I've been curious over the past couple of weeks, what rackets do you know of?

I personally know of the following

•Loan Sharking
•Protection Racket
•Chop Shops
•Sports Betting
•Numbers
•Gambling
•Drug/Firearms (if it could be considered a racket, I've always thought of it as a activity granted to all members of the family)

I think the mob's rackets can be summed up into 7 main categories:


1. Gambling
2. Loansharking
3. Extortion
4. Drug trafficking
5. Labor racketeering
6. Theft
7. Fraud


These cover just about everything. Gambling would obviously include sports betting, numbers, video poker, and card/casino games. Loansharking is self-explanatory. Extortion would by the typical protection shakedown. Drug trafficking is self-explanatory. Labor racketeering would involve things like bid-rigging, sweetheart deals, no-show jobs, union fund embezzlement, etc. Theft would involve things like stolen goods, robberies, and burglaries. Fraud would be a wide array of things like credit card fraud, health care fraud, gas tax fraud, stock fraud, etc.


An 8th item could be legitimate or quasi-legitimate businesses the mob is involved in.

Construction/Labor Unions
Financial scams/frauds
Prostitution/sex trafficking
Garbage/waste mgt
Tax evasion like the gas tax scam
I don't think anything is sacred with these guys anymore, if there is money to be made they will move in and take over.

Brahms 3rd Racket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfg-9_k-flo

Question. When you say rackets do you mean that people actually still play the number with the mob and not the state? I thought the government took over the number years ago. Is there still a guy in the city to play it with?

The numbers business is still a very viable source of income for several reasons.
One, the players can still bet quarters if they want to.
Two,the bookie odds are usually way better than the State.For example,in Western Pa,the State pays 500 to 1,but the book pays 600 to 1.
Three,players who hit for a lot of money are paid in cash.If you win say five grand,you get paid that night(or the next day at the latest),you don't fill out a claim form ,and most importantly,no taxes!

Porn.

... and contract killing, plus five-buck-a-minute 1900 numbers.

Isn't labor racketeering a kind of extortion, why keep them separate?

What about counterfeit goods - or is that just the italian mafia?

nah, tons of that in asia.

yeah but i mean, is the LCN involved in that racket as well?

In NYC, a lot of mail order fraud was going on in the form of mafia-owned electronics stores selling photo/video/technology stuff - mostly bait-and-switch selling techniques and/or never shipping the items after they've billed your credit card. There was so much of this going on that legitimate electronics retailers were losing huge amounts of business to mob stores that had no intention of delivering the items you order. No-one would go anywhere near those stores - only Adorama and B&H Photo had a good rep in Manhattan.

Labor racketeering can, and often does, involve extortion but extortion doesn't necessarily have to have anything to do with labor racketeering.



I suppose that would fall under theft but the LCN doesn't seem to be deeply involved in counterfeiting, whether it be goods, money, etc. I can only think of a few cases off the top of my head.

Thank you - We do our best to ensure that all our business practices maintain our customers' confidence in us.

haha somebody is googling themselves

the strip club extortion is like a staple in new England. Genovese had ct and western mass, patriarca had the east. baby shacks had 3 or 4 strip clubs paying he couple grand a month since forver, plus he would put any one nedding a job in the place. went to twin river last nite they classed it up. wonder if they got a cut of that back in the day.

LOL yeah - and I'm in Sydney, Australia - news travels far, people. I order stuff from B&H Photo in Manhattan all the time. Pay on Friday, it arrives in Australia (via Fedex) on Monday.

