You'd think.  But actual organized criminals like bootleggers are/were generally not terribly efficient either.<p>Here's one way to look at it:  very, very smart criminals should do much less damage to their victims than they seem to, just for reasons of self-interest.  This is primarily because the first world has made it more individually profitable for very, very smart criminals to go legit, either in business or politics.  This leaves actual visible criminal activity to those not smart enough, or not disciplined enough, to take that route.<p>Don't shake your head at how awful it is when a high-up executive at a major corporation turns out to be a complete sociopath.  Marvel that society has gotten so much good out of that clever, ambitious sociopath.  And be glad that crime is emphatically not as good a career path for him.