During the 1990's Boston was a world leader in arts, culture, higher education, and medicine. It was also a world leader in organized crime. In this exciting account, former FBI supervisory special agent David Nadolski tells the story of an unlikely alliance between two diametrically opposed people-the con and the FBI agent. While investigating a break-in at the Stone Library in Quincy, MA that houses the personal book collection of John Quincy Adams, the FBI gets a call from prison inmate, Anthony (Tony) Romano, requesting to meet with the case agent on the burglary. Romano provides a helpful tip that leads to the apprehension of the thief and the recovery of four priceless, historically significant books. Recognizing Tony's potential as an informant, Nadolski begins to cultivate a relationship in hopes of recruiting Romano as a criminal informant. Nadolski recruits Romano to play a very dangerous game-infiltrate the Merlino gang, controlled by Carmello Merlino, a career criminal who specialized in bank robberies, armored car robberies, and home invasions. The Merlino gang also became suspects in the largest art theft in history which took place at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston and remains unsolved to this day. Romano, a former armed robber, agrees. With sights set on the Loomis Fargo Armored Car Company money vault, located south of Boston, the Merlino gang gets to work. Little did they know, Romano, at great personal risk, was a wearing a wire and recording their planning sessions. After two years of being joined at the hip and learning to trust each other unconditionally, special agent Nadolski and Romano run a successful criminal investigation and undercover sting operation to catch four dangerous criminals poised to launch one of the biggest armed robberies of the twentieth century.

The pursuit of the financial proceeds of criminal activity has become a central theme of contemporary crime control. Initially conceived to tackle the global trade in illegal drugs, these methods have been more recently employed in the context of terrorism. This work offers a judicious account of the national and international strategies which seek to cope with crime by attacking its financial underpinnings. The book focuses on the increasingly civil legal orientation of these strategies - a sea change from criminal prosecutions to civil legal instruments. The author focuses on developments of the civil strategy in the US and the UK beginning with its historical origins. The work reveals the contradictions that animate the civil approach to criminal finance and discloses the failure of civil devices, as presently constituted, to comply with rights. It bridges the gap between two jurisdictions prominent in this area; the United States and the United Kingdom. This comparative element distinguishes the project from other work in the field that focuses on a single jurisdiction. Critical in its perspective, the work brings balance and reflection to an emergent area of national and international interest. Money Laundering and the Proceeds of Crime analyzes rather than merely describes the proceeds of crime laws, anti-money laundering regimes and the civil legal approach to criminal finance and as such will have a wide readership. The book will appeal to, amongst others, government actors involved in constructing instruments to confront criminal finance, scholars and researchers working in the area and banks, financial institutions, lawyers and other professional private actors charged with anti-money laundering functions.

The first time Ravi Shankar was arrested, he spoke out against racist policing on National Public Radio and successfully sued the city of New York. The second time, he was incarcerated when his promotion to full professor was finalized. During his ninety-day pretrial confinement at the Hartford Correctional Center--a level 4, high-security urban jail in Connecticut--he met men who shared harrowing and heart-felt stories. The experience taught him about the persistence of structural racism, the limitations of mass media, and the pervasive traumas of twenty-first-century daily life. Shankar's bold and complex self-portrait--and portrait of America--challenges us to rethink our complicity in the criminal justice system and mental health policies that perpetuate inequity and harm. Correctional dives into the inner workings of his mind and heart, framing his unexpected encounters with law and order through the lenses of race, class, privilege, and his bicultural upbringing as the first and only son of South Indian immigrants. Vignettes from his early life set the scene for his spectacular fall and subsequent struggle to come to terms with his own demons. Many of them, it turns out, are also our own.

NOW WITH A NEW AFTERWORD, THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND THE SOURCE OF THE VIRAL TED TALK

'Screamingly addictive' STEPHEN FRY

'Superb ... Thrilling story-telling' NAOMI KLEIN

'A powerful contribution to an urgent debate' GUARDIAN

What if everything we've been told about addiction is wrong? One of Johann Hari's earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realised there was addiction in his family. Confused, he set out on a three-year, thirty-thousand mile journey to discover what really causes addiction - and how to solve it.

