images of crime in the United States at the end of the twentieth century increasingly coupled the illegal practices of business executives with those of America's underclass. These mirror images of crime and criminals have had real consequences for how crime is understood and responded to in our society today. Crime in the suites and on the streets has been indelibly linked in the public mind. It has not always been so.

Neither street nor business crime is a new social problem. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Illicit drugs and the violence they spawn have concerned moral entrepreneurs and policy makers in this country for the better part of this century; legislative attempts to curb the market powers of “robber baron” industrialists stimulated antitrust laws over a century ago. Historically, however, these populations of criminals were seen as distinct. For the most part, drug addiction (including alcohol) and violence were deemed problems for ethnics (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Irish, and blacks) and immigrants (predominantly Catholic working class).