Hazardous waste crime: a contextual analysis of the offense and the offender
The goal of this study is to analyze hazardous waste offense and offender characteristics. Criminal case data were collected from four sample states (Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Files of disposed criminal cases charged between 1977 and 1984 were content-analyzed, and interviews were conducted with prominent hazardous waste crime enforcement personnel from the sample states. Areas of analysis include methods of crime commission, skills required for crime commission, patterns of criminal network relationships, and degree of syndicate crime influence. While there has been some previous speculation that hazardous waste criminal behavior is directed through centralized racketeering, the present study of known offenders found little evidence of syndicate crime family infiltration. Crimes occurred within small, informal networks of waste generators, waste transporters, the employees of treatment/storage/disposal (TSD) facilities and certain non-industry peripheral actors. The study concludes that, while attempts have been made by syndicate crime operatives to infiltrate, these attempts have failed largely due to features of criminal commission methods and to the inherent fragmentation of hauling and TSD firm interests.
- Research Organization:
- Rutgers-the State Univ., Newark, NJ (USA). Dept. of Chemistry
- OSTI ID:
- 7011792
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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