. (Coleman; 2002; Frederic’s; 2010) An SAA cell directed by an and FBI informant engaged in repeated acts of violence, terrorism against the Left, including the destruction of newspaper offices and bookstores, the firebombing of cars, and assault on political activists … ‘ (Coleman; 2002, p. 65) Even DRP.
Martin Luther King Jar. Was targeted by the FBI, mainly because he Bureau and the Right-Wing opposed his views as a civil rights movement leader. After he had won the Nobel Peace Prize and acquired too much public attention, he Nas under constant surveillance, with his phone monitored. The FBI sent hundreds of anonymous letters to Luther and his wife, in effort to drive him to suicide. (Coleman; 2002) Political pressure from the Right clearly influences the actions of the Bureau, but where does this burden come from?
Before we get into that, to further strengthen our argument, we will examine how the CIA is also predisposed to political parties and corporate benefits. Central Intelligence Agency Congressional investigations found that the CIA has been ignoring the regulations of the United States as well as the laws of the countries they covertly operate in. Similarly to the FBI, these deregulation occur due to conflicts of interests. They can range from cheap labor to industrial supplies- that may be damaged if a leader, who does not support such securities is elected.
If a decentralization arises, the U. S. Economy will be affected, therefore action is taken even if this means unlawful procedures. CIA offences include warranties domestic spying, blackmailing and ribbing foreign leaders, assassination plots against foreign leaders, sponsoring riots to undermine electoral campaigns and aiding the downfall of foreign leaders who represent a threat to U. S. Corporate safeties. (Coleman; 2002, Frederic’s 2010) One of the best documented cases is the manipulation of the Chilean electoral campaigns.
Nee in 1958 and 1964, Salvador Allendale ran for president, the CIA tried to manipulate the elections through media manipulation which cost the government millions of dollars. Once the situation became promising for Allendale, ‘leaders of American multinational corporations 5 Math substantial interests in Chile… Contacted U. S. Government officials in order to make their views known’ (As cited in Coleman; 2002, p. 66) When Allendale was voted, the U. S. Government tried to enhance civil unrest and to collapse the Chilean economy. U. S banks terminated short-loan credits to Chile, the government stressed necessary supplies for Chile’s industry. Coleman; 2002) Because of the aim of the essay, we focused on the illegal actions by federal and governmental agencies, however it is not our determination to expose every offence. Also, it would be incorrect to assume that these units exclusively exist for the purpose of manipulation and spying. ere Top Nee have already seen how policing is indirectly affected by dominant establishments through politics. Now, we will analyses how and why trusted representatives use their power to create unfair business advantages and protect the interests of their sponsors.
Political corruption is defined as the ‘abuse of entrusted power by political leaders for private gain, with the objective of increasing power and wealth. ‘ (As cited In Fletcher et. Al. ; 2012, p. 8) The Senate Code of ethics of the United States ‘prohibits any member or employee from aiding the progress of legislation for the purpose of advancing his or her own financial interests’ (Coleman; 2002, p. 33) Contrary to the regulations, but not surprisingly, members of the Congress and other representatives use their supremacy on a daily basis for personal benefits.
The situation here is more complex, illicit support or disservice of a legislation can rise from different sources. Politicians can vote for bills that directly affect their personal businesses or/and on isolations that affect other corporations (that are also in their concern). The latter, can also be instigated via different means. (Coleman; 2002, & Frederic’s; 2010) Similarly to enforcement officials, politicians are approached by lobbyists, who represent the companies, offering gifts, free holidays or shares of the company.
In return, they request a list of political favors that can range from supporting policy changes to the introduction or abolishment of a legislation. (Fletcher et. Al. ; 2012) The enticer does not generally pay money directly to the public representative. He rises instead by a series of favors to put public officials under such a feeling of personal obligation that [he] comes to feel that his first loyalties are to his private benefactors and patrons (Coleman; 2002, p. 5) Since the law making process does not depend on a single individual, mediators try to gain up on multiple politicians, using the same method. ‘About 42 percent of criminal indictments of members of Congress have been for accepting some type of bribe. ‘ (Ross; 2012, p. 89) It is important to distinguish bribery from gifts; bribery is easy to condemn, whereas gifts or donations are not banned. In essence, gifts differ from bribery: it does not threaten the receiver, and therefore it is more Justifiable.
Even in this case though, the outcome of both actions can be prosecuted with appropriate evidence. (A. Wearer, 1964) The issue is, that gifts and favors are kept Another powerful weapon of the corrupters is the sponsorship of the electoral campaigns. In the late ass’s the cost of a congressional campaign was $25,000, this number has greatly increased over the past few decades. In 2000 the average cost of campaign House of Representatives post was about $750,000, while for Senatorial Nas 4 million.
A study conducted by Ralph Nadir’s Congress Watch reported that those candidates who outspent their rivals in campaigns were 85% more likely to be elected. Considering these numbers, it is not surprising that contributions from Unhealthy corporations are welcome and Just as gifts, they are repaid in political favors. Coleman; 2002) Furthermore, if we study the costs of these electoral campaigns, we can conclude that many representatives are already biased by these companies, prior to their election. O understand how officials profit from their positions, we will examine the case of Richard Pratt. Educator and entrepreneur, Richard Pratt was appointed Chairman of the FLAB (Federal Home Loan Bank Board) in 1981. During his practice, he managed to free the thrift industry from a number of regulatory chains and trisected the industry, which greatly contributed to the following recession. The changes included the alteration of a regulation that prohibited a single investor to own more than 25% of a bank and lowering net worth requirements for loans.
After he left his position in 1985, he was appointed to a senior position, at Merrill Lynch, a leading competitor of the industry he unchained. By 1989, Merrill Lynch investors (including Pratt) accumulated profits over 1 billion, due to the modifications introduced by Pratt. :Coleman; 2002 & Italian et. Al. ; 1997) 7 As previously mentioned, these political favors are kept in high secrecy, but this is not the only issue. Even if an official is discovered, it is unlikely that the general public Nil be informed through the media.