Told through a series of gripping human stories, this book was the basis of a TED talk and animation that have been viewed more than twenty million times. It has transformed the global debate about addiction.

Make no mistake: modern information warfare is here and January 6th was just the first battle. That day, an unhinged mindset led to an attack on the Capitol, the most serious assault on American democracy since the end of the Civil War. And that thinking portends even darker days ahead. In The Breach, a former House Republican and the first member of Congress to sound the alarm about QAnon, Denver Riggleman, provides readers with an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the January 6th select committee's investigation. Riggleman, who joined the committee as senior technical advisor, lays out the full intent and scope of the plot to overturn the election. The book includes previously unpublished texts from key political leaders. And it also contains shocking details about the Trump White House's links to militant extremist groups?even during the almost-eight-hour period on January 6th when the White House supposedly had no phone calls. The man responsible for unearthing Mark Meadows's infamous texts shows how data analysis shapes the contours of our new war, telling how the committee uncovered many of its explosive findings and sharing revealing stories from his time in the Trump-era GOP. With unique insights from within the far-right movement and from the front lines of the courageous team investigating it, Riggleman shows how our democracy is balanced on a knife's edge between disinformation and truth. Here is a revelatory peek at the inner workings of the January 6th committee and a clear-eyed look at the existential threats facing the republic?and a blueprint for how America can fight to survive the darkest night before the dawn.

Make no mistake: modern information warfare is here and January 6th was just the first battle. That day, an unhinged mindset led to an attack on the Capitol, the most serious assault on American democracy since the end of the Civil War. And that thinking portends even darker days ahead. In The Breach, a former House Republican and the first member of Congress to sound the alarm about QAnon, Denver Riggleman, provides readers with an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the January 6th select committee's investigation. Riggleman, who joined the committee as senior technical advisor, lays out the full intent and scope of the plot to overturn the election. The book includes previously unpublished texts from key political leaders. And it also contains shocking details about the Trump White House's links to militant extremist groups, even during the almost-eight-hour period on January 6th when the White House supposedly had no phone calls. The man responsible for unearthing Mark Meadows's infamous texts shows how data analysis shapes the contours of our new war, telling how the committee uncovered many of its explosive findings and sharing revealing stories from his time in the Trump-era GOP. With unique insights from within the far-right movement and from the front lines of the courageous team investigating it, Riggleman shows how our democracy is balanced on a knife's edge between disinformation and truth. Here is a revelatory peek at the inner workings of the January 6th committee and a clear-eyed look at the existential threats facing the republic, and a blueprint for how America can fight to survive the darkest night before the dawn.

The second unputdownable book in the acclaimed THE LOOP trilogy - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner ... 'A terrifying and sinister look into the future that will leave your jaw on the floor.' KASS MORGAN, New York Times bestselling author of THE 100 on book 1 'Your next YA obsession.' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY on book 1 'Fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner should look no further ... Thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.' OBSERVER on book 1 Luka is in prison again - but this time it's worse. He's in the Block, a place where reality and simulation start to blur. But an audacious breakout reunites Luka and his friends at last. Hiding out in the heart of the destroyed city, Luka realises the scale of their mission to defeat all-powerful AI, Happy. How can they stay hidden, let alone win the war? Old friends and new - including annoyingly cheerful companion drone, Apple-Moth - hold the key to their slim chance of victory ... The second nail-biting instalment in The Loop trilogy: a must-read YA series for teens and adults alike Prison Break meets 1984 in this cutting-edge sci-fi thriller - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner Complete the trilogy with book 3, The Arc

Ponzi schemes are a particularly vicious form of financial fraud, in that the overly trusting victims, who are often wiped out, typically share an affiliation with the fraudster. They are interesting, in that they share some features with legitimate financial phenomena (such as stock manias) and shed light on the human tendency towards behaving foolishly, especially when encouraged or modeled by others. In Understanding Ponzi Schemes, Mervyn Lewis has written what is probably the best and most comprehensive book on the topic. Extremely readable, this book uses both theoretical models and real-life case studies to provide readers with an answer to two questions: 'How do Ponzi schemes work and why are they successful?' Lewis also provides useful answers to a third question: 'What can regulators and individuals do to be protected from future incarnations of Charles Ponzi?''' - Stephen Greenspan, University of Connecticut, US and author of Annals of Gullibility'Starting with very readable (and well-referenced) accounts of various Ponzi fraudsters from Ponzi himself through to Madoff and Stanford, lessons are drawn from such diverse disciplines such as psychology and statistical analysis to advocate novel approaches to the regulation of Ponzi schemes. A 'must read' for regulatory policy-makers and a fascinating read for the general reader, Professor Lewis is to be congratulated for advancing the debate on this age-old phenomenon by suggesting distinctive and innovative strategies to tackle it.' - Eva Lomnicka, Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London, UK 'Readers looking for a clear explanation of how Ponzi schemes work and description of recent and historical examples, both large and small scale, will find that in this very readable book. But the author, Professor Mervyn Lewis, goes well beyond those topics by drawing on behavioural economics and psychology to help understand how 'victims' get caught in such schemes, and the motives and behaviours of the scheme operators. That analysis also provides a valuable checklist for readers to help them avoid becoming victims.' - Kevin Davis, University of Melbourne, Australia A Ponzi scheme is one of the simplest, albeit effective, financial frauds to engineer, and new schemes keep coming forward. Despite this, however, people continue to invest in them. How are we to account for the seemingly never-ending lure of such schemes? In providing answers to this central question, this concise and well-researched book examines how Ponzi schemes operate, how they differ from pyramid schemes, Ponzi finance and other financial arrangements. The author questions whether the victims have only themselves to blame, why fraudsters think that they can avoid detection, and what important insights behavioural finance theory and psychology can add. Particular attention is paid to the reasons behind the failure of financial regulation, and the types of regulatory changes needed to protect investors and avoid repetitions. The analysis is informed by case studies of 11 Ponzi schemes in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand. Finance and business academics interested in the operation of Ponzi schemes, and how they differ from pyramid schemes, will find this book invaluable, as will students of economics, finance, behavioural decision-making and psychology. Lawyers, psychologists, regulatory agencies and financial institutions will also benefit considerably from the analysis.

Elgar 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.

Economic crime is, by definition, crime committed to gain profit within an otherwise legitimate business. Examples are illegal pollution, brand name infringement and tax evasion. The victims of such crimes may be private citizens, businesses and the state. The leading authors in this vital new book survey recent advances in the study of economic crime from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The key areas examined are: * the economics of corporate crime * enforcing regulation * law and economics of environmental crime * corporate fraud and tax evasion * the history of economic crime This important volume will be of interest to scholars and policymakers involved in examining and regulating economic crime in both developed and developing countries.

Ever since Sutherland coined the term 'white-collar crime', researchers have struggled to understand and explain why some individuals abuse their privileged positions of trust and commit financial crime. This book makes a novel contribution to the development of convenience theory as a framework to understand and explain 'white-collar crime'. The framework integrates well-known theories from criminology, management and other fields to explain the occurrence of offenses. It is found that autobiographies indicate a strong presence of neutralization techniques in the behavioral dimension of convenience theory, while internal investigations indicate a strong presence of organizational opportunities to commit 'white-collar crime'. Survey research, on the other hand, is found to indicate a strong belief that chief executives sometimes have the motive to commit financial crime in times of crisis, in times of great challenges, and in times of greed. The book concludes that the only feasible avenue to combat this type of crime is to make it less convenient. This book will appeal to criminology and criminal justice students at both bachelor and master levels, as well as those studying business and law. Practitioners, including consultants in global auditing firms, attorneys and police academy students will also benefit from the overview of convenience theory research.

Across the world, HSBC likes to sell itself as 'the world's local bank', the friendly face of corporate and personal finance. And yet, a decade ago, the same bank was hit with a record US fine of $1.9 billion for facilitating money laundering for 'drug kingpins and rogue nations'. In pursuit of their goal of becoming the biggest bank in the world, between 2003 to 2010, HSBC allowed El Chapo and the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most notorious and murderous criminal organizations in the world, to turn its ill-gotten money into clean dollars and thereby grow one of the deadliest drugs empires the world has ever seen. Just how did 'the world's local bank' find itself enabling Mexico's leading drugs cartel, and the biggest drugs trafficking organization in the world, to launder cash through the bank's branch network and systems? How did a bank, which boasts 'we're committed to helping protect the world's financial system on which millions of people depend, by only doing business with customers who meet our high standards of transparency' come to facilitate Mexico's richest drug baron? And how did a bank that as recently as 2002 had been named 'one of the best-run organizations in the world' become so entwined with such a criminal, with one of the most barbaric groups of gangsters on the planet? Too Big to Jail is an extraordinary story brilliantly told by writer, commentator and former editor of The Independent, Chris Blackhurst, that starts in Hong Kong and ranges across London, Washington, the Cayman Islands and Mexico, where HSBC saw the opportunity to become the largest bank in the world, and El Chapo seized the chance to fuel his murderous empire by laundering his drug proceeds through the bank. It brings together an extraordinary cast of politicians, bankers, drug dealers, FBI officers and whistle-blowers, and asks what price does greed have? Whose job is it to police global finance? And why did not a single person go to prison for facilitating the murderous expansion of a global drug empire? Are some corporations now so big as to be above the law?

Explore the world of crime and punishment Police, forensics, and detective stories dominate our TV screens and bookshelves--from fictional portrayals such as Silence of the Lambs and Law and Order to lurid accounts of real-life super-criminals like Pablo Escobar and Al Capone. As well as being horribly fascinating, knowledge of what makes criminals tick is crucial to governments, who spend billions of dollars each year trying to keep their people safe. Criminology brings disciplines like psychology, biology, and economics together to help police and society solve crimes--and to prevent them before they even happen. The new edition of Criminology For Dummies shines a light into the dark recesses of the criminal mind and goes behind-the-scenes with society's response to crime, putting you right on the mean streets with cops and criminals alike. Along the way, you'll learn everything a rookie needs to survive, including basic definitions of what a crime is and how it's measured; common criminal motivations, thinking, and traits; elementary crime-solving techniques; the effects on and rights of victims; and more. Understand types of crime, from white-collar to organized to terror attacks Follow law-enforcement officials and agencies as they hunt the bad guys Meet key players in criminal justice and see how and why the guilty are punished Check out jobs in the field Whether you plan to enter the criminal justice field or just want to know more about what turns some people to the dark side--and how the thin blue line fights back--this is your perfect guide to criminology basics.

London, 1716. Revenge is a dish best served ice-cold...The city is caught in the vice-like grip of a savage winter. Even the Thames has frozen over. But for Jonas Flynt - thief, gambler, killer - the chilling elements are the least of his worries... Justice Geoffrey Dumont has been found dead at the base of St Paul's cathedral, and a young male sex-worker, Sam Yates, has been taken into custody for the murder. Yates denies all charges, claiming he had received a message to meet the judge at the exact time of death. The young man is a friend of courtesan Belle St Clair, and she asks Flynt to investigate. As Sam endures the horrors of Newgate prison, they must do everything in their power to uncover the truth and save an innocent life, before the bodies begin to pile up. But time is running out. And the gallows are beckoning... A totally enrapturing portrayal of eighteenth-century London, and a rapier-like crime thriller, perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Antonia Hodgson and Ambrose Parry.

The third and final book in the acclaimed THE LOOP trilogy - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner ... 'A terrifying and sinister look into the future that will leave your jaw on the floor.' KASS MORGAN, New York Times bestselling author of THE 100 on book 1 'Your next YA obsession.' ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY on book 1 'Fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner should look no further ... Thrilling and terrifying in equal measure.' OBSERVER on book 1 Luka Kane was executed in front of a jeering crowd, but before he died, he opened one pair of eyes to the truth: lab assistant Chester 'Chilly' Beckett's. Chilly is now determined to find out what's happening in the mysterious locked laboratory on the 65th floor. When he finally does, he finds three paralysed subjects ... and one of the subjects, impossibly, is Luka Kane. A bold escape sets in motion a race against time as Happy's world-ending plans draw to a climax ... The final, nail-biting instalment in The Loop trilogy: a must-read YA series for teens and adults alike Prison Break meets 1984 in this cutting-edge sci-fi thriller - perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner

