Illegal Enterprise

Representing over four decades of work, this monograph by historian Mark H. Haller includes his work on organized crime in Chicago, particularly the origins of John Landesco's now classic work titled Organized Crime in Chicago (1929), written for the Illinois Crime Survey. Essays on organized crime in both Philadelphia and Chicago, as well as vignettes on Al "Scarface" Capone, Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein, Meyer Lansky, and Max "Boo Boo" Hoff, provide readers with a lively selection of Haller's commentary. Finally, this book incorporates Haller's critique of the Mafia model of organized crime and his elaboration of the illegal enterprise model of gangsters and their role in the American subeconomy, including the historical importance of prohibition and 19th century gambling syndicates in urban America.
Representing over four decades of work, this monograph by historian Mark H. Haller includes his work on organized crime in Chicago. This book incorporates Haller's critique of the Mafia model of organized crime and his elaboration of the illegal enterprise model of gangsters a...
It is organized to showcase three of Haller's unique contributions to the field: rediscovery and highlighting of the circumstances and content of John Landesco's 1929 study of organized crime in Chicago; a description and commentary on the activities of the Angelo Bruno family in Philadelphia; and an analysis...of Illegal Enterprise accompanied by studies of three particular businesses, gambling, loan sharking and bootlegging. They are tied together through Haller's self-perception "as a social scientist, using the tools of a trained historian".... [I]f I were designing an introductory course in Organized Crime, Illegal Enterprise would be one of the books on my recommended reading list.--Trends In Organized Crime
This book is well suited for undergraduate classes within criminology or criminal justice programs that focus on policy. The language in the book is written in a manner that citizens outside of criminology will benefit as well. . . .For those in the criminology field, most well-trained criminologists will be familiar with several of the examples of well-documented programs and studies provided in the book, such as problem-oriented policing and drug treatment courts. . . .Mathew Yeager has given us a worthy compendium of Haller's major work and contributions on the subject of how organized crime is actually organized, including some of Haller's publications which are now difficult to find.--Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books