I have always been interested in how tales of organized crime in this area of the US tend to be so few and far between, though I suspect it has something to do with local political bosses running towns. Those that would stick out to me are LCN New Orleans, Phenix City Alabama known as Alabamas sin city whose downfall was brought by assassinating the state attorney general, Benny Binion the casino magnate who is also a convicted killer and supposedly ran operations throughout texas, and the Arkansas cocaine smuggling ring in the 80s related to the boys on the tracks murders.
Does anyone else have any good insight?
I'm looking for something like Wiseguy by Pileggi but in an African-American setting instead of Italian-American. It can be either non-fiction, historical fiction or fiction. Also, the more contemporary the better. Thanks!
I recently watched the Australian Broadcasting Corporation News In-Depth, "Foreign Correspondent" feature called "Inside Mexico's Most Powerful Drug Cartel."
My political view as an American voter, member of the Democratic party, and resident of a northern, blue-state metro area is:
Having a country that has large swaths of its territory controlled by organized crime, and that has large parts of its government substantially co-opted by organized crime, on the southern border of the United States, and that feeds off of the United States by using it as a market for its narcotic produce, is problematic on multiple levels. First, it is no longer safe for American citizens to travel southward over the continent, essentially bottling Americans in unless they resort to ocean or air travel. Second, the larger and more powerful the cartels become, the more likely they will corrupt parts of the U.S. local, state, and even Federal governments. After all, even if the extent is little-known, they do operate here, because the U.S. is an important market for them. Third, the nearness of the cartels is a geopolitical threat as they grow in power and might; it's like having any unstable and violent regime on one's border, and at that a border that is inadequately guarded and porous. Fourth, our true ally is the Mexican people and the cartels are no good for them and no good for their hopes of having bona-fide democratic self-government.
If a Presidential candidate promised to move aggressively against the cartels, that would be a significant point weighing in favor of voting for such candidate. This is the ideal speech I imagine a Presidential candidate making:
"Under my administration, the days of a cartel-infested Mexico would be numbered. I will give the cartel members and those who have colluded with them a fourteen-day period to obtain amnesty which will require affirmatively requesting amnesty and substantially confessing their involvement. Those who defy the U.S. will be rooted out. I will use the C.I.A., I will use the military. I will not hold back. I will use bunker-busters. I will use napalm. If you elect me, the days of the cartels will be numbered. This problem will be solved once and for all."
I imagine that such a speech, just by itself, would go a long way toward weakening the confidence of the cartels and their hold over the population, and restoring some degree of legitimate democratic self-rule in Mexi
... keep reading on reddit ➡Not sure if this belongs here but I'm sure others in this group would enjoy a list like this. I became fascinated with the Mafia after reading Mafia Dynasty by John H. Davis last summer and have been deeply enamored with everything organized crime ever since.
I like gritty, raw, violent, crime dramas, specifically to do with organized crime (usually TV-MA), for a "no holds barred" feel. Not so much serial killers and murderers, but drug cartels, organized criminal groups, gangs, cops blurring the line between "right" and "wrong". If it's not foreign and in English, that's okay too. I've just had a better experience watching the foreign crime dramas with English subtitles on.
Here are some movies, series, and books that I've enjoyed in this genre so you can get a better idea of what I'm looking for.
Movies
Gomorrah (2008)
A Prophet
Very Big Shot
The Departed
Outrage, Beyond Outrage, Outrage Coda
City of God
Casino
The Immortal
Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Reservoir Dogs
Eastern Promises
Traffic
Tropa De Elite, Tropa De Elite 2
The Mule
Night in Paradise
Miami Vice (2006)
Snow on The Bluff
Paid in Full
Cartel Land (documentary)
Scarface
Series
Gomorrah
Narcos, Narcos: Mexico
Oz
Suburra: Blood on Rome
ZeroZeroZero
The Wire
Snowfall
The Sopranos
El Chapo
Romanzo Criminale
Mafia Undercover (Solo)
Dogs of Berlin
McMafia
Books
Sex Money Murder
El Jefe
Born To Kill
American Desperado
Underboss
Tokyo Vice
Wiseguy
Takedown
Narconomics
The Westies
The Corporation
Havana Nocturne
Gomorrah
The Cartel
Power of the Dog
Mafia Dynasty
Killing Pablo
The Brotherhoods
McMafia
Vory
Blue Grass Conspiracy
El Narco
Gangster Warlords
Casino
Kilo
All recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Italian/Italian-American crime organizations: . The Five Families in New York (Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese), New Jersey families (DeCavalcante, Lucchese, and Genovese) The Outfit in Chicago, the families in Italy ( Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita), and the other families they're connected to (Cleveland, Detroit, Patriarca, Bruno, etc) .
Asian crime organizations: . Yakuza principle clans in Japan (Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai, Inagawa-kai and Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi), Triads in China/affiliates (14K, Sun Yee On, Tai Huen Chai, Wo Hop To, Wah Ching, Black Dragons, etc), and the various other organizations that are connected to the Phillipines, Koreas, etc .
Latin/Hispanic crime organizations: . The cartels in Mexico/affiliates (Sinaloa, Jalisco, Gulf, Los Zetas, Los Viagras, Michoacana, Mexican Mafia, etc), the cartels/paramilitaries in Colombia (Medellin, Clan Del Golfo, ELN) and the other connected organizations in South America and America .
Now I know this is a stretch because a lot of them aren't connected/work together, but together their power and influence in the given region they operate in, if each organization in each region came together and had a global conflict with organizations in other regions, which regions/organized crime do you think would win?
What if every single one of these organizations were to get into a conflict with everyone (even same region organizations), who do you think would be winning one out of all of them?
