History Main / CriminalConvention

* Besides Apalachin, the Mafia also had several other major mob summits. Also, the Mafia Commission specified that the major bosses were to meet every five years unless a major emergency warranted everyone's attention. Here are some of the more notable examples
** The 1929 Atlantic City Conference, in which mob bosses such as Lucky Luciano and UsefulNotes/AlCapone, along with the Jewish Mafia and the Irish Mob, discussed about the eventual repeal of Prohibition and how it will affect them, plans for setting up a multi-ethnic [[TheSyndicate National Crime Syndicate]], the violent bootleg wars, and dealing with the Mustache Petes, the old timers who refused to adapt to the American customs younger mafiosi readily accepted.
** After the Mustache Petes were wiped out in 1931, Luciano called a meeting in Chicago to establish the rules that govern the Mafia and the totem-pole like pecking order to make it difficult for law enforcement to target the higher-ups. The Commission was also established as the Mafia's ultimate governing body and arbitrate disputes between the families. The first Commission comprised of the Chicago Outfit, the Five Families of New York, and the Buffalo Arm with Luciano as Chairman.
** The 1946 Havana Conference: the major bosses secretly met in Havana to discuss the gambling opportunities in Las Vegas, whether or not to join the growing narcotics trade, and discuss why Bugsy Siegel, a longtime ally of Luciano and Meyer Lansky, was now becoming a liability for them. The pro-narcotics faction of the Mafia won out by partnering up with the Sicilian and Corsican Mafias to set up a trans-Atlantic drug distribution network using pizza parlors as fronts. When the American government got wind of Luciano's attempt to slip back into the States via Cuba, they forced the Cubans to deport him to Italy for good.

* Besides Apalachin, the Mafia also had several other major mob summits. Also, the Mafia Commission specified that the major bosses were to meet every five years unless a major emergency warranted everyone's attention.

** The 1946 Havana Conference, the major bosses secretly met in Havana to discuss the gambling opportunities in Las Vegas, whether or not to join the growing narcotics trade, and discuss why Bugsy Siegel, a longtime ally of Luciano and Meyer Lansky, was now becoming a liability for them. The pro-narcotics faction of the Mafia won out by partnering up with the Sicilian and Corsican Mafias to set up a trans-Atlantic heroin distribution network using pizza parlors as fronts.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle mob disputes and assert his authority as [[KingOfThieves Chairman of the Mafia Commission]]. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a huge debacle when a curious cop got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught, including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. Even then, the fallout was disastrous as it exposed the Mafia to open scrutiny for the first time. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of national criminal conspiracy, but after Apalachin, he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman #14: The Collectors'', a convention of serial killers and mass murderers congregate to share stories and conversation. Here, rogue nightmare and serial killer, the Corinthian, is found attending the convention, having been an inspiration to many of the serial killers attending. The various attendants go by code-names, the convention called a "[[{{Pun}} Cereal]] Convention" as to not draw attention to themselves. The convention comes to an end when the eponymous sandman Dream is called there by one of their victims and then proceeds to destroy the Corinthian and show the conventioneers how petty and meaningless they truly are.
* While three different superheroes (Daredevil, Spiderman and Wolverine) were after him, ComicBook/ThePunisher once massacred a meeting of just about every sample of American organized crime (biker gangs, triads, Russians, and Mafia) who were holding an auction of [[spoiler:a captive Bruce Banner]]. Frank lures the heroes into a position where they're the first thing [[spoiler:Bruce sees when he HulksOut.]]
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': In order to draw Frank out of hiding, Barracuda secretly organizes a meeting of organized crime honchoes (or rather the promoted mooks after Frank's repeated hits) in a high-rise building. He even rigged three entire floors with explosives to make sure no one escaped.

-->"It's like a terrorist supermarket. Chinese Long March Scud, Panther AS-565 attack helicopter... a pair of Russian mortars, and the crates look like American rifles. Chilean mines, German explosives, fun for the whole family."
* The ''ANNUAL TRANSYLVANIA CONVENTION'' from ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' might count as the guests are all alien agents from the galaxy of Transylvania. The only one we see do anything bad is the host, Dr Frank N Furter who murders out of jealousy and turns people into statues.

* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the ''Spawn/Batman'' review when Linkara mocks the plot point that random low-level drug dealers are somehow doing business with agents of a foreign dictatorship:
-->'''Linkara:''' Oh yeah, I'm sure impoverished drug dealers do trades like this all the time with former dictators. They meet at the Evil People Conventions and exchange business cards.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "Bad Boy", there is the Annual Supervillain Tradeshow and Convention. They have henchmen seminars, doomsday demonstrations and an evil snack bar! Unlike most examples of this trope, the general public seems to be aware of this, the convention taking place at the Middleton Convention Center.

