Synopses & Reviews
From Megan's Law to Jessica's Law, almost every state in the nation has passed some law to punish sex offenders. This popular tough-on-crime legislation is often written after highly-publicized cases have made the gruesome rounds through the media, and usually features harsh sentences, lifetime GPS monitoring, a dramatic expansion of the civil commitment procedures, and severe restrictions on where released sex offenders may live. In
Sex Fiends, Perverts, and Pedophiles, Chrysanthi Leon argues that, while the singular notion of the sexual boogeyman has been used to justify these harsh policies, not all sex offenders are the same and such 'one size fits all' policies can unfairly punish other offenders of lesser crimes, needlessly targeting, sometimes ostracizing, citizens from their own communities.
While many recognize that prison is not the right tool for every crime problem, Leon compellingly argues that the U.S. maintains a one-size-fits-all approach to sexual offending which is undermining public safety. Leon explains how we've reached this point—with a large incarcerated sex offender population, many of whom will be released in the coming years with multiple barriers to their success in the community, and without much expertise to guide them or to guide those who are charged to help them. Leon argues that we cannot blame the public, nor even the politicians, except indirectly. Instead, we might blame the institutions we charge with making placement decisions and with the experts—both those who have chosen to work in the field and those who have caused its marginalization. Ultimately, Leon shows that when policies intended for the worst offenders take over, all of us suffer.
Review
"Peels back layers of mystery surrounding the courageous and successful efforts to undermine the American Cosa Nostra—valuable lessons for those fighting organized crime at home and abroad."-Roy Godson,Professor of Government, Georgetown University
Review
"Terse, dramatic . . .of equal interest to academics and lay enthusiasts, this serious yet highly readable book addresses Mafia reality more succinctly and clearly than any similar work in recent memory."-Kirkus Reviews,
Review
"Wherever Puzo's bestsellers and Scorsese's films are popular, this well-organized description of the extent of the Cosa Nostra control of six New York City industries and the government actions that broke down that control will appeal."-Booklist,
Review
"Jacobs's structured approach offers a careful dissection of the Mafia way of doing business that is as effective as a Gambino-orchestrated labor strike."-Publishers Weekly,
Review
"Peels back layers of mystery surrounding the courageous and successful efforts to undermine the American Cosa Nostra—valuable lessons for those fighting organized crime at home and abroad."
"The influence of the Cosa Nostra in the history of New York this century has been as great as Tammany Hall and Wall Street. This excellent and wide-ranging book finally lifts the lid on the Cosa Nostra's penetration of the city's economy. It is a powerful and effective work, filled with warnings about past errors and lessons for future success. All sorts of people should read it, from police officers and politicians to urban historians and criminologists—and New Yorkers who want to know why less cargo is stolen from JFK airport these days, and why the fish from Fulton Fish Market is cheaper!"
"Terse, dramatic . . .of equal interest to academics and lay enthusiasts, this serious yet highly readable book addresses Mafia reality more succinctly and clearly than any similar work in recent memory."
"Wherever Puzo's bestsellers and Scorsese's films are popular, this well-organized description of the extent of the Cosa Nostra control of six New York City industries and the government actions that broke down that control will appeal."
"Jacobs's structured approach offers a careful dissection of the Mafia way of doing business that is as effective as a Gambino-orchestrated labor strike."
Review
"The influence of the Cosa Nostra in the history of New York this century has been as great as Tammany Hall and Wall Street. This excellent and wide-ranging book finally lifts the lid on the Cosa Nostra's penetration of the city's economy. It is a powerful and effective work, filled with warnings about past errors and lessons for future success. All sorts of people should read it, from police officers and politicians to urban historians and criminologists—and New Yorkers who want to know why less cargo is stolen from JFK airport these days, and why the fish from Fulton Fish Market is cheaper!"-Mark Galeotti,Director of the Organised Russian and Eurasian Crime Research Unit at Keele University
Synopsis
Cosa Nostra. Organized crime. The Mob. Call it what you like, no other crime group has infiltrated labor unions and manipulated legitimate industries like Italian organized crime families. One cannot understand the history and political economy of New York City-or most other major American cities-in the 20th century without focusing on the role of organized crime in the urban power structure.
Gotham Unbound demonstrates the remarkable range of Cosa Nostra's activities and influence and convincingly argues that 20th century organized crime has been no minor annoyance at the periphery of society but a major force in the core economy, acting as a power broker, even as an alternative government in many sectors of the urban economy.
James B. Jacobs presents the first comprehensive account of the ways in which the Cosa Nostra infiltrated key sectors of New York City's legitimate economic life and how this came over the years to be accepted as inevitable, in some cases even beneficial. The first half of Gotham Unbound is devoted to the ways organized crime became entrenched in six economic sectors and institutions of the city-the garment district, Fulton Fish Market, freight at JFK airport, construction, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the waste-hauling industry. The second half compellingly documents the campaign to purge the mob from unions, industries, and economic sectors, focusing on the unrelenting law enforcement efforts and the central role of Rudolph Giuliani's mayoral administration in devising innovative regulatory strategies to combat the mob.
Synopsis
Through an investigation of Cosa Nostra's activities, reveals the role of organized crime in the urban power structure
Cosa Nostra. Organized crime. The Mob. Call it what you like, no other crime group has infiltrated labor unions and manipulated legitimate industries like Italian organized crime families. One cannot understand the history and political economy of New York City-or most other major American cities-in the 20th century without focusing on the role of organized crime in the urban power structure.
Gotham Unbound demonstrates the remarkable range of Cosa Nostra's activities and influence and convincingly argues that 20th century organized crime has been no minor annoyance at the periphery of society but a major force in the core economy, acting as a power broker, even as an alternative government in many sectors of the urban economy. James B. Jacobs presents the first comprehensive account of the ways in which the Cosa Nostra infiltrated key sectors of New York City's legitimate economic life and how this came over the years to be accepted as inevitable, in some cases even beneficial. The first half of Gotham Unbound is devoted to the ways organized crime became entrenched in six economic sectors and institutions of the city-the garment district, Fulton Fish Market, freight at JFK airport, construction, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the waste-hauling industry. The second half compellingly documents the campaign to purge the mob from unions, industries, and economic sectors, focusing on the unrelenting law enforcement efforts and the central role of Rudolph Giuliani's mayoral administration in devising innovative regulatory strategies to combat the mob.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-314) and index.
About the Author
ails.aspx?bookId=2188">Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry, all published by NYU Press.
Coleen Friel, former Glass Fellow in Crime and Justice at NYU School of Law, is currently in private law practice in Washington D.C. and New York City.
Robert Raddick, former Glass Fellow in Crime and Justice at NYU School of Law, is currently in private law practice in Washington D.C. and New York City.
Robert Raddick, former Glass Fellow in Crime and Justice at NYU School of Law, is currently in private law practice in Washington D.C. and New York City.