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The novel The Godfather (1969) and the movie of the same name (1972) entrenched the myth of the Mafiosi as valiant knights, men of honor, and defenders of the traditional concept of family. As a result of this movie and other popular portrayals, the image of mobsters as “men of honor and tradition” has become iconic throughout America. Yet the truth of the matter belies this more noble image. The Mafia is a ruthless organization. Their concept of family is a twisted one. But viewed through the lens of popular culture, it is often difficult to separate the fiction from the reality. Made Men demystifies this image by dismantling the code of honor that Mafiosi live by, including its attenda...
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This book aims to describe and demystify what makes criminal gangs so culturally powerful. It examines their codes of conduct, initiation rites, secret communications methods, origin myths, symbols, and the like that imbue the gangsters with the pride and nonchalance that goes hand in hand with their criminal activities. Mobsters are everywhere in the movies, on television, and on websites. Contemporary societies are clearly fascinated by them. Why is this so? What feature and constituents of organized criminal gangs make them so emotionally powerful—to themselves and others? These are the questions that have guided the writing of this textbook, which is intended as an introduction to orga...
Rocco Perri came to Canada almost a century ago from Calabria, Italy. Even today his name is well known to historians, police and organized crime—and especially to the people of the city he called home—Hamilton, Ontario. A poor immigrant, Perri along with his common-law wife, Bessie Starkman, built an unequalled crime empire for the time. During the Prohibition years, Perri provided alcohol to a thirsty clientele in Canada and the United States—a business that was very illegal and highly lucrative. Al Capone and Joseph Kennedy were among Perri’s customers. The Perris also ran gambling, loan-sharking, extortion and prostitution rackets. ROCCO PERRI: King of the Bootleggers is more than the biography of a man and his empire; it is a riveting portrait of a time when corruption was rampant, murder a business necessity, and discrimination against newcomers forced many to turn to crime as a means of survival. This book also solves a half-century-long mystery about the fate of Rocco Perri.
NOW A MAJOR TELEVISION SERIES, BAD BLOOD! Bestselling crime writers Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso reveal the final years of Canada's top mafia boss, Vito Rizzuto, and his bloody war to avenge his family and control the North American drug trade. Until Vito Rizzuto went to prison in 2006 for his role in a decades-old Brooklyn triple murder, he ruled the Port of Montreal, the northern gateway to the major American drug markets. A master diplomat, he won the respect of rival mafia clans, bikers and street gangs, and criminal business thrived on his turf. His family prospered and his empire grew--until one of North America's true Teflon dons finally lost his veneer. As he watched helplessly f...
A gripping tale that crisscrosses Europe, Latin America, and the United States and Canada, Bloodlines underscores the complexity and sophistication of organized crime at its highest levels. It illustrates how the Caruana-Cuntrera family operates in the netherworld where the financial engineering that supports the global economy bumps up against the billions of dollars of criminal proceeds that need to be laundered.
After enemies murdered his family and plundered his empire, a legendary Mafioso emerged from prison to a fateful dilemma: Rebuild or seek revenge? Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto sat helpless in a Colorado penitentiary while learning that unidentified assassins had killed his eldest son, and likely heir, and then murdered his father. Subsequent deaths of Vito’s loyal associates filled the news throughout hissentence. From their comfortable base in the Toronto area, the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta seemed the obvious culprits; but, as internationally bestselling crime writers Peter Edwards and Antonio Nicaso reveal in this compelling and far-reaching investigation, many unseen hands were at work. In 2012, Vito Rizzuto emerged from prison, a sixty-six-year-old man who could carefully reconstruct his crime family or damn the consequences and punish his betrayers. From the events leading to his imprisonment, through the bloodshed following his release, to his mysterious death in 2013 and morerecent efforts to continue his family’s dominance, Bad Blood is the final word in the story of a twenty-first-century criminal mastermind.
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The story of outlaw biker Edward Winterhalder and what happened when the Quebec-based Rock Machine gang became a chapter of the American-based Bandidos.
In this ground-breaking book, Antonio Nicaso, an internationally renowned expert on organized crime groups, and Lee Lamothe, a veteran investigative journalist specializing in criminal conspiracies, present solid evidence of how established organized crime groups — such as the Mafia and the Triads — have changed their tactics and allegiances to protect their interests against the rise of violent and power-hungry gangs from Albania, Mexico, and Russia. Angels, Mobsters, & Narco-Terrorists reveals how, due to their shared border, the USA and Canada have become prime targets for criminal groups that engage in money laundering and prostitution rings, and trafficking in human cargo, narcotics, and arms. On the international scene, state-sanctioned crime is thriving on heroin profits and cyber crime is emerging as a very lucrative and baffling activity to investigate and shut down. Dive inside the world of organized crime and discover how far it has penetrated our lives.