The contributors provide up-to-date understanding of various aspects of organized crime, in both classic areas of research (drugs, sex trafficking, labor racketeering) and emerging areas of interest (diamond smuggling, money laundering, eco-crime), in locales as varied as Italy, Quebec, the Sinai, Bulgaria, and the world’s tropical rain forests. Topics are explored from a variety of perspectives, including sociology, criminology, political science, and anthropology, giving this book empirical breadth and depth rarely seen in the literature.

Introduction

Dina Siegel and Hans Nelcn

Criminal Groups and Activities

Historical Transformations

Chapter 1 Reflections on the Sicilian Mafia:

      Peripheries and Their Impact on Centres

      Anton BIok

Chapter 2 The Decline of the Italian Mafia

      Letizia Paoli

Chapter 3 Hashish Smuggling by Bedouin in South Sinai

      Emanuel Marx

Transnational Flows

Chapter 4 Corruption as a Causal Factor in Human Trafficking

      Sheldon X. Zhang and Samuel L. Pineda

Chapter 5 New Players in an Old Game: the Sex Market in Italy

      Stefano Becucci

Chapter 6 The vehicle Theft Market in Bulgaria

      Tihomir Bezlov and Philip Gounev

The Intertwinement of Illegitimate and Legitimate Activities

Chapter 7 Diamonds and Organized Crime: The Case of Antwerp

     Dina Siegel

Chapter 8 Eco-Crime: The Tropical Timber Trade

      Tim Boekhout van Solinge

Chapter 9 The Role of Hawala Bankers in the Transfer of

      Proceeds from Organized Crime

      Henk van de Bunt

Chapter 10 Facilitating Organized Crime:

      The Role of Lawyers and Notaries

      Hans Nelen and Francien Lankhorst

Law Enforcement

Containment and Prevention

Chapter 11 Criminal Conflicts and Collective Violence:

      Biker-Related Account Settlements

      in Quebec, 1994-2001

      Carlo Morselli, Dave Tanguay, and Anne-Marie Labalette

Chapter 12 Controlling Human Smuggling in the Netherlands:

      How the Smuggling of Human Beings Was

      Transformed into a Serious Criminal Offence

      Richard Staring

Dual Strategies

Chapter 13 The Civil RICO Law as the Decisive Weapon

      in Combating Labour Racketeering

      James B. Jacobs

Chapter 14 Recent Anti-Mafia Strategies: The Italian Experience

      Antonio La Spina

Chapter 15 Breaking the Power of Organized Crime?

      The Administrative Approach in Amsterdam

      Hans Nelen and Wire Huisman

About the Authors

Appendix: Scientific Board

Index