The city is identified only by the pseudonym Rainfall West. Its population is one million. Data were gathered from 1962 to 1969 via interviews with persons who were members of either the vice syndicate, law enforcement agencies, or both. In addition, the author participated in many of the vices described. The study focused on gambling, pornography, usury, prostitution, and drug distribution. Numerous specific cases are described in detail to illustrate the extent of official corruption and its relationship to the vice operations. Results illustrated the interdependency of vice and the political and economic system. Findings indicated that organized crime is not a criminal element that exists outside law and government but is instead a creation of them. Perhaps more accurately, organized crime is institutionalized corruption, a hidden but nonetheless integral part of the governmental structure. Working for and with the cabal of respectable community members is a staff which coordinates the daily activities of vice operations. Representatives of each group meet regularly to distribute profits and do other work essential to the maintenance of a profitable, trouble-free business. Significantly, the symbiotic relationship between organized crime and the legal system not only negates the law enforcement function of the law vis-a-vis these types of crime but actually increases crime. For example, gradual commitment to maintaining the secrecy of the relationship in turn necesitates the commission of crimes other than those involved in the vices per se. Other data suggest that nearly every U.S. city has the same conditions. Nevertheless, exposure of such vice is always discussed in terms of organized crime which exists outside the legal structures of society. It is concluded that the study of organized crime is a misnomer: such study should consider the interrelationship of corruption, bureaucracy, and power rather than overemphasize the criminal element. Moreover, because these crime cabals promote all forms of crime, research focusing on the traditional concept of organized crime does not contribute to attempts at crime control. Fifteen footnotes which include references are provided.