Understanding Transnational Crime

The Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organization , or secret society originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy It finances itself through drug trafficking and distribution , human smuggling , prostitution , toxic waste disposal , construction , loan sharking , gambling , arms smuggling , extortion , protection and racketeering and its activities have led to high levels of murder in the areas in which it operates . It is the oldest and largest criminal organization in Italy . The origins of the Camorra are not entirely clear . It may date back to the 16th century as a

direct descendant of a Spanish secret society , the Gardusa , founded in 1417 . Officials of the Spanish Kingdom of Naples may have introduced the organization to the area , or it may have grown gradually out of small criminal gangs operating among the poor in Neapolitan society near the end of the 18th century . The evolution into more organized formations indicated a qualitative change : the Camorra and camorristi were no longer local gangs living off theft and extortion they now had a fixed structure and some kind of hierarchy . Another qualitative leap was the agreement of the liberal opposition and the Camorra following the defeat in the 1848 revolution . The liberals realized that they needed popular support to overthrow the king . They turned to the Camorra and paid them , the camorristi being the leaders of the city 's poor . The Camorra effectively had developed into power brokers in a few decades . One of the Camorra 's strategies to gain social...