In this well-written book, Felia Allum uses a small number of well-documented cases to determine both how and why those affiliated with the Camorra leave Italy and pursue criminal activities in five other European countries: Germany, Holland, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 'Camorra' is a label used to describe many different individuals, families, clans, and alliances; it is a ... Read moreloose criminal association interested in money and power, combining elements of a traditional secret society as well as a business. The Invisible Camorra is noteworthy for its use of court documents, multiple interviews, and a careful focus on sixteen cases to determine why and how individuals associated with the Camorra export themselves and their activities. Allum's documentation of the relationship between Camorra and legitimate business is significant. The book is a distinguished contribution to the literature on organized crime.
Jay S. Albanese, Virginia Commonwealth University, author of Transnational Crime and the 21st Century: Criminal Enterprise, Corruption, and Opportunity Impressive empirical research informs this book, which examines camorristi on the move-members of the Neapolitan Camorra who, since 1980, have migrated to several European countries. Having tapped police and judicial records, interviews with prosecutors and prisoners alike, journalistic accounts, and her own past as an ethnographic sociologist in Naples, Felia Allum offers a wealth of data to support her conclusions regarding why camorristi migrate, and how they behave in new locations. Analyses cover the importance to migrants of pragmatic moneymaking initiatives; the fluid relationships they construct, not only with camorristi in other locations but also with business and political enablers; and the efforts they make to become, and remain, invisible. These features are central to Allum's fine-grained assessment of the Camorra's transnational criminal network-and an important contribution to the study of 'criminal migration' overall.
Jane Schneider, Graduate Center, City University of New York, coauthor of Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle in Palermo The Invisible Camorra is a riveting account of Italy's oldest Mafia and its expansion across Europe. Written with raw honesty, this book takes us deep into the inner sanctum of this powerful criminal organization and its connection with social, economic, and political establishments. Felia Allum is an outstanding scholar and she has done a commendable job.
Antonio Nicaso, Queen's University and the Italian School of Middlebury College at Millsco, author of Business or Blood and Made Men Suggests a number of important questions: where do women fit into migrations patterns? Does migration loosen ties around gender roles amongst Camorra? No one is better-placed to start to answer these questions. The Invisible Camorra won the 2017 book award from the International Division of the American Society of Criminology. It is a worthy winner. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in organised crime. Police officers, scholars and students will all find something here that informs their work or scholarship.
The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
Felia Allum's book skilfully provides a systematic and meticulous account of Camorra's familiar organisations and activities abroad, showing how clans evolved from being unsophisticated and independent groups of offenders to the powerful criminal force that the Camorra is today.... Overall, the book is undoubtedly an important contribution to the organised crime literature. It proficiently and with very accessible writing guides the reader on a travel through space and time to understand the globalism of Camorra.... Allum explicitly locates her book in the realm of political sociology. However, it should be of great interest for scholars in history, Italian studies, policing, and mafia studies. It should be a useful read for journalists and senior policy makers as well.
Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books
Show Less