Electronic monitoring (EM) is a way of supervising offenders in the community whilst they are on bail, serving a community sentence or after release from prison. Various technologies can be used, including voice verification, GPS satellite tracking and - most commonly - the use of radio frequency to monitor house arrest. It originated in the USA in the 1980s and has spread to over 30 countries since then. This book explores the development of EM in a number of countries to give some indication of the diverse ways it has been utilized and of the complex politics which surrounds its use. A techno-utopian impulse underpins the origins of EM and has remained latent in its subsequent development elsewhere in the world, despite recognition that is it less capable of effecting penal transformations than its champions have hoped. This book devotes substantive chapters to the issues of privatisation, evaluation, offender perspectives and ethics. Whilst normatively more committed to the Swedish model, the book acknowledges that this may not represent the future of EM, whose untrammelled, commercially-driven development could have very alarming consequences for criminal justice. Both utopian and dystopian hopes have been invested in EM, but research on its impact is ambivalent and fragmented, and EM remains undertheorised, empirically and ethically. This book seeks to redress this by providing academics, policy audiences and practitioners with the intellectual resources to understand and address the challenges which EM poses.

Those travelling on the seas have always been vulnerable to the attacks of predators acting within or without the law. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries such assaults reached new heights as the development of trans-oceanic empires increased massively the wealth and extent of sea-borne trade, and with it the potential for prize-taking. Pirates and Privateers focuses on the character of pirate communities in the Caribbean, the East Indies and China, and on the scale and significance of privateering operations based in the principal European maritime states. It brings together the latest work of an internationally renowned group of scholars to shed fresh light on the fascinating, frequently misunderstood subject of violence at sea in the age of sail.

A riveting, decades-in-the-writing memoir from the determined young prosecutor who, in two of America's most celebrated trials, managed to convict famed mob boss John Gotti-and subsequently took down the Mafia altogether. John Gotti was without a doubt the flashiest and most feared Mafioso in American history. He became the boss of the Gambino Crime Family in spectacular fashion-with the brazen and very public murder of Paul Castellano in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan in 1985. Not one to stay below law enforcement's radar, Gotti instead became the first celebrity crime boss. His penchant for eye-catching apparel earned him the nickname "The Dapper Don;" his ability to beat criminal charges led to another: "The Teflon Don." This is the captivating story of Gotti's meteoric rise to power and his equally dramatic downfall. Every step of the way, Gotti's legal adversary-John Gleeson, an Assistant US Attorney in Brooklyn-was watching. When Gotti finally faced two federal racketeering prosecutions, Gleeson prosecuted both. As the junior lawyer in the first case-a bitter seven-month battle that ended in Gotti's acquittal-Gleeson found himself in Gotti's crosshairs, falsely accused of serious crimes by a defense witness Gotti intimidated into committing perjury. Five years later, Gleeson was in charge of the second racketeering investigation and trial. Armed with the FBI's secret recordings of Gotti's conversations with his underboss and consigliere in the apartment above Gotti's Little Italy hangout, Gleeson indicted all three. He "flipped" underboss Sammy the Bull Gravano, killer of nineteen men, who became history's highest-ranking mob turncoat-resulting in Gotti's murder conviction. Gleeson ended not just Gotti's reign, but eventually that of the entire mob. An epic, page-turning courtroom drama, The Gotti Wars is a brilliantly told crime story that illuminates a time in our nation's history when lawyers and mobsters dominated the news, but it's also the story of a tenacious young man, in the glare of the media spotlight, who mastered the art of becoming a great attorney.

