THIS IS REAL MADNESS!
THE YOUNG POPE (TRAILER OF RECOMMENDED SERIES): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ZFdepTu-w
Revolutionary Pipifex & the Vatican Circus (links to episodes): http://watchfilm.me/tvshows/the-young-pope/
http://www.csd.bg/
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/study_on_links_between_organised_crime_and_corruption_en.pdf
www.bioethics.net
https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/CWC/CWC_en.pdf
https://www.bluewin.ch/de/news/inland/2016/10/23/170-000-besucher-an-armeeschau-in-thun.html
http://www.demonbuster.com/demonich.html
This is organised abuse of power, which causes injustice and social suffering. This pyramidal configuration offers some space to organised crime. [...] Organised crime uses corruption because everyone else does. [...] A ruling class that degrades the people is in turn degraded by it in a vicious circle [...] Organised crime just follows the general climate determined by the ruling class.
The prostitution market provides a good example of the wide-range of corruption tactics used by organised crime. The present research shows that members of police forces throughout the EU engage in corrupt exchanges with prostitution networks, even extorting bribes or even directly running brothels. Such criminal networks use corruption to obtain information on investigations, ensure continuity of operations, or even to develop monopolies in local markets. Immigration authorities, including embassy or border guards, have also been targeted to ensure legal entries or stays of prostitutes. In Member States with legalised prostitution (e.g. Germany and the Netherlands) criminal groups have corrupted some local administrative authorities in order to avoid brothel regulations. Finally, criminal networks also use prostitutes to lure law-enforcement officers, magistrates and politicians into inappropriate behaviour, later using evidence of the behaviour to blackmail the officials for protection or information.
In some countries (IT, BG, RO), ‘political patronage’ creates a vertical system of corruption that functions from top to bottom in all public institutions: administrative apparatuses, the judiciary and law enforcement (i.e. police and customs). In other countries politicians, magistrates, and white-collar criminals form closed corruption networks that are not systematic in nature. White-collar crime at the middle level of government bureaucrates is common (at various degrees of intensity) to almost all member states. In countries with low level of corruption, the cases are sporadic. The most wide-spread and systematic forms of corruption targeted by organised crime is associated with the low-ranking employees of police and public administration. Organised crime also targets tax administrations, financial regulators and any other regulatory body that might impact criminal activities, but in a less systematic and significant way.
Police have the most direct exposure and frequent contacts with organised crime and, as such, organised crime most often targets them. The main reasons why organised crime uses corruption are to obtain information on investigations, operations, or competitors, (FR, NL, UK) and protection for continued illegal activities. Occasionally, corrupt officers become directly engaged in criminal activities, running drug distribution rings or prostitution rings (CS-BG, CS-ES, CS-FR, UK).
Both institutional and external factors make the police vulnerable to corruption. In EU-10E countries, the low prestige level of police leads to organised crime’s recruitment of officers with low educations and problematic behaviour. The closed nature of the police and their relative isolation from other institutions leads to a high level of loyalty between officers and protection of their colleagues. Nevertheless, in countries with less corruption, group loyalty has the opposite effect on police corruption: even though when police work is not considered prestigious or well remunerated, police officers report or put pressure on corrupt colleagues (DE, DK, FI, SE, NL, UK).
Political and judicial influences on police can facilitate corruption. In some MS, local government officials under the influence of criminal networks exercise pressure or even influence the appointment of high-level police officers (BG, FR, HU, IT, LV, RO). This type of influence can reach national levels, where large criminal entrepreneurs control appointments of staff in police forces and special services. Pressure from prosecutors and magistrates can obstruct police investigations of influential businessmen who are part of criminal networks.
Money laundering was identified as one of the key reasons to use corruption in the financial, gambling and real estate industries. In these cases, the most common issue is bribing employees so that suspicious activities won’t be reported to regulatory authorities. The private security industry, where security firms are often instrumental in regulating the distribution of drugs in clubs, and the construction industry also cover up illicit cartels.
One complex issue that spreads across both definitions ‘corruption’ and ‘organised crime’ is the question of how to treat the direct participation public officials in criminal activities: particularly in cases where they are not simply abusing their ‘public powers’, but engaging in a range of criminal activities, or managing a criminal enterprise. Examples could be:
- cases of police officers running their own prostitution rings or drug distribution networks;
- politicians covertly controlling companies that engage in criminal behaviour;
- cases where criminals have managed to accumulate sufficient legitimate power than to directly participate in local politics (‘state capture’).
The policing of illegal drug trade is one of the key drivers of police corruption (Amir & Einstein eds. 2004). Newburn (2004, pp.26-27) summarized the characteristics of the drug market that make it especially vulnerable to corruption:
- it is usually ‘secretive, duplicitous and quasi-legal’ (Manning and Redlinger 1979 );
- the use of informants is widespread;
- it is extremely difficult to regulate;
- the ‘war on drugs’ rhetoric often increases pressure on officers for results;
- securing sufficient evidence to convict is often difficult (the temptation to engage in process corruption is great);
- officers may be required to buy (controlled purchases) or, occasionally, use drugs in the course of their work (as part of undercover operations);
- very large sums of money may be available to the corrupt officer.
In the US, the FBI (2009) has raised concerns that an increasing number of gang members in the military stationed domestically and internationally not only pose a greater threat to law enforcement due to their training, but also because they use their positions in the military to become involved in drugs and arms smuggling. This alarming trend should be seen in view of the fact that gangs in the US have already moved from retail drug or arms distribution to wholesale cocaine and marijuana distribution.
The scope and the level of complexity of corruption schemes targeting politicians, as well as the damage inflicted on the state or society, are usually far greater than when targeting other public institutions. Political corruption is the most effective and powerful tool that criminals could use, as it also enables them to influence the bureaucracy, law-enforcement, and the judiciary.
