Mafia and organized crime — definitions and differences

and on the law of silence;

— a system of harsh punishments, up to physical elimination;

— the general financial base;

— neutralization and possible corruption of law enforcement and other state bodies for obtaining the necessary information, assistance and protection;

— professional use of the main state and socio-economic institutions in order to create the appearance of legality of this criminal activity;

— the spread of frightening rumors about this power;

— the creation of a management structure that eliminates managers from the need to directly organize or commit specific crimes;

— commission of any crimes with the dominant motivation to achieve a mercenary goal and control in a certain sphere or in a certain territory for the same gain and security [2]. C onclusionMafia is formed as an institution at the stage of a transitional society. B efore that, a group of people, united subsequently in the mafia, had no signs and features of the institute. N.

ow they provide the actual right of private property interests to the observance of norms not yet protected by the state. M afia is a means of recognition the interests of private capital, which cannot yet be recognized and provided by the state apparatus of coercion for certain reasons (for example, the criminal nature of interest). M.

afia is not just an expression of one «pure» interest, it is an expression of real social relations that constitute a single system of correlation of interests of different social groups. Consequently, it is possible to distinguish mafia and organized crime. I n the modern capitalist economy, there are characteristic areas of economic interests and activities of the mafia that support its existence as an institution. U ndoubtedly, their features depend on the economic structure, the state-political system, the boundaries of legal and illegal business, the legal and moral norms of economic exchange, and the social determinants of consumer interest. My personal opinion on the topic coincides with the definitions and ideas expressed by V.S. Ovchinsky. O rganized crime can be used a term to define a larger sense, whereas mafia represents its part.

S uch a division can be also of help in law proceedings, as it prevents misunderstanding. BibliographyАбадинский, Г. Организованная преступность. — СПб., 2002.

Долговая, А.И., Дьяков, С. В. Организованная преступность. — М., 1989.

Овчинский, В. Стратегия борьбы с мафией. — М., 1993.

Криминология: Учебник для вузов / Под общ. ред. А. И. Долговой. — М., 2007.

Организованная преступность / Под ред. А. Долгова. — М., 1993. Arlacchi, P. M.

afia business: the Mafia ethics and the spirit of capitalism. — L ondon: Verso, 1986. Catanzaro, R. M en of respect.

A social history of the Sicilian mafia. — NY: T he Free Press, 1992. The Economics of organized crime / Eds. G. F.

iorentini; S. P eltzman. — C ambridge: CUP, 1995. Sterling, C. O ctopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia.

— NY: N orton, 1990. Sterling, C. C rime Without Frontiers. — London: Little Brown, 1994.