The Mafia Hunters

For generations, organised crime survived not simply because criminals were violent, but because the institutions pursuing them struggled to see the organisation behind the crimes. The Mafia Hunters tells the true history of the judges, detectives, prosecutors, agents and investigators who changed that. From the early struggle against the Sicilian Mafia and Joseph Petrosino's investigations in New York to the Kefauver hearings, RICO, undercover operations, the Palermo anti-Mafia pool, the Maxi Trial and the work of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, this book traces the long evolution of the fight against organised criminal power. It follows the breakthroughs that transformed enforcement: electronic surveillance, witness protection, cooperating insiders, financial investigation, asset confiscation and international police cooperation. It also examines failures, wrongful assumptions and the dangers of relying upon unverified informants or extraordinary state powers. Spanning Sicily, the United States and the increasingly interconnected world of transnational crime, The Mafia Hunters is the story not of one heroic investigator, but of how governments gradually learned to investigate criminal organisations as systems-and how those systems continually adapted in response. A fact-based history of the people, laws and investigative methods that changed the fight against the Mafia. Disclaimer This book is an independent work of historical nonfiction intended for educational and informational purposes. References to individuals, organisations, criminal proceedings and historical events are based on publicly available and authoritative sources; allegations are distinguished from charges and established judicial findings wherever relevant. Any trademarks, organisation names and other protected identifiers mentioned remain the property of their respective owners and are used solely for factual identification. No affiliation with, sponsorship by or endorsement from any government agency, organisation, individual or trademark owner is implied.