A leading US expert on organised crime was recruited today to help tackle the problem in Northern Ireland.
Prof Ronald Goldstock, who led the fight in New York against the Mafia and whose office indicted Colombian drugs barons, was announced by the Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid as his international adviser on how to tackle criminality in the North.
Dr Reid said: "Tackling organised crime has been one of my priorities in Northern Ireland. The creation of the organised crime task force 18 months ago was a mark of the Government's determination to help Northern Ireland make the transition to a normal society.
"To further endorse my commitment to tackle this scourge, I am pleased to announce today the appointment of Professor Ronald Goldstock as an expert who can provide us with an international perspective in this area of criminality".
Prof Goldstock was for 13 years the director of the New York State Organised Crime Task Force. During his tenure, he tackled white collar and organised crime, playing a prominent role in the anti-Mafia Cosa Nostra commission.
He also helped prosecute the Lucchese and Gambino families and his office pursued the Cali drug cartel and their money laundering operation.
The professor said his greatest task would be to attract cross-community support for dealing with the problem. "It is one of the major problems," he said.
"Other countries have had the same sort of problems. However there have been dramatic changes in Sicily where the public did not do anything before and then finally said enough is enough and joined with the police in fighting the problem of organised crime. If it can be done there, it can be done anywhere".
The appointment of an international expert was welcomed by Northern Ireland First Minister Mr David Trimble who said he hoped that other international experts would be drawn in to help with the fight against criminals.
PA