One Nation Under Blackmail is a damning indictment of the consequences resulting from the nearly century old relationship between both US and Israeli intelligence and the organized criminal network known as the National Crime Syndicate.

This book specifically explores how that nexus between intelligence and organized crime directly developed the sexual blackmail tactics and networks that would later enable the sexual blackmail operation and other crimes of deceased pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth, and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals the extent to which Epstein's activities were state-sponsored through an exploration of his intelligence connections.

Understanding Green Card Marriage Fraud explores personal accounts of participation in Green Card marriage fraud (GCMF), also known as 'cash-for-vows', by legal and illegal immigrants, U.S. citizens, and marriage fraud brokers. This book reveals the various roles played by the marriage fraud brokers and others who aid, abet, or otherwise act as accessories to GCMF. Additional details provide the reasons why people commit GCMF and the methods they use in order to deceive immigration officials. Today, Green Card marriage fraud has acquired new importance due to world upheavals and the plight of refugees. The division in American public opinion has become political football and has led to various changes in immigration policy, often depending on the occupant of the White House. The study of Green Card marriage fraud can serve as a microcosm of the federal government's involvement in crime control. The author puts Green Card marriage fraud in the context of current immigration policies, suggesting necessary policy reforms since current rules and procedures are ineffective in detecting such fraudulent marriages. In unraveling the mystique surrounding GCMF, the methods of crime control and migration control converge revealing the 'crimmigration phenomenon' with GCMF falling in the middle of this nexus.

The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasizes how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyze data, and answer research questions. This brand new edition offers examples and visualizations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in R and SPSS. The third edition has been extensively reorganized with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on "the mathematical imagination." The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, The Joy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.

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.

* Uses a famous case study to delve into understanding what it means to be assigned deep cover, from both policing and mental health perspectives * Employs eco-ethological existential analysis to look at the dynamics of why and how trauma influences the shaping of an officer's cognitions, behaviors, feelings, and meaningfulness * Presents a unique, personal look at the details of Joe Pistone's infiltration into the Mafia in Operation Donnie Brasco

This book explores the manifold actual, possible and probable interconnections between gambling and crime in the context of the increased availability of wagering activities across many regions of the world. It examines the impact of the proliferation and propinquity of land-based betting establishments on crime, the role of organised crime in the provision of both licit and illicit forms of gambling, as well as problem gambling, crime and the administration of criminal justice. It also assesses the links between gambling, sport and corruption and the dimensions of crime that takes place in and around internet gambling sites. A thought-provoking study, this will be of particular interest to scholars in the fields of sociology, criminology and social policy.

This book provokes fresh ways of thinking about small developing States within the transnational legal order for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation (TAMLO). From the global wars on drugs and terror to journalistic exposes such as the 'Paradise', 'Panama' and 'Pandora' Papers, the Commonwealth Caribbean has been discursively stigmatised as a mythical island paradise of 'rogue' States. Not infrequently, their exercise of regulatory self-determination has been presented as the selling of their economic sovereignty to facilitate shady business deals and illicit finance from high-net-worth individuals, kleptocrats, tax-dodgers, organised crime networks and terrorist financiers. This book challenges conventional wisdom that Commonwealth Caribbean States are among the 'weakest links' within the global ecosystem to counter illicit finance. It achieves this by unmasking latent interests, and problematising coercive extraterritorial regulatory and surveillance practices, along the onshore/offshore and Global North/South axes. Interdisciplinary in its outlook, the book will appeal to policymakers, regulatory and supervisory authorities, academics and students concerned with better understanding legal and development policy issues related to risk-based regulatory governance of illicit finance. The book also provides an interesting exposition of substantive legal and policy issues arising from money laundering related to corruption and politically exposed persons, offshore finance, and offshore Internet gambling services.

