Since the beginning of time men have used different forms of influence when bargaining with one another, and this practice eventually led to the uprising of organized crime. Organized crime ranges from racketeering (defined in the Oxford Dictionary as making money through dishonest or illegal activities), to extortion (defined in the Oxford Dictionary as the act of making someone give you something by threatening them), which can be better described as the collecting of an unlawful debt by imminent threats of violence and/or force. These problems ran rampant through the first part of the 20th century. Organized criminal factions flourished mainly due to a number of historical and sociological events including The Great Depression and prohibition.
Racketeering and Extortion were two types of activities that gangsters relied on to generate unlawful income. These activities grossed billions of dollars annually for these criminals, many of who ran speak-easies and other businesses that served as fronts for the organized crime community. These fronts were located everywhere, from the corners of skid row to the suburbs of local towns. In order for mobsters to maintain a niche in this society, two major institutions were essentially needed to cooperate. One such institution was the police, which for most organized crime officials did not pose problem due to minimal amount of money needed to pay the police officers.
The other, and sometimes more difficult element was the local shop owners. This outlet did pose a small problem, since several shopkeepers did not want to sell their property, as it was usually the only source of family income. At this point, mobsters would utilize racketeering and extortion efforts to gain cooperation. The mobsters would make the shopkeepers an offer to purchase or to rent their business. If or when the owners refused, the owners would be influenced by threats, or by actual acts of violence.
