Deck 7: Enterprise Crime, Contrepreneurial Crime, and Technocrime

Question 1

The network of alliances perspective characterizes organized crime as:

A) a national, centrally controlled syndicate
B) a product of Sicilian family relationships
C) both a product of and an important on-going element of a capitalist political economy
D) an enterprise strongly at odds with politicians and businessmen

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following types of professional crime intersects most fully with white collar crime?

A) Picking pockets
B) Pennyweighting
C) Hotel burglaries
D) The "big con"

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The CIA enlisted the help of syndicated crime in the 1960s in its attempt to do which of the following?

A) Undermine democratic elections in Spain under Franco
B) Stabilize Fidel Castro's position in Cuba
C) Overthrow Cuba's Fidel Castro
D) Promote democratic elections in Nicaragua under Noriega

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The infiltration of legitimate businesses and corporations by syndicated crime has been attributed to all but which of the following?

A) The fact that such businesses provide a front for illegal activities
B) The fact that such businesses provide employment opportunities
C) The fact that such businesses are more morally defensible
D) The fact that such businesses are a route to greater social respectability

Question 5

Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil, a legendary professional criminal, operated by:

A) defrauding large numbers of ignorant, poor people
B) defrauding wealthy, greedy individuals
C) defrauding corrupt government bureaucrats
D) defrauding uneducated widows and young children

Question 6

Which of the following is not an important function which organized crime has performed for corporate or business enterprises?

A) The suppression of dissatisfied workers.
B) The consumption of many services and goods.
C) Investment in many legitimate businesses.
D) Extortion of "protection" money.

Question 7

Frauds and swindles:

A) are a relatively modern phenomenon
B) were first written about in the early 20th century
C) have existed since ancient times
D) are directed mainly toward businesses, not consumers

Question 8

Which of the following is not one of the attributes of professional criminals, according to Sutherland?

A) Highly developed criminal skills
B) Alliances with other professional criminals
C) Commission of crimes with high risk of arrest
D) Shared values and professional pride with criminal associates

Question 9

The evidence on the relationship between government officials and organized crime suggests:

A) that they are uniformly antagonistic to each other
B) that only very low-level governmental personnel have had ties to organized crime
C) that links exist in all levels of government
D) that local politicians have been involved with organized crime, but that national officials have little connection to it

Question 10

Which of the following criminal activities has the Mafia not been traditionally associated with?

A) Gambling
B) Loan-sharking
C) Labor-racketeering
D) Check-kiting

Question 11

Donald Cressey speculated that at some point early in the 21st century:

A) white collar crime would become a much more serious problem than organized crime
B) organized crime would become a much more serious problem than white collar crime
C) one would no longer be able to tell the difference between white collar and organized crime
D) white collar and organized crime would become distinguished by social class

Question 12

The growth and expansion of organized crime has been especially linked with:

A) World War I
B) Prohibition
C) the Depression
D) the Kennedy presidency

Question 13

The owner of a legitimate business who buys and sells stolen property is most popularly known as a:

A) recycler
B) fence
C) shyster
D) contrepreneuer

Question 14

Which of the pairs below is a match?

A) Enterprise crime/professional crime
B) Contrepreneurial crime/organized crime
C) Enterprise crime/organized crime
D) Contrepreneurial crime/property crime

Question 15

The methods used by 20th century mafiosi have been compared to the methods used by:

A) 19th century military commanders
B) 19th century street criminals
C) 19th century industrial capitalists and cattle barons
D) 19th century political hacks

Question 16

Which of the following is not one of the parallels between professional criminals and white collar offenders?

A) Both are prepared to take risks to make money
B) Both rely heavily upon the threat of force
C) Both are prepared to violate laws to maximize profits
D) Both seek to immunize themselves with bribes

Question 17

On the relationship of syndicated crime to legitimate businesses, it can be said that:

A) only businesses in a very limited number of fields have been infiltrated by syndicated crime
B) legitimate businesses always resist involvement with syndicated crime
C) relatively new industries such as health care plan companies have managed to avoid involvement with syndicated crime
D) a wide range of legitimate businesses have been infiltrated by syndicated crime

Question 18

Which characteristic is the traditional form of organized crime or syndicated crime least likely to share with corporate crime?

A) A self-perpetuating organization with a hierarchy and specialized roles
B) The use of force, violence and intimidation to achieve its aims
C) The corruption of the political and legal system
D) The acquisition of large-scale financial gain or profit at relatively modest risk

Question 19

The illegal disposal of hazardous waste is most consistent with which model of organized crime?