Psychology of Gang Involvement expands existing knowledge by applying psychological knowledge to gangs, including how gang members think, their mental and emotional well-being, and their perceptions of gang involvement, as well as issues relating to gang prevention and intervention strategies. This book offers readers a clearer understanding of the important role that social psychological processes play in the formation and maintenance of gangs and gang membership. It will enhance readers' understanding of gang members' social cognition, emotional intelligence, well-being, and mental health, as well as how these factors potentially promote and sustain individual gang involvement. Readers will discover also how these important psychological characteristics vary according to an individual's commitment to a gang. Organized in three sections, the first focuses on issues relevant to theoretical perspectives of gang involvement. Chapters include detailed examinations of a gang member's experiences and the implications of these for theoretical development, and considerations of the importance of social and psychological issues such as group processes and levels of commitment to gang membership to, understand and explain involvement in gangs. The second section centers on issues such as adverse childhood experiences and trauma, and examines their links to male and female gang membership as potential risk factors and outcomes of gang involvement. The section concludes by contemplating how the mental health, traumatic experiences, and involvement in violence compares between gang members and other violent men in adulthood. The final section considers current responses to gang membership by evaluating individual and group-based approaches to gang prevention and intervention strategies, and concludes with a theoretical conceptualization of how a strengths-based approach could work to reduce gang involvement. This book will be a useful text for a wide range of readers interested in, or working with gang members, including academics and students, practitioners, youth workers, clinicians, and criminal justice agents.

Organized crime in Mexico has been responsible for a worrying increase in violence in that country since Felipe Calderon assumed the presidency in 2006. The country's main criminal gangs are now a real challenge to the Mexican state. Government policies aimed at combating that threat have not been very successful to date. While it is certainly possible to exaggerate the threat posed by organized crime to the Mexican state, the real problems posed are serious enough. This book considers the issue from a variety of viewpoints. The essential argument is that the organized crime is best combated by institutional reforms directed at strengthening the rule of law and winning over public opinion rather than by a heavy reliance on armed force. Some such reforms have indeed taken place in Mexico, and are discussed in the book.

In recent times, international society has countered a myriad of 'outlaw' threats at sea, including piracy, terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the threat posed by 'rogue states'. Whilst the US has promoted 'coalitions of the willing' and sought to transform international maritime law in response to these 'outlaws', Japanese governments have developed an innovative maritime security strategy centering on the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). Concerned by Japan's international image as a former imperialist power, Tokyo has relied upon the identity of the JCG as a law enforcement and rescue organization to garner support for its maritime security strategy. Japan's non-military efforts have developed the capacities of states and built institutions in the Southeast Asian region and beyond. The JCG's response to maritime 'outlaws' belies characterizations of Japan as a passive state that does not contribute to international order.

This book explores the complexities of drugs policy in Britain, contradicting the over simplified representation found in the public sphere. It focuses on developments in Britain since the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971, covering debates at national level and local experiences set in international and European context, emphasizing the interconnectivity between people and countries in this global age. Several institutions and networks are examined to illustrate how they shape the policy process as vessels for ideas and interests and as spaces for individual action. MacGregor discusses arguments around drug policy reform, in particular the role of politicians, the media and advocacy organizations. Her aim is to encourage a more open and intelligent conversation on drugs policy and to question whether the institutional architecture in place is fit for purpose given the great increase of substances available and the underlying variety of conditions and interests currently competing for attention and resources. The is a must read for all scholars of Politics, Medicine and Social Science interested in the current debate raging around British Drug Policy.

Geopolitics is an increasingly important tool to understand national and international relations. This book unravels how organized crime is not just a marginal problem but part of a bigger geopolitical and asymmetrical warfare strategy. It seeks to establish a direct relationship between Nation States and organized crime groups. Many States have been using criminal and terrorist organizations as a policy for issues of national sovereignty or as a tool to strengthen a nation's geopolitical position. This book demonstrates how national states are utilizing criminal organizations in covert operations and "dirty jobs" such as espionage, proxy war, arms trafficking and sabotage. Examples from the United States, China and the Soviet Union are explored, providing both an historical and contemporary analysis, from World War II through to the Cold War and to the present day. The book brings together perspectives from international relations and criminology drawing on insights from a variety of sources, including public documents and interviews.

