Youngstown's inadequate response to organized crime is history repeating itself

Youngstown's inadequate response to organized crime is history repeating itself
EDITOR:
As the urban historian at Youngstown State University who teaches a course in the History of Organized Crime, I feel compelled to comment on the gangland-style murders that occurred in Youngstown last week. They suggest that organized crime is returning to the previous position of prominence and that this city may again become Murder City, U.S.A.
Nearly a decade ago, Youngstown and the greater Mahoning Valley with assistance from state and federal officials successfully suppressed the underworld. Over 70 public officials including the county prosecutor, a county commissioner, a city councilman, the county sheriff, and the county engineer were convicted and sent to prison along with a host of attorneys and judges and other miscreants.
Over the previous decades, they and their underworld allies had a seemingly tight grip on this community to the extent that they had made the county court-house a safe house for criminals. Honest attorneys, judges and others in the law enforcement community stood by helplessly as criminals had their hands slapped with minimal bail and light sentences, not to mention questionable judicial decisions. But with the crackdown on crime, it seemed that a new day had arrived, that it was, in effect, morning in Youngstown. The community it was hoped could finally blossom and reach its full potential.
Slowly but surely, though, the public's enthusiasm for law enforcement waned. In keeping with an early 20th century machine politician's observation that reformers were, "morning glories," who blossomed in the morning and folded up in the evening, reports increasingly appeared indicating that the will just was not there to maintain the necessary vigilance to keep the underworld from regaining its former position of power.
As the homicide rate continued to remain nearly 10 times above the national average, the county commissioners couldn't find the money to adequately fund the courts, the county jail became a source of contention, and now we learn from Mayor Jay Williams that even simple traffic ordinances were not being fully enforced. All this sent signals to the underworld that the public's interest in law enforcement was in decline and that there would be little opposition to its return.
The citizenry needs to demand that public officials take immediate action to crack down on crime. The proposed 30-day enforcement of traffic regulations represents nothing more than a Band-Aid approach.
Much more needs to be done. Law enforcement agencies at both the city and county level need to be fully manned and fully funded. If local government cannot provide the necessary money, an aggressive program needs to be implemented to seek these funds at both the state and federal level. Most of all, the authorities must adopt far more than a business as usual response to these gangland slayings. That would only serve to reinforce the image that this community is unwilling to stand up to organized crime as well as other forms of criminal activity. An unabashed law and order approach is unquestionably needed.
If a strong response is not forthcoming, all the positive developments that have occurred in this city in the recent past as well as those hoped for in the near future will be for naught. At present, Youngstown is in the midst of a real estate boom, and we all are looking forward to the implementation of Youngstown 2010. But gangland slayings and all their other related activities such as car-bombings, not to mention drive-by shootings, can easily frustrate these goals.
To continue the progress that has been made in the past decade, the public needs to provide law enforcement with the wherewithal it needs to prevent the return of the underworld. The people of this community must be able to continue their march towards toward making Youngstown's a "safe, enjoyable, sustainable, attractive city."
FRED W. VIEHE
Associate professor of history
Youngstown State University