ONE PROPONENT OF THE THEORY OF THE CRIMINOLOGY OF THE POWERFUL IS FRANK PEARCE, WHO PRESENTS A WELLDEVELOPED COMBINATION OF CRIMINOLOGY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY IN A BOOK TITLED 'CRIMES OF THE POWERFUL.' FIRST, HE ASSERTS THAT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY HAS NOT BEEN BASED ON FREE ENTERPRISE SINCE THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. HE THEN DEALS WITH SPECIFIC CRIMINAL ACTS OF BIG BUSINESS, SUCH AS THOSE COMMITTED BY STANDARD OIL IN ITS FORMATIVE YEARS. FINALLY, HE EXAMINES THE ABILITY OF BIG BUSINESS TO SKEW LEGISLATION TO ITS OWN ADVANTAGE. EACH THESIS IS VALID POLITICALLY BUT ONLY THE SECOND CAN BE USED WITH EXISTING CRIMINOLOGY CONCEPTS. A FORM OF ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE IS NOT NECESSARILY 'CRIMINAL' IN THE STRICT SENSE OF THE WORD AND THE ASSERTION THAT BIG BUSINESS 'DOMINATES' GOVERNMENT ASSUMES THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS NO FORCE OF ITS OWN. FACTUAL ERRORS ARE FOUND IN HIS DISCUSSIONS OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CAPITAL AND GOVERNMENT OVER TIME. WHEN PEARCE EXAMINES THE ABILITY OF BIG BUSINESS TO SKEW LEGISLATION TO ITS OWN ENDS, HE FOCUSES ON ANTITRUST LEGISLATION. THIS ANALYSIS ASSUMES CONCERTED ACTION BY A POWERFUL ELITE AND IGNORES THE FACT THAT ANTITRUST LEGISLATION WAS FRAMED WITH THE EXISTENCE OF MONOPOLY CAPITAL IN MIND. UNTIL THE DISPARITIES BETWEEN CRIMINOLOGY THEORY AND POLITICAL THEORY ARE RESOLVED, THE CRIMINALITY OF THE POWERFUL WILL BE AN ELUSIVE SUBJECT. NOTES AND REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)