More than a hundred years have passed since the adoption of the first prohibitionist laws on drugs. Increasingly, the edifice of international drug control and laws is vacillating under pressures of reform. Scholarship on drugs history and policy has had a tendency to look at the issue mostly in the Western hemisphere of the globe or to privilege Western narratives of drugs and drugs policy. This volume instead turns this approach upside down and makes an intellectual attempt to redefine the subject of drugs in the Global South. Opium, heroin, cannabis, hashish, methamphetamines and khat are among the drugs discussed in the contributions to the volume, which spans from Sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia, including the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and the Indian Subcontinent. The volume also makes a powerful case for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of drugs by juxtaposing the work of historians, political scientists, geographers, anthropologists and criminologists. Ultimately, this edited volume is a rich and diverse collection of new case studies, which opens up venues for further research. This book was originally published as a special issue of Third World Quarterly.

Organised Crime and Law Enforcement: A Network Perspective examines organised crime and law enforcement through the conceptual lens of networks. The book takes stock of the many ways in which network theories and concepts, including social network analysis, can apply to studying both organised crime and law enforcement responses to organised crime. It is the first attempt to bring these diverse network perspectives and distinct fields of research together. The book is organised into two parts. The first part uses network perspectives to advance our understanding of the interconnected social structure of organised criminal groups, to expose their strengths and vulnerabilities, and to illuminate factors that enable such groups to undertake complex criminal activities. The second part uses a network lens to examine the challenges that organised criminal groups present for a wide range of law enforcement agencies, and the utility of network theories and concepts in understanding and informing their responses to organised crime. Written in a clear and direct style, the book will appeal to scholars and practitioners of criminology, sociology, law enforcement, and all those interested in learning more about theories of organised crime and its relationship with law enforcement.

Through analysis of data held by the National Crime Agency on organised crime groups, and in-depth analysis of qualitative interviews with convicted fraudsters and enforcement professionals, this detailed study fills a significant gap in the contemporary literature on organised crime groups involved in fraud. Throughout the chapters, the perspective of convicted offenders and those involved in its policing are juxtaposed to show the ease of committing fraud from the perspective of offenders on the one hand, and the investigative challenges experienced by law enforcement officers on the other. May and Bhardwa's insights shed light on offender motivations, routes into fraud and organised crime, and the nature and shape of organised crime groups and their operations. Alongside the offender perspective the law enforcement interviews provide a unique interpretation of the procedural and legislative weaknesses that appear to allow this type of offender to make considerable financial gain. The key recommendations based on empirical findings will greatly benefit those interested in understanding the links between fraud and organised crime in the UK and those seeking to improve enforcement efforts.

