The Italian mafias in the world: A systematic assessment of the mobility of criminal groups

Calderoni, Francesco; Berlusconi, Giulia; Garofalo, Lorella; Giommoni, Luca; Sarno, Federica

doi:10.1177/1477370815623570

Cited by 44 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…According to several scholars, among the Italian mafias the 'Ndrangheta -the mafia we deal with in the article -is showing by far the highest orientation towards infiltration in new areas (Sergi and Lavorgna, 2016). Mafia infiltration in new territories can take different shapes according to the opportunity structure of the area concerned (Calderoni et al, 2016;Catino, 2014;Savona and Calderoni, 2015;Sergi, 2016Sergi, , 2017Sergi and Lavorgna, 2016). From this perspective, we will try to reconstruct how mafia members' strategies can be interwoven with a specific context feature, related to illegal practices emerging in the everyday management of the public administration.…”

Section: Mafia Expansion: Brief Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mafia infiltration, public administration and local institutions: A comparative study in Northern Italy

Dagnes

Donatiello

Moiso

et al. 2018

European Journal of Criminology

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Nuanced explanations of the factors underpinning the mafia’s movements across territories have recently been proposed. However, more light must be shed on the mechanisms through which mafiosi try to infiltrate the legal economy in non-traditional territories. Accordingly, this study aims to micro-found interactions and exchanges that mainly involve mafiosi, politicians and economic actors in expansion areas. Focusing on the local level, we will show how the misuse of several administrative tools generates a profitable opportunity structure for mafiosi. To this end, we present an in-depth comparative case study of three events involving the construction industry that took place in Northern Italy. The main findings show that: (i) mafiosi are skilled at smoothing social relations, enlarging and consolidating opaque networks predating their arrival; (ii) they give rise to different types of mutual exchanges and network structures.

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Section: Mafia Expansion: Brief Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mafia infiltration, public administration and local institutions: A comparative study in Northern Italy

Dagnes

Donatiello

Moiso

et al. 2018

European Journal of Criminology

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“…In Europe, the Netherlands, an entry point for many shipments of cocaine, accounts for 11.3% of the global cocaine supply. Spain, another entry point (Calderoni, Berlusconi, Garofalo, Giommoni, L., & Sarno, 2016, p. 12Chandra, Barkell, & Steffen, 2011, is only responsible for 1.3% of the revenue generated on cryptomarkets. Countries in Africa, through which cocaine increasingly transits (EMCDDA & Europol, 2013, EMCDDA, 2016a, account for about $1.000 of cocaine sales (less than 0.01%; not shown in table).…”

Section: [Table 4 About Here]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Going Local on a Global Platform

Demant

Aldridge

Décary‐Hétu

et al. 2018

International Criminal Justice Review

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Abstract:There is broad agreement in the literature on the transformative potential of drug cryptomarkets, which allow sourcing on a global market and consequently the circumvention of existing supply chains between producer and end-user. We examine whether the transformative potential of drug cryptomarkets has been realized in two ways: Are cryptomarket drug sellers found in production and transit countries? And do we see the increased use of shipping across international borders over time?Methods: Using data collected by the DATACRYPTO software tool between 2013 and 2016, we characterize cryptomarket buyer behavior through the product reviews (i.e. sales transactions) posted on 15 cryptomarkets.Findings: Cryptomarket drug sellers are predominantly based in countries of Europe, North America and Oceania. For both cannabis resin and cocaine sold on cryptomarkets, we find that known production and transit countries are not the primary sources of supplied drugs, but rather key countries of consumption. In the case of MDMA, we observe that the Netherlands, a known production country, is the largest supplier. We further observe tendencies over time towards increased localization of cryptomarkets with regards to product destinations. Discussion: Though cryptomarkets offer a potentially global platform for drug distribution, they do not tend to be used as such. We explain our results with reference to buyers' preferences regarding safety, risk and convenience, alongside structural limitations for cryptomarket use such as bitcoin availability.

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“…In recent decades, growing evidence and lively public debate have pointed out the progressive expansion of these mafias, which have moved from their traditional areas to other Italian regions (Commissione parlamentare antimafia, 1994;Sciarrone, 1998;Varese, 2006;Sciarrone & Dagnes, 2014). And even more recently, the literature has also focused on the transnational movements of the mafias to other countries in the world (Varese, 2006;Campana, 2011;Varese, 2013;Allum, 2014;Sciarrone & Storti, 2014;Calderoni, Berlusconi, Garofalo, Giommoni, & Sarno, 2015;Sergi, 2015).…”

Section: Measuring Organised Crime Presence At the Municipal Level 2 mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Organised Crime Presence at the Municipal Level

2019

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While indicators assessing the quality of life often comprise measures of crime or fear of crime, these components usually refer to property or violent crimes. More complex crimes, which may significantly impact on the social, economic, and political conditions of local communities, are often overlooked, mostly due to problems in adequately measuring the levels of e.g. organised crime and corruption. Indeed, despite the growing scholarly attention, measurements of organised crime are rare and frequently affected by important methodological limitations. This study addresses this issue by proposing the Mafia Presence Index (MPI), a composite indicator measuring the presence of the mafias in Italy. The MPI aggregates variables measuring different dimensions of mafia presence, namely the presence and activities of mafia groups, mafia violence, and infiltration in politics and the economy. Furthermore, the analysis explores the validity and robustness of the MPI by considering possible alternative variables and by assessing the impact of different calculation strategies. Results show that the MPI is a parsimonious and consistent measure of mafia presence, relying on a core set of five variables directly related to mafia presence. The index is also robust to different calculation methods and is negatively associated with the most popular indexes measuring the quality of life in Italy.

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The Italian mafias in the world: A systematic assessment of the mobility of criminal groups

Cited by 44 publications

References 40 publications

Mafia infiltration, public administration and local institutions: A comparative study in Northern Italy

Mafia infiltration, public administration and local institutions: A comparative study in Northern Italy

Going Local on a Global Platform

Measuring Organised Crime Presence at the Municipal Level

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