Organized crime in Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland: unemployment, movies, college)

[Lowkeykennyg]

Whats the status of the mafia in Ohio? I know that street gangs have taken over in a lot of cities, but is there still an Italian/Irish/Russian presence anywhere in the state?

[Natural510]

I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

[BuckeyePorcupine]

Nobody seems to want to talk about it or give details, but I've heard from several sources that the Russian Mafia and MS13 both have cells in Columbus.

[ohioaninsc]

After the murder of Danny Green, and subsequent pressure put on by the Feds...Cleveland's once strong organized crime is pretty much a distant memory...I'm sure there are some elements of it still but no where near what it was in its hey day.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

After the murder of Danny Green, and subsequent pressure put on by the Feds...Cleveland's once strong organized crime is pretty much a distant memory...I'm sure there are some elements of it still but no where near what it was in its hey day.

As is the case in most of the old mafia strongholds. It's common knowledge that there may be some elements of the mafia left but no where near what it was in its heyday.

Russian mafia, yes, we know it is around, especially NY - we all watched The Sopranos. There is also a Vietnamese mafia around as well.

[katnip kid]

Kamms, how prevalent are gangs? What about the smaller cities/towns in more rural areas?

Ohio seems like such a nice place, not the type of place where one would encounter gangs.

[canadian citizen]

Katnip.

Simple demographics. Poverty and a lack of education, equals unemployment, equals crime.

When you have third generation welfare women, who are Grandmothers at age 33, with kids from three different men.........what do you expect ? When you have a 25 year old man, who has never held a paying job what do you expect ? When the only future for a 12 year old boy is to be a paid look out for drug dealers, what do you expect ? Only about 2 out of 500 teenagers is good enough at basketball to get a scholarship at a college. Maybe 2 out of 500 are good enough musicians to get out of the ghetto.

How many young black kids are going to die, through violence, before they reach 25 ? How many are going to be serving a life sentence, before they reach 25 ? How many are going to die of a drug overdose , before they get to age 22 ? THOUSANDS of them.

Anyway that you cut it.....they are facing a dead end. A whole generation of lost lives.

Jim b. in Toronto.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by canadian citizen

Katnip.

Simple demographics. Poverty and a lack of education, equals unemployment, equals crime.

When you have third generation welfare women, who are Grandmothers at age 33, with kids from three different men.........what do you expect ? When you have a 25 year old man, who has never held a paying job what do you expect ? When the only future for a 12 year old boy is to be a paid look out for drug dealers, what do you expect ? Only about 2 out of 500 teenagers is good enough at basketball to get a scholarship at a college. Maybe 2 out of 500 are good enough musicians to get out of the ghetto.

How many young black kids are going to die, through violence, before they reach 25 ? How many are going to be serving a life sentence, before they reach 25 ? How many are going to die of a drug overdose , before they get to age 22 ? THOUSANDS of them.

Anyway that you cut it.....they are facing a dead end. A whole generation of lost lives.

Jim b. in Toronto.

Poverty or being poor is not an excuse, although it has been made to be one since the 1960s.

[UKWildcat1981]

Russia mob is everywhere but they are smart and so damn organized most states don't even know that they are even in their city/state.

[Natural510]

Originally Posted by katnip kid

Kamms, how prevalent are gangs? What about the smaller cities/towns in more rural areas?

Ohio seems like such a nice place, not the type of place where one would encounter gangs.

Crime, yes...organized gangs (with national affiliations) not so much. I do believe there are elements of MS-13/Mexican Mafia residing in smaller towns of the Midwest for the sole purpose of selling narcotics for the cartels, otherwise actual "gangs" are just local crews doing crime or kids imitating what they see in the movies.