Book contributors show how gang leaders of the 1920's began organizing for cooperation rather than competition at the end of the Prohibition era and set up a national confederation to settle disputes and guide national policy. Insights are offered into the social, moral, and political climate in which organized crime flourishes by feeding on and promoting public and private corruption. The historical review follows organized crime from the pursuit of wealth in the Gilded Age through the Prohibition era to the present. This review indicates that the basic ingredients of organized crime were all present before 1900: ethnic gangs in cities, corruption of politicians and law enforcement agencies, and mutually beneficial alliances of political machines and gangs. Consideration is given to organized criminal groups, the growth of racketeering, narcotics dealing, gangsters and mobs, numbers games, and the infiltration of organized crime into legitimate businesses. 52 references