Philadelphia’s Black Mafia: A Social and Political History

This study provides a sociological analysis of Philadelphia’s infamous Black Mafia which has organized crