Organized crime Books

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Book SynopsisIt is convenient to think that bad guys are drumming up money for their activities far away and in shady back alleys, but the violent non-state actors (VNSAs) of the world are hiding in plain sight. They peddle knockoff sneakers, pass the hat at ethnic festivals, take a cut of untaxed booze sales, swindle senior citizens with bogus phone calls about needing bail in Mexico, and run money through mainstream banks to buy up rental properties (just to name a few). On a grand scale, their behavior erodes rule of law, creates moral injuries from corruption, and emboldens bad actors to steal and back violent tactics with impunity. Blood Money analyzes the ways in which VNSAs find money for their operations and sustainment, from controlling a valuable commodity to harnessing the grievances of a networked diaspora, and it looks at the channels through which they can flip the positives of globalization into flat, fast, and frictionless movement of people, funds, and materials needed to terrorize and coerce their opponents. Author Margaret Sankey highlights the mundane and everyday nature of these tactics, occurring under our noses online, in legitimate marketplaces, and with the aegis of intelligence services and national governments.   While reforms attempt to curtail these options, their utility and efficacy as tools of finance have proved inadequate for sovereign states.  VNSAs' defiance of rules and their capable adaptation and innovation make them extremely difficult to pin down or prosecute. Many security publications stress legislation and enforcement or frame illicit finance as a military or police problem. With Blood Money, Sankey points out the many ways VNSAs evade law enforcement, and she offers options for involving consumers and activists in exercising agency and choices in how they apply their money and where it goes. Blood Money also provides context for whole-of-government approaches to attacking underlying supports for illicit financing channels. How these groups finance themselves is key to understanding how they function and what actions might be taken to derail their plans or dismantle their structure.Trade Review“In Blood Money: How Criminals, Militias, Rebels, and Warlords Finance Violence, Dr. Margaret Sankey has written the definitive account of the creation, flow, and employment of dirty money over the past half century. Utilizing a vast array of scholarly work, reportage, and government studies, Dr. Sankey reveals how violent non-state actors (ranging from revolutionary ideologues devoted to political change to purely criminal organizations dedicated to making money) exploit a variety of opportunities (from arbitrage to officially sanctioned fund-raising to drug running) to generate resources. She then connects this discussion with a magisterial account of how those actors exploit their flexibility and nimbleness to transport those resources, finance their activities (most importantly acts of violence), and sustain themselves. Her discussion connects diverse areas of scholarship, including those that address banks and currency networks, state stability, resource curses, organized crime, drug cartels, unconventional warfare, insurgencies and insurgents, terrorism and terrorists, the diamond industry, lobbying and interest groups, the fine arts and antiquities communities, and regional studies. The attention she draws to the connections between state intelligence agencies and dirty money is particularly sobering. Blood Money's expansive discussion of the phenomena of dirty money, its deep analysis of the vast number of processes and actors associated with dirty money, and its careful discussion of possible ways to combat dirty money will make this book of immense value to policymakers, enforcement officials, and scholars alike."—David J. Lorenzo, Ph.D. Professor, College of International Affairs, National Chengchi University “Behind every successful criminal enterprise is a bureaucrat managing the books and demanding receipts. Sankey’s deeply researched, witty, and engaging book offers a fascinating, albeit disturbing, journey into how violent non-state actors are funding their operations in every sector of the global financial system with ever increasing return on investment."—Frank A. Blazich, Jr., military history curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution “In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the criminal manifestations of unchecked greed impact all of us – politically, socially, culturally, economically. Money is the incentive of illicit, violent, non-state actors. Blood Money is a fascinating exposure of transnational criminality and its exploitation of globalization; it also offers insights to help counter illicit financial flows."—John Cassara, author and former CIA Case Officer and Treasury Special Agent (retired) “This book ‘follows the money’ into the dim alleys and swank lobbies of the global illicit economy, revealing in vivid detail how it is entwined with modern conflict. Sankey’s refreshingly jargon-free style makes the book suitable for undergraduates, while the dispassionate and meticulous research will thrill scholars who study Violent Non State Actors (VNSAs). The chapter on art and antiquities is a unique contribution. Sankey concludes with a call for patient, unglamorous cooperation among governments and private sector organizations, as well as between prosperous and developing countries."—Dr. Karthika Sasikumar, professor, Department of Political Science at San Jose State University, California

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Book SynopsisThis first critical history of a street gang in a Canadian city is a result of a four-year collaboration between a university professor (Ted Rutland) and the leader of les Bélangers (Maxime Aurélien). Out to Defend Ourselves tells the story of Montreal's first Haitian street gang, les Bélangers. It traces how the gang emerged from a group of Haitian friends, the children of migrants from Haiti in the 1970s. It documents the forms of racial violence they experienced and their battles against them. It also documents the everyday lives of the gang members, the petty crime some members engaged in to make ends meet, and how the police actions against the gang changed its nature and function – making it, finally, a more criminally oriented and violent formation. It is a story about a gang, but it is also a story of young Haitians making their lives in 1970s and 80s Montreal and a story about Montreal in a period of great change.

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Book SynopsisNew Zealand's underworld of organised crime and deadly gangs 'The best true-crime book of the year by a long stretch.'- Steve Braunias, Newsroom 'A series of rip-snorting yarns about gangs, drugs, fancy cars, wads of cash, violence, and guns - Aotearoa New Zealand style.'- Simon BridgesNew Zealand is now one of the most lucrative illicit drug markets in the world. Organised crime is about making money. It's a business. But over the past 20 years, the dealers have graduated from motorcycle gangs to Asian crime syndicates and now the most dangerous drug lords in the world - the Mexican cartels.In Gangland, award-winning investigative reporter Jared Savage shines a light into New Zealand's rising underworld of organised crime and violent gangs.The brutal execution of a husband-and-wife; the undercover cop who infiltrated a casino VIP lounge; the midnight fishing trip which led to the country's biggest cocaine bust; the gangster who shot his best friend in a motorcycle shop: these stories go behind the headlines and open the door to an invisible world - a world where millions of dollars are made, life is cheap, and allegiances change like the flick of a switch.

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Book SynopsisThe much anticipated follow-up to the bestseller that exposed the escalation of organised crime in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about drugs, guns, gangs and money. Lots of money.A gang which took over a small rural town. A police officer shot and killed in a routine traffic stop. A port-worker who helped a gang whisk a shipping container off a wharf in the middle of the night. A crew of corrupt baggage handlers smuggling meth into the country during Covid lockdowns. A shooting inside a 5-star hotel in broad daylight. Turf wars, retaliation, and retribution: new gangs like the Mongols and Comancheros have brought with them better connections with international syndicates, challenging the established gangs like the Head Hunters - so dominant for many years - who have had to up their game in response. Jared Savage's bestselling book Gangland was about the evolution of gangs in New Zealand. Gangster's Paradise is about the deadly escalation.

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Book SynopsisWhat makes Tony Soprano so likeable? Why would we rather leave the cannoli and take the gun? Do we truly want Scarface’s Tony Montana to succeed? Is Michael Corleone a misunderstood hero or a despicable villain? In The Mafia: A Cultural History, now available in paperback, Roberto M. Dainotto traces the complex and fascinating development of the mafia: its rural beginnings in Western Sicily; its growth into what has been aptly described as a global multinational of crime; and its parallel evolution in music, print and on the big screen. The book probes the tension between the real mafia – its brutal and often violent reality – and how we imagine it to be: a mythical assembly of codes of honour, family values and chivalric masochism. Rather than dismissing such mafia stereotypes as untrue, Dainotto sets out to understand what needs and desires, material and psychic longings, are satisfied by our mafia fantasies. Exploring the rich array of films, books, television, music and even video games portraying and inspired by the mafia, this book offers not only a social, economic and political history of the mafia but a new way of understanding our enduring fascination with what lurks behind the sinister omertà of the family business.Trade Review`Dainotto’s The Mafia: A Cultural History offers something unique in the somewhat overcrowded category of books about the Mafia and its pop culture representations: a Sicilian intellectual’s historically informed yet personal perspective on the enduring appeal of organized crime stories.’ – PopMatters

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Book SynopsisWe see mafias as vast, powerful organisations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping its tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth? Travelling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caught up in mafia life, showing their loves and fears, ambitions and disappointments, as well as their crimes. Mafia Life takes us into the real world of organised crime, where mafia henchmen worry about their bad managers and have high blood pressure, assassinations are bungled as often as they come off, and increasing pressure from law enforcement means that a life of crime is no longer lived in the lap of luxury. As our world changes, so must the mafia. Globalisation, migration and technology are disrupting their traditions and threatening their revenue streams, and the mafiosi must evolve or die. Mafia Life is an intense and totally compelling look at an organisation and the daily life of its members, as it gets to grips with the modern world. Out now in paperback.Trade ReviewFederico Varese, who has made organised crime a life's work, is the capo di tutti capi of mafia studies. His desire to pierce ever more deeply through the layers of violence, comradeship, greed, corruption and pathos of men, at once parasitical on societies and contemptuous of them, plunges him into their worlds to discover that, different as the mafias are, at root they are the same. * Financial Times *Excellent ... each chapter shines a new light on a fundamental aspect of mafia activity. -- Misha Glenny * Times Literary Supplement *Federico Varese is two writers rolled into one: a fearless fact-hunter who goes after his quarry with the zeal of a thoroughbred journalist, and a dedicated academic who examines and analyzes his catch with relentless detachment. -- John le CarréWide-ranging ... digs deep into the culture and practices of the mafia * Daily Telegraph *In this beautifully penned book, the reader has the opportunity to go beyond the fabricated mafia image usually offered to the public. Mafia Life is a landmark text exploring realms of power and looking at these contested men of our time from an anthropological point of view -- Dr Baris Cayli * LSE Review of Books *An intoxicating narrative that tugs the reader from Hong Kong to Moscow, Salford to New Jersey, Tokyo to Sicily in search of the essence of Mafia Life. There is humour, pathos and poignancy amid stories of violence, corruption and intimidation. It begins and ends, festively, in a snowswept Russian graveyard. But it leaves you anything but cold. -- Alistair Fraser, University of Glasgow

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Book SynopsisThe first of two hard hitting, brutally honest accounts of police work during the late 1960s and 1970s. Whilst explicit, they are often humorous, refreshing and equally unbelievable. In this first book of a trilogy the author takes the reader through his early police service and in the second book Fifty Shades of Black 'n' Blue, his later years. The series of two gritty yet humorous books are written with such explicit content that leaves little doubt that many working practices of the 60s and 70s have in reality actually become a culture of dishonesty, lies and often stupidity which has been accepted by the Government of the day, the judiciary and the public at large for many years. That is of course until the present day when it has all gone so wrong. Very, very wrong with the revelations of the Hillsborough Investigation, the Jimmy Savile Investigation, so many more and even 'Plebgate' when The Biggest Gang believed they were so powerful that evidence against Andrew Mitchell MP, a member of Her Majesty's Government left so many questions, which when answered were proved to be blatant lies. This book explains that such examples are not typical of a minority rogue element as being claimed but are a dishonest culture, born so long ago but allowed to fester and grow with the many examples and revelations which have continued until today with Plebgate and Hillsborough as only two shocking examples.

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Book SynopsisAn astonishing and revelatory memoir by two women who escaped the glamorous yet deadly international drug trade.Mia Flores and Olivia Flores live under assumed names. To their neighbours, they are typical single mothers, their days filled with school runs and PTA meetings. But Olivia and Mia are anything but ordinary. They live in fear, hiding from a past that included wealth beyond their wildest dreams but also more danger than they ever could have imagined.Mia and Olivia are married to the highest level American drug traffickers ever to become US informants, Chicago-born twin brothers Margarito and Pedro Flores. These men worked with - and then brought down - dozens of high-level members of the Mexican cartels, most significantly notorious kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. The brothers and their wives had everything money could buy - luxury cars, huge houses and expensive jewellery - but came to understand that the vast wealth that accompanied cartel life came with the ever-present threat of kidnapping, death or imprisonment. Choosing their families over money, they decided to give it all up and cooperate with the US government.Now, from behind the cloak of witness protection, Olivia and Mia have come forward for the first time to tell the full story of their family's decision to risk everything and seek redemption. Cartel Wives is a love story, an insider's look into a terrifying but high-flying modern-day drug empire and, finally, the story of a major federal government operation to bring down one of the most feared men in the world.

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Book SynopsisElgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.Organised crime has become a major problem globally. Its negative impact on economies, societies, politics, human rights and security is profound: fraud, money-laundering, drug, arms and human trafficking, and collusion with both law enforcement and terrorists, for example, are all significant issues. Yet specialists disagree not only on the scale and nature of organised crime, but even on its definition. This Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime explores these disagreements, examines the nature and causes of contemporary organised crime, and offers constructive suggestions on how to counter it.Key features include:- Emphasis on the rapidly changing structures of organised crime, its increasingly transnational nature and sophisticated use of the internet.- Psycho-social and cultural explanations, as well as system-related ones- Explores the latest techniques for measuring organised crime- Provides detailed analyses of six of the best known transnational organised crime syndicates- Focuses on human trafficking to exemplify many of the key points- Examines the many methods that can be used - not only by states and international organisations, but also by civil society and individuals - to combat organised crime. Accessible and comprehensive, the Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying criminology, political science, international relations, law and sociology. Its profound insights are invaluable to practitioners, including law enforcement officers, investigative journalists and criminologists.Trade ReviewBy calling his new book Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime, Leslie Holmes indicates right from the outset that he is setting a different course in examining what some might regard as an already much examined subject. Echoing the comic strip character Pogo, who memorably said, ''We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us!'' the author points out, in this insightful and informative analysis, that each and every individual must play a role in resisting organized crime. Toward this end, Holmes concludes, ''everyone's political will matters.'' This is a profoundly important observation. --Jim Finckenauer, Rutgers UniversityTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Definitional Aspects 2. The Impact of Organised Crime 3. Measuring Organised Crime 4. Major Structured TOC Groupings 5. Psycho-social and Cultural Causes 6. System-related Causes 7. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of States and IOs 8. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of other Agencies 9. Conclusions Index

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Book SynopsisElgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.Organised crime has become a major problem globally. Its negative impact on economies, societies, politics, human rights and security is profound: fraud, money-laundering, drug, arms and human trafficking, and collusion with both law enforcement and terrorists, for example, are all significant issues. Yet specialists disagree not only on the scale and nature of organised crime, but even on its definition. This Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime explores these disagreements, examines the nature and causes of contemporary organised crime, and offers constructive suggestions on how to counter it.Key features include:- Emphasis on the rapidly changing structures of organised crime, its increasingly transnational nature and sophisticated use of the internet.- Psycho-social and cultural explanations, as well as system-related ones- Explores the latest techniques for measuring organised crime- Provides detailed analyses of six of the best known transnational organised crime syndicates- Focuses on human trafficking to exemplify many of the key points- Examines the many methods that can be used - not only by states and international organisations, but also by civil society and individuals - to combat organised crime. Accessible and comprehensive, the Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime is an ideal resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying criminology, political science, international relations, law and sociology. Its profound insights are invaluable to practitioners, including law enforcement officers, investigative journalists and criminologists.Trade ReviewBy calling his new book Advanced Introduction to Organised Crime, Leslie Holmes indicates right from the outset that he is setting a different course in examining what some might regard as an already much examined subject. Echoing the comic strip character Pogo, who memorably said, ''We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us!'' the author points out, in this insightful and informative analysis, that each and every individual must play a role in resisting organized crime. Toward this end, Holmes concludes, ''everyone's political will matters.'' This is a profoundly important observation. --Jim Finckenauer, Rutgers UniversityTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Definitional Aspects 2. The Impact of Organised Crime 3. Measuring Organised Crime 4. Major Structured TOC Groupings 5. Psycho-social and Cultural Causes 6. System-related Causes 7. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of States and IOs 8. Combating Organised Crime: The Role of other Agencies 9. Conclusions Index

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Book SynopsisThe increasing prevalence of transnational crime in a mobile and interconnected world presents serious challenges, both in terms of analysing these issues and attempting to tackle and prevent them. This Research Handbook on Transnational Crime is an interdisciplinary, up-to-date guide to this growing field, written by an international cohort of leading scholars and experts. The multifaceted nature of the problem is reflected in the structure of this innovative Research Handbook, covering all the major areas of transnational crime, including terrorism, money laundering, environmental crime, migration-related crime, human trafficking, drug trafficking, cybercrime and heritage crime. Each sector is examined through three dedicated chapters that consider in turn legal responses to a given crime, its current criminological understanding, and the practical challenges of policing and prosecution, providing a well-rounded, detailed discussion of each topic. This timely Research Handbook also includes chapters focusing on responses to transnational crime in specific regions, including the EU, the African Union, Asia, South America and ex-Soviet Union countries. This Research Handbook will be crucial reading for academics and students with an interest in criminal justice and criminology, particularly those working on international and transnational crime. Policymakers and practitioners will also find its insights into practical challenges in the field invaluable. Contributors include: M. Bergström, N.l. Bhatia, L.Y.-C. Chang, D. Chappell, M. den Boer, J. Ferwerda, R. Fortson, F. Galli, P. Gottschalk, M.l. Grewcock, A. Grymaneli, M.J. Guia, R.V. Gundur, S.A. Hardy, Y. Holiday, S. Hufnagel, J. Lindley, A. Marks, S. Mehlbaum, V. Mitsilegas, A. Moiseienko, D. Mystris, E. Papastavridis, M. Peters, K. Polk, R.D. Pucci, W.E. Purvis, K. Roach, J. Sheptycki, M.-L. Skilbrei, E. Smith, T. Spapens, J. Ulph, G. Urbas, G.M. Vagliasindi, G. van Bueren, C. Walker, R.W.Y. Wong, S.N.M. YoungTrade Review‘The publication of the Research Handbook on Transnational Crime is of significant interest. It is a strongly-formed and substantively mellifluous text that makes a significant scholarly contribution in the transnational crime space. They have produced a wide-ranging, balanced and useful resource for those who wish to study transnational crime from a variety of perspectives.’ -- Robert J Currie, New Journal of European Criminal Law‘The authors of this book have done an outstanding service to the body of knowledge on the topic by bringing together in one volume so many diverse viewpoints and interdisciplinary perspectives. The clearly structured narration, well-explained concepts, and landmark cases presented in a straightforward language, combined with an up-to-date interdisciplinary view of the challenges and risks posed by transnational crime, make this book indispensable for undergraduate and graduate students in courses on international criminal justice, contemporary issues of global security, and transnational security threats. The volume combines breadth with depth, enabling students to understand vital aspects of what constitutes transnational crime and the counteracting measures against it today.’ -- Yuliya Zabyelina, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books'Since its first appearance in the 1990s, the theme of transnational crime has expanded its scope. Today it is a hugely diverse field of inquiry, analysis and action, with numerous challenges for contemporary researchers. This Research Handbook is exactly what is needed to prepare this fuzzy field for the future. It provides innovative perspectives, and a clear structure that helps to carve out common strands without losing out on diversity. For the first time regional perspectives below the global gaze help to capture difference and commonality, analysis and action. Congratulations to the three editors on an invaluable guide to theorizing, research and action that will help us to explore and navigate an increasingly difficult terrain.' --Susanne Karstedt, Griffith University, Australia'This Research Handbook is a very innovative, perhaps even unique, trilateral (from a legal, criminological and policing perspective) analysis of important types of organised and professional crime in our globalised world like terrorism, migration crime, drug trafficking and cybercrime. Its well-organised collection of case studies is complemented by pieces on the manifestation and containment of transnational crime in a number of (sub)continents. In this way, the Research Handbook does justice to the global and local dimensions of this complicated and diversified phenomenon.' --Cyrille Fijnaut, KU Leuven, Belgium'The editors have assembled a stellar list of scholars to provide a systematic introduction to current research on transnational crime. Structured in a unique way that draws together the work of specialists on legal responses, criminological perspectives and policing and prosecution in respect of each of the most important transnational crimes, the Research Handbook on Transnational Crime brings together in one volume a matchless interdisciplinary resource.' --Neil Boister, University of Canterbury, New ZealandTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction to the Research Handbook on Transnational Crime 1 Valsamis Mitsilegas, Saskia Hufnagel and Anton Moiseienko GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON TRANSNATIONAL CRIME 2 Legal responses to transnational crime: a global perspective 5 Valsamis Mitsilegas 3 Criminological perspectives on transnational crime: interdisciplinary criminology and transnational crime 17 Nabil Bhatia and James Sheptycki 4 Policing and prosecution of transnational crime 32 Saskia Hufnagel TYPES OF TRANSNATIONAL CRIME 5 Legal perspectives on terrorism: is Europe unprepared? EU counter-terrorism policies to address the foreign fighters and returnees’ phenomena 52 Francesca Galli 6 Criminological perspectives on terrorism 66 Kent Roach and Clive Walker 7 Policing and prosecuting transnational terrorism: a comparative European perspective 81 Monica Den Boer 8 Legal perspectives on money laundering 98 Maria Bergström 9 Criminological perspectives on money laundering: the efficiency of anti-money laundering policies 112 Joras Ferwerda 10 Policing and prosecution of money laundering 122 Simon NM Young 11 Legal perspectives on environmental crime: the transnational dimension of environmental crime 142 Grazia Maria Vagliasindi 12 Criminological perspectives on environmental crime 162 Rebecca WY Wong 13 Policing and prosecution of transnational environmental crime 171 Toine Spapens and Shanna Mehlbaum 14 Legal perspectives on migration crime 183 Yewa Holiday 15 Criminological perspectives on migration crime: the policing of people smuggling and the abuse of refugees 199 Michael Grewcock 16 Policing and prosecution of migration crime: the Daedalus puzzle of European immigration policies: law in books and law in action in a corner of the EU 212 Maria João Guia 17 Legal perspectives on human trafficking 223 Geraldine Van Bueren QC 18 Criminological perspectives on human trafficking 236 May-Len Skilbrei 19 Policing and prosecution of human trafficking 247 Jade Lindley 20 Legal perspectives on drug trafficking 261 Amber Marks 21 The drug trade at a glance 272 WE Purvis and RV Gundur 22 Policing and prosecution of drug trafficking 300 Rudi Fortson QC 23 Legal perspectives on cybercrime 316 Gregor Urbas 24 Criminological perspectives on cybercrime: risk, routine activity, and cybercrime 327 Lennon Yao-Chung Chang 25 Policing and prosecution of cybercrime 344 Petter Gottschalk 26 Legal perspectives on heritage crime: reviewing due diligence measures for the art market 356 Janet Ulph 27 Criminological perspectives on heritage crime 383 Samuel Andrew Hardy 28 Policing and prosecution of heritage crime: revisiting the ‘Cordata’ – just how organised is the international traffic in cultural heritage? 403 Kenneth Polk and Duncan Chappell TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES IN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES 29 Transnational crime in the European Union 414 Efthymios Papastavridis and Aikaterini Grymaneli 30 Transnational crime in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion 436 Maaike Peters 31 Transnational crime in ex-Soviet countries 455 Anton Moiseienko 32 Transnational crime in Asia: causes, effects, challenges 472 Emiline Smith 33 Transnational crime in the African Union 482 Dominique Mystris 34 Transnational crime in South America 494 Rafael Diniz Pucci Index

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Book Synopsis40 YEARS WITH THE KRAYS is the untold, intimate history of the twins and the woman who raised them. Told with humour and insight, it looks back across the decades at the life of this close knit, notorious East End family. Maureen Flanagan, a then 20 year old hairdresser started visiting the Kray family home in Vallance Road each week to give the twins’ mother, Violet, her weekly shampoo and set. Over the cups of tea and the rollers and hairpins, Violet began to confide in ‘Flan’ about her life, her incredible pride in her twins, the celebrities who visited her at their humble East End home - and her troubled relationship with her husband.Trade ReviewNot that many people saw that side of the Krays, but this chatty, vivacious memoir sheds a strangely intimate light on their baleful legend * Daily Mail *...an engaging, atmospheric read * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn The Dirty Game, investigative reporter and BBC Panorama presenter Andrew Jennings, who has been heralded around the world for his decade-long pursuit of this story, uncovers the eye-watering level of fraud and criminal activity at the heart of FIFA, which has been described as the biggest sporting scandal of the century. From Blatter to Blazer, from bribery to embezzlement, Jennings reveals the key protagonists, crimes and evidence he handed to the FBI which led to the arrests of FIFA executive and the resignation of Sepp Blatter. Written in a gripping narrative, and based on years of research and never-before-seen documents, this is the definitive portrait of the downfall of FIFA, and the men who stole football.

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Book SynopsisTO KNOW THE TRUE STORY BEHIND A WAR, ASK THE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT IT 'An observation van is running surveillance on a high-level Bradford gangster. Suddenly the van is surrounded by men in balaclavas and tied shut. Out comes the can of petrol. It is set alight and the two cops inside barely escape with their lives. This incident is never reported. The gangsters clearly have informants inside the police and alerting the public would undermine the force. Everyone shrugs it off – with so much money in the drugs game, corruption is part and parcel of the whole deal' The Drug Wars have been fought on British streets for decades, bringing destruction, corruption and violence in their wake. Yet it is a story that remains fundamentally untold. Until now. In this groundbreaking book, former undercover police officer Neil Woods, who risked his life infiltrating some of the UK's most vicious gangs, pieces together the complex and terrifying reality of the drug war in Britain. Calling upon gripping first-hand accounts from those on both sides of the battle, Drug Wars is told by those who are fighting it.Trade ReviewAnyone who cares about Britain should read this extraordinary and riveting book. It will change how you see our country - and lots of things that seemed strange will start to make sense. -- Johann HariIf you want to understand how Britain succumbed to a self-defeating war on drugs benefiting only the most vicious gangsters, this book is the perfect primer with its highly-readable fusion of analysis, history and first person testimonies from the front line. -- Ian Birrell

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Book SynopsisYou can see them, but you don't know them.Ultras are football fans like no others. A hugely visible and controversial part of the global game, their credo and aesthetic replicated in almost every league everywhere on earth, a global movement of extreme fandom and politics is also one of the largest youth movements in the world. Yet they remain unknown: an anti-establishment force that is transforming both football and politics. In this book, James Montague goes underground to uncover the true face of this dissident force for the first time. 1312: Among the Ultras tells the story of how the movement began and how it grew to become the global phenomenon that now dominates the stadiums from the Balkans and Buenos Aires. With unprecedented insider access, the book investigates how ultras have grown into a fiercely political movement, embracing extremes on both the left and right; fighting against the commercialisation of football and society – and against the attempts to control them by the authorities, who both covet and fear their power.Trade ReviewBrilliant and daring * Tobias Jones, Guardian *Utterly gripping. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. * Rory Smith, New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThis unique Handbook provides multiple perspectives on the growth of illicit trade, primarily exploring counterfeits and internet piracy. The expert contributions, drawn from the private sector, the legal community, and leading enforcement and anti-counterfeiting agencies, cover a wide range of topics including the evaluation of key global enforcement issues, government and private-sector initiatives to stifle illicit trade, and the evolution of piracy on the internet. The authors also assess the efficacy of anti-counterfeiting strategies such as targeted consumer campaigns, working with intermediaries in the supply chain, authentication technology, and online brand protection. Offering a succinct and up-to-date overview of country initiatives to stem illicit trade in China, Mexico, and the US, the book addresses key global enforcement issues. It illustrates the unique problems facing key industry sectors and expands on a comprehensive and timely debate on the growing problem of illicit trade on the internet, highlighting distinct aspects of piracy in the music industry. The persistent problem of botnets, malware, and `malvertising' is discussed, along with an overview of the various issues associated with online brand protection. Furthermore, a variety of anti-counterfeiting measures are presented that target both the demand and supply of illicit trade, complemented by an examination of their relative effectiveness. This accessible, provocative, and timely synopsis of counterfeiting and illicit trade will be of great value to academics and researchers of law, criminology, and trade. It will also be an excellent resource for government agencies, policymakers, and private-sector managers in those industries most affected by this growing and pervasive problem.Contributors include: S. Betti, L. Cesareo, P.E. Chaudhry, A. Chikada, D. Collopy, R.S. Delston, B. Dobson, G.M. Dominguez Rodriguez, D. Follador, A. Gupta, R. Kinghorn, I. Lancaster, A. Pastore, E. Penz, M. Sonmez B. Stöttinger, H. Sudler, B.A. Sullivan, M. Tanji, S.C. Walls, P. Williams, J.M. Wilson, D. Yang, A.S. ZimmermanTrade Review'The team that Dr Peggy Chaudhry has assembled is an awesome team of leading experts from around the world on illicit trade. The collective wisdom of this group embodied in this book is destined to be not only widely read but also extensively debated.' --Mike Peng, University of Texas at Dallas, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Trojan Horses, Pirate Bays and Anti-counterfeiting Peggy E. Chaudhry PART I Alarming Trends in Illicit Trade and Key Global Enforcement Issues 2. Illicit Trade in Counterfeit Products: An Examination of the Opportunity-Risk Connection Brandon A. Sullivan, Jeremy M. Wilson and Rodney Kinghorn 3. Key Global Enforcement Issues on Illicit Trade in Goods Stefano Betti 4. Reaching Beyond Banks: How to Target Trade-Based Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Outside the Financial Sector Ross S. Delston and Stephen C. Walls PART II Country Initiatives Designed to Stem Illicit Trade 5. Initiatives to Stem Illicit Trade in the United States Peggy E. Chaudhry 6. Initiatives to Stem Illicit Trade in Mexico Gloria Maria Dominguez Rodriguez 7. Initiatives to Stem Illicit Trade in China’s E-Commerce Davide Follador PART III Impact of Illicit Trade on Select Industry Sectors 8. The Challenge of Curtailing the Escalation of Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals Peggy E. Chaudhry 9. Counterfeiting Luxury Goods Ludovica Cesareo, Alberto Pastore and Patti Williams 10. Illicit Trade in the Tobacco Sector Peggy E. Chaudhry and Alan S. Zimmerman PART IV The Growing Problem on the Internet 11. Overview of the Magnitude of Piracy On The Internet Michael Tanji 12. Social Media’s Impact on Intellectual Property Rights Dennis Collopy 13. Dynamic Shifts In Music Piracy – A Review of the Music Industry and Underlying Technology Innovations Hasshi Sudler 14. Online Brand Protection Akino Chikada and Anil Gupta 15. The Looming Shadow of Illicit Trade on the Internet: Botnets, Malware and Malvertising Peggy E. Chaudhry PART V Managerial and Consumer Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics 16. Analysis of Anti-Counterfeiting Tactics to Diffuse Consumer Demand Barbara Stöttinger, Elfriede Penz and Ludovica Cesareo 17. Effectiveness Against Counterfeiting—Four Decades of Strategic Inquiry Deli Yang and Mahmut (Maho) Sonmez 18. The Critical Role of Intermediaries in Stopping Counterfeiting and Piracy William Dobson 19. Detecting Counterfeits in the Supply Chain: How to Use Authentication Methods Ian Lancaster Index

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Book SynopsisGangs of London meets Kimberley Chambers in this gripping thriller of betrayal and survival in a world where one mistake could cost you everything. YOU THINK YOU'RE FREE, BUT THEY'LL NEVER LET YOU LEAVE . . . Twenty years ago, Jon Kavanagh worked for a crime syndicate. Then one night he made a mistake.He left a witness at a crime scene. Alive. Now, he is haunted by the memories of that young girl. Her face a constant reminder of the life he chose to leave behind. Time has passed and now he wants answers: What ever happened to her?Anna Hill is an aspiring singer, but the bars and clubs she works in are far from exciting. When she is given the opportunity to work in Portugal, she takes it. This is her chance to finally kick-start her career. But the job offer comes at a price; one that will endanger the lives of those she knows, and those she doesn't. Becoming involved with the Syndicate is risky, and Anna will need her instincts to work out who to trust - and who not to . . .'One of my reads of the year' DAVID JACKSON'A gripping story that builds to a stunning conclusion. Kavanagh is a complex and original creation; a man haunted by his past and living on borrowed time' HOWARD LINSKEY'Truly sinuous suspense that when you think you've got it worked out, has a resolution that snaps back and bites' KATE BRADLEYTrade ReviewBrilliant characterisation and such a tense, winding plot. I loved the way Graham wove the story together * Lisa Hall *A damaged but engaging central character, sharp dialogue, twisty plot and great pay-off - The Syndicate has all the ingredients of an excellent thriller * Simon Brett *The Syndicate is a gripping story that builds to a stunning conclusion. GJ Minett's Kavanagh is a complex and original creation; a man haunted by his past and living on borrowed time * Howard Linksey *Captivating, cleverly written, unputdownable. I devoured The Syndicate in one night. Minett and crime at its finest * Rebecca Thornton *I absolutely loved it. I raced through this book. A beautifully written, character-focused novel that reminded me of George Pelecanos at his best. Definitely one of my reads of the year so far * David Jackson *Pacey, heart-stopping and poignant * Julie Corbin *'This is GJ Minett's best yet. Absorbing, nuanced and emotive. A superior thriller with a real sucker punch of a twist.' * Chris Whitaker *With Kavanagh, Minett has created the ultimate hero - dark, dangerous but with a depth of heart. If I was in trouble, I'd want Kavanagh in my corner. The Syndicate is a truly sinuous suspense that when you think you've got it worked out, has a resolution that snaps back and bites. More please * Kate Bradley *That rare type of novel that manages to be subtle, compassionate and with a real moral heart, but at the same time packed with enough twists and turns to the point you can't put it down. And Kavanagh is exactly my kind of hero - laconic, no-nonsense, but also credible and relatable - the sort of reluctant leading man that I can't get enough of. A really entertaining read, but made exceptional my the emotional punch it carries * Rod Reynolds *In The Syndicate, G.J Minett has brought us a compelling, intricately-plotted novel peopled with fascinating characters, particularly the brilliantly drawn Jon Kavanagh, in whose outcome I was completely invested throughout. The writing is superb, the story intriguing and what an ending. Wow! * Gill Thompson *A master of language and character, GJ Minett's The Syndicate is dark and treacherous with a real sting in its tail. * Sam Blake *What a thumping good book! And an absolute gem of a hallmark GJ Minett mystery thriller. Full of twists and turns and surprises, this particular story built to an emotive ending that I found enormously satisfying. A great story from a master storyteller. More please * C J Carver *A powerful psychological thriller, The Syndicate explores the physical and emotional scars that mould the character of a killer * Carolyn Kirby *This is an exciting, twisty novel from an author at the top of his game and in Jon Kavanagh he's created an intriguing lead character. The Syndicate is an excellent, page-turning read - one you won't want to put down * David Young *

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Book Synopsis'A thriller-like tale ... [Mazur] is a good story-teller, with a flair for details that brings the criminal and their world to life' Daily Mail'Bob Mazur delivers again ... he artfully takes the reader through the harrowing account of life as an undercover cop embedded in the drug cartels' BRYAN CRANSTON'A book you can't put down, nor will you' JOSEPH PISTONE, aka Donnie BrascoFrom the bestselling author who inspired Bryan Cranston's The Infiltrator.Three years after undercover agent Robert Mazur infiltrated Pablo Escobar's Medellín drug cartel, he re-emerged, a half-million-dollar bounty still on his head, with a new identity for a risky new sting.Deployed to Panama, he worked, travelled, partied and washed millions with Central America's criminal elite. Partnered with a DEA task force agent, Mazur slipped effortlessly into Colombia's notorious Cali drug cartel. But as his underworld reputation skyrocketed, the operation started going dangerously off the rails.Robert Mazur's riveting true story exposes the corruption at the heart of one of the most explosive undercover missions of his career.Refusing to acknowledge the danger, Mazur was obsessed with seeing the mission through to its treacherous end: expose the Cali cartel, find out who betrayed him, and escape with his life. This is his true story.Trade ReviewA thriller-like tale ... [Mazur] is a good story-teller, with a flair for details that brings the criminal and their world to life. * Daily Mail *Bob Mazur delivers again with The Betrayal! As with its predecessor, The Infiltrator, Mazur artfully takes the reader through the harrowing account of life as an undercover cop embedded in the drug cartels. In my career I take on characters in life-or-death situations - but I just can't imagine how Mazur does it for real! Read it and find out. I highly recommend it. -- Bryan Cranston – Star of Breaking Bad. Winner of Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards for best actor.The Betrayal details the malicious world of drugs, money laundering and the danger of being a DEA undercover agent infiltrating these organizations. A book you can't put down, nor will you. -- Joseph Pistone aka Donnie Brasco, author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the MafiaThe Betrayal is a page-turning thriller about a courageous agent's simultaneous journey through a deadly vise of internal corruption and the ruthless threat of cartel killers. This is the unfortunate reality of the underworld. -- Michael S. Vigil, Former DEA Chief of International Operations and author of DealNo one in law enforcement is more lethally vulnerable to the betrayal of those he/she depends on for support and protection then the deep cover agent; the operative who, unarmed, like a human bait, places himself into isolated situations where the only thing protecting him from an instant death is his acting ability... This book is a must read. -- Michael Levine Author of New York Times bestseller Deep Cover and The Big White LieFATF was created to help governments follow the money and reduce the harm caused by drug traffickers and terrorists. Bob Mazur repeatedly put his life on the line to do just that. This isn't fiction. It's the real deal and scary as hell. -- David Lewis – Executive Secretary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog against money launderingIt is a cliché to say that such books have the pace and tension of a thriller - but in this case the cliché has force ... Mazur shows extraordinary courage, and, along the way, reveals much about the labyrinthine world of high-stakes money-laundering. * Tortoise Media *The Betrayal is a page turner for sure and you won't want to put it down until it is finished ... a "must read" for all. * The Laundry *

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Book SynopsisThis multidisciplinary Handbook examines the complex and often hidden relationship between organised crime and politics across the globe, highlighting the difficulties involved in researching such relationships and offering new insights into how they evolve to become pervasive and destructive.Organised into five distinct sections, key chapters focus on issues and case studies from across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Eurasia and international organisations in order to provide a new and systematic picture and analysis of what the relationship between criminal organisations and politics looks like in different national contexts. In so doing, it offers an insight into the ever-evolving nature of this relationship, and the exchanges within it, in order to identify common features and key differences. These in turn raise provoking questions regarding the possibility of improving democracy, political systems, civil society and economic systems in order to counter the possible infiltration of these organisations, their associates and representatives. Students and scholars of public policy, politics, criminology and those focussing on organised crime more specifically will find this Handbook an original and engaging guide to the current state of play, whilst policy makers, practitioners and NGOs will find the case studies set in national context eminently valuable.Contributors include: S. Adorno, F. Allum, J. Arsovska, M. Beare, M. Bedetti, G. Borrelli, S. Brady, D. Bright, J.-L. Briquet, A. Chung, N. Dalponte, A. De Vos, C.N. Dias, S. Dinnen, G. Favarel-Garrigues, J. Gilbert, S. Gilmour, C. Gunnarson, E. Gutterman, C. Hemmings, A. Idler, D. Islas, J. Janssens, S. Jeperson, M. Joutsen, A. Kupatadze, R. Le Cour Grandmaison, S. Lemière, A. Markovska, V. Mete, S. Musau, A. Orlova, I. Roberge, A. Rostami, D. Silverstone, M. Shaw, D. Smith Jr., F. Strazzari, M. Tzvetkova, C. van Ham, G. Walton, J. Wheatley, J. Whittle, Y. Zabyelina, G. ZanolettiTrade Review'Felia Allum and Stan Gilmour have put together a truly global collection of case studies on the nexus between crime and politics. It makes a valuable contribution to a highly dynamic field of research at the intersection of political science and criminology.' --Klaus von Lampe, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany'As this book recognises, ''organised crime'' has historically been a contested and ambiguous concept, leaving a contemporary legacy of regularly shifting scientific and policy inquiry, even more so in cross-cultural contexts. But irrespective of how we construct 'it', the intrinsic and extrinsic political dimensions of organised crime and its control that this book foregrounds ought to be central to those researching in this area. This timely collection provides an expansive overview of organised crime and politics, and the politics of organised crime, from a diverse array of nation states across the globe and at the supranational level, making a valued contribution to the literature.' --Nicholas Lord, University of Manchester, UK'This is a very important collection, bringing together key experts in the field to offer insights into the opaque nexus between politics and organised crime.' --Elizabeth David Barrett, University of Sussex, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface Giuseppe Borrelli Introduction Felia Allum, Stan Gilmour And Catherine Hemmings Part I Europe 1. France: Criminal Organisations, Urban Gangs And Politics Jean-Louis Briquet And Gilles Favarel-Garrigues 2. Sweden: Organised Crime, Politics And Civil Society Carina Gunnarson And Amir Rostami 3. Germany: Ndrangheta, Settlements And Democracy Nicolo Dalponte And Martina Bedetti 4. Italy: Politics, Local Government And Mafias Vittorio Mete 5. Western Balkans: Organised Crime, Political Corruption And Oligarchs Jana Arsovska 6. Ukraine: Organised Crime, Shady Politics And 'Frozen' Conflict Yuliya Zabyelina And Anna Markovska 7. Bulgaria: Organised Crime, Privaye Security And The State In Post-1989 Marina Tzvetkova 8. Post Soviet Eurasia: Variations, Organised Crime And Political Corruption Alexander Kupatadze 9. Russia: A 'Mafia State', Politics And Shifting Power Dynamics Alessandra Orlova Part II The Americas 10. United States Of America I: Organised Crime, Public Corruption And A Downward Trend Joseph Wheatley 11. United States Of America II: Organised Crime, Political Corruption And Illicit Enterprise Dwight Smith Jr 12. Canada: Internal Conspiracies: Corruption, Politics, And Crime Margaret Beare 13. Mexico: Politics, Cartels And Violence Romain Le Cour Grandmaison 14. Brazil: Organised Crime, Corruption And Urban Violence Sérgio Adorno And Camila Nunes Dias 15. Guatamela: Organised Crime, Fraud And Politics Diorella Islas 16. Colombia: Organised Crime, Politics And Convenience Annette Idler Part III Africa 17. Kenya: Organised Crime, Political Linkages And Violence Stephen Musau 18. Sahel-Sahara Region: Organised Crime, The Sahel-Sahara Region And State (Un)Making Francesco Strazzari And Giovanni Zanoletti 19. Sierra Leone: Organised Crime, Lack Of State Capture And Success Sasha Jesperson 20. South Africa: Origins Of The ‘Mafia State’: Political Transition, Organised Crime And The Impact On Democracy Mark Shaw 21. Nigeria: Black Gold, Suits And Brown Envelopes Sheelagh Brady Part IV Eurasia 22. Australia: Organised Crime, Donations And Political Assassinations David A. Bright And Carolien Van Ham 23. New Zealand: Patched Gangs, Police And Political Corruption Jarrod Gilbert 24. India: Systemic Criminality, Work And The Politics Of Labour Andrew Sanchez 25. China: The 'Red/Black Nexus', Politics And Organised Crime Daniel Silverstone, Alex Chung And Joe Whittle 26. Malaysia: Gangster Boogie, Bosses And Politics Sophie Lemiere 27. The Pacific: The Dark Side Of Economic Globalisation, Politics And Organised Crime Grant W Walton And Sinclair Dinnen Part IV International Organisations 28. The European Union: Organised Crime Policies, Politics And The EU Jelle Janssens And Anke De Vos 29. Financial Action Task Force: Fighting Transnational Organised Crime, Money Laundering And The Limits Of Experimentalist Governance Ellen Gutterman and Ian Roberge 30. The United Nations: Organised Crime On The Agenda Of The United Nations Matti Joutsen Index

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Book SynopsisAs a boy, Miguel Ángel Tobar fled a small town in El Salvador torn apart by warring guerrillas and US-backed death squads. As a teen in Los Angeles, he fought discrimination and beatings by joining a gang, MS-13. By the time the US deported him to San Salvador, the Hollywood Kid joined a wave of US-bred gangsters, whose violence-in concert with corrupt offiicals-have in turn helped propel new waves of refugees.The incomparable Salvadoran journalist Óscar Martinez got to know the Hollywood Kid and met with him as he first turned on MS-13, killing gang members, and then in turn was assassinated by other gang members. In intensely vivid scenes, Martínez and his anthropologist brother Juan tell the story of a violent life and death-and of the geopolitical forces that propelled a country into becoming one of the most violent on earth.Trade Review(El Niño de Hollywood) is a revelation. As they track a single tragic life, Los Hermanos Martínez delve deep into El Salvador's tortured labyrinth, into the macabre working of the Mara Salvatruches, into the sinister consequence of failed US policies, and in the process recover what Neil Smith called the lost history of the American Empire. This is reportage made literature, darkness made light, and one of the most important books of investigative journalism I've read in years. -- Junot DiazAs the poet William Blake famously put it, 'general forms have their vitality in particulars, and every particular is a Man'. The Martinez D'Aubuisson brothers' beautifully written account of the life and death of the feared gangster El Niño de Hollywood, based on hours and hours of interviews with him and those close to him, starkly reveals the underlying dynamics of the Central American gang phenomenon in vivid and insightful detail. -- Dennis Rodgers, author of Global GangsThe graceful, incisive writing lifts The Beast from being merely an impressive feat of reportage into the realm of literature. Mr. Martínez has produced something that is an honorable successor to enduring works like George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier or Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives. -- Larry Rohter * New York Times *Martínez dives into the underworld of his subjects, navigating barrios that police won't enter, spending days and nights with gang members. His methods resemble war reporting and his prose is cinematic . The collection's strength lies in his ability to write the hell out of his material. Like Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family, it skimps on statistics and analysis, instead relying on description alone to create a world that captures the reader and doesn't let her go. One of the stories, 'El Niño Hollywood's Death Foretold,' evokes Gabriel García Márquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Like the beloved Colombian writer, Martínez pens scenes that are suspenseful, moving, and vivid. -- Sarah Esther Maslin * New Republic *Óscar Martínez deserves praise not only for his efforts, and for what he writes about, but because he writes so very well. * New Yorker *Martínez's credentials for writing about this ignored human tide are impeccable: his first book, The Beast, drew on eight trips clinging to the roof of the infamous migrants' train through Mexico, chronicling their desperation in grippingly graphic detail. His new book, A History of Violence, takes a step back to explore what the migrants heading to the US are running away from the unflinching cameos it paints offer a chilling portrait of corruption, unimaginable brutality and impunity. * Financial Times *A powerful storyteller and his approach to investigative journalism is closer to anthropological immersion. * Columbia Journalism Review *One of the bravest writers in Latin America, if not the world. He's also one of the best * Dazed and Confused *Masterfully told. -- Belen Fernandez * NACLA *The Hollywood Kid is a gripping read, thoroughly researched and dramatically conveyed. -- Hilary Goodfriend * Jacobin *The Martínez brothers' book tells the story of an MS-13 hitman known as the Hollywood Kid. He was recruited to the gang in El Salvador by a twenty-year-old former member of the National Police, escaped the civil war to California, was deported in 1994, then began his own clica (clique, or gang chapter) in Salvadoran coffee country. -- Rachel Nolan * NYRB *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year Ultras are often compared to punks, Hell's Angels, hooligans or the South American Barras Bravas. But in truth, they are a thoroughly Italian phenomenon... From the author of The Dark Heart of Italy, Blood on the Altar and A Place of Refuge. Italy's ultras are the most organised and violent fans in European football. Many groups have evolved into criminal gangs, involved in ticket-touting, drug-dealing and murder. A cross between the Hell's Angels and hooligans, they're often the foot-soldiers of the Mafia and have been instrumental in the rise of the far-right. But the purist ultras say that they are are insurgents fighting against a police state and modern football. Only amongst the ultras, they say, can you find belonging, community and a sacred concept of sport. They champion not just their teams, they say, but their forgotten suburbs and the dispossessed. Through the prism of the ultras, Jones crafts a compelling investigation into Italian society and its favourite sport. He writes about not just the ultras of some of Italy's biggest clubs – Juventus, Torino, Lazio, Roma and Genoa – but also about its lesser-known ones from Cosenza and Catania. He examines the sinister side of football fandom, with its violence and political extremism, but also admires the passion, wit, solidarity and style of a fascinating and contradictory subculture.Trade ReviewColourful first-hand accounts... Jones is too smart a writer... Ultra does speak direly to wider issues' * Financial Times *[An] intense book... A positive story to tell as well' * Times Literary Supplement *A serious, detailed and entertaining exploration of a fascinating subject... While Jones's analysis of the rise of the ultras is interesting, it is the anecdotes that truly hook the reader' * Catholic Herald *An excellent book * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisVIRGINIA VALLEJO:Top Colombian television journalist, cover model and socialitePABLO ESCOBAR:Head of the Medellin cartel, the founder of the global cocaine industry and one of the most ambitious - and brutal - criminals in historyOver the course of their tempestuous love affair, Vallejo witnessed first-hand the bloodshed, fear and corruption that accompanied the rise of Escobar's crime empire. In this explosive tale of drugs, sex, wealth and violence, Vallejo describes the man she knew and loved. But, increasingly plagued by threats of kidnap and death for her knowledge on Escobar's ties to the political establishment, Vallejo sought extradition to the United States. Her testimony would reopen one of the most important criminal cases in Colombian history.

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Book SynopsisDecember, 2014: In the forbidding waters off Antarctica, Captain Hammarstedt of the Bob Barker embarks on a voyage unlike any seen before. Across ten thousand miles of hazardous seas, Hammerstedt's crew will relentlessly pursue the Thunder - an infamous illegal fishing ship - for what will become the longest chase in maritime history. Wanted by Interpol, the Thunder has for years evaded justice: accumulating millions in profits, hunting endangered species and ruthlessly destroying ocean habitats. The authors follow this incredible expedition from the beginning. But even as seasoned journalists, they cannot anticipate what the chase will uncover, as the wake of the Thunder leads them to trail of criminal kingpins, rampant corruption, modern slavery and an international community content to turn a blind eye. Very soon, catching Thunder becomes more than a chase but a pursuit of the truth itself and a symbolic race to preserve the well-being of our planet. A Scandinavian bestseller, Catching Thunder is a remarkable true story of courage and perseverance, and a wake-up call to act against the destruction of our environments.Trade Review'This 110-day, round-the-world pursuit of a rogue trawler reads like a noir thriller ... recorded with flair and precision. The book promises all the pleasures of a crime novel, but it is after bigger game.' 5/5* Telegraph; 'An uproarious adventure - one predicated on the protestors’ ferocious sense of moral rectitude. Engdal and Sæter are energetic writers with a sense of pace and cinematic detail … Catching Thunder is an exciting read.' Spectator; 'A gripping story ... A clarion call for those who want to save our seas.' National Geographic Traveller; 'A true story that reads like a spy novel, peppered with scary organized crime villains, charismatic environmental activists and Interpol agents, and enough tidbits about sailing treacherous seas, commercial fishing, and endangered species to satisfy the most dedicated nautical adventure fan.' 5/5* Foreword Reviews; 'This is a modern pirate story, but the plunder isn't pieces of eight – it's the Patagonian Toothfish, as valuable as narcotics … A solid piece of collaborative journalism.' Sydney Morning Herald; `True adventure, life and death moments, and real life heroism: what reader could ask for more?’ Ingrid Newkirk, President, PETA; 'Engdal and Sæter are to journalism what Jagger and Richards are to rock and roll – sexy, irreverent and brilliant.' Luke Harding, Guardian journalist and author of The Snowden Files; `This is the story of our time: the blind destruction of the oceans and our ecosphere, and the actions of those with the courage to stand up and confront it.’ Peter Heller, author of The Whale Warriors and Celine; `The pursuit of the Thunder has become celebrated folklore by those of us fighting to protect our oceans. This is a captivating story, one which highlights the weaknesses in the global system but also, ultimately, gives us hope.’ Tony Long, CEO, Global Fishing WatchTable of Contents1. The Pirate2. "The Bandit 6"3. Operation Icefish4. The Occupation5. Hot Pursuit6. Operation Spillway7. The Ice8. Vesturvon9. The Pirate Capital10. The Storm11. The Secret Channel12. The Longest Day13. The Shipmaster14. Desolation Island15. The Phantom Ship16. The Wall of Death17. The World Record18. "The Only Sheriff in Town"19. The Flying Mariner20. A Bloody Nightmare21. La Mafia Gallega22. God's Fingerprint23. Buenas Tardes, Bob Barker24. Message in a Bottle25. Raid on the High Seas26. Operation Sparrow27. Exercise Good Hope28. The Bird of Ill Omen29. The Wanderer30. The Man in the Arena31. The Third Ship32. "You Are Nothing"33. The Snake in Paradise34. The Armpit of Africa35. Mayday36. A Weird Dream37. A Last Resort38. The Island of Rumours39. 48 Hours40. Three Condemned Men41. The Luck of the Draw42. The Escape43. The Unluckiest Ship in the World44. The Judgment45. Prisoners' Island46. The Man from Mongolia47. The Last Viking48. Operation Yuyus49. The Tiantai Mystery50. A Dirty Business51. The Showdown52. The Madonna and the Octopus53. The Final Act

