The Teamsters, the White House, the Labor Department

This paper examines the instrumental networks established between organized criminals and national politicians. Its major focus centers on the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Department of Labor, and the Reagan Administration. We explore the organized crime influence that affected President Reagan's selection of Raymond Donovan as Secretary of Labor. The choice of Donovan resulted in several related investigations into Donovan's association with organized criminals primarily in the construction industry in New Jersey and New York. We explain and critique the investigations thereby establishing the instrumental quality of the networks and the politics of law enforcement. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

PATTERNS OF RELITIGATION

Two groups of parents were tracked for 2 years following their divorce: a group of 89 who attended a mandatory divorce education class and a comparison group of 23 who did not. The two groups did not differ in any assessed demographic or family characteristics. At the follow-up assessment, the parents who attended the class had relitigated (over all issues) less than half as often than those who had not attended the class (1.61 vs. 3.74). Moreover, rate of relitigation was related to mastery of skills learned in the class. The results are discussed in terms of the needs for outcome evaluation and design of education programs for divorcing parents.     

The European Community and Biodiversity Loss: Missing the Target?

The European Community has set itself the stringent policy target of halting all biodiversity loss by 2010. It intends to achieve this target by following a dual strategy. On the one hand, the 1979 Wild Birds Directive and 1992 Habitats Directive are designed to protect important sites housing vulnerable wildlife. On the other hand, biodiversity protection is to be integrated into all other Community policies. The Community views the Common Agricultural Policy as having a vital role in both areas. It provides a mechanism through which much needed Community funding can be channelled into the management of protected wildlife sites. Equally, it also has an important influence upon biodiversity in the wider countryside. This article examines the regulatory measures that have been taken to integrate biodiversity protection into the Community's agricultural policies and assesses whether they are likely to be sufficient to enable the Community to meet its 2010 target.     

GC–MS studies on acylated derivatives of 3-methoxy-4-methyl- and 4-methoxy-3-methyl-phenethylamines: Regioisomers related to 3,4-MDMA

A series of side chain regioisomers of 3-methoxy-4-methyl- and 4-methoxy-4-methyl-phenethylamines have mass spectra essentially equivalent to the controlled drug substance 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (3,4-MDMA), all have molecular weight of 193 and major fragment ions in their electron ionization mass spectra at m/z 58 and 135/136. The acetyl, propionyl and trifluoroacetyl derivatives of the primary and secondary regioisomeric amines were prepared and evaluated in GC–MS studies. The mass spectra for these derivatives were significantly individualized and the resulting unique fragment ions allowed for specific side chain identification. The trifluoroacetyl derivatives provided more fragment ions for molecular individualization among these regioisomeric substances. These trifluoroacetyl derivatives showed excellent resolution on a non-polar stationary phase such as Rtx-1.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRIME AND INCARCERATION AMONG THE AMERICAN STATES1

Data from the 50 states for 1975 are analyzed to try to separate the presumed reciprocal effects on each other of crime rates and incarceration rates. Two-stage least-squares regression shows no significant effect of crime on incarceration nor of incarceration on crime. Incarceration rates are affected mainly by the percentage of blacks in the state population. Crime rates are significantly influenced by urbanization, region, mean income, and unemployment.