Cartoon 840: Come of age

We read Mario Puzo’s book, “The Godfather”. We have watched the Godfather movies. We can occasionally see a replay of an old film clip from the 1950s of Hoover, head of the FBI, testifying before a Senate select committee. He is agitated and adamantly saying there is no such thing as organized crime and the Mafia. It seems unbelievable in hindsight. Certainly he knew. Revisionist historians report he was an avid gambler and the crime bosses allowed him to win at such things as horse races.

Today there is constant reporting of entrepreneur crimes, such as “The Silk Road” or “Megaupload” . What is missing is reporting on organized crime and its extensive globalization. Organized crime defined as a enterprise of hundreds of millions to billions in an eco-system of hierarchal managed activities.

Organize crime has become so powerful it controls nations. It has moved from a purely domestic focus to controlling exchange rates, IPOs, and the financial system. An example is who was really behind the Libor scandal? Notice organized crime was not mentioned. There is a lot of closed mouths about the Target, Neiman Marcus and other hacks. Perhaps because it is so extensive that most every major business has been a victim and the revelation would clause financial panic. The question becomes is this an entrepreneur crimes or the work of organized crime doing what they have traditionally done at loading docks. They take a percentage of everything. Not enough to make it worthwhile for law enforcement to apply the resources to enter a war and challenge them.

The problem today is that our popular perspective of organized crime is out of date. The individuals involved want to keep it that way. The godfathers now are bankers, hedge fund heads, and activist investors. They own politicians, key government agencies, Congressional committees, judges, PACs, lobbyist, and the media. They are often graduates from some of the best schools and polished. They rub elbows with heads of State and captains of industry. They are the shadow that is with us we never look around and see.

What is the best kind of ”mark”? One that has absolutely no idea of their condition.