Most of the answers came from a senior German law enforcement official who delivered what many at the conference considered a brilliant speech that laid out how the host nation of this event defines the essence of organized crime in its laws. Press guidelines set by conference organizers at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here and the FBI forbid the identification or direct quotation of presenters. Organized Crime Money drives mobs To begin with, said the official, more than two people must be involved in conceiving and executing an illegal scheme to commit crime.
Mobs often act like businesses, operating for financial gain or the acquisition of personal power.
Also in Germany, much like the United States, Italian Mafias allegedly are active in the construction and real estate industries. A high-ranking Hungarian delegate to the conference said organized crime also inherently involves violence. An American criminologist from a Midwest university told the attendees there is a thin line separating legal business enterprises and illegal business operations. Crime syndicates use weapons, not words, he explained. There was some debate over the value of today's discussions, with one conference attendee angrily demanding organizers get more specific about how mob activities affect national security, the topic of the three-day conference.