Every organization has their connections, powers, influences and capabilities (but also have their incapabilities and disadvantages) that they normally do, so there's nothing extra involved. It's also set in current day and time (2021) so we aren't talking about the past versions of the organizations.
What about politically or financially? Who would have the ability to make the most money, therefore winning the conflict if they could defend themselves long enough to make the other organizations irrelevant?
What do you think?
For instance, has there ever been a war with a well organized African-American street gang? The Medellin or Cali cartels? Sinaloa?
Much has been written about Mafia rituals and codes. We hear of a man about to be made holding a card with the image of a saint. The card is lit on fire. Sometimes blood is drawn. There may be variations on this. We also know of historic La Cosa Nostra rules -- no adultery, no kidnapping, no drugs, etc etc.
Do other non-Italian Mafia groups like the Irish, Jewish, or Russian have these sorts of official, formal rituals and rules? I have never heard of them but I have wondered about them.
According to Jerry Capeci, the national foremost expert on the American LCN Irish, Cuban, Russian, Chinese, Albanian, African American, Puerto Rican etc criminal organizations are not serious competition for what the F.B.I. calls traditional organized crime, the Italian mob. He says that they do not demonstrate the established criminal sophistication of traditional La Cosa Nostra (LCN) organisations. There is no single criminal organization in United States structured hierarchically like the traditional LCN. Jerry Capeci says that other criminal organizations are not clearly defined or organised and are instead grouped around a central leader or leaders.
Latin/Black/Chinese etc groups do have hierarchies, but the division between them isn’t as formal as for the Mafia. There’s more access to the high ranks than there is with the Mafia, where a soldier may never meet the boss except when he’s initiated. Plus the Mafia structure is pretty much the same everywhere.
Other crime groups have a more democratic structure compared to the Mafia. The Mafia in United States has a defined hierarchy. It’s a tree-like hierarchy that could be compared to the military or to a corporation.
Boss
Underboss Consigliere
Captain Captain Captain Captain Captain
Crew (soldiers) Crew (soldiers) Crew (soldiers) Crew (soldiers) Crew (soldiers).
Jerry Capeci says that today, most of the Mafia's activities are contained to the northeastern United States and Chicago, where they continue to dominate organized crime, despite the increasing numbers of other crime groups. What do you guys think?
Title should say it all but if not then, I'm curious of the inner workings of African-American criminal organizations of that period. They seemingly get overlooked by their Irish and Italian counterparts.
I like gritty, raw, violent, crime dramas, specifically to do with organized crime (usually TV-MA), for a "no holds barred" feel. Not so much serial killers and murderers, but drug cartels, organized criminal groups, gangs, cops blurring the line between "right" and "wrong". If it's not foreign and in English, that's okay too. I've just had a better experience watching the foreign crime dramas with English subtitles on.
Here are some movies, series, and books that I've enjoyed in this genre so you can get a better idea of what I'm looking for.
Movies
Gomorrah (2008)
A Prophet
Very Big Shot
The Departed
Outrage, Beyond Outrage, Outrage Coda
City of God
Casino
The Immortal
Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Reservoir Dogs
Eastern Promises
Traffic
Tropa De Elite, Tropa De Elite 2
The Mule
Night in Paradise
Miami Vice (2006)
Snow on The Bluff
Paid in Full
Cartel Land (documentary)
Scarface
Series
Gomorrah
Narcos, Narcos: Mexico
Oz
Suburra: Blood on Rome
ZeroZeroZero
The Wire
Snowfall
The Sopranos
El Chapo
Romanzo Criminale
Mafia Undercover (Solo)
Dogs of Berlin
McMafia
Books
Sex Money Murder
El Jefe
Born To Kill
American Desperado
Underboss
Tokyo Vice
Wiseguy
Takedown
Narconomics
The Westies
The Corporation
Havana Nocturne
Gomorrah
The Cartel
Power of the Dog
Mafia Dynasty
Killing Pablo
The Brotherhoods
McMafia
Vory
Blue Grass Conspiracy
El Narco
Gangster Warlords
Casino
Kilo
All recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Italian/Italian-American crime organizations: . The Five Families in New York (Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese), New Jersey families (DeCavalcante, Lucchese, and Genovese) The Outfit in Chicago, the families in Italy ( Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita), and the other families they're connected to (Cleveland, Detroit, Patriarca, Bruno, etc) .
Asian crime organizations: . Yakuza principle clans in Japan (Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai, Inagawa-kai and Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi), Triads in China/affiliates (14K, Sun Yee On, Tai Huen Chai, Wo Hop To, Wah Ching, Black Dragons, etc), and the various other organizations that are connected to the Phillipines, Koreas, etc .
Latin/Hispanic crime organizations: . The cartels in Mexico/affiliates (Sinaloa, Jalisco, Gulf, Los Zetas, Los Viagras, Michoacana, Mexican Mafia, etc), the cartels/paramilitaries in Colombia (Medellin, Clan Del Golfo, ELN) and the other connected organizations in South America and America .
Now I know this is a stretch because a lot of them aren't connected/work together, but together their power and influence in the given region they operate in, if each organization in each region came together and had a global conflict with organizations in other regions, which regions/organized crime do you think would win?
What if every single one of these organizations were to get into a conflict with everyone (even same region organizations), who do you think would be winning one out of all of them?
Every organization has their connections, powers, influences and capabilities (but also have their incapabilities and disadvantages) that they normally do, so there's nothing extra involved. It's also set in current day and time (2021) so we aren't talking about the past versions of the organizations.
What about politically or financially? Who would have the ability to make the most money, therefore winning the conflict if they could defend themselves long enough to make the other organizations irrelevant?
What do you think?
