You’ve likely seen the amazing film “The Godfather.” If so, that epic movie depicts several generations of a mafia family, one that clearly embraces crime as an occupation. But in reality, is it common for crime to be the family business?
My strong guess is that it happens more often than you realize. How many times have you seen the news headlines in which a family-run business has been found guilty of fraudulent accounting activities?
Then there are families that work together to set up cons of all sorts, even using the small children as props. For example, a man stands begging on the street with his “blind” child begging for money. Yet the child can actually see.
Why does crime run in certain families? Perhaps it is because that is the world into which certain children are born, and the only one they know. They learn from their parents.
Oftentimes, criminals fail to teach their children values. After all, they certainly do not have strong values themselves. As a result, these children are brought up without a strong moral compass of right or wrong. So it is easy for them to get sucked up in the same life of crimes that their parents engage in.
Crime as a family occupation has gone on for centuries. In fact, back in medieval times, there were families of gypsies who traveled around, and stole from others to feed and clothe themselves.
Or imagine the pirates from hundreds of years ago. It is unlikely that the whole family was not somehow involved.
When it comes to certain white-collar crimes, such as money laundering, it is often the case that the husband brings the wife in on it. She may need to help out with some of the transactions, or be able to cover for the husband in certain situations.
In conclusion, it is probably rather common for families to engage in crime as an occupation. Greed perhaps brings more on board, as they have found out a way to make money faster by selling drugs or by creating fake securities in oversea accounts.
I for one am very grateful for the family I have. Can you imagine how bizarre it would be to have sociopaths and criminals as your parents, aunts and uncles? It is true that people do not choose their families, but that would be a scary type of family for sure.
Sometimes people who are born into families of crime manage to get out. They see the errors of their parents’ and grandparents’ ways, and vow not to live like that.
It is always heartwarming to see someone who is brought up in such a tough circumstance, yet who has made something noble and good out of his life. For these people, crime was their family’s occupation, but they courageously stopped the cycle.
