“All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular . . .

The country wanted booze and I organized it. Why should I be

called a public enemy?”
Al Capone (1899 – 1947), American gangster

1. Organised Crime Discussion

1. What is organised crime? What is the difference between organised crime and regular crime?
2. What different kinds of organised crime can you think of?
3. Which countries have the biggest problems with organised crime?
4. Why do people join gangs?
5. Can you think of any famous gangsters or gangs? What do/did they do?
6. Why are some gangsters considered heroes by some people? Does society glorify gangsters?
7. Why did so many crime gangs appear during the Prohibition Era in the United States?
8. What are the best books, TV shows or movies that feature organised crime?
2. Organised Crime Vocabulary
• racket, racketeering (nouns) – a racket is a criminal activity organised like a business operation;
racketeering is the activity of conducting a racket.
• black market (noun) – the literal or figurative place where illegal products can be bought and sold.
• turf war (noun) – a conflict over territory, especially between criminal organisations.
• gangland (noun) – an area dominated by organised crime; relating to the world of organised crime
e.g., a gangland killing.
• to launder (money) (verb), money laundering (noun) – the various activities undertaken to present
money gained illegally as legally gained.
• to put a hit on someone (verb), hitman (noun) – to order the assassination of someone; a hired
assassin.

Using the vocabulary words above, complete the following sentences (remember to use the correct
form of the word, e.g. verb conjugation or plural noun):
1. A between two rival drug gangs has been blamed for the recent rise in violence
in Los Angeles.
2. He bought the gun on the .
3. Police have described the murder as a -style execution.
4. The owners of the bar were accused of as despite the large profits the bar was
reporting, the investigators had never seen any customers inside.
5. Despite being charged with and extortion, only the charge of tax evasion was
upheld by the court.
6. The mob boss his son-in-law after he was caught with another woman.

Organised Crime vocabulary comprehension questions

1. What are some common rackets that happen in your country?
2. What could you buy on the black market?
3. What are some common causes of turf wars?
4. Where is gangland in your city or country?
5. How do criminal organisations launder their money? What do they invest it in once it has been
cleaned?
6. Why would someone put a hit on another person?
3. Video: How Criminals Hide Their Money
You are going to watch a video by TED Ed called “How does money laundering work?”

Watch the video here: https://yourenglishpal.com/blog/esl-conversation-lesson-plan-organised-crime/

While you watch the video, answer the following questions:

Multiple choice
1. How much money did Al Capone make each year?
a) $1 million b) $100 million c) $1.4 billion

2. Where did Al Capone’s gang hide their money?

a) under their beds b) buried underground c) in businesses

3. What can clean money be used in?

a) the illegal economy b) the legal economy c) the hidden economy

4. Who did merchants hide their money from in the past?

a) tax collectors b) pirates c) customers

Sentence completion
5. Placement is where a gang puts their proceeds of crime into businesses that
appear .
6. Depositing funds in bank accounts is when criminals are most to exposure.
7. Under layering, criminals make multiple to conceal funds from their true origin.
8. Some criminals set up a fake , putting themselves on the board of directors.

Short answer
9. What was money laundering recognised as in 1986?
10. What concerns have been raised over money laundering laws?
11. Despite UN and government efforts, money laundering continues to play a major role in what?
12. With the exception of private individuals, who else has been implicated in high profile money
laundering investigations?
4. Organised Crime Conversation Questions
1. Do banks take money laundering seriously? Why might they be reluctant to help tackle money
laundering?
2. Should drugs be legalised to reduce gang violence? Why or why not?
3. Would organised crime be considered such a big problem if there were no associated violence?
4. What is the relationship between gangs and corrupt public officials? Do you think some
governments turn a blind eye to organised crime? If so, which governments and why?
5. How do OCGs manage to infiltrate government agencies like the police?
6. What is the connection between organised crime and political extremism/terrorism?
7. What should governments or law enforcement do to tackle organised crime?
8. Has the fight against organised crime failed? Why or why not? Will organised crime increase or
decrease in the future? Why?

5. Organised Crime Writing Task

Write about organised crime in your country. Try to use some of the vocabulary you learned earlier in
this lesson. In your answer, you could include some of the following topics:
• What illegal activities OCGs are involved in.
• The effect organised crime has on society.
• How to defeat organised crime.

Alternative exam practice question:

To reduce violence associated with organised crime, all drugs should be legalised and regulated by the
government. Do you agree or disagree with this?