The Global Underworld (PDF)

Transnational crime is an increasing national security threat to the United States and to individual citizens around the world. Criminal groups both in the United Staes and abroad operate crime cartels that span national boundaries, but in ways that affect all Americans, and wreak havoc on law enforcement organizations as well as businesses and other entities, such as the stock market. More often than not, transnational crime takes the form of organized crime, and in its many forms is responsible for over-priced goods, unsafe products, environmental hazards, corruption of public officials, the exploitation of women and children, tax evasion, theft and piracy, identity theft, organ smuggling, stock market fraud, drug trafficking, and black market trading in armaments and weapons of mass destruction, among other scandals and forms of misconduct. Because perpetrators often act in collusion with legitimate organizations and other powerful elites, who either cooperate knowingly or unknowingly or are coerced through violence, dealing with the problem is especially difficult. Here, Liddick describes the many groups responsible for transnational crimes, and the nature and scale of their various enterprises. The result is a powerful testament to the globalization of criminal organizations and their danger to American society.

From the Russian mafiya to Chinese Triads, from outlaw motorcycle gangs to Latin American drug cartels, the nature and incidence of transnational crime is a serious threat to American security, both at the national and the individual level. Because of America's porous borders, it is relatively easy for criminal foreigners to set up their organizations within the United States Moreover, there are well-established groups already present in the United States that are now capable of operating on a multinational level. While response to the problem has been overdue, recent efforts to address transnational crime include technological innovations and controversial legislation such as the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act. But how well will these measures protect Americans from the increasing prevalence of criminal organizations that are capable of carrying out crimes that span the globe? This important book provides an engaging glimpse into the world of transnational crime through an introduction to the various groups involved, true stories of criminal misconduct, and a careful review and evaluation of efforts to address the problem.