No one is innocent in this story. First Rule: Make them like you. Second Rule: Make them need you. Third Rule: Make them pay. They think I'm a young, idealistic law student, that I'm passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system. They think I'm working hard to impress them. They think I'm here to save an innocent man on death row. They're wrong. I'm going to bury him. 'Ingenious' SUNDAY TIMES 'Gripping and full of tension, with twist after unexpected twist. You won't just read The Murder Rule, you'll devour it.' - Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her

Exactly one hundred years have passed since Ruth Hadley, a pretty young Wolverhampton woman with a fiery temper, was killed by a shot to the head. Just three months later, in March 1909, Edward Lawrence - one-time veterinary surgeon and successful businessman - was acquitted of her murder. This was not the kind of thing that was expected in respectable middle-class Victorian neighbourhoods. Yet Mr Lawrence was not quite the perfect gentleman. Though married, Lawrence took several mistresses, of whom Ruth was one of the first. He drank heavily, brawled in the town centre pubs operated by his family brewing business; he litigated frequently and usually unsuccessfully, and took few pains to conceal his actions from polite Wolverhampton society. His antics were often reported in full in the Midlands press. Did Edward pull the trigger? Was it a tragic accident? Lawrence's famous defence lawyer, Edward Marshall Hall, was able to prove reasonable doubt; the judge implied that he was very lucky to be acquitted, and he advised Lawrence to reform his ways. Yet the astonishing thing is that, far from heeding the judge's advice, Lawrence continued in his 'bad ways', dying at the age of 45 just three years after his trial, almost certainly because of his drinking. And despite all of his failings being paraded at the trial and during several later court appearances, and despite being declared bankrupt, he was able to maintain a comfortable standard of living in his final years, still with the outward appearance of the respectability that we usually think of as being so hard won. The trial, the life, the public humiliation, yet the remarkable resilience of the 'respectable' Mr Lawrence provide a fascinating cameo of Victorian life, at the same time illuminating sharply many wider issues including attitudes to class, to gender, to marriage and to women, debt, drinking, bankruptcy, civil as well as criminal law. It is not often that one local case casts such a useful and interesting spotlight on the Victorian society that we think we know so well.

Drawing from the most up-to-date research and emerging issues, Victimology: A Comprehensive Approach is an accessible, student-friendly text that provides students with an overview of the causes and consequences of victimization and the responses to those causes. Renowned authors and researchers Leah E. Daigle and Lisa R. Muftic use a consistent framework throughout to help readers understand why people are victimized, as well as how the criminal justice system and other social services interact with victims and each other. The focus on causes and responses equips students with the foundational knowledge needed to apply key concepts to real-life situations. Emphasizing the impact of trauma on individuals and opportunities for prevention, this supportive text offers incisive discussions of recurring victimization and the victim-offender overlap with a global focus. The streamlined Second Edition explores emerging topics within this growing field, including immigration and victimization, bullying, homicides and sexual assaults involving LGBTQ persons, school shootings, and more.

On 9th August 2001, 22 days after Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury, he was transferred from HMP Belmarsh, a double-A Category high-security prison in south London, to HMP Wayland, a Category C establishment in Norfolk. He served 67 days in Wayland and during that time, as this account testifies, encountered not only the daily degradations of a dangerously over-stretched prison service, but the spirit and courage of his fellow inmates.

This book is the first to consider the intersection between mafia power and deviant masonic lodges within the political sphere of the contemporary Italian state. At its core, it offers an analysis of the shifting interactions across powerful actors and the ways in which they balance reciprocal obedience, and a unique insight into the political processes where mafia actors and deviant lodges play a significant role in the allocation of resources. Mafia, Deviant Masons and Corruption draws on a wealth of literature from across criminology and political science and a range of primary data sources including judicial files indictments, arrest warrants, intercepted materials and sentences for key cases, official documentation from Parliamentary commissions and special committees of inquiry, rituals of affiliation and codes of initiation, and interviews with prosecutors, journalists and experts. In doing so it redefines how we have come to understand the relationship between mafias and power in Italy. It considers how criminal groups are defined and enriched by a relational capital in shifty environments where every actor assumes often a double nature: the mafia boss acts as an entrepreneur; the entrepreneur acts as a politician; the politician mixes with masons; a deviant mason supports mafia organisations. This book is a major contribution to the literature on mafias and organised crime across criminology, sociology and political science, and will be of great interest to students, researchers, scholars and engaged general readers.