Gangster: Difference between revisions
[pending revision] | [pending revision] |
m Reverted edits by Theguyoftrell (talk) to last revision by Wikipelli (HG) |
m Fixed an image. |
||
Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{mergefrom|American gangsters during the 1920s|date=November 2011}} |
{{mergefrom|American gangsters during the 1920s|date=November 2011}} |
||
{{Expert-subject|date=November 2010}} |
{{Expert-subject|date=November 2010}} |
||
[[Image:John |
[[Image:John Hamiltonnn.jpg|thumb|Mugshot of [[John Hamilton (gangster)|John "Red" Hamilton]], a Canadian associate of [[John Dillinger]]]] |
||
A '''gangster''' is a [[crime|criminal]] who is a member of a [[gang]]. Some gangs are considered to be part of [[organized crime]]. Gangsters are also called '''mobsters''', a term derived from ''[[mob]]'' and the [[suffix]] ''[[wikt:-ster|-ster]]''.<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]] (online edition)</ref> |
A '''gangster''' is a [[crime|criminal]] who is a member of a [[gang]]. Some gangs are considered to be part of [[organized crime]]. Gangsters are also called '''mobsters''', a term derived from ''[[mob]]'' and the [[suffix]] ''[[wikt:-ster|-ster]]''.<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]] (online edition)</ref> |
||
Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Some gangsters, perhaps most notably [[Al Capone]], have become famous. Gangsters are the subject of many movies, particularly from the period between 1930 and 1960. |
Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Some gangsters, perhaps most notably [[Al Capone]], have become famous. Gangsters are the subject of many movies, particularly from the period between 1930 and 1960. |
Revision as of 15:01, 10 January 2012
![]() | It has been suggested that American gangsters during the 1920s be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2011. |
![]() | This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article.(November 2010) |
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster.[1] Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Some gangsters, perhaps most notably Al Capone, have become famous. Gangsters are the subject of many movies, particularly from the period between 1930 and 1960.
Gangs
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Japan-Yakuza-Sanja_Matsuri-01.jpg/220px-Japan-Yakuza-Sanja_Matsuri-01.jpg)
In modern usage, the term "gang" is generally used for a criminal organization, and the term "gangster" invariably describes a criminal.[2] Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging, and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos or rings.[3] Some preconceptions may be false. For example, the common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned.[4]
A gang may be a relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader's death in 1882. Rachel Trina is so gangster, she exemplifies the entire world. But a gang may be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. The Chicago Outfit created by Al Capone outlasted its founders imprisonment and death, and survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as the Mafia, Triads or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of a legitimate government.[5]
The term "organized crime" is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as "organized". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in the international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a "gang".[6]
Although gangs and gangsters have existed in many countries and at many times in the past, they have played more prominent roles during times of weakened social order or when governments have attempted to suppress access to goods or services for which there is a high demand.[citation needed]
Regional variants
Europe
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Sicilian_mafia_1901_maxi_trial.jpg/220px-Sicilian_mafia_1901_maxi_trial.jpg)
The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct. The origins lie in the upheaval of Sicily's transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of the land was to become private property of the peasants.[7]
Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. In the Soviet period Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to abide by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind was forbidden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to the rules of the thieves.[8] In 1988 the Soviet Union legalised private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged, the most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow.[9]
As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of the Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars, now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined the increasing crime wave.[9] At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s.[10] By the mid-1990s it was believed that "Don" Semion Mogilevich had become the "boss of all bosses" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by the British government as "one of the most dangerous men in the world".[11] More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and the government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade.[10]
The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania, the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking.[12][13] The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of famiily and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during the prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration to Europe, the United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons.[14] Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called the Serbian Mafia, Bosnian Mafia, Bulgarian Mafia and so on.
