Racket (crime)
Racketeering (English racket " ripoff ", " illegal business " ) as a criminological concept especially in the U.S. illegal forms of management, which are to be regarded as part of organized crime.
Original referring to the term racket mainly on extortion ( protection racket ). From about 1850, other activities were thus in particular by the gangs in the Five Points in Manhattan of New York City described the organized or were already largely operated gang- such as illegal gambling and in particular the Italian road lottery (number games), which has been referred to as number racket.
The term was first officially used racketeering in June 1927, the Employers' Association of Chicago, to describe the corruption and violence within the Transport Workers Union " Teamsters ".
In the U.S. English can so all current illegal activities, in addition to the original names, are described or summarized. In this way, the criminal prosecution and conviction is simplified:
- Drug trafficking: drug racketeering take drug trafficking and illegal drug trade
- Union corruption or coercion by the employer: labor racketeering; that is the summary of offenses of coercion, extortion, bribery, corruption, ( anti-) strike-breaking, other violent or coercive circumstances in labor disputes and working conditions etc.
- Illegal gambling: number racket; that is, the debt of road lotteries etc.
- Piracy: customs racketeering; all crimes in connection with the forgery or counterfeiting of products and their illegal sales
- Extortion: protection racket instead of the simple extortion ( extortion ) or coercion
On October 15, 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 USC § § 1961-1968 ) - short RICO Act - launched to corruption and organized crime to master. On the basis of the address, in particular the U.S. Cosa Nostra and the criminal operations within the Union of Teamsters began. Remarkably From the German perspective is the ability to track crime not only by drastic criminal means, but also through civil court actions and extensive damages claims for injured parties.
In Germany the term racquet as Max Horkheimer et al. coined term used in sociology for gangs or cliques used, formed during the breakup of the state order, with the acquired from the English meaning of "criminal organization" or " part of a criminal enterprise organization."