If and when criminals manage to extend their criminal activities from illegal (e.g. drugs) into any legal markets, and acquire a respected public face, their ability to corrupt politicians increases. The “legitimate” face of a criminal provides him/her with the legitimacy to meet openly with public officials, to donate to their political campaigns, or use his/her economic clout to support political parties. Whenever one observes direct links of politicians and criminals involved in illegal markets, the latter also have acquired significant legitimate economic power, which allows them to also use corruption to commit more sophisticated ‘whitecollar’ crimes.
- Elite networks. They exist throughout the EU. They may be built on different principles: family ties (mostly in southern Europe), classmates, club members, etc. Various forms of mediated corruption take place through these networks. Entrepreneurs can win a public tender, or legislation favouring their business may be passed, just because they belong to the right social network. The ‘favour’ may be returned after a long time. Favours may be balanced: i.e. obvious preferences to a single company, or respectively a single politician, are avoided. The most precious capital in this type of social networks is trust. In smaller countries, networks tend to have a smaller number of members and fewer power centres.
- “Insistent lobbyism” (“eindringlicher Lobbyismus”) is another common form it takes. PR companies support the interests of certain politicians. These companies are paid by certain industries (DE).
- Threatening/blackmailing politicians has also been observed, particularly at the local level. (IT) Some cases were reported, where local politicians are offered a prostitute or a large bribe. Following this the criminals collect evidence of the misbehaviour of the politician, and use it for blackmail him/her (IT, DE). A similar tactic is used for other public officials.
- Public perceptions: OC figures may be perceived as cultural heroes or “men of honour” (local level). Criminals (particularly white-collar ones) may manage to build a public image that manipulates public opinion (control over media facilitates this) (IT).
- High-level corruption: as corruption spreads from the elite downwards to other social groups, impunity seems to increase its multiplying effect. This process causes increasing familiarisation with and tolerance for unorthodox practices, even among those who benefit very little from their own corrupt practices
Local council dissolution: this is a rather extreme measure to fight local level political corruption, but has proven the only effective tool to reverse ‘state capture’ at the local level where democratic principles and the fairness of electoral process have been subverted. In Italy, over the past ten years, about one hundred city councils have been disbanded on suspicion of being infiltrated by the mafia (IT).
Direct access networks:
- Small communities: whether it concerns a town or a small island (e.g. Cyprus, Malta, or Corsica) local elites establish networks, where representatives of the judiciary, businesses, law-enforcement, and politicians know each other. Insofar as white-collar criminals or traditional organised criminals are able to accumulate sufficient economic power to become part of these local elites, they inevitably gain access to local members of the judiciary.
- Social networks: formed around Masonic lodges (CS-FR, CS-IT, MT) or local political networks (CS-ES), members of the judiciary could have the opportunity to come in direct contact with crime figures, in secretive settings away from public view. In countries where religion plays a significant role, even a church could serve as a network (EL, NL).
- Personal and family networks: personal and family networks play a certain role in all Member States. In countries where extended families or nepotism are more common place, these networks feature much more prominently in corruption scandals (CS-EL, PL, BG). Schools (particularly elite ones) also provide an immediate network, especially in cases involving white-collar criminals. Spouses, particularly working as lawyers (or within other branches of the judiciary), could serve as intermediaries in accepting bribes (CS-FR) or in taking advantage of the network of corrupt judges to which the other spouse is a member (CS-BG).
In most Member States, there are four main market segments for prostitution: the street, brothels, elite prostitutes, and independent prostitutes. Although the four levels are often interrelated, the actors (prostitutes or criminal networks) in them are often different, as are the corruption targets.
- Street and highway prostitution: this is the most conspicuous type of prostitution and most directly controlled by the police. Low-level corruption of patrolling police officers for protection/racketeering is most common (UK, BG, FR, ES, DE).
- Club prostitution (brothels, massage parlours etc): low to mid-level corruption of law enforcement is likely to be used to prevent raids and vice squad investigations (BG, UK, CY). Brothel-regulation-related corruption could also affect local government and tax authorities that enforce licenses or zoning laws (NL, DE).
- Elite prostitution: Elite prostitutes are used as a corruption instrument by organised crime to gain influence over politicians, magistrates, and representatives of multinational corporations (FR, BG, DE).
- Independent: the internet has provided an opportunity for some women to work independently as prostitutes. Little corruption seems to be involved, and organised crime, especially in countries where prostitution is legal, often does not control independent prostitutes).
Interviews revealed that police corruption is the most common type used throughout the EU to facilitate prostitution. Along with drugs, the prostitution market is a key driver to corruption within the police. In general, across the EU, police corruption takes place at the low level of the law enforcement hierarchy, where there is direct exposure to
prostitutes, pimps, and brothels.
In a 2006 case, 7 community police officers from the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis were sentenced to various prison terms for committing a number of crimes, including obtaining free services from prostitutes. In a different case in 2006, four police officers (3 from Marseille and higher level Commissaire, from Carpentras) received sentences of between 1 and 4 years for having financed and operated at least two swinger clubs that also involved prostitution. (CS-FR).
On May 8, 2008, the chief of the local police of Coslada (a Madrid suburb) and other 26 local police officers were arrested on suspicion of involvement in a corruption ring that involved extortion from prostitutes, bars and local businesses. On May 14, a judge authorized detention without bail for 13 of the arrested officers (SP).
Europol (2007) explains that criminal groups often try to extort nonintegrated minorities. Marginalised immigrant communities lean heavily upon their cultural inheritance and practices. They are cut off from the family structures that often sustain concepts of personal security and are unable to communicate with the indigenous population or its institutions. This has led to a concentration of specific criminal activities and the accompanying racketeering.
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