Founded
Late 19th Century
Founding location
Origins in Sicily; founded in New Orleans and New York City
Territory
United States; active in most parts of the country during its peak, currently active mainly in the Northeast, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Florida
Ethnicity
Full members (made men) are of Italian descent, other criminals of any ethnicity are employed as "associates"
Criminal activities
Racketeering, Human trafficking, Weapons Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, Extortion, Fencing, Fraud, Illegal Gambling, Murder, Prostitution, Pornography, Theft, Bootlegging, Assault, Arson, Burglary.
Founded
Early 19th century
Founding location
Ireland
Territory
Ireland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand
Ethnicity
Primarily Irish, Irish American, Irish Canadian, Irish Australian, Irish Briton, Irish New Zealanders and Black Irish
Criminal activities
Racketeering, Horse-race Fixing, Voter Intimidation, Illegal Gambling, Drug Trafficking, Murder, Extortion, Prostitution, Weapons Trafficking, Loan-sharking, Truck Hijacking, and Corruption.
Founded
Began in the imperial period of the Tsars
Founding location
Russia, former Soviet Union
Territory
Active in many parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union throughout Russia (mostly Moscow), United States (mostly Brighton Beach), Canada, Spain, Portugal, France, Hungary
Ethnicity
Predominantly Russians and former Soviet nationalities
Criminal activities
Human trafficking, Racketeering, Drug Trafficking, Extortion, Murder, Robbery, Smuggling, Arms Trafficking, Gambling, Bribery, Fencing, Pornography, and Fraud.
Founded
1957
Founding location
United States
Territory
U.S. federal prison systems, California prisons, and others.
Ethnicity
Mexican-American
Criminal activities
Drug trafficking, Cigarette smuggling, Assassination, Bank Fraud, Bankruptcy, Blackmailing, Bribery, Contract killing, Infiltration of Politics, Money laundering, Murder, Police corruption, Political corruption, Witness intimidation, Witness tampering.
Founded
17th century
Founding location
China, notably Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, other worldwide Chinatowns
Territory
China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Russia
Ethnicity
Chinese, Chinese-American, Chinese Canadian, Chinese-Vietnamese and expats, Chinese Filipino, Chinese Malaysian, Chinese Thai, Chinese Indonesian, Chinese Australian, Chinese British
Criminal activities
Extortion, Racketeering, Contract killing & Murder, Prostitution, Gambling, Counterfeiting, Drug trafficking, Human trafficking, Money laundering, Arms Trafficking, Health care fraud, Online fraud.