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Book SynopsisNigeria and Nigerians have acquired a notorious reputation for involvement in drug-trafficking, fraud, cyber-crime and other types of serious crime. Successful Nigerian criminal networks have a global reach, interacting with their Italian, Latin American and Russian counterparts. Yet in 1944, a British colonial official wrote that 'the number of persistent and professional criminals is not great' in Nigeria and that 'crime as a career has so far made little appeal to the young Nigerian'. This book traces the origins of Nigerian organised crime to the last years of colonial rule, when nationalist politicians acquired power at a regional level. In need of funds for campaigning, they offered government contracts to foreign businesses in return for kickbacks, in a pattern that recurs to this day. Political corruption encouraged a wider disrespect for the law that spread throughout Nigerian society. When the country's oil boom came to an end in the early 1980s, young Nigerian college graduates headed abroad, eager to make money by any means. Nigerian crime went global at the very moment new criminal markets were emerging all over the world.Trade Review'In This Present Darkness, Stephen Ellis, one of Britain's most accomplished Africanists, provides a cautionary reminder of how much tougher the job is now, and how blurred the lines between officially sanctioned and illicit activity have become ... this is the most deeply researched book yet on the nature and origins of Nigerian organised crime.' * Financial Times *'For decades Nigeria has suffered a doubly dubious reputation: recognised as a kleptocracy and notorious for its armies of imaginative criminals, formed into organisations with international reach. ... This state of affairs is ably documented and explained by Stephen Ellis-a British expert on African affairs, who died last year-in an excellent history of Nigerian organised crime, This Present Darkness.' * The Economist *'In his final book, the eminent Africanist Stephen Ellis explores how the country became a hotbed of illicit trade, endemic corruption and organised crime after the collapse of the oil industry.' * Times Higher Education *Table of ContentsIntroduction * How to read this bookChapter One: Rules of Law * The civilizing mission* Indirect rule and law* A school for deceptionChapter Two: Wonder-Workers * The Professor of Wonders* Wealth, risk, destiny* A hollow systemChapter Three: Enter the Politicians * The impact of the Second World War * Nationalism and corruption* Political parties and corruptionChapter Four: The National Cake * Independence* The foreign contribution* Corruption spreads to daily lifeChapter Five: The Men in Uniform * Coup and counter-coup* The oil issue* The new criminalityChapter Six: Boom Time * Nigeria rampant* Corruption, crime, cults* The Second RepublicChapter Seven: Crime Goes Global * The drug trade* Four One Nine* The rise and fall of anti-corruption* Ethnic issuesChapter Eight: Godfathers * Babangida...and another criminal arrives* Oil as loot* Democrats/kleptocratsChapter Nine: The Business of Crime * Crime as a career* The Kings of Four One Nine* Drugs * Sex work* Organization Chapter Ten: Cosmic Powers * Cults and shrines* The Okija shrine* Law versus reality* Society and anti-societyChapter Eleven: Nigerian Organized Crime * State crime* Why Nigeria?* Nigerian crime in globalizationAnnexeBibliography

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Book Synopsis'Human trafficking' brings to mind gangsters forcing people, often women and girls, to engage in dangerous activities against their will, under threat of violence. However, human trafficking is not limited to the sex trade, and this picture is inadequate. It occurs in many different industries---domestic service, construction, factory labour, on farms and fishing boats---and targets people from all over the globe. Human trafficking is much more complicated and nuanced picture than its common representations. Victims move through multiple categories along their journey and at their destination, shifting from smuggled migrant to trafficking victim and back again several times. The emergence of a criminal pyramid scheme also makes many victims complicit in their own exploitation. Finally, the threat posed by the involvement of organised crime is little understood. The profit motives and violence that come with such crime make human trafficking more dangerous for its victims and difficult to detect or address. Drawing on field research in source, transit and destination countries, the authors analyse trafficking from four countries: Albania, Eritrea, Nigeria and Vietnam. What emerges is a business model that evolves in response to changes in legislation, governance and law enforcement capacities.Trade Review‘A very interesting study.’ -- CHOICE'Relying on extensive field research, this book is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working on organised crime. The authors take a nuanced approach to human trafficking and smuggling and their analysis resonates beyond the case studies under exam.' -- Virginia Comolli, Senior Fellow for Conflict, Security and Development, The International Institute for Strategic Studies'Challenging common sense assumptions about human trafficking and organised crime, this book should become a must read for anyone interested in developing a more nuanced understanding and unpicking binaries: Smuggler or trafficker? Victim or culprit? Choice or coercion? Organised crime or ad hoc network? A welcome addition to understanding this complex phenomenon.' -- Carole Murphy, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology, and Deputy Director of the Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery at St Mary’s University

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Christopher Berry-Dee's Talking with Serial Killers series, this chilling new book explores the dark heart of Russia. For decades, it has been assumed that the United States of America was the serial killer capital of the world.Now, criminologists believe that Russia (and previously the Soviet Union) has been, secretly, the biggest home of serial killers for almost a century.In Serial Killers of Russia, bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson reveals the inside stories and gruesome details behind the country's most notorious and previously unknown murderers. Using information from a vast range of new and archive sources, Clarkson tells stories of the dangerous, the devious and the truly shocking, and tackles why the nation has become a breeding ground for humanity's most evil.These are the most horrifying cases from the darkest corners of Russia.

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Book SynopsisThe unbelievable account of life as a hitman from a man who has been doing it for decades. Hitmen commit heinous crimes virtually every day of the week and, in most instances, we don't even realise.I've been a killer for hire for more than twenty years now, but life as a fulltime professional assassin has never been easy.There have been close calls, failed attempts and a lot of looking over my shoulder.And now, I've decided to come clean and seek atonement for my life as a murderer and one of the most covertly dangerous men alive.This is an account of a life lived between our world and a shadowy underworld of criminals... a life lived under the radar of the law... a life lived in death.This is the story of my life as a hitman.

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Book Synopsis'Simply the best British novel I've read this century' David Peace'Will stay in my head forever...a fantastic book' The Tablet'A maverick project that defies comparison' MetroAt a bus stop in south London, black teenager Eldine Matthews is murdered by a racist gang. Twenty years later, L Troop's top boys - models of vice, deviance and violence - are far beyond justice. There are some people the law will not touch.But Eldine's murder is not forgotten. His story is once again on everyone's lips and the streets of south London; a story of police corruption and the elimination of witnesses. A solicitor, a rent boy, a one-eyed comedian and his minder are raising ghosts; and Carl Hyatt, disgraced reporter, thinks he knows why.There's one man linking this crew of rambunctious dandies and enchanting thugs, and it's the man Carl promised never to challenge again: Mulhall, kingpin of London's rotten heart and defender of L Troop's racist killers. Carl must face up to the morality of retribution and the reality of violence knowing that he is the weak link in the chain; and that he has placed everyone he loves within Mulhall's reach.The Treatment is steeped in London's criminal past, its shadows of corruption and institutional racism. Like a seventeenth-century revenge tragedy, its characters reel from the streets, bars and brothels, hyperarticulate and propelled by wild justice. Trade ReviewNath has a confidence and attitude that rocks you on every page - Daisy Goodwin on La RochelleOriginal, funny and absolutely spot-on - Nicholas Royle in The Independent on La RochelleThe most marvelous crime novel, based around real events in London. It's very much a literary work, with really wonderful writing. A very strong book -- Paul FrenchThis is the beauty of Nath's writing. He has brought to life a range of Brits who all bark and bite with equal ferocity, but love and dream as well. British Story is a novel for our time. Michael Nath knows how to write real literature, stuff with heart and character. He isn't afraid to look life in the eye, despite all of its jagged edges and contradictions, and he knows how to take this and turn it into a story. A British story at that. -- Joe Darlington, on British Story * Manchester Review of Books *THE TREATMENT is simply the best British novel I've read since I don't know when - this decade? This century? And why? Because it engages with and confronts the central, crucial subjects of our time: race and racism, individual and institutional, of the corruption and failure of the police, the media and the law itself, asking where that then leaves us as citizens of such society, where revenge is the only justice left to us. But its brilliance is also in the telling of this tale, urgent and moral, in the sheer exuberance of the language and its narrative, filled with both humour and tragedy, and which really does reaffirm the potential and power of the novel, and the British Novel, no less. -- David PeaceWith its unique and ambitious form - there are over 108 characters - this is a fresh addition to the literary landscape * Cosmopolitan *Michael Nath sends a timeless, unforgettable firm of avengers to confront racist thugs and corrupt cops. A performance of rare linguistic dexterity and lacerating wit, The Treatment sees the emergence of a unique British imagination -- Kester Aspden (CWA Crime Non-fiction Winner), author of * The Hounding of David Oluwale *This ribald "secret history" draws on the murder of Stephen Lawrence before spinning off down its own dark alleyways. Both brilliant and highly imaginative; I loved it * Independent *A trenchant state of the nation novel based loosely on real life events about the murder of a black teenager by a racist gang. This timely novel takes a lacerating look at Britain's relationship with systemic racism, police violence and terrorism. * Book Riot *Imaginative, confident, erudite and original storytelling . . . It's scope is extraordinary as it draws on the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence that rocked the British establishment to its core. . . Nath's use of language is sublime, in a narrative that more often than not feels like a stream of consciousness, and his priceless depiction of London is vibrant, ribald, and colourful, peopled by a huge cast of terrific characters . . . Michael Nath deserves to win awards for this and I cannot recommend this highly enough! * Goodreads *With a cast list of lairy, scary characters populating the swirling narrative, interspersed with real-life news seen from a new angle, it's a full-on literary assault course, sprawling and immersive. * Sunday Times Crime Club *A London novel to join the greats (...) What really impresses is the way Nath navigates the twists and turns. It's told with (...) bookish savviness. You want to know more. To read more. To hear more * The Arts Desk *Allusive, powerful, eccentric, multi-layered with moving levels of narrative, historical vignettes and stream of consciousness ... With a gallery of Londoners from all walks of life and both sides of the law, THE TREATMENT soon transforms in a hypnotic, repetitive manner into a widescreen, black and white panorama of London's contemporary multiracial and divided society. Impressive and thought-provoking * Crime Time *A maverick project that defies comparison * Metro *An ambitious, darkly comic investigation into corruption and revenge... In his skilful and entertaining explorations of plurality and complexity, Nath wildly eschews the straight story, and celebrates the mixed * Guardian *His writing is addictive, sometimes strange, often beautiful and, as The Treatment makes clear, deserves to be better known * iPaper *Michael Nath is brilliant . . . The Treatment remains, for all its unflinching insight into the reality and psychology of the worst hate-crimes imaginable, potently uplifting * The Storgy *Vivid and raw in characterisation and narrative ... The Treatment is an uncorrupted account of our society and beautifully vulgar one at that * Morning Star *Will stay in my head forever...a fantastic book. * The Tablet *

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Book SynopsisHow do you catch a killer when no one is willing to talk?When a homeless man is found murdered in picturesque Lincoln the police are met by a wall of silence from those who may hold the key to solving the crime. DS Catherine Bishop is drafted to infiltrate the homeless shelter where the victim occasionally spent the night but everyone seems to have something to hide.Still dealing with the emotional fallout from a previous case, Catherine struggles to adjust to the undercover job and working with a new team. When someone close to her is injured in an attack, Catherine comes perilously close to risking her case, and her life. Is this a murder after all, or a cover for something else – with Catherine in the firing line?An unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of L. J. Ross, David Hodges and J. M. Dalgliesh.

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Book SynopsisTHE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF THE MOST INFAMOUS STREET GANG IN AMERICAIn the 1980s, El Salvador was involved in a bloody fight for control of the government. To escape the guerrilla assaults and death squads many fled to the US. As a survival instinct, they formed a group called the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners, a relatively harmless social network bound by rock and roll. But later, as they brushed against established local gangs, the group took on a harder edge, selling drugs, stealing cars and killing rivals who threatened their territories. As authorities cracked down, gang members were incarcerated and deported. But in the prison system, the group only grew stronger.Today, MS-13 is one of the most infamous street gangs on Earth, with tens of thousands of members operating in a half-dozen nations and two continents, and linked to thousands of grisly murders each year. Through the story of former gang member Norman and his family, journalist Steven Dudley brings readers inside the deadly group.

