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Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style (Studies in Crime and Public Policy),Used
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Secrecy is one of the defining characteristics of the Italian Mafia. Wiretaps, financial records, and the rare informant occasionally reveal its inner workings, but these impressions are all too often spotty and fleeting, hampering serious scholarship on this major form of criminal activity.During her years as a consultant to the Italian government agency responsible for combating organized crime, Letizia Paoli was given unparalleled insider access to the confessions by pentiti (literally, repentants), former Mafia operatives who had turned. This mafia "hard core" came primarily from the two largest and most influential Southern Italian mafia associations, known as Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta, each composed of about one hundred mafia families. The sheer volume of these confessions, numbering in the hundreds, and the detail they contained, enabled the Italian government to effectively break up the Italian mafia in one of the dramatic law enforcement successes in modern times. It is on these same documents that Paoli draws to provide a clinically accurate portrait of mafia behavior, motivations, and structure.Puncturing academic notions of a modernized Mafia, Paoli argues that to view mafia associations as bureaucracies, illegal enterprises, or an industry specializing in private protection, is overly simplistic and often inaccurate. These conceptions do not adequately describe the range of functions in which the mafia engages, nor do they hint at the mafia's limitations. The mafia, Paoli demonstrates are essentially multifunctional ritual brotherhoods focused above all on retaining and consolidating their local political power base. It is precisely this myopia that has prevented these organizations from developing the skills needed to be a successful and lasting player in the entrepreneurial world of illegal global commerce.A truly interdisciplinary work of history, politics, economics, and sociology, Mafia Brotherhoods reveals in dramatic detail the true face of one of the world's most mythologized criminal organizations.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
- Q: What is the main topic of 'Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style'? A: The book explores the intricacies of the Italian Mafia, focusing on its characteristics, operations, and the sociopolitical context in which it exists.
- Q: Who is the author of this book? A: The author of 'Mafia Brotherhoods' is Letizia Paoli, who has extensive experience as a consultant to the Italian government on organized crime.
- Q: What kind of insights does the author provide? A: Letizia Paoli offers unique insights drawn from confessions of former Mafia members, detailing their behaviors, motivations, and the structure of Mafia organizations.
- Q: Is the book based on real-life events? A: Yes, the book is based on real-life events and includes detailed accounts from the confessions of pentiti, or repentant Mafia members.
- Q: What is the publication date of 'Mafia Brotherhoods'? A: The book was published on October 23, 2003.
- Q: What type of binding does this book have? A: The book is available in hardcover binding.
- Q: How many pages does the book contain? A: The book contains a total of 312 pages.
- Q: What insights does the book provide about the Mafia's structure? A: The book argues that Mafia organizations are multifunctional ritual brotherhoods focused on local political power rather than merely illegal enterprises.
- Q: What category does this book fall under? A: The book falls under the category of Criminal Law.
- Q: Is this book suitable for academic research? A: Yes, 'Mafia Brotherhoods' is a scholarly work that provides a comprehensive analysis suitable for academic research on organized crime.