ABSTRACT
The American demand for illicit goods and services produces huge Cosa Nostra profits, which are then invested in legitimate enterprises and in politics. The American confederation of criminals thrives because a large minority of citizens demands the illicit goods and services it has for sale. Just as society has made a place for the confederation by demanding illicit gambling, alcohol and narcotics, usurious loans, and a cheap supply of labor, the confederation has made places, in an integrated set of positions, for the use of the skills of a wide variety of specialists who furnish these goods and services. Four fundamental operations are involved when Cosa Nostra members become labor brokers. Three of the operations, in their many variations, are provided as a service to greedy, crooked, or shady businessmen who have created the demand for a cheap supply of labor. In the fourth kind of operation, the Cosa Nostra member steals from his own union.
