Youngstown Metropolitan Area - Crime Control

Crime Control

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Youngstown was nationally identified with gangland slayings that were often committed with car bombs. The town gained the nicknames "Murdertown, USA" and "Bomb City, USA," while the phrase "Youngstown tune-up" became a nationally popular slang term for car-bomb assassination. The image of Youngstown's association with crime was reinforced by the construction of prisons inside the metropolitan area. As of 2012, three adult correctional facilities continue to operate within city limits: The Mahoning County Justice Center The Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, and The Ohio State Penitentiary.

The city accelerated measures to limit the influence of organized crime upon all sectors of municipal life. The climax of this ongoing effort was the arrest, trial, and 2002 conviction of former U.S. Representative James A. Traficant, Jr. (D), on bribery, tax fraud, and racketeering charges.

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