The Criminal Division's Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS) is a specialized group of prosecutors charged with developing and implementing strategies to disrupt and dismantle the most significant regional, national and international gangs and organized crime groups.

Organized Crime:

OCGS coordinates the Department's program to combat organized crime. The principal enforcement efforts are currently directed against transnational 0rganized crime groups, which pose serious threats to the well-being of Americans and the stability of our economy. Transnational organized crime promotes corruption, violence and other illegal activities, jeopardizes our border security, and causes human misery. It undermines the integrity of our banking and financial systems, commodities and securities markets, our healthcare system and cyberspace.

OCGS is guided by the Attorney General's Organized Crime Council (AGOCC), which is chaired by the Deputy Attorney General and includes senior representation from nine federal law enforcement agencies. OCGS leads and coordinates the implementation of national priorities for the organized crime program - some of which are set forth in the Law Enforcement Strategy to Combat Organized Crime.

OCGS supervises and assists in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases in United States Attorney's Offices across the country. These cases involve a broad spectrum of criminal statutes, including extortion, murder, bribery, fraud, money laundering narcotics, and labor racketeering. In addition to its close supervision of all federal organized crime cases, OCGS reviews all proposed federal prosecutions under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute and provides extensive advice to prosecutors about the use of this powerful statute. OCGS also leads the coordination, compilation and analysis of active IOC cases which are relayed from all United States Attorneys' offices and Criminal Division litigating sections through the Organized Crime Coordinators in each office.

In a more specialized context, OCGS also coordinates the Department's labor-management racketeering program. OCGS provides expert advice and litigation support to prosecutors and investigators pursuing corruption and abuse involving labor-management relations, internal union affairs and employee pension and health plans in the private sector. OCGS maintains a cadre of experienced attorneys who travel as needed to prosecute or assist in the prosecution of organized crime cases, in partnership with the United States Attorneys' Offices and Organized Crime Strike Force Units. OCGS attorneys are particularly trained in multi-defendant (RICO) prosecutions.

Gangs:

OCGS prosecutors investigate and prosecute important gang cases, formulate violent crime and gang prosecution policy, assist and coordinate with USAOs on legal issues and multi-district cases, and work with numerous domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies to construct and coordinate effective enforcement strategies. OCGS also maintains responsibility over all domestic violent crime and firearms related statutes within the United States Code.  Additionally, OCGS attorneys work closely with law enforcement agents located at the Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center (GangTECC) and analysts located at the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) in a collective effort designed to target and dismantle the most serious gang related threats nationwide and internationally.