ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with several facets of that ultimate display of power– murder. The full–blown claim is that the structure is characterized by a more–or–less “totalitarian organization” with “rigid discipline in a hierarchy of ranks” with “permanency and form” which extend beyond the lives of particular individuals and “exist independently of any particular incumbent”. Empirically, theoretically, logically, the claimed connections among the structure of organized crime, the structure of discipline and punishment, and the process of rationality are extraordinarily suspect. A great deal information about organized crime, and organized crime and violence can be gleaned from analyzing victims. This power syndicate following their triumph over the Shapiros extended their illicit activities into various areas, most notably bookmaking. The Brownsville syndicate intended to move up some of their slot machines into “The Plantation” with “Blue Eyes” permission. As far as the Brownsville syndicate was concerned the most momentous 1935 killings took place barely two weeks after Meer and Amron.