* One ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode features all of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's villains meeting in a hotel. It's a subversion, though-- they aren't doing anything evil, it's actually a book club.
* The Heist-Con in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. [[EvilIsPetty Because of Rick's disdain for the genre]], he hypnotizes the patrons to destroy it.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle mob disputes and assert his authority as [[KingOfThieves Chairman of the Mafia Commission]]. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a huge debacle when a curious cop got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught, including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests and convictions of many of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. In spite of this, the fallout was disastrous as it exposed the Mafia to open scrutiny for the first time. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of national criminal conspiracy, but after Apalachin, he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

Supervillains, {{serial killer}}s, terrorists, black-market dealers and so on usually come to these conventions and share with one another. They are usually kept in secret (unless "supervillain" has a different connotation in the world it is set in), requiring a special password or invite to be accessed. More often, the conventions usually go on without any sort of incident, anything explosive or disruptive would be fashionable and expected from such an establishment. It almost wouldn't be a convention without a casualty or two.

See also ArmsDealer, AuctionOfEvil, BlackMarket, BadGuyBar, WarForFunAndProfit and WelcomeToEvilMart.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman #14: The Collectors'', a convention of serial killers and mass murderers congregate to share stories and conversation. Here, rogue nightmare and serial killer, the Corinthian, is found attending the convention, having been an inspiration to many of the serial killers attending. The various attendants go by code-names, the convention called a "[[{{Pun}} Cereal]] Convention" as to not draw attention to themselves. The convention comes to an end when the eponymous sandman Dream is called there by one of their victims and then proceeds to destroy the Corinthian and show the conventioners how petty and meaningless they truly are.

See also ArmsDealer, BlackMarket, BadGuyBar, WarForFunAndProfit and WelcomeToEvilMart.

{{Fan Convention}}s are where fans flock to. Criminal Conventions attract criminals. Here you can find all that you need for your everyday criminal activities. Galleries presenting new top of the line [[KnifeNut stabbing knives]], [[ThoseWackyNazis vendors selling fashionable leather lampshades]], [[TheyWouldCutYouUp vivisection demonstrations]], [[YouAreNotAlone friends who understand just where you're coming from]] and guest starring UsefulNotes/CharlesManson and Jeffrey Dahmer! Contestants of the MadScienceFair get a free admission. No cops are welcome.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle some power struggles, and to assert his authority as Chairman of the Mafia Commission. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught, including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests and convictions of many of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. In spite of the lack of any concrete punishment for the meeting itself, the fallout of the meeting was disastrous, as it exposed the Mafia to outside scrutiny for the first time. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of national criminal conspiracy, but after the debacle at Apalachin, he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle some power struggles, and to assert his authority as Chairman of the Mafia Commission. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught, including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests and convictions of many of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. In spite of the lack of any concrete punishment for the meeting itself, the fallout of the meeting was disastrous it exposed the Mafia to outside scrutiny for the first time. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of national criminal conspiracy, but after the debacle at Apalachin, he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle some power struggles and delineate authority and power between the different entities. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests and convictions of many of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. In spite of the lack of any concrete punishment for the meeting itself, the fallout of the meeting was disastrous for the Mafia since it proved that the Mafia ''existed'', and wasn't just a rumor. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of nation-wide criminal conspiracy, but after the exposure at Apalachin, he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Minions}}'', villains, supervillains and petty criminals flock to Villain-Con where they can showcase their inventions, bounty and is where the minions go to so they could find a villain to work for. The minions learn of it from a secret television broadcast and are set to Orlando, hitch a ride with a [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether bank-robbing family]] and eventually meeting with famed supervillainess Scarlet Overkill.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, to settle some power struggles and delineate authority and power between the different entities. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught including Genovese himself. Despite the arrests and convictions of many of the attendees, all of the convictions were overturned on appeal because there was no evidence that they had actually done anything illegal before the meeting was broken up. In spite of the lack of any concrete punishment for the meeting itself, the fallout of the meeting was disastrous for the Mafia since it proved that the Mafia ''existed'', and wasn't just a rumor. J. Edgar Hoover had always strenuously denied that there was any kind of nation-wide criminal conspiracy, but after the exposure at Apalachin he dedicated FBI resources to the Mafia specifically.

* The Heist-Con in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. Because of Rick's disdain for the genre, he hypnotizes the patrons to destroy it.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara, in the New York village of Apalachin, outside Binghamton. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles "Lucky" Luciano's former NumberTwo, who aimed to wrest control of the Luciano (now Genovese) family from Frank Costello, his ArchEnemy and to become [[BigBadWannabe the Mafia's overlord]] after eliminating Albert Anastasia, the boss of the Mangano (now Gambino) family a few weeks before. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught including Genovese himself; others nabbed include Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Frank [=DeSimone=], Giuseppe Profaci, Santo Trafficante and Joe Bonanno (who claimed that he wasn't there at the meeting [[ImplausibleDeniability despite being caught by state troopers at a nearby cornfield]]; he was there to talk about his recent meeting with Luciano and a narcotics pipeline he set up with the Sicilian mob a few days earlier); Tommy Lucchese, Carmine Galante, Carlos Marcello and Sam Giancana themselves eluded capture, while state troopers found clothes belonging to Stefano Magaddino (a cousin of Joe Bonanno and the boss of the Buffalo mob at the time) stuffed in a car, thus indicating that Magaddino may have been there but managed to avoid arrest. Genovese was blamed for this debacle, and he ended up in prison for presumably trumped-up charges on narcotics trafficking in 1959. And not only this, the fiasco exposed the American Mafia in front of intense legal and public scrutiny in later years.