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Book SynopsisIn the post-9/11 era, the nexus between organized crime and terrorism has raised much concern and has been widely discussed in both academic and policy circles, but is still largely misunderstood. This critical book contributes innovatively to the debate by distinguishing three types of nexus—interaction, transformation/imitation and similarities—and identifying the promoting factors of each type.With its multifaceted but complementary chapters, the book provides conceptual and theoretical frameworks for readers, as well as the evidence needed to develop more realistic, effective and humane policies to tackle organized crime, terrorism and the nexuses between them. Bringing together a range of international multidisciplinary specialists, it includes three comparative analyses of worldwide transfers of personnel, weapons and money between organized crime and terrorism and 12 case studies examining local manifestations of the nexus in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Two other chapters further review the national, European and international policies adopted and implemented so far to deal with the different nexuses.This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and policymakers in the fields of comparative law, criminal law and justice and public policy, who specialize in the analysis and control of organized crime and terrorism. It will also appeal to senior law enforcement officials and practitioners due to the counterintuitive policy implications drawn from the comparative analysis of the findings.Trade Review‘This book is a milestone on the road towards a better understanding of the linkages in the underworlds of crime and terror.’ -- Alex P Schmid, Perspectives on Terrorism‘Terrorism is a very 21st century global threat. Organized crime has a distinctly 20th century feel to it yet is often related in the public mind with terrorism. This book explores the variable connections of the two. In some places and at some times they complement each other; at other times and places they compete. Paoli, Fijnaut and Wouters have put together an excellent collection of essays that explore the nexus of the two threats.’ -- Peter Reuter, University of Maryland, USTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction to the nexus between organized crime and terrorism 1 Cyrille Fijnaut, Letizia Paoli and Jan Wouters PART I LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUALIZATION 2 Taking stock of the literature on the nexus between organized crime and terrorism 17 Letizia Paoli and Cyrille Fijnaut 3 Conceptualizing the nexus between organized crime and terrorism 48 Letizia Paoli and Cyrille Fijnaut PART II TRANSFER OF RESOURCES 4 Criminal pasts, terrorist futures? Jihadist recruits in Western Europe 86 Peter R. Neumann and Rajan Basra 5 Terrorists’ acquisition of firearms and explosives: criminal, legal and grey sources 104 Toine Spapens and Nils Duquet 6 The organized crime–terrorism nexus and its funding 126 Michael Levi PART III EUROPEAN CASE STUDIES 7 The nexus between organised crime and terrorism, and the attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016 148 Cyrille Fijnaut 8 Assessing the involvement in organized crime of jihadists from the Netherlands 221 Anton Weenink, Melvin R.J. Soudijn and Rudie J.M. Neve 9 Legal and law enforcement implications arising from the organized crime–terrorism nexus in Northern Ireland 239 Tom Obokata 10 To what extent was Basque terrorist group ETA involved in a nexus with organized crime? An economic analysis 258 Mikel Buesa and Thomas Baumert 11 Sweden: violent extremism and organized crime 276 Lars Korsell PART IV NON-EUROPEAN CASE STUDIES 12 The crime–terror nexus in Syria and Iraq 302 Christina Steenkamp 13 The nexus of organized crime and terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan 319 Matthew Phillips and Shelby Davis 14 Largely fleeting and hardly convergent: Libya’s crime– terror nexus 342 Mark Micallef and Matt Herbert 15 The terrorism–organized crime nexus in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria 366 Freedom C. Onuoha 16 Is there any nexus between terrorism and organized crime in Mexico? 391 Luis Astorga 17 Terrorism and organized crime in Colombia 412 Gustavo Duncan, Santiago Sosa and Jose Antonio Fortou PART V INTERNATIONAL POLICIES 18 Responding to the crime–terror nexus: the international level 434 Christophe Paulussen and Colin P. Clarke 19 The nexus between organized crime and terrorism: policy responses from the European Union and the Council of Europe 452 Thomas Van Poecke and Jan Wouters Index

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Book SynopsisTHE FINAL WORD FROM THE LAST KING OF GANGLAND WITH A FOREWORD BY MARTINA COLE'We couldn't, we wouldn't, let anyone take a liberty. That was never an option at that time.'Eddie Richardson is the last brand-name gangster. Say the name and the world of violent criminality grabs you by the throat.The Richardson brothers, Eddie and Charlie, and their infamous 'Torture Gang', made money while their rivals Ronnie and Reggie Kray made fatal mischief. They fought each other, but now, in 2018, Eddie Richardson says: 'They tell me blood is thicker than water, but with Charlie it wasn't so. He was evil.'With his brother dead, Eddie Richardson feels free to detail the story of a vicious family feud that provoked extravagant acrimony. No Handcuffs unravels the mysteries of decades of crime and political incident. The story of a turbulent era, it rivals the most imaginative fiction in its portrayal of gangland life with all its chanciness and rawness and careless disregard for any obstacle on the way to its target, the big money.In an inspired collaboration with bestselling author Douglas Thompson, the mature Eddie Richardson is given a voice to reflect on his journey from the scrapyards of South London to the glitz and glamour of the West End nightclubs, to the flesh and tease of Soho, down Downing Street and through the door of Number 10 to the perils of espionage and international intrigue, and his elevation to demigod status in hard-men territory - and finally as a high-security inmate at Her Majesty's pleasure, but with a personal fridge kept well stocked with gourmet food. No Handcuffs resonates today for, if anything, greed and corruption are more perverse, more rampant. As Eddie Richardson points out: 'We wrote the handbook for them.'

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Book SynopsisDespite a rapidly changing economic and legal landscape, Italian mafias remain prominent actors in the global criminal underworld. This book provides an extensive and up-to-date view of how they adapt to shifting economic opportunities and intensifying legal and civic backlash. Surveying the main Italian mafias active today - Cosa Nostra, the 'Ndrangheta, the Camorra and the Sacra Corona Unita - the contributors provide a broad overview of key themes and research findings, offering new theoretical and methodological lenses for analysing how Italy's four native mafias have adapted to recent challenges. Investigating their global and national impact, this book analyses new insights into the operations and trajectories of Italian mafias in the 21st century. Employing fresh empirical material, this book is essential reading for students of Italian studies at all levels, as well as those of criminology, security, political science, sociology and organised crime studies. Policy-makers and practitioners tackling organised crime will also benefit from this book's critical insight into the history, operation and pathways of Italian mafias today. Contributors include: F. Allum, L. Brancaccio, D. Bright, E. Ciconte, I. Clough Marinaro, A. Colletti, G. Corica, J. Dagnes, N. Dalla Chiesa, A. Dino, D. Donatiello, M. Giuditta Borselli, A. La Spina, V. Martone, M. Massari, R. Merlino, V. Mete, S. Sberna, R. Sciarrone, L. Storti, A. VannucciTrade Review‘This book should appeal, in primis, to criminologists and social scientists. However, I would strongly recommend it to anyone who may have an academic or personal interest in understanding recent Italian history. Above all, I would recommend it to law- and policy-makers internationally, for Italy's long tug-of-war with the mafias has many useful lessons to teach to countries and communities that have not yet experienced the scourge of criminal power syndicates operating in their midst, or that collude with such syndicates by offering far-from-transparent financial services—hence contributing to the enormous human suffering and grave social devastation that the mafias have been causing since the 19 century.’ -- Giorgio Baruchello, Nordicum-Mediterraneum‘By merit of its scope, topics of inquiry and analytical rigor, Italian Mafias Today: Territory, Business and Politics makes valuable, unique contributions to the diversified field of studies on the Italian mafias.’ -- Robin Pickering-Iazzi, Journal of Modern Italian Studies‘Overall, the significant contribution of this book is to represent a landmark in the organised crime literature. It provides theoretical insights into this complex issue which extends the reader’s knowledge and provides a critical understanding of the phenomenon. The language is clear, and the variety of empirical and fresh data presented makes it intriguing for readers. It is highly recommended for students interested in this topic and for academics/practitioners intending to expand their understanding further.’ -- Emanuele Sclafani, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books'This book is a welcome exposure to research on four Italian mafias - the already well-studied Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Neapolitan Camorra; the less familiar, although hyper-dangerous, Calabrian 'Ndrangheta; and the somewhat peripheral mafia of Puglia, emergent in the 1970s and '80s. We are beholden to the editors of this volume for making this material accessible to English language readers, organizing it so effectively, and providing a comprehensive overview of Italian scholarship on the Italian mafias.' --Jane Schneider, The Graduate Center CUNY, US'This is not a book that lingers long on individual characters. It is a documented assessment of the history and evolution of the four major Italian-based criminal organizations. This is a well-researched and compellingly argued book.' --Antonio Nicaso, Queen's University, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Thinking about Italian mafias today Felia Allum, Isabella Clough Marinaro and Rocco Sciarrone Part I MAFIAS IN TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES 2. Waiting for a new leader: Eras and transitions in Cosa Nostra Alessandra Dino 3. The Camorras in Naples and Campania: Business, groups and families Luciano Brancaccio and Vittorio Martone 4. ’Ndrangheta: A (post-)modern mafia with ancient roots Enzo Ciconte 5. The Sacra Corona Unita: The birth and decline of the fourth mafia? Monica Massari Part II MAFIAS BETWEEN POLITICS, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY 6. The economic dimension of mafias, social capital and the ‘grey area’ Rocco Sciarrone 7. Mafias and political corruption in Italy Salvatore Sberna and Alberto Vannucci 8. The welfare system of Italian mafias Alessandro Colletti 9. Pizzini: Sicilian mafia culture between continuity and change Rossella Merlino Part III MAFIAS IN NON-TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES 10. Lombardy, the long march of the ’Ndrangheta: Old history and new stories Nando dalla Chiesa 11. Mafias in Emilia Romagna Graziana Corica and Vittorio Mete 12. Rome ‘open city’? Camorra expansions into the Italian capital Isabella Clough Marinaro and Maria Giuditta Borselli 13. Italian mafias across Europe Joselle Dagnes, Davide Donatiello and Luca Storti 14. Italian mafias in Australia: The dominance of the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta Felia Allum and David Bright 15. The anti-mafia fight in Italy and abroad Antonio La Spina Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExploring the links between armed conflict and transnational crime, Florian Weigand builds on in-depth empirical research into some of Southeast Asia's murkiest borders. The disparate voices of drug traffickers, rebel fighters, government officials and victims of armed conflict are heard in Conflict and Transnational Crime, exploring perspectives that have been previously disregarded in understanding the field. Weigand's nuanced comparative analysis of four border regions in Southeast Asia counters the stereotypical view that conflict zones are lawless areas in which all kinds of criminal activities flourish. Chapters illustrate the logic that determines the relationship between armed conflict and transnational crime. Further, the book analyses how smuggling economies function in conflict zones, explaining why some rebel groups are involved in the smuggling economy more than others, and why state actors actually play a much more crucial role. This crucial study will be a compelling read for international relations, political sociology and development studies scholars. The in-depth analysis of real-life situations will also greatly benefit policy-makers and aid organisations looking to better support areas at the heart of conflict and transnational crime. Trade Review‘In this engaged and open-minded study, Florian Weigand does us all a favor by exposing how shaky assumptions about the crime conflict nexus are.’ -- Neil Boister, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books‘Conflict and Transnational Crime is a cogent and compelling study of both the connections and disconnections between crime and conflict in Southeast Asia. It forcefully carves through the standard rhetoric of 'narco-terrorists' and 'militia-mafias' to offer a vital dissection of state involvement in illicit markets. In doing so, it laudably manages to instigate conclusions with global implications while remaining firmly tethered to its regional context.’ -- Alessandro Ford, LSE Review of Books'An engaging and readable account of how state actors, armed militias and criminal groups operate in concert to control the political economy of trafficking, extortion and illicit markets that underpins much of the conflict violence in the borderlands of in Southeast Asia.' --Keith Krause, Graduate Institute, Switzerland'This book provides a rare inside look at the links between armed conflict and transnational crime in the borderlands of Southeast Asia. Moving at a thrilling pace from Thailand to Myanmar and the Philippines, it challenges received wisdom on how conflict and crime are linked, in particular by putting emphasis on the role of state actors in smuggling networks. Well researched and engagingly written, it will prove an excellent resource for a wide range of readers interested in smuggling, conflict and borders.' --Ruben Andersson, University of Oxford, UK'Digging beneath sensationalistic headlines and simple catch-phrases such as ''the crime-conflict nexus,'' ''ungoverned spaces, and ''conflict commodities,'' Florian Weigand has given us a timely, nuanced, and sophisticated account of the complex relationship between illicit trade and conflict in contemporary Southeast Asia. The book will be of great interest well beyond regional specialists.' --Peter Andreas, Brown University, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Underground Struggle and Licence to Smuggle: The Thailand-Malaysia Border Region 3. Meth and Militias: The Myanmar-China Border Region 4. International Crisis and Instant Coffee: The Bangladesh-Myanmar Border Region 5. Rice and Ransoms: The Indonesia-Philippines-Malaysia Border Region 6. Conclusions References Index