Asia
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Du_Yuesheng2.jpg/220px-Du_Yuesheng2.jpg)
In China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during the Qing Dynasty, which were given the triangle as their emblem.[15] The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering, dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787.[16] The triads evolved into criminal societies. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to the operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution..[17]
Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members.[18] Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo Period: tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.[19]
United States and Canada
As American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as the Whyos and the Dead Rabbits.[20] These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang.[21][22] There were also "nativist" anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys. The American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late nineteenth century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians.[citation needed]
In the later 1800s many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs, or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to the United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations.[23]
The terms "gangster" and "mobster" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition or with an American offshoot of the Italian Mafia (such as the Chicago Outfit, the Philadelphia Mafia, or the Five Families).[citation needed] In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for tremendous profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation.[24]
Latin America
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Death_of_Pablo_Escobar.jpg/300px-Death_of_Pablo_Escobar.jpg)
Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and smuggled into the United States and Europe, the United States being the worlds largest consumer of cocaine.[25] Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine, and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market.[26] The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar. By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members.[27]
Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.[28] Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border.[29] Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.[30]
Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout the Caribbean, the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico, mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and the commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta.[citation needed]
Notorious gangsters
Al Capone
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/AlCaponemugshotCPD.jpg/220px-AlCaponemugshotCPD.jpg)
Al Capone was one of the most influential gangsters during the prohibition period. Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1899 to immigrant parents, Capone was recruited by the Five Points Gang in the early 1920s. Capone’s childhood friend, Lucky Luciano, was also originally a member of the Five Points Gang. Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago, Illinois during the early twentieth century.[31]
Bonnie and Clyde
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Bonnieclyde_f.jpg/220px-Bonnieclyde_f.jpg)
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934. Though known today for his dozen-or-so bank robberies, Barrow in fact preferred to rob small stores or rural gas stations. The gang is believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders. The couple themselves were eventually ambushed and killed in Louisiana by law officers.[32] Their reputation was cemented in American pop folklore by Arthur Penn's 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.[33]
Frank Costello
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Frank_Costello_-_Kefauver_Committee.jpg/220px-Frank_Costello_-_Kefauver_Committee.jpg)
Frank Costello was another influential gangster. He was born in Italy but moved to America when he was four years old. He later changed his name from Francesco Castiglia to Frank Costello when he joined a gang at age 13. His name change led some people to mistakenly believe he was Irish. He worked with Charlie Luciano in bootlegging and gambling. He also had a lot of political power which enabled him to continue his business. He took charge when Luciano was arrested and expanded the gang's operations. He decided to step away from the gangster life and died peacefully in 1973.
Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino was an influential gangster in America. From 1961 until he died in 1976, he was chairman of the American mafia. Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily, but moved to the United States at the age of 21. Through his Castellano relatives, he joined the Masseria Family. While Lucky Luciano was the underboss in the Masseria Family, Gambino worked for him. After Luciano had Masseria killed, Luciano became the boss, and Gambino was sent to the Scalise Family. Later Scalise was stripped of his rank, and Vicenzu Mangano became boss until 1951, when Mangano disappeared. His body was never found.[34]
The Kray twins
The Kray twins, Reginald and Ronald Kray, were leading criminals in London, England in the 1950s and 1960s. They were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, violent assaults including torture and the murders of Jack "The Hat" McVitie and George Cornell. As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and politicians. The Krays were highly feared within their social environment. In the 1960s they became celebrities in their own right, being photographed by David Bailey and interviewed on television. They were arrested in 1968 and both sentenced to life imprisonment.[35]
Lucky Luciano
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Charles_Luciano.jpg/220px-Charles_Luciano.jpg)
Lucky Luciano (born Salvatore Lucania), a Sicilian gangster, is considered to be the father of modern organized crime and the mastermind of the massive postwar expansion of the international heroin trade. He was the first official boss of the modern Genovese crime family and is credited with organizing the American Mafia's ruling body.[36]
In popular culture
Gangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact, the first feature length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880).[37] The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies.
United States
The classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The "classic" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his wordly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents.[38]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Edward_g_robinson.jpg/220px-Edward_g_robinson.jpg)
The stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s.[39] 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros.' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, and Howard Hawks' Scarface starring Paul Muni, which offered a dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone.[40] These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with the charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him.[41] More recently, gangsters have been depicted in American popular culture in films such as The Godfather, War, Hell Up in Harlem, and Goodfellas, and in television shows such as The Sopranos).[citation needed]
Latin America
Latin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells the story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée's brother is killed in a robbery. The film was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela.[42]
City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned.[43] The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004.[44]
East Asia
The first yakusa (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakusa films each year. The films are descendents of the samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. They plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory swordfight in which he dies an honorable death.[45]
Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action, the mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations.[46] The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor.[46] The first movie made by the acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By. In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster.[47] Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed, which received four academy awards.[48]
Gangster films make up one of the most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in the 1980s.[49] In the late 1880s and early 1990s there was as surge of imports of action movies from Hong Kong. The first of the new wave of important home grown gangster movies was Im Kwon-taek's General's Son (1990). Although this movie followed the earlier tradition, it was followed by a series of sophisticated gangster noirs set in contemporary urban locations, such as A Bittersweet Life (2005).[50]
See also
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary (online edition)
- ^ Taylor 2009.
