Links between American Organized Crime and the Ruling Class

There are many connections between organized crime organizations and the more "legitimate" ruling class.

At the highest level is the link between the CIA (as well as other intelligence agencies), one of the most powerful organizations in America and the world, and various organized crime groups.

* U.S. Government Officials said in 1990 the Anti-Drug Unit of the C.I.A. "accidentally" shipped an entire ton of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela as part of an effort to infiltrate drug gangs. The cocaine was sold in the United States. No criminal charges were made regarding this incident.
* DEA field agent Hector Berrellez said, "I believe that elements working for the CIA were involved in bringing drugs into the country...I know specifically that some of the CIA contract workers, meaning some of the pilots, in fact were bringing drugs into the U.S. and landing some of these drugs in government air bases. And I know so because I was told by some of these pilots that in fact they had done that."
* In October 2013, two former federal agents and an ex-CIA contractor told an American TV network that CIA operatives were involved in the kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, because Camarena was a threat to the agency's drug operations in Mexico. According to the three men, the CIA was collaborating with drug traffickers moving cocaine and marijuana to the United States, and using its share of the profits to finance Nicaraguan militants attempting to overthrow the Sandinista government.
* According to the Kerry Committee Report, "it is clear that individuals who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking, the supply network of the Contras was used by drug trafficking organizations, and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers." The Contras were also heavily supported by the CIA.
* American investigative journalist Gary Webb asserted that the CIA was aware of the cocaine transactions and the large shipments of drugs into the U.S. by the Contra personnel and directly aided drug dealers to raise money for the Contras.
* General Manuel Noriega, the head of Panama's government, gave military assistance to Contra groups in Nicaragua at the request of the U.S.—which, in exchange, allowed him to continue his drug-trafficking—which they had known about since the 1960s. When the DEA tried to indict Noriega in 1971, the CIA prevented them from doing so.
* According to former CIA agent Anthony Poshepny, former Air America pilots, and other people involved in US wars in southeast Asia, the CIA participated in or turned a blind eye to drug trafficking in the Golden Triangle. Some have alleged that the CIA provided its drug lord allies with transportation, arms, and political protection.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegations\_of\_CIA\_drug\_trafficking
* The CIA protected opium smugglers in France for decades in the mid 20th century, in exchange for combatting communism within France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French\_Connection#The\_1930s,\_'40s,\_and\_'50s
* The CIA collaborated with the Mafia to assassinate their enemy, Fidel Castro. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/27/usa.cuba
* The CIA and other US government officials worked closely with the Japanese Yakuza to repress the Japanese left and exercise control over the country after World War II. Yakuza carried out operations likely in cooperation with the CIA and controlled many unions and companies that the US cooperated with.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA\_activities\_in\_Japan#Contacts\_with\_the\_Yakuza
* The Office of Naval Intelligence worked with organized crime to protect the United States from Nazi saboteurs and spies during WW2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation\_Underworld#:~:text=Operation%20Underworld%20was%20the%20United,black%2Dmarketeers%20of%20vital%20war

There are also many links between organized crime and mainstream politics, and have links to politicians as powerful as presidents.

* Tammany Hall was a powerful political machine in New York that influenced politics for over a century, and even helped Franklin D. Roosevelt rise to governor(though Roosevelt would oppose them as governor and President). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammany\_Hall
* The Pendergast Political machine was responsible for the election of United States Senator Harry S. Truman, who would later become president. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/people/pendergast-machine/
* President Richard Nixon had many connections to the mob, including likely receiving millions of dollars from them, having a lawyer with hundreds of mafia clients as his campaign manager, and having a relationship with Meyer Lansky and mafia-connected Cuban dictator Batista. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8x5jez/how-the-mafia-fueled-richard-nixons-political-career
* President Bill Clinton was supported by mob-connected organized labor leaders. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1996/08/the-clintons-and-the-mob.html
* Donald Trump's real estate business likely benefited from mob connections. The clients of Trump's fixer lawyer Roy Cohn included mob bosses. Trump has praised and defended many powerful criminals, despite his desire for brutal punishment for other "criminals" such as the falsely accused Central Park Five, https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central\_Park\_jogger\_case. https://www.vice.com/en/article/ppx7b9/a-brief-history-of-donald-trump-and-the-mafia

These connections exists at lower levels as well. Organized crime often bribes police officers into collaborating with them, while some criminal gangs exist within police forces. Some businesses are fronts for the mob, and do business with more legitimate businesses and other people.

Many celebrities have mob ties as well.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/10-mob-movie-actors-with-actual-organized-crime-ti/

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/musicians\_connected\_to\_the\_mafia-62445

https://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-with-alleged-ties-to-the-mafia/josh-heller