Showing titles in Organized Crime

The Profession of Violence pulls back the curtain on the rise and eventual fall of Ronnie and Reggie Kray, London's most infamous gangsters. Charting their transformation from East End boys to the ruling figures of London’s criminal underworld during the 1960s, John Pearson's vivid account shows how they ran an empire of organised crime the likes of which London had never seen. Built on lies, extortion, and extreme violence and murder, Pearson also shows the strange brotherly relationship that kept them bound in blood until their eventual downfall and imprisonment.

For most of us in Britain, the Mafia seems as distant as the characters in "Goodfellas," "Gomorrah," or "The Godfather" trilogy. However, the truth is far more sinister. Drawing from his groundbreaking Sky HISTORY series, renowned journalist and fearless investigator Ross Kemp delves into the depths of the Mafia's influence within the UK - unveiling the Mafia bosses, capos, and hitmen who work next door, from caravan parks to shoe shops, cafés to newsagents.

In 1961, 25-year-old Herbert Jay Stern, fresh from reserve duty, stood in his green army uniform in a New York County courtroom to be sworn in as an attorney. He could only guess what his life as a prosecuting lawyer would be. A dozen years later, in the wake of the national scandal of Watergate, Stern, draped in black robes now, would take the oath of office as a federal judge. In the years between, the idealistic young Stern would sharpen his skills in the realities of the criminal courts of New York City, to emerge as the lead trial attorney for the Justice Department....

Incarceration has a long and inglorious history, from dungeons in the bowels of castles to oppressive penal colonies in Australia. Karen Farrington brings this history up to the 21st century, exploring some of the world's worst prisons, from Alcatraz to Pollsmoor, and the unending battles that rage between convicts and warders. Inside the prison walls, gangs rule, guards devise sadistic punishments, and newcomers suffer abuse at the hands of experienced tormentors.

Author and historian Michael Esslinger spent seven years conducting interviews with Whitey Bulger following his capture in 2011. Their conversations captured Bulger's memories of an early life in crime, his years as a prisoner on Alcatraz, and his life as one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives. The Last Interviews is a collection of Bulger's own memories, transcribed directly from personal interviews that chronicle a lifetime spent in crime. It is a scrapbook weaved together from prison documents, personal letters, and candid conversations that offer intimate details about his life.

Tony Spilotro was the Mob's man in Las Vegas. A feared enforcer, the bosses knew Tony would do whatever it took to protect their interests. The "Little Guy" built a criminal empire that was the envy of mobsters across the country, and his childhood pal, Frank Cullotta, helped him do it. But Tony's quest for power and lack of self-control with women cost the Mob its control of Vegas; and Tony paid for it with his life.

His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a decision that would turn his world upside down. Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the king of the largest slum in Rio, the head of a drug cartel and perhaps Brazil’s most wanted criminal. A man who tried to bring welfare and justice to a playground of gang culture and destitution while everyone around him drew guns and partied.

Robert Mazur spent five years undercover infiltrating the criminal hierarchy of Colombia's drug cartels. The dirty bankers and businessmen he befriended knew him as Bob Musella, a wealthy, mob-connected big shot living the good life. Together they partied in expensive hotels, drank the world's finest champagnes, drove Rolls-Royce convertibles and flew in private jets. But under Mazur's designer suits and hidden away in his quality briefcase, recorders whirred quietly.

In Kilo, Toby Muse takes us deeper into the mechanism of the drug trade than ever before, following a kilo of cocaine as it travels from its origins to the street. On the ground in the drug war for over a decade, earning the trust of those involved on all sides, Muse takes us with him through the endless blood-soaked horror and economic logic, at every level of the journey of the world’s most alluring and dangerous drug. We come to meet, and ultimately understand, the tainted personal psychology and motivations of each player in this dark El Dorado.

New Zealand's underworld of organised crime and deadly gangs 'The best true-crime book of the year by a long stretch.' - Steve Braunias, Newsroom 'A series of rip-snorting yarns about gangs, drugs, fancy cars, wads of cash, violence, and guns - Aotearoa New Zealand style.' - Simon Bridges New...

Coming from a huge close-knit family of street traders long before it was legalized, Stephen Sayers spent his early years on the barrows, witnessing constant brushes with the law. Aunties and uncles were frequently incarcerated and a hatred and distrust of authority swelled within the younger members of the family.

'A book of such hugely ambitious scope’ Financial Times ‘Gingeras’s riveting book delves into the murky origins, effects and legacies of the most terrifying figures in the history of crime’ The i ‘Gingeras writes well and joins the historical dots' Telegraph Few forces have shaped our...

350,000: the number of missing person reports opened in the UK every year. But how do we find the missing? Charlie Hedges is a pioneer in the field of missing persons over a career spanning nearly four decades. During his work in the police force, then at the Missing Persons Bureau and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, Charlie has been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of recent years. From abductions and trafficking to accidents and the vulnerable, Charlie has seen into the dark shadows of life.

This is the untold story of the American federal agent who captured the world’s most-wanted drug-lord. Every generation has its larger-than-life criminal legend living beyond the reach of the law: Billy the Kid, Al Capone, Ronnie Biggs, Pablo Escobar. But for every one of these criminals...

"We are the people our parents warned us about" is the motto of the Bandidos, one of the world's most feared outlaw motorcycle gangs. For ten years, Steve Utah was a Bandidos insider. He arranged the security of their clubhouses. He 'cooked' ecstasy and ice for them. He was at meetings where interstate and overseas drug and weapons smuggling was planned. He saw stolen military weapons being sold. He witnessed vicious beatings, helped dump corpses.It all became too much and, in an attempt to regain control of his life, Utah resorted to the unthinkable....

In "The Five Families of New York," Mafia Library presents a gripping account of the ascension and decline of New York's foremost crime syndicates, from the legendary Lucky Luciano to the notorious Paul Castellano and John Gotti, and beyond. Through vivid storytelling, the book chronicles the relentless assault waged against these five families over two decades, a campaign that stands as the most successful law enforcement effort of the last century.

Packed with jaw-dropping stories of public violence and personal vengeance, vivid insights into the Mafia's way of life, and shocking portraits of America's most wanted crime families, Red Hook is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by the history of organized crime in America.

Mark Galeotti is the go-to expert on organized crime in Russia, consulted by governments and police around the world. Now, Western listeners can explore the fascinating history of the vory v zakone, a group that has survived and thrived amid the changes brought on by Stalinism, the Cold War, the Afghan War, and the end of the Soviet experiment.

Born in the tough East End of Glasgow and married into one of the city's most notorious criminal families, Janey Godley's young life was far from ordinary. From the grim and far-from-swinging '60s, to the discos of the '70s, to the tidal wave of heroin addiction which engulfed Glasgow's East End during the '80s, Janey was witness to an extraordinary underworld - as well as religious sectarianism, abject poverty and a frightening family of in-laws. Throughout it all, her indomitable spirit - and her vivid sense of humour - kept her alive.

The Tangled Web tells the dramatic story of detective Richard Cain's criminal career as revealed by his half-brother, Michael. Cain led a double-life—one as a well-known cop who led raids that landed on the front pages, and the other as a "made man" in one of Chicago's most notorious mob families.