* A RealLife version of this trope did occur. On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara, in a small town called Apalachin, which is not far from Binghamton, New York. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles Luciano's former NumberTwo, who aimed to wrest control of the Luciano (now Genovese) family from Frank Costello, his ArchEnemy and to become [[BigBadWannabe the Mafia's overlord]] after eliminating Albert Anastasia, the boss of the Mangano (now Gambino) family a few weeks before. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught including Genovese himself; others nabbed include Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Frank [=DeSimone=], Giuseppe Profaci, Santo Trafficante and Joe Bonanno (who claimed that he wasn't there at the meeting despite being caught by state troopers at a nearby cornfield; he was there to talk about his recent meeting with Luciano and a narcotics pipeline he set up with the Sicilian mob a few days earlier); Tommy Lucchese, Carmine Galante, Carlos Marcello and Sam Giancana themselves eluded capture, while state troopers found clothes belonging to Stefano Magaddino (a cousin of Joe Bonanno and the boss of the Buffalo mob at the time) stuffed in a car, thus indicating that Magaddino may have been there but managed to avoid arrest. Genovese was blamed for this debacle, and he ended up in prison for presumably trumped-up charges on narcotics trafficking in 1959. And not only this, the fiasco exposed the American Mafia in front of intense legal and public scrutiny in later years.

[[caption-width-right:350:Instructions found in the secret transmission.]]

* One ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode features all of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's villains meeting in a hotel... it turns out to be a book club.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

[[folder: Live-Action Series]]
* In the ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0NgUhEs1R4 World's Most Evil Invention]]", a convention is held for {{Mad Scientist}}s to show off their most evil invention that they plan on terrorizing the world with. One such scientist - Roy (played by Wrestling/DwayneJohnson) - invents Robochomo, a cheap and easy to manufacture robot designed to molest children. While the villains all agree that it is the most evil thing they have ever head of, [[EvenEvilHasStandards they are all more horrified and disgusted than impressed]].

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the ''Spawn/Batman'' review when Linkara mocks the plot point that random low-level drug dealers are somehow doing business with agents of a foreign dictatorship:
-->'''Linkara''': Oh yeah, I'm sure impoverished drug dealers do trades like this all the time with former dictators. They meet at the Evil People Conventions and exchange business cards.
* ''WebAnimation/ShaggyDogStories Episode 35: An Apple a Day'' has an evil princess attending the Notorious Villains' Ideas Extravaganza.

[[folder:{{Webcomics}}]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* One ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode features all of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy's villains meeting in a hotel... it turns out to be a book club.

[[folder:RealLife]]

[[/folder]]

[[quoteright:350:[[[[WesternAnimation/{{Minions}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/235636_2.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/{{Minions}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/235636_2.jpg]]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman #14: The Collectors'', a convention of serial killers and mass murders congregate to share stories and conversation. Here, rogue nightmare and serial killer, the Corinthian, is found attending the convention, having been an inspiration to many of the serial killers attending. The various attendants go by code-names, the convention called a "[[{{Pun}} Cereal]] Convention" as to not draw attention to themselves. The convention comes to an end when the eponymous sandman Dream is called there by one of their victims and then proceeds to destroy the Corinthian and show the conventioners how petty and meaningless they truly are.

* On November 14, 1957, the Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the [[UsefulNotes/TheMafia American Mafia]] held at the home of mobster Joseph "The Barber" Barbara, in a small town called Apalachin, which is not far from Binghamton, New York. It was set up by Vito Genovese, Charles Luciano's former underboss, who aimed to wrest control of the Luciano (now Genovese) family from Frank Costello, his ArchEnemy and to become [[BigBadWannabe the Mafia's overlord]] after eliminating Albert Anastasia, the boss of the Mangano (now Gambino) family a few weeks before. Around 100 mobsters attended the meeting, but it turned into a big disaster when a curious state trooper got wind of it and sent in reinforcements. Many mafiosi eluded capture, but more than 60 of them were caught including Genovese himself; others nabbed include Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Frank [=DeSimone=], Giuseppe Profaci, Santo Trafficante and Joe Bonanno (who claimed that he wasn't there at the meeting despite being caught by state troopers at a nearby cornfield; he was there to talk about his recent meeting with Luciano and a narcotics pipeline he set up with the Sicilian mob a few days earlier); Tommy Lucchese, Carmine Galante, Carlos Marcello and Sam Giancana themselves eluded capture, while state troopers found clothes belonging to Stefano Magaddino (a cousin of Joe Bonanno and the boss of the Buffalo mob at the time) stuffed in a car, thus indicating that Magaddino may have been there but managed to avoid arrest. Genovese was blamed for this debacle, and he ended up in prison for presumably trumped-up charges on narcotics trafficking in 1959. And not only this, the fiasco exposed the American Mafia in front of intense legal and public scrutiny in later years.