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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Crime & criminology > Organized crime
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.
Organized Crime: The Essentials provides students with an engaging
introduction to the complex and pernicious world of organized
crime. Students learn key concepts and principles within the
discipline and study real-world examples of organized criminal
activity. The text demonstrates how organized crime has adapted to
changing times, become more sophisticated, and embedded itself into
the fabric of economic, political, and social life in many nations
around the world. The book begins with a definition of organized
crime, an overview of key attributes and specific types, and
discussion of its sociological foundations. Students are provided
with a brief history of organized crime in America, including
discussions of street gangs, prohibition, gambling, La Cosa Nostra,
contemporary organized crime, and more. Later chapters examine
illegal lotteries, sports betting, drug trafficking, organized
theft, money laundering, and other ways in which organized crime
operates as a business. The text concludes with chapters dedicated
to transnational criminal enterprises, organized crime around the
globe, and strategies for responding to organized crime.
Approachable and informative, Organized Crime is ideal for
undergraduate courses in criminology, criminal justice, and
organized crime.
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.
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Grasshopper
(Paperback)
Freebird Publishers; Illustrated by Freebird Publishers; Kelly Patrick Riggs
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R472
Discovery Miles 4 720
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Innocent people are regularly convicted of crimes they did not
commit. A number of systemic factors have been found to contribute
to wrongful convictions, including eyewitness misidentification,
false confessions, informant testimony, official misconduct, and
faulty forensic evidence. In Miscarriages of Justice in Canada,
Kathryn M. Campbell offers an extensive overview of wrongful
convictions, bringing together current sociological,
criminological, and legal research, as well as current case-law
examples. For the first time, information on all known and
suspected cases of wrongful conviction in Canada is included and
interspersed with discussions of how wrongful convictions happen,
how existing remedies to rectify them are inadequate, and how those
who have been victimized by these errors are rarely compensated.
Campbell reveals that the causes of wrongful convictions are, in
fact, avoidable, and that those in the criminal justice system must
exercise greater vigilance and openness to the possibility of error
if the problem of wrongful conviction is to be resolved.
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