Show Organized Crime Is Real 1 Threat By Rep Laurence J J. J Burton R- R Utah R-Utah Utah That organized crime In the United States Is big business Is pointed up dramatically by a aI I recent report of the Presidents President's Crime Commission FOR EXAMPLE the Commission Commission Commission Com Com- mission reports that organized crime reaps a profit of 7 bil billion billion bil- bil lion per year through Illegal gambling activities Traffic In drugs Is another real moneymaker moneymaker moneymaker money money- maker for the time big-time racket racket- The illegal megal heroin trade alone brings In million annually an annually annually an- an with trade in marijuana and hallucinatory drugs such as LSD also contributing substantially substantially substantially to the take Loan sharking the lending of money at higher rates than the limit allowed by law the Commission Commission Commission Com Com- mission found to be organized crimes crime's second largest source of revenue Annual receipts from this type of or activity are according to the Commission ln In In the mul multi billion ti-b ti i 0 n dollar range IN LIGHT of ot these reliable estimates it seems fair to place the revenues from these three Illegal activities a at t nothing nothing noth noth- ing less than 10 billion a year or 50 for every man woman and child In America This Is approximately one- one half halt of the entire cost of the war in Vietnam for the fiscal year 1967 almost the exact amount of the federal budget deficit of or 99 billion for the same year and half again the 63 billion the President originally originally originally said his ten per cent surtax on Incomes would produce produce produce pro pro- duce in the first year IT IS interesting to note the crime Commissions Commission's finding that if if organized crime paid Income tax on every cent of their dst ast earnings everybody's tax bill would go down I do not suggest that all the Ule money that is thus being poured into the coffers of organized crime could or even should be diverted to the federal gov gov- In fact I think it would be a good Idea if it were spread around for use by some I of us racketeers non-racketeers who do I pay our taxes But I cite these figures to show the staggering sums that are being siphoned from the American public at atthe atthe atthe the very time when we are asked to make financial sacrifices sacrifices sacrifices sac sac- to combat Inflation cut the budget deficit and pay for forthe forthe forthe the Increased cost of ot the war THE ORGANIZED criminals of today are generally not crea creatures lures tures of ot poverty and despair espair although surely they principally feed upon the victims of poverty and despair Organized crime cannot be met with programs whose impact will not be felt for twenty years It requires i immediately effective s sol solutions 01 u- u laws and law enforce enforce- ment Part of the responsibility for enacting the laws lies with the Congress part of ot the responsibility responsibility for enforcing these laws lies with the executive branch of the federal government IN MY VIEW existing federal federal federal fed fed- eral statutes specifically aimed at gambling narcotics trafficking trafficking trafficking ing and loan s sharking loan h ark in gar are e largely Inadequate The anti- anti racketeering sta totes have be been effective e o Of i l I degree in this 10 regard e td has s shown that t h they are but a fat No substantive Partial 1 SOI lye significance UC i in n th these been enacted since sine f t then hen e t A comprehensive l 1 package for aI against organIzed UPdating the being crime lJ developed R i Io In gress ETess I hope that than Il It IlI acted upon soon Soon 1111 I BELIEVE that thai u most import Important tie Hie step sten l gross grass could take In jn against organized ed the t be the t enactment of On tion 1 permitting COurt electronic ea v va Passage of a br broader Immunity procedure e be highly si I of course r end that more mot a b these statutes statute ft s are n it is to be a fUll scale es we are t to o fight a and And fight tight and win It see seems ms to xe te me that U ugh A I leans cans can try to I r run the af of the world we Wee ar arcan are I doing we can at least lead Is necessary to put the o r. r lums an and d racketeers 0 erate in this Country D country where they belong |