Mafia Life: Love, Death, and Money at the Heart of Organized Crime

We see mafias as vast, powerful organizations, harvesting billions of dollars across the globe and wrapping their tentacles around everything from governance to finance. But is this the truth?

Traveling from mafia initiation ceremonies in far-flung Russian cities to elite gambling clubs in downtown Macau, Federico Varese sets off in search of answers. Using wiretapped conversations, interviews, and previously unpublished police records, he builds up a picture of the real men and women caugh...