Add:
Human trafficking
Prostitution
"Slamming" (providing services without waiting to be hired)
Property stripping/dumping (Buying distressed property, stripping it for copper, cable etc, and then paying no mortgage or taxes till it is foreclosed)
Bust outs
Insurance scams
Securities fraud
Identity theft
Boosting
laundering

Don't forget:
lying on forum boards
posting obsessively to defend a internet handle 80 times in span of 3 hours
speaking bullshit Sicilian

im sure cali is into these lucrative rackets that the arm created

Don't forget:
lying on forum boards.. You
posting obsessively to defend a internet handle 80 times in span of 3 hours... Dellacroce
speaking bullshit Sicilian.. Carmella

Flaming and thread hijacking.. You
having multiple user names... You again



Ummm SC..I am going to put this guy on Ignore now so we don't end up with a childish romp...but those looked like "snide remarks" to me
Just trying to be helpful

Also add
Real estate fraud
Skimming Union funds
Hiding money in business or Union books
Tax fraud
Illegal dumping
Bootleg Rx drugs
Bootleg no tax stamp cigarettes
Bootleg no tax stamp liqueur
"Royalty free" music, movies, software

Financial scams are the popular thing to do down here in South Florida.

SEC, Criminal Authorities Halt Florida-Based Ponzi Scheme Targeting Investors Through YouTube Videos


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2014-70

Washington D.C., April 8, 2014 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an asset freeze against the operators of a South Florida-based Ponzi scheme targeting investors through YouTube videos and selling them investments in a product called virtual concierge machines (VCMs) that would purportedly generate guaranteed returns of 300 to 500 percent in four years.



In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida today announced criminal charges.





The SEC alleges that Joseph Signore of West Palm Beach, Paul L. Schumack II of Pompano Beach, and their respective companies JCS Enterprises Inc. and T.B.T.I. Inc. falsely promised hundreds of investors nationwide that their funds would be used to purchase ATM-like machines that businesses could use to advertise products and services via touch screen and printable tickets or coupons. Investors supposedly needed to do nothing to earn returns on their investment in a VCM, which would purportedly be placed at such locations as hotels, airports, and stadiums where they would derive revenue from the businesses paying to advertise through them. However, instead of advertising revenue serving as the driving force behind the returns paid to investors, the two men and their companies paid returns to earlier investors using money from newer investors. Signore and Schumack also diverted millions of dollars in investor funds for their personal use and other unrelated expenses.



“Signore and Schumack touted VCMs as a revolutionary enterprise and fail-safe investment based on a stream of advertising revenue that would generate the guaranteed returns paid to investors,” said Eric I. Bustillo, director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “However, the advertising revenue was virtually non-existent and investors aren’t enjoying the riches touted on YouTube.”



According to the SEC’s complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Signore, Schumack, JCS, and T.B.T.I. fraudulently raised more than $40 million since at least 2011 by guaranteeing exorbitant returns. The SEC alleges that JCS Enterprises promoted VCMs through YouTube videos, e-mail solicitations, and investor seminars. In one YouTube video, an apparent investor is polishing his new Cadillac as a friend proclaims, “What an amazing car! How can you afford this?” The investor responds, “My Virtual Concierge.” A similar scene ensues with a different investor showing a friend her new pool. A spokesperson appears and asks the viewer, “Do you want to make more money? Then it is time for you to own a Virtual Concierge.”


The SEC alleges that Signore, Schumack, and their companies promised to locate, place, and manage the VCMs while informing investors where their VCMs were located. Investors were to be provided a password to allow them online access to monitor the activity of their VCMs. However, VCMs were not placed anywhere near the rate of those purchased by investors, who were never provided the locations of their VCM and could not track activity as promised. The scheme collapsed in typical Ponzi fashion once new investor funds dried up. The majority of investors stopped receiving their monthly payments in January 2014, yet Signore and Schumack continued to solicit new investors while fabricating excuses to placate irate investors no longer receiving their returns. JCS went so far as to issue a press release claiming that TBTI had defrauded JCS and it was “investigating the matter.”



Glenn S. Gordon, associate director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office, said, “The defendants never told investors the most important way in which these machines resembled ATMs – as a source of ready cash from investors that the defendants used for their own benefit.”



