Organized Crime in Our Times

Organised Crime – A Threat to Democracy.

“…In the United States, there have been many Commissions and citizen's committees attempting to expose and deal with organized crime. 92 The most impressive results, as in Italy, emerged out of prosecutions based on lawenforcement investigations and intelligence data gathered from informants, crime syndicate defectors, police undercover and electronic surveillance activities. Consequently, the American Cosa Nostra declined when it lost some tacit acceptance in wider society and when it was in the midst of a deep internal crisis caused by a leadership dispute.…”

Negotiated Exits from Organized Crime? Building Peace in Conflict and Crime‐affected Contexts

“…Although the specific characteristics of organized crime may vary, an analysis of sixteen different scholarly and government sources suggests that organized crime can be defined as “a continuous enterprise that rationally works to make profit through illicit activities that are often in high public demand. Its continuing existence is maintained through the use of force, threats, monopoly control, and/or the corruption of public officials” (Albanese : 4).…”

Book Review: Petter Gottschalk, Entrepreneurship and Organised Crime. Entrepreneurs in Illegal Business

“…Furthermore, the role of risk-taking and the drive for generating profits are highlighted as important determinants for both legal and illegal 'businesses'. However, in the context of exploring illegal business, the focus of interest is not on the (criminal) actions of individuals for example, drug dealers, but how these individuals form an organization or, according to the author, 'enterprise', in order to go about with their usually illegal activities (Albanese, 2004).…”