Author(s)

Mark Shaw

Organized crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. Tales from the underworld have been mythologized by Hollywood, but the reality can be even stranger than fiction.

From the golden age of the American mafia to today’s cocaine empires, from the shadowy links between organized crime and terrorism to the twilight of the Yakuza, in this series Mark Shaw, the director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, discusses non-fiction books on organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks about their backgrounds and investigations, but also about the challenges of writing about this murky world.

How did the Kinahan organized crime group rise to the top of cocaine trafficking in Europe?

In this episode, Mark sits down with investigative journalist and author Nicola Tallant to discuss her book ‘Cocaine Cowboys: The Deadly Rise of Ireland's Drug Lords’.

At the end of the 90s, Ireland was booming, the ‘Celtic Tiger’ had risen. People had more money to spend on leisure activities, and on drugs.

In steps a man from a comfortable middle-class background in Ireland, the well-educated and well-mannered, Christopher Kinahan Snr, who alongside his two sons Daniel Kinahan and Christopher Jnr, created the Kinahan Cartel.

Along with the cocaine came money, extreme violence and assassinations. The most famous of these was the Hutch-Kinahan feud, which saw criminal groups fighting one another across Europe.

Eventually, the Kinahan Cartel would join with criminal organizations from across Europe to create what Europol called the ‘European Super Cartel’, controlling the distribution of cocaine across the continent.

In 2022, the Kinahan Cartel, alongside its leading members, were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over alleged links to a money laundering network run by Hezbollah.

Nicola Tallant has been reporting and investigating organized crime in Ireland for three decades. She has written several books about the topic and has a successful podcast called ‘Crime World’.

In this episode, Mark talks to Nicola about her new book ‘Cocaine Cowboys: The Deadly Rise of Ireland's Drug Lords’.

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📖 Nicola Tallant's book ‘Cocaine Cowboys: The Deadly Rise of Ireland's Drug Lords’ is available here: https://amzn.eu/d/aoS98Lf

🎧 Audible version: https://amzn.eu/d/gYM6fdh

📺 Nicola also has a podcast called 'Crime World' and its available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC8MalTYHvpmBKt5y365hDmQ

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Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe

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📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

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FOLLOW US

X - @gitoc

LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

IG - @gi_toc

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Are these the twilight years of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia?

In this episode, Mark sits down with investigative journalist and author Jake Adelstein to discuss his book ‘The Last Yakuza: A Life in the Japanese Underworld’.

The Yakuza have been part of the fabric of Japanese society for decades, they have inspired films and fanzines, invested in social network websites, provided humanitarian assistance, extorted people, meddled in politics, killed one another and politicians, as well as brought down governments. They are famed for their elaborate tattoos and chopping off pinkie fingers as a form of apology.

We hear about the unique relationship between the Yakuza and law enforcement, where once upon a time a raid on a Yakuza office was done by appointment. But that changed after a faction of the largest group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, called Kodo-kai, challenged the authority of police, which spelled the beginning of the end of the Yakuza.

Jake has been reporting on the Yakuza for decades, his first book ‘Tokyo Vice’ was adapted into an HBO series in 2022. He discusses about how to report on organized crime and how to manage relationships with Yakuza members.

In this episode, Mark talks to Jake about his book ‘The Last Yakuza: A Life in the Japanese Underworld’.

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Jake Adelstein’s book ‘The Last Yakuza: A Life in the Japanese Underworld’ is available here: https://a.co/d/2k2V0MR

Audible version: https://a.co/d/cKHMZZ2

====================================================

Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe

====================================================

📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

===================================================

FOLLOW US

X - @gitoc

LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

IG - @gi_toc

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The History of the American Mafia: How the Mob Built Its Empire in the US, with Former Gambino Crime Family Associate, Louis Ferrante.

In this episode, Mark sits down with former Mob associate Louis Ferrante to discuss his book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia.

The history of the American Mafia, known as La Cosa Nostra or simply "The Mob," is well known. Prohibition in the United States during the Roaring Twenties saw the rise of characters who have since been mythologized in Hollywood: Charles "Lucky" Luciano and his close confidant Meyer Lansky, Al "Scarface" Capone, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, and Salvatore Maranzano.

What makes Borgata different is that it was written by someone who lived "The Life," providing a unique perspective. Lou discusses the formation of The Commission, an underworld ruling council that controlled the Five Families of New York (now known as the Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo), The Outfit in Chicago, and the Philadelphia Mafia.

Lou talks about the rules, the use of violence, and how the US government looked to tackle the growing power of organized crime, spearheaded by the likes of prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey.

We also hear about Lou's own life in La Cosa Nostra and how he and his crew committed some of the most successful heists in US history, which ultimately landed him in prison.

In prison, he began to read everything he could get his hands on, including history, philosophy, and the great classics of literature. He never turned on his former associates, but when he left prison, he also left "The Life." Now he speaks about his experiences with the Mob and has become a successful author (Unlocked: A Journey from Prison to Proust), including his new a huge three-part history of the American Mafia.

In this episode, Mark and Lou discuss the first book, Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia.

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Louis Ferrante's book 'Borgata: The Rise of Empire: A History of the American Mafia' is available here: https://a.co/d/cDcxOQ2

Audible version: https://a.co/d/2VHu3Ht

====================================================

📱 Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA

🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/

🎧Audio version: https://link.chtbl.com/7c27X1CM

🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:

🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ

🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI

===================================================

FOLLOW US

X - @gitoc

LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

IG - @gi_toc

===================================================

Welcome to Underworlds with Mark Shaw.

Organized Crime is everywhere, hidden in plain sight. The stories from this world have been mythologised by Hollywood. But the reality can be even stranger and more exciting than fiction.

From the golden age of the American mafia (La Cosa Nostra), to the modern-day cocaine empires, and from the shadowy links between organized crime and terrorism, to the twilight of the Yakuza.

In this series Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime delves into non-fiction books about organized crime and the illicit economy with the authors themselves. He asks questions about their background and investigations, but also the challenges associated in writing about this murky world.