The SEC also alleges that Signore and Schumack misappropriated investor funds for themselves while never telling investors they would do so. Signore used investor funds from accounts at JCS to divert approximately $2 million directly to himself and family members. Signore also routed investor money to unrelated business ventures he operates with his wife. Debit charges from JCS accounts indicate that approximately $56,000 in investor funds were spent at restaurants, merchandising stores, and a tanning salon as well as other credit card bills. Money from T.B.T.I’s accounts was similarly used for personal expenses. For example, Schumack’s wife signed a check for $500,000 made out to the IRS. T.B.T.I. also has transferred approximately $4 million from its investor account to an unrelated account from which Schumack and others executed more than 100 cash withdrawals totaling around $4.8 million, which was 91 percent of the account balance. Another $23,000 of investor money was used by Schumack for personal expenses including restaurants, merchandising stores, and a nutrient therapy center.



The SEC’s complaint charges JCS Enterprises, T.B.T.I., Signore, and Schumack with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 as well as Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 along with Rule 10b-5. The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and financial penalties among other relief for investors. The Honorable Donald Middlebrooks granted the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order and a temporary asset freeze against JCS, T.B.T.I., Signore and Schumack, and further required the defendants to provide accountings. Judge Middlebrooks also entered an order appointing James D. Sallah, Esq. as receiver for JCS and T.B.T.I. A court hearing has been scheduled for April 17.



The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Fernando Torres, Linda S. Schmidt, Vincent T. Hull, and Mark Dee in the Miami Regional Office. The case has been supervised by Jason R. Berkowitz. The SEC’s litigation is being led by Russell Koonin and Mr. Hull. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and Texas State Securities Board.

http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370541437884

Skygee,

These blackhearted scumbags are getting in on things that have a whiff of legitimacy but they continue to rob, rape and pillage like they always have only now in areas that have low sentencing guidlines and less government oversight. There is a mob associate involved in this case below but he has yet to come to trial. The current laws don't support murder charges for drug dealers and doctors that are responsible for so many deaths. Shame on these doctors who previously had good records of helping people, "money and power the great corruptors".

The Florida legal system struck a blow against the proliferation of medical professionals who improperly prescribe pain medication by sentencing two prominent doctors to prison terms on money laundering charges.

In 2013, Dr. Joseph Castronuovo, 75 and Dr. Cynthia Cadet, 43, were cleared by a federal court of conspiring to distribute controlled substances that contributed to the deaths of nine patients while working at clinics in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. But on April 4, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra sentenced Castronuovo to 18 months in federal prison, while Cadet received a six-year, six-month sentence for receiving salaries from an operation they knew to be illegal.

The clinics were part of a multi-million dollar string of pain medication companies owned by brothers Christopher and Jeffrey George, who were each sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for operating pill mills – medical facilities where addicts could receive massive prescriptions of oxycodone and other painkillers and in turn, sell them to dealers operating throughout South Florida. The operation was lucrative to the point of absurdity, with piles of money stuffed into garbage cans and Castronuovo and Cadet each earning $160,000 and $1.5 million, respectively, for distributing more than 750,000 pills over the course of just a few months.

While handing down the sentences, Judge Marra stated that he was able to give the doctors the benefit of the doubt that they were unaware of the criminal nature of the George brothers’ facilities during their first few months of employment. But given the chaotic behavior going on at the clinics throughout their tenures – security camera footage showed staff verbally abusing patients and visitors to the clinic intravenously injecting drugs in the parking lots – it would have been “impossible not to have known that the people were drug addicts,” Marra concluded. Both Castronuovo, who suffers from several health issues, and Cadet are scheduled to surrender to prison authorities in June, while their lawyers have vowed to appeal the decisions.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has noted that more than 1,000 pain clinics are currently in operation in the state, but only 932 of these are registered. The state also suffers from one of the most lethal prescription drug problems in the country, with more than seven residents dying each day from painkiller-related causes.