More than 250 entries provide in-depth information on major underworld figures, from Al Capone to John Gotti, and key criminal events and milestones. In addition, the book covers African American organized crime, Chinese Triads and Tongs, the Colombian drug cartels’ infiltration of the U.S., Dominican drug trafficking, ecocrime, Russian organized crime, Latin gangs and criminal groups, and Vietnamese-American organized crime. Organized crime flourishes in the U.S. because there is a strong and persistent demand for illegal goods and services which presents an opportunity to make enormous profits. While the persistence of organized crime on a large scale in the U.S. may be registered in organizational terms that go beyond the personalities of particular gangsters and racketeers, this book concentrates on individual criminals whose personality, lifestyle, and relationships with other criminals, law enforcement and the public shapes the nature of their criminal enterprises. Acronyms, timeline, tables, figures, bibliography, index