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Book SynopsisTo love and to cherish, till death did them part...'A brilliant thriller' The SunTwo desiccated bodies are found in each other's arms in the bricked up room of a derelict Victorian warehouse. After six months of work, the police have nothing and Ridpath is finally called in to investigate. Dubbed the Romeo and Juliet murders by the press, so many questions remain unanswered.Who are they? Why were they there? Who killed them? And why was the coroner so keen for him to work on this particular case?Ridpath is plunged into his most difficult investigation yet, in a race against time to discover the truth. Has an unknown serial killer been operating in Manchester for the last twenty years?Fast-paced, vicious and utterly compelling, the latest Ridpath novel is perfect for fans of Mark Billingham and Damien Boyd.

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Book SynopsisHe gazes at the bodies. Young men, probably in their early thirties. The wooden flooring around them has been stained dark red. He wonders what kind of monster could have done this.And why.As a murder detective in the Met Police, D.I. Matthew Denning is used to seeing the very worst of humanity. But when a young woman’s body is discovered in an East London churchyard, her face obliterated by blows, he is plunged into his most shocking case yet. While the investigation discovers that victim Bryony Allen was hiding some dark secrets, nothing seems to warrant the violence that ended her life.Until Denning, along with D.S. Molly Fisher, uncovers a link between this murder and the disappearance of an undercover policeman investigating a high-level criminal gang, one that may be responsible for the deaths of two men found dead in a ritual execution in Kent. While the top brass want to suppress Denning’s discovery, the team knows that the key to the case may lie in the actions of a rogue officer.And when his own boss, D.C.I. Liz McKenna, goes missing, the case becomes even more personal. Can Denning and Fisher get justice for Bryony’s murder, while fighting through the wall of silence from the powers that be?A twisty, utterly compelling detective novel that fans of Stuart MacBride and Line of Duty will love.Praise for Run For Cover:'This story starts with a bang and holds your attention throughout. This is a well-paced story, with a few clever twists and it keeps you guessing who the killer is.’ ☆☆☆☆☆ Reader Review‘This book had suspense, intrigue, action, and great police work! The storyline was very interesting and flowed nicely! I will definitely recommend reading this book! It’s well worth reading!’ Reader Review‘I loved the characters and the way I had to keep asking myself if I was right in how I thought the plot was turning out. A really enjoyable mystery/thriller that kept me guessing until the end!’ Reader Review‘An interesting police procedural that branches out from a straight murder investigation… I have no hesitation in recommending.’ Reader Review‘I enjoyed this addition to the series. I found it to be well written with a great cast of characters. The mystery was compelling, and I am looking forward to reading more.’ Reader Review‘A strong depiction of police procedures… I would recommend this book.’ Reader Review‘A worthy addition to an entertaining series and I hope there will be more to come.’ Reader Review‘Certainly gets off to a shocking start…plenty of twists, not to mention a couple of explosive moments.’ Reader Review

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Book SynopsisExamining the consequences of technology-driven lifestyles for both crime commission and victimization, this comprehensive Handbook provides an overview of a broad array of techno-crimes as well as exploring critical issues concerning the criminal justice system’s response to technology-facilitated criminal activity.The Handbook adopts a unique three-fold typology of technology-enabled crime: techno-crime committed by professional criminals (crime as work), techno-crime committed in traditional workplace settings (crime at work), and techno-crime committed by individuals outside of traditional workplace settings (crime after work.) Chapters explore an extensive range of criminal activities facilitated by the digital age, from embezzlement, financial fraud, corporate espionage, phishing, and ransomware to identity theft, hacking, cyber terrorism, and internet sex and hate crimes. Looking to the future, the Handbook considers timely questions posed by our continued reliance on information technology, including whether we are in danger of becoming a global surveillance state and how we might prevent the facilitation of cyber terrorism by social media giants.This dynamic Handbook will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students interested in criminology, digital sociology, terrorism and security, and surveillance studies. Offering practical insights on the need for a coordinated global techno-crime control strategy, it will serve as a resource for policymakers seeking cutting edge solutions to the growing problem of techno-crime.Trade Review‘This pioneering volume must be in the library of any scholar or practitioner concerned with the radical upending of crime and responses to it brought by new information technologies. Never in the history of criminology have changes come so quickly, nor been so poorly understood. The book offers a cornucopia of concepts, data and constructive suggestions to help understand and respond thoughtfully to the challenges.’ -- Gary T. Marx, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US‘The Handbook's 23 chapters, and engaging introduction, address important underlying issues, such as the impact of technology on changes in our lifestyles, the problem of global surveillance of online activity as a control strategy, and the striking lack of success of current prevention and control efforts thus far. In sum, the Handbook provides an interesting and comprehensive assessment of where technology has brought us, and the need for more thoughtful approaches to techno-crime prevention.’ -- Jay Albanese, Virginia Commonwealth University, USTable of ContentsContents: Techno-crime cause, prevention, and control: issues to consider 1 Don Hummer and James M. Byrne PART I TECHNO-CRIME AS WORK 1 Hook, line, and sinker: the mechanics of fraud 17 Max M. Houck 2 Identity theft and financial loss 38 Don Hummer and Donald J. Rebovich 3 Phishing for profit 54 Eric Chan-Tin and Loretta J. Stalans 4 Advance fee scams 72 Claire Seungeun Lee, Juan Merizalde and Katelyn L. Greer 5 Ransomware 86 Thomas S. Hyslip and George W. Burruss 6 Online health/drug and COVID-19 fraud 105 Claire Seungeun Lee, Katelyn L. Greer and Juan Merizalde 7 Internet sex crimes 116 Loretta J. Stalans and Amber Horning-Ruf 8 Sale of private, confidential, and personal data 135 Yi Ting Chua 9 Online auction fraud 153 Claire Seungeun Lee, Katelyn L. Greer and Juan Merizalde 10 Internet piracy 162 Jaeyong Choi and Jennifer LaPrade PART II TECHNO-CRIME AT WORK 11 Money laundering 176 Arthur J. Lurigio 12 Embezzlement 190 Emily M. Homer and James Byrne 13 The illicit stolen data market 211 Rachel L. McNealey and Jin R. Lee PART III TECHNO-CRIME AFTER WORK 14 Spreading viruses and malicious codes 229 Kyung-Shick Choi, Claire Seungeun Lee and Juan Merizalde 15 Child pornography, child predators, and sex tourism 248 Joshua S. Long 16 Online hate crimes 275 Ina Kamenova and Arie Perliger 17 Cyberstalking 300 Sabrina S. Rapisarda and Kimberly R. Kras 18 Hacking 331 Marlon Mike Toro-Alvarez PART IV THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO TECHNO-CRIME: PUBLIC SECTOR AND PRIVATE SECTOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL STRATEGIES 19 Techno-crime prevention: the role of the private sector and its partnerships with the public sector 356 Jaeyong Choi and Brandon Dulisse 20 The jigsaw initiative: theoretical and practical considerations for preventing harm from extreme and extremist content online 372 Neil Shortland and Presley McGarry 21 The prevention and control of online consumer fraud 392 Catarina Cardoso Fonseca, Samuel Moreira and Inês Guedes 22 Managing cyber-risk in offender populations 408 Art Bowker 23 The prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of techno-criminals: the limits of international cooperation 422 Sean M. Perry and Pauline K. Brennan Index

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Book SynopsisElgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.This insightful Research Agenda explores the varied manifestations of organised crime, both on the street and through transnational enterprises, and reveals its impact on the integrity of the financial system. Leading academics identify measures which would disrupt and discourage these threats, however sophisticated, and consider avenues for future research. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to the multi-faceted dangers posed by organised crime, the book begins with an overview of the misconceptions surrounding the topic, evaluating the limitations of the traditional justice system in addressing corruption and conspiracy. Progressive chapters illustrate a practical knowledge of addressing such threats, identifying new directions for the study of concepts such as organised crime and power, as well as tackling the ways in which enterprises use money laundering to clean their proceeds. They also point to ways in which the law will need to develop to address the opportunities for cyber-enabled crime facilitated by recent technological developments. An engaging platform for future scholarship, this topical Research Agenda will prove a thought-provoking read for academics and policymakers in the areas of criminal justice law, criminology, corruption, and economic crime.Trade Review‘The 1986 US President’s Commission on Organized Crime concluded that the problem with defining “organized crime” was not with the word crime, but rather with the word organized. In this valuable contribution to the literature on what it is agreed is a multifaceted, understudied topic, a fruitful mix of authors from academic, policy and practitioner backgrounds provide an agenda for better understanding and thus confronting organized crime. This roadmap should stimulate much needed research on a matter of global concern.’ -- James O. Finckenauer, Rutgers University, Newark, USTable of ContentsContents: Foreword xiii Preface xvii 1 Organised crime – what we know and what we think we know! 1 Professor Barry Rider OBE 2 Organised crime and power in the modern world 57 Anna Sergi 3 Organised crime and society 77 William Tupman 4 Organized crime, structures and operations 93 Peter M. German 5 Organised crime and business 113 Kenneth Murray 6 Research issues that could be addressed to better identify and interdict the assets of organised criminals in the UK 135 Jeffrey Bryant 7 Organised crime – offshore and international aspects 155 Dominic Thomas-James 8 Organised crime – the cyber dimension 179 Dionysios Demetis 9 The disruption of crime 197 Shima D Keene Index

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