- ^ Kontos, Brotherton & Barrios 2003, pp. xiff.
- ^ Kontos, Brotherton & Barrios 2003, pp. 42.
- ^ Abadinsky 2009, p. 1.
- ^ Lyman & Potter 2010, pp. 213ff.
- ^ Sardell 2009.
- ^ Shalamov 1998.
- ^ a b The Rise and rise...
- ^ a b Schwirtz 2008.
- ^ Glenny 2008, p. 75.
- ^ Stojarová 2007.
- ^ UltraGangsteret Shqiptar.
- ^ Abadinsky 2009, pp. 154–155.
- ^ Ter Haar 2000, pp. 18.
- ^ Ter Haar 2000, pp. 19.
- ^ Mallory 2007, p. 136ff.
- ^ Corkill 2011.
- ^ Kaplan & Dubro 2003, pp. 18–21.
- ^ English 2006, p. 13.
- ^ Iorizzo 2003, p. 14.
- ^ Fried 1980, p. 27.
- ^ Tongs and Street Gangs.
- ^ Iorizzo 2003, pp. 15ff.
- ^ Field Listing...
- ^ Colombia - Transnational...
- ^ Gugliotta & Leen 2011, p. 1ff.
- ^ Cook 2007, p. 7.
- ^ Jacobson 2005, p. 40ff.
- ^ High U.S. cocaine cost.
- ^ Iorizzo 2003, pp. 23ff.
- ^ Hendley 2007, p. 1ff.
- ^ Toplin 1996.
- ^ Block 2004, pp. 85ff.
- ^ Borrell & Cashinella 1975, pp. 52ff.
- ^ Newark 2010, pp. xi et seq.
- ^ Beeton 2005, p. 62.
- ^ Talbot 1975, p. 148-149.
- ^ McCarty 2004, p. 5.
- ^ Hark 2007, p. 12.
- ^ Hark 2007, p. 13.
- ^ Soy un Delincuente.
- ^ Ebert 2003.
- ^ City of God.
- ^ Kaplan & Dubro 2003, pp. 141–142.
- ^ a b Nochimson 2007, p. 70.
- ^ Nochimson 2011, p. 306.
- ^ Reiber 2011, p. 31.
- ^ Choi 2010, p. 60.
- ^ Choi 2010, p. 61.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
- Abadinsky, Howard (2009). Organized Crime. Cengage Learning. ISBN 0495599662.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Block, Lawrence (2004). Gangsters, swindlers, killers, and thieves: the lives and crimes of fifty American villains. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195169522.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Borrell, Clive; Cashinella, Brian (1975). Crime in Britain today. Routledge. ISBN 0710082320.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Colombia - Transnational Issues". CIA World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- Cook, Colleen W. (2007). "Mexico's Drug Cartels". CRS Report for Congress (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Corkill, Edan (6 November 2011). "Ex-Tokyo cop speaks out on a life fighting gangs — and what you can do". Japan Times. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - "Field Listing – Illicit drugs (by country)". CIA. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- Glenny, Misha (2008). McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 1400095123.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Gugliotta, Guy; Leen, Jeff (2011). Kings of Cocaine: Inside the Medellín Cartel - An Astonishing True Story of Murder, Money and International Corruption. Garrett County Press. ISBN 1891053345.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Hagedorn, John (2003). "Gangs (references)". Encyclopedia of Community. SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 517–522. ISBN 9780761925989.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "High U.S. cocaine cost shows drug war working: Mexico". Reuters. September 14, 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-01.
