ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the creation, development, and strategic initiatives of the Trade Waste Commission ("TWC"), a small New York City agency established for the sole purpose of breaking up and eliminating the cartel that had dominated commercial waste hauling in the city for fifty years. It describes Cosa Nostra's domination of the commercial waste hauling industry. The chapter also discusses the political developments leading up to the establishment of the TWC. It includes the structure, authority, and staffing of this new agency. The chapter explains the strategic initiatives that the TWC has taken to break up the waste hauling cartel and to purge Cosa Nostra from the industry. It describes the legal challenges to the TWC and also focuses on the importance of the TWC as a model for attacking entrenched corruption and racketeering in local government. New York City's experience with the TWC will provide invaluable lessons about how to use local government's regulatory powers to battle organized crime.