In the mid-1970s, there were a series of gangland murders, committed by unknown killers, often wielding .22-caliber revolvers. At first these murders seemed unconnected, but law enforcement started noticing links to organized crime and by 1978, federal authorities were involved in the investigations. The FBI compiled a list of 25 gangland figures killed, from potential witnesses and low-level associates, to made men. All shot with a .22 between 1975 and 1978, all from the same batch of guns purchased in Florida, some even the same weapon. The main suspects were members of the East Harlem Purple Gang. Starting on the fringes they quickly became a violent offshoot syndicate of the Mafia, some even became high-ranking members of the Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families. Often serving as freelance hitmen, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, their exploits quickly crossed into mythology. The Purple Gang became an almost obsession with the media. Accounts of the Gang's activities popped up in the newspapers across the country in the late 1970s. They were the shadow army of the underworld and every law enforcement agency's favorite suspect. They were accused of being behind all the major mob hits through the early 1980s and became the ultimate boogeyman in the era of mob upheaval and a flailing New York City mired in crime and financial woes. Digging through the mystery and mythos, Scott Deitche brings the gritty City of the late 1970s and early 1980s back to life in this in-depth account of the Purple Gang, the real members, their operations, and where some of the major players are today.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio, this gripping true story of the origins of the Mafia in America follows the brilliant Italian-born detective who gave his life to stop it. Beginning in the summer of 1903, an insidious crime wave filled New York City, and then the entire country, with fear. The children of Italian immigrants were kidnapped, and dozens of innocent victims were gunned down. Bombs tore apart tenement buildings. Judges, senators, Rockefellers, and society matrons were threatened with gruesome deaths. The perpetrators seemed both omnipresent and invisible. Their only calling card: the symbol of a black hand. The crimes whipped up the slavering tabloid press and heated ethnic tensions to the boiling point. Standing between the American public and the Black Hand's lawlessness was Joseph Petrosino. Dubbed the "Italian Sherlock Holmes," he was a famously dogged and ingenious detective, and a master of disguise. As the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the Black Hand's activities spread far beyond New York's borders, Petrosino and the all-Italian police squad he assembled raced to capture members of the secret criminal society before the country's anti-immigrant tremors exploded into catastrophe. Petrosino's quest to root out the source of the Black Hand's power would take him all the way to Sicily--but at a terrible cost. Unfolding a story rich with resonance in our own era, The Black Hand is fast-paced narrative history at its very best.

1. This is the first textbook to bring together the related fields of state crime, white collar crime, financial crime and environmental crime. 2. As well as offering theoretical and methodological insights, this book draws on international case studies throughout. 3. This will be essential reading for the growing number of modules on Crimes of the Powerful and also important supplementary reading for modules on white collar crime, state crime and green criminology.

In this succinct text, Jonathan D. Rosen and Hanna Samir Kassab explore the linkage between weak institutions and government policies designed to combat drug trafficking, organized crime, and violence in Latin America. Using quantitative analysis to examine criminal violence and publicly available survey data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to conduct regression analysis, individual case studies on Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, and Nicaragua highlight the major challenges that governments face and how they have responded to various security issues. Rosen and Kassab later turn their attention to the role of external criminal actors in the region and offer policy recommendations and lessons learned. Questions explored include: What are the major trends in organized crime in this country? How has organized crime evolved over time? Who are the major criminal actors? How has state fragility contributed to organized crime and violence (and vice versa)? What has been the government's response to drug trafficking and organized crime? Have such policies contributed to violence? Crime, Violence and the State in Latin America is suitable to both undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal justice, international relations, political science, comparative politics, international political economy, organized crime, drug trafficking, and violence.

This initiating monograph provides the first thorough examination of the concept of white-collar crime online. Applying an offender-based perspective which considers the central role of convenience, it seeks to inform, improve and develop the current literature on cybercrime, whilst paying particular attention to its founding category within criminology. It argues that white-collar crime has receded from criminological perspectives on cybercrime in recent years and that a detailed, rich re-assessment of white-collar crime in contemporary digital societies is needed. Following a theoretical introduction, the book develops to discuss, inter alia, implications for corporate reputation, the various organizational roles utilized in mitigating external and internal threats, the unique considerations involved in law enforcement efforts, and likely future directions within the field. White-Collar Crime Online recognises the strong lineage and correlation that exists between the study of white-collar crime and cybercrime. Using convenience theory within a comparative analysis which includes case-studies, the book explores both European and American paradigms, perspectives and models to determine where white-collar crime exists within the contemporary workplace and how this might relate to the ongoing discourse on cybercrime. In doing so it revaluates criminological theory within the context of changing patterns of business, the workplace, social rules, systems of governance, decision making, social ordering and control. White-Collar Crime Online will speak to criminologists, sociologists and professionals; including those interested in cyber-security, economics, technology and computer science.

