This is our backup site. Click here to visit our main site at MellenPress.com
Liddick, Donald
About the author: Dr. Don Liddick received his PhD in the Administration of Justice from Penn State University, State College. He is currently Assistant Professor of Administration of Justice at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.
1999 0-7734-7965-1Part I provides a unique analysis of the public's perception of organized crime, discusses common myths, describes the most important attributes, addresses issues related to definition, and provides an in-depth look at contemporary global criminal enterprises. Part II is a unique history of organized crime in the Untied States from colonial America to the present day. It includes descriptions of the principal enterprises American organized crooks operate, and stresses the evolving nature of the phenomenon and the integral part played by political and economic elites. Part III focuses on theoretical issues. Provides a description of the sociological foundation and the development of organized crime theories and major organized crime paradigms.
2024 1-4955-1298-3
Organized crime and public corruption are an institutionalized feature of the American political economy. The provision of illegal goods and services, the smuggling of contraband, coordinated thefts and fencing of stolen goods, business and labor racketeering, the laundering of ill-gained money, and an extensive array of frauds are always most significant where there is the passive or active participation of public officials. Taking a cut of the action to “look the other way” is bad enough, but often those elected or appointed to a position of public trust become actively involved in the coordination of criminal enterprises. Sometimes they use their state-granted authority to extort from legal and illegal businesses. Other officials simply sell their office. The role of public servants in the organization of crime is most serious when there exists a political-criminal nexus—that is, a fusion of political and criminal power.
2024 1-4955-1309-2
An excerpt: "The problem of organized crime is pernicious; it is an inseparable component of the American political economy. The work of gang bangers, pimps, Cosa Nostra figures, and traffickers in human misery is bad enough. But what are we to do when the custodians of the public weal—those we depend on to preserve our rights and administer justice—are themselves organized criminals? Indeed, a growing body of academic literature demonstrates that the true organizers of crime are not those with illicit guns and extended rap sheets, but powerful players who use badges and gavels. Power. Control. Leverage."