Conclusion

Abstract

This book has has argued that traditional organized crime in America is directly related to the social conditions that were found in American society during the early years of the twentieth century, rather than the result of a transplanted Sicilian Mafia as claimed by the alien conspiracy theory. Additional evidence against the alien conspiracy thesis comes from sociologist William Chambliss's study of “Rainfall West,” a pseudonym given to the city of Seattle. This concluding chapter first considers the arguments of ethnic succession theory before discussing racket subcultures and street crew neighborhoods and how the failure of social control allowed organized crime to develop further. It asserts that organized crime in Chicago was not related to the emergence of the Sicilian Mafia but was the product of America's disorganized urban areas. It also highlights the importance of community social structure for recruitment issues and the influence of differentially organized community areas for the development and continuation of organized crime in Chicago.