This book offers a fresh approach to a range of pressing issues, emphasising the value of establishing economic crime as a sub-discipline within criminology. This will be essential reading for a range of more applied graduate courses across the UK and Europe on counter-fraud, money laundering, corruption, security management and financial crime investigation. Given the prominence of 'economic crime' amongst police forces, law enforcement agencies and government, this book has a secondary market amongst practitioners.

This book offers an ethnographically informed critique of the hyper-politicised debate on the facilitation of irregularised migration for people seeking asylum between Indonesia and Australia. While state authorities decry such facilitation as "people smuggling" and push for its criminalisation, the book's focal points are the need for unsanctioned passages for people seeking asylum and the detrimental consequences of the criminalisation of "people smuggling" for both the facilitators and the people seeking asylum. Drawing on court verdicts and interviews with convicted facilitators and law enforcement officials in Indonesia, this book provides a unique and holistic picture of the causes, conditions, procedures and intricacies surrounding the facilitation of irregularised maritime journeys between Indonesia and Australia covering almost four decades. It scrutinises the micro-level operational and place-specific characteristics of people smuggling and the consequences of anti-people-smuggling policies in Indonesia and relates those consequences to changes in the macroenvironment, which include relevant legal, political, social and economic factors that determine the overarching conditions of irregularised mobility. Compared to other states in the Global North, Australia has claimed to be more "successful" with its comprehensive approach to eliminate unsanctioned migration at sea by combining punitive, communicative-reventive and interceptive measures. This book challenges key achievements and objectives in regard to criminalising the facilitation of irregularised migration by foregrounding the many negative side effects that have emanated from "stopping the boats". The book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of anthropology and sociology, law and criminology, Asia-Pacific Studies, Southeast Asian Studies and international migration.

"[P]rovides a treasure trove of information that will engage readers intrigued by but new to the subject of art forgery as well as those with an art or art history background." Booklist, Starred Review Forgery is a provocative presence in the art world that captures attention in the press and inspires books about the exploits of famous fraudsters as well as scholarly articles and monographs. But missing until now has been a big-picture look at the phenomenon of art forgery. The Many Faces of Art Forgery provides a unique treatment that features historical highlights, philosophical insights, psychological profiles, economic theories, and legal statutes and cases. Key features include: -The story of art forgery from antiquity to the present, including 80 named forgers, the tricks of their trade, and the social forces that ensure the existence of their enterprise. -How scientific analysis is both effective and limited in exposing art fakes. -Multiple definitions for the term "forgery" as applied to art. -The effect on authenticity in legal terms, philosophical terms, and public opinion when an artwork undergoes extensive restoration, or artists hire surrogates to make their works, or they appropriate images from other artists or styles from indigenous cultures. -Forgers' mentalities: their motivations, rationalizations, and strategies. -The ethics of art forgery: from criminality to esteem for fooling experts. -The possibility and aesthetic worth of a "perfect fake." In all, readers will understand the substantial place forgery occupies in the realm of art, as well as that what constitutes authentic versus inauthentic is not always clear-cut, nor are legal and moral judgments about forgery. In conveying this message, the author provides a wealth of information in an accessible and engaging style suitable for experts and general readers alike.

This edited book addresses the issues of gun trafficking and gun violence across different regions of the world, including the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It seeks to identify global key trends on gun trafficking and related violence and discuss different enforcement measures. Each chapter is written by teams of distinguished academics and/or experienced practitioners to include practitioner insights and policy proposals on issues related to gun violence and gun trafficking. Chapters offer an overview of violence and recent gun control debates in the regions, enumerate challenges, provide lessons learnt, and recommend policy solutions. An overview of the global small arms trade is provided at the beginning alongside a comparative analysis of common challenges and significant differences across the regions. This book speaks to those in Criminology, International Relations, Public Policy, International Security, Public health and Law, and to civil society organizations, think tanks, research centers, policy analysts and policy makers involved in gun control debates.