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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Organized crime > General
When a body is found, evidence leads the police to Italy and park
ranger Sebastiano helps DI Harris uncover the victim's identity.
Meanwhile, something monstrous is in the forests of Umbria. Are the
rumours of werewolves true? Seb is more worried about the return of
the 'ndrangheta, they've tried to kill him before and will try to
kill him again.
The story of Irish-American racketeer Danny Greene and his war
with the Mafia. Basis for the film Kill the Irishman starring Ray
Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, with Val Kilmer and Christopher
Walken.
'Meth, murder and pirates: the coder who became a crime boss. A
world that lurks just outside of our everyday perception, in the
dark corners of the internet we never visit' - Wired The Mastermind
tells the incredible true story of Paul Le Roux, the frighteningly
powerful creator of a twenty-first century cartel, and the
decade-long global manhunt that finally brought his empire to its
knees. Le Roux's business evolved from an online prescription drug
network into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in
almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. All tied
together with encryption programs so advanced that government
agencies were unable to break them. Tracing Le Roux's vast wealth
and his shadowy henchmen around the world, award-winning journalist
Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate
network. His investigation reveals a dark parable of ambition and
greed, and exposes a new age of crime in which a reclusive
entrepreneur can build an empire in the shadows of our networked
world.
In 1940 and 1941 a group of ruthless gangsters from Brooklyn's
Brownsville neighborhood became the focus of media frenzy when
they-dubbed "Murder Inc.," by New York World-Telegram reporter
Harry Feeney-were tried for murder. It is estimated that
collectively they killed hundreds of people during a reign of
terror that lasted from 1931 to 1940. As the trial played out to a
packed courtroom, shocked spectators gasped at the outrageous
revelations made by gang leader Abe "Kid Twist" Reles and his pack
of criminal accomplices. News of the trial proliferated throughout
the country; at times it received more newspaper coverage than the
unabated war being waged overseas. The heinous crimes attributed to
Murder, Inc., included not only murder and torture but also auto
theft, burglary, assaults, robberies, fencing stolen goods,
distribution of illegal drugs, and just about any "illegal activity
from which a revenue could be derived." When the trial finally came
to a stunning unresolved conclusion in November 1941, newspapers
generated record headlines. Once the trial was over, tales of the
Murder, Inc., gang became legendary, spawning countless books and
memoirs and providing inspiration for the Hollywood gangster-movie
genre. These men were fearsome brutes with an astonishing ability
to wield power. People were fascinated by the "gangster" figure,
which had become a symbol for moral evil and contempt and whose
popularity showed no signs of abating. As both a study in criminal
behavior and a cultural fascination that continues to permeate
modern society, the reverberations of "Murder, Inc." are profound,
including references in contemporary mass media. The Murder, Inc.,
story is as much a tale of morality as it is a gangster history,
and Murder, Inc., and the Moral Life by Robert Whalen meshes both
topics clearly and meticulously, relating the gangster phenomenon
to modern moral theory. Each chapter covers an aspect of the
Murder, Inc., case and reflects on its ethical elements and
consequences. Whalen delves into the background of the criminals
involved, their motives, and the violent death that surrounded
them; New York City's immigrant gang culture and its role as
"Gangster City"; fiery politicians Fiorello La Guardia and Thomas
E. Dewey and the choices they made to clean up the city; and the
role of the gangster in popular culture and how it relates to "real
life." Whalen puts a fresh spin on the two topics, providing a
vivid narrative with both historical and moral perspective.
In the early hours of 8 August 1963, a crime took place which
simultaneously captured the imagination of the general public, and
shook the British Establishment to the core, in a way that no
criminal event had ever done before. The Great Train Robbery, as it
subsequently became known, involved the audacious high-jacking of
one of Her Majesty's mail trains, netting the sixteen strong gang
over GBP2.6 million, equivalent to almost GBP50 million in 2016.
One by one, thanks to the tenacity of the Scotland Yard Flying
Squad officers charged with bringing the perpetrators to justice,
all known members of the gang were brought to trial and, with one
exception, were subsequently convicted and sentenced to
imprisonment. However, there was a great deal of public outrage at
the length of the some of the sentences handed out by the trial
judge, with many of the gang facing the prospect of up to 30 years
in prison. Yet, for many of those involved both directly and
indirectly in the Great Train Robbery, the story does not end
there. Over the coming years, a series of tragedies, misfortunes,
illnesses and downright bad luck were to blight the lives of a
significant number of the guilty and the innocent. The Curse of the
Great Train Robbery tells the thrilling story of the robbery and
reveals the series of subsequent events which will leave readers to
ponder whether this was a crime which was both cursed and doomed to
fail from the very outset.
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