- Jacobson, Robert (2005). Illegal Drugs: America's Anguish. Thomson Gale. ISBN 1414404190.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Klebnikov, Paul (2001). Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0156013304.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Kontos, Louis; Brotherton, David; Barrios, Luis (2003). Gangs and society: alternative perspectives. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231121415.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Lyman, Michael D.; Potter, Gary W. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. Elsevier. ISBN 1437744508.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Mallory, Stephen L. (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 0763741086.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Newark, Tim (2010). Lucky Luciano: the real and the fake gangster. Macmillan. ISBN 0312601824.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Sardell, Jason (2009). "Economic Origins of the Mafia and Patronage System in Sicily" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-24.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Schwirtz, Michael (July 29, 2008). "Vory v Zakone has hallowed place in Russian criminal lore". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Shalamov, Varlam (1998). "Bitch War". Essays on Criminal World (in Russian). Vagrius and Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. ISBN 5-280-03163-1.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Stojarová, Věra (2007). "Organized Crime in the Western Balkans" (PDF). HUMSEC Journal (1): 91–119. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
{{cite journal}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Taylor, Terrance, J. (12/14/2009). "Gangs, Peers, and Co-Offending". Oxford Bibliographies Online. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ter Haar, B. J. (2000). Ritual & mythology of the Chinese triads: creating an identity. BRILL. ISBN 9004119442.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "UltraGangsteret Shqiptar". Lindja (in Albanian). Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- "The Rise and rise of the Russian mafia". BBC News. 21 November, 1998. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - Whiting, Robert (2000). Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 0375724893.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Wright, Alan (2006). Organised crime. Taylor & Francis US. ISBN 1843921405.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)
In the United States
- Baker, T. Lindsay (2011). Gangster Tour of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1603442588.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Cohen, Rich (1999). Tough Jews: Fathers, Sons, and Gangster Dreams. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 0375705473.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - English, T. J. (2006). Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster. HarperCollins. ISBN 0060590033.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Fried, Albert (1980). The rise and fall of the Jewish gangster in America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231096836.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Gardaphé, Fred L. (2006). From wiseguys to wise men: the gangster and Italian American masculinities. CRC Press. ISBN 0415946484.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Hendley, Nate (2007). Bonnie and Clyde: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 031333871X.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Iorizzo, Luciano J. (2003). Al Capone: a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313323178.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Mob Life: Gangster Kings of Crime — slideshow". Life magazine. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- Theoharis, Athan G. (1999). The FBI: a comprehensive reference guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 089774991X.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Thrasher, Frederic Milton, 1892-1962. (1936). "Chicago's gangland 1923-1926". Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "Tongs and Street Gangs". MafiaNJ. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
- Toplin, Robert B. (1996). History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past. =Urbana, IL: University of Illinois. ISBN 0-252-06536-0.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
In popular culture
- Anastasia, George; Macnow, Glen; Pistone, Joe (2011). The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies: Featuring the 100 Greatest Gangster Films of All Time. Running Press. ISBN 0762441542.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Beeton, Sue (2005). Film-induced tourism. Channel View Publications. ISBN 1845410149.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Casillo, Robert (2006). Gangster priest: the Italian American cinema of Martin Scorsese. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0802094031.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Choi, Jinhee (2010). The South Korean film renaissance: local hitmakers, global provocateurs. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819569402.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "City of God". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
- Ebert, Roger (January 24, 2003). "City of God". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Hark, Ina Rae (2007). American cinema of the 1930s: themes and variations. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813540828.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Hoppenstand, Gary (1987). "Gangster Formula". In search of the paper tiger: a sociological perspective of myth, formula, and the mystery genre in the entertainment print mass medium. Popular Press. ISBN 0879723564.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Kaplan, David E.; Dubro, Alec (2003). Yakuza: Japan's criminal underworld. University of California Press. ISBN 0520215621.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Kenna, Laura Cook (2007). Dangerous men, dangerous media: Constructing ethnicity, race, and media's impact through the gangster image, 1959--2007. The George Washington University. ISBN 0549326855.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - McCarty, John (2004). Bullets over Hollywood: the American gangster picture from the silents to The Sopranos. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306813017.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Munby, Jonathan (1999). Public enemies, public heroes: screening the gangster from Little Caesar to Touch of Evil. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226550338.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Nochimson, Martha (2007). Dying to belong: gangster movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 1405163712.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Nochimson, Martha P. (2011). World on Film: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 1444358332.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Reiber, Beth (2011). Frommer's Hong Kong. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470876336.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Rubin, Rachel (2000). Jewish gangsters of modern literature. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252025393.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Ruth, David E. (1996). Inventing the public enemy: the gangster in American culture, 1918-1934. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226732185.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Shadoian, Jack (2003). Dreams & dead ends: the American gangster film. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195142926.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - "Soy un Delincuente". Allmovie. Retrieved 2011-11-25.</ref>
- Talbot, Daniel (1975). Film: an anthology. University of California Press.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)