A) The national, centralized syndicate model
B) The network model
C) The ethnic model
D) The mafioso model

Question 20

The "spectrum-based theory of enterprise," applied to organized crime:

A) emphasizes the unique ethnic make-up of organized crime
B) views it as an alternative way of conducting business illegally
C) stresses the ties between organized crime and corrupt political interests
D) focuses on the family-based nature of organized crime

Question 21

Which of the following would not be an example of technocrime?

A) Hijacking large shipments of electronic equipment
B) Automatic teller machine fraud
C) Airwave piracy
D) Unauthorized use of corporate switchboards

Question 22

Pyramid schemes are best described as:

A) selling people products of grossly inferior quality
B) selling people investments which are much riskier than described
C) selling people shares in a non-existent investment, paying out to early investors from later investors' funds
D) selling people franchises which they must sell to other gullible investors

Question 23

American financial institutions alone sustain close to _____ losses due to identity theft and fraud.

A) $5 billion in annual
B) $50 billion in annual
C) $50 million in monthly
D) $5 million in monthly

Question 24

There is some disagreement over whether or not a unified national crime
syndicate exists.

Question 25

Which of the following is the most exhaustive list of computer crime?

A) Internal computer crimes, telecommunications crimes, computer manipulations crimes, computers in support of criminal enterprises, hardware thefts, and
Software thefts
B) Internal computer crimes, telecommunications crimes, computer manipulations crimes, computers in support of criminal enterprises, and hardware thefts
C) Telecommunications crimes, computer manipulations crimes, computers in support of criminal enterprises, hardware thefts, and software thefts
D) Internal computer crimes, telecommunications crimes, computer manipulations crimes, hardware thefts, and software thefts

Question 26

Telemarketing or "boiler room" scams tend to rely upon all but which of the following?

A) A smooth, polished line to generate trust and interest
B) A large and impressive-looking office
C) Persuading the victim to provide a credit card number, or forward payment
D) Frequent relocation

Question 27

Those engaged in fraud are likely to play upon all but which of the following human emotions?

A) Fear
B) Cynicism
C) Vanity
D) Loneliness

Question 28

Purchasing stock in a company, creating a hype that leads to the value of the stock rising, and then selling it at a profit is referred to as:

A) pump and dump
B) simple investment fraud
C) illegal stock inflation
D) playing the market

Question 29

Get-rich-quick schemes tend to flourish:

A) regardless of the state of the economy
B) in regions that have a harsh climate
C) during hard economic times
D) during good economic times

Question 30

According to the text, what is the largest Ponzi scheme committed to date?

A) The Charles Ponzi scheme
B) The Grenada Bank Ponzi scheme
C) The Madoff Ponzi scheme
D) The Angelo Haligiannis Ponzi scheme

Question 31

Which of the following is not described in the text as being a commonly occurring problem in the art market?

A) Forgeries
B) False claims about the history of ownership
C) Misrepresentation of the actual artist
D) Museum ownership of stolen art and antiquities

Question 32

According to the text, an estimated _____ of all business software is pirated.

A) three quarters
B) one third
C) one tenth
D) one half

Question 33

Enterprise crime, contrepreneurial crime, and avocational crime can be described
as hybrids of white collar crime and other forms of crime.

Question 34

The original Ponzi scheme is best described as:

A) selling people products of grossly inferior quality
B) selling people investments which are much riskier than described
C) selling people shares in a non-existent investment, paying out to early investors from later investors' funds
D) selling people franchises which they must sell to other gullible investors

Question 35

Which notorious fraudster wrote a memoir about his experience that was optioned for a possible Hollywood film?

A) Bernard Madoff
B) Jordan Belfort
C) Angelo Haligiannis
D) Barry Minkow

Question 36

Technocrime has been most greatly facilitated by which of the following?

A) The large number of juvenile delinquents having access to computers
B) Computers getting cheaper
C) The growing popularity of the internet
D) Young people getting smarter than previous generations

Question 37

What is quite distinctive about fraud in art and antiquities?

A) Forgeries and other fraudulent claims are easily documented
B) Initiatives by dealers and individuals in the market have caused a decline in such fraud
C) It disproportionately involves wealthy and sophisticated elites as victims and perpetrators
D) It has been excessively studied by criminologists

Question 38

Which form of computer crime would seem to be least related to white collar crime?

A) Concealment of illegal profits and market positions and transferring money to offshore accounts
B) Theft of trade secrets
C) Breaking into computer programs to cause mischief
D) Stealing computer time to run one's own business

Question 39

According to the text, all but which of the following are specifically targeted by payday lenders and charged exorbitant interest rates?

A) Veterans
B) Individuals on disability
C) Social security recipients
D) Students

Question 40

According to the text, to date, the practical impact of computer crime laws has been _____ their symbolic and ideological importance may be more substantial.

A) outstanding, but
B) better than expected, though
C) a complete waste of time for those writing them, but
D) limited at best, though

Question 41

The question of whether professional crime is in decline can be answered very
easily.

Question 42

Fences tend to be wholly committed to illegal activity and accordingly, do not
need to rationalize their activity.

Question 43

In the "spectrum-based theory of enterprise," legitimate businesses and syndicated
crime engage in many of the same activities, but do so in ways that are somewhat
arbitrarily defined as legal or illegal.

Question 44

A central attribute of syndicated crime is the provision of goods and services
where there is a legal supply.

Question 45

Disposing of hazardous waste illegally costs possibly only around 5% of what it
would cost to dispose of it legally.

Question 46

The only involvement syndicated crime has with legitimate and quasi-legitimate
businesses is in the areas of gambling (casinos) and pornography.

Question 47

Syndicated crime was diminished during Prohibition because legitimate
businessmen dominated business of alcohol sales.

Question 48

Fraudulent activity cannot always be easily classified as a single type of crime.

Question 49

The "hot goods" customer of the fence may be considered the opposite of the
defrauded consumer, in that he or she is benefitting at someone else's expense.

Question 50

Syndicated crime has been described as a ladder of mobility for immigrant and
minority groups.

Question 51

La Cosa Nostra and the Lockheed Corporation have had parallel objectives in
making bribes to public officials.

Question 52

According to the text, in contrast to classic professional criminals,
contrepreneurial white collar criminals are more likely to regard themselves
primarily as businesspeople.

Question 53

Progressive criminologists view organized crime as both a product and an
important ongoing element of a capitalist political economy.

Question 54

Some of the activities of organized crime groups are legal.

Question 55

Arson-for-profit crimes are a form of enterprise crime.

Question 56

Financial institutions are a special case, as a form of legitimate business which
has been essentially untouched by syndicated crime.

Question 57

Organized crime involvement in software and film piracy is easy to document
conclusively.

Question 58

Many investigations have come up with evidence linking governors, state
legislators, judges, and other government officials on all levels with syndicated
crime.

Question 59

The majority of hazardous waste is disposed of illegally.

Question 60

The term "organized crime" has been applied exclusively to the activities of the
Italian-American Mafia.

Question 61

Legitimate real-estate brokers never involve themselves in land sale frauds,
because of the risk of losing their license.

Question 62

The cosmetics industry is especially well-represented among pyramid schemes.

Question 63

Educated middle and upper class individuals typically avoid becoming the victims
of investment scams.

Question 64

Frauds related to home ownership, mortgages, and apartment rentals are common.

Question 65

The Ponzi scheme succeeded because it appealed to people's desire to make a
secure, conservative investment.

Question 66

Land sale frauds have been relatively uncommon because in the case of land,
people can see exactly what they are getting.

Question 67

Charitable trusts set up by wealthy individuals may enrich administrators more
than the charitable cause.

Question 68

Part of the recent huge home foreclosure crisis can be attributed to classic
contrepreneurs.

Question 69

Get-rich-quick schemes are more likely to flourish during prosperous economic
times, which allows originators to take advantage of the climate of optimism.

Question 70

Books exposing fraudulent businesses to consumers were published only
beginning in the 20ᵗʰ century.

Question 71

Frauds and swindles have in some cases been carried out by men who had been
regarded as highly successful businessmen.

Question 72

Con artists prey upon human vanity, fantasy, loneliness, insecurity, and fear.

Question 73

Modern technology plays an important role in both facilitating major crimes and
in increasing the efficiency of the criminal justice process.

Question 74

The Ponzi scheme, which originated early in the 20th century, is now largely
extinct thanks to law enforcement efforts and consumer education initiatives.

Question 75

Because of the increasing use of cell phones, telemarketing scams no longer
contribute to significant financial losses among consumers.

Question 76

Wealthy people are in a much better position to protect themselves from fraud
and, as a consequence, rarely become victims.

Question 77

Payday lenders operating online or from storefronts target people with modest
incomes who need small loans to make it through till payday.

Question 78

Because contrepreneurial crime is not by definition a violent crime, it cannot be
connected with violence.

Question 79

By definition, investment-related frauds victimize individuals, but not businesses
or other organizations.

Question 80

People with poor credit histories are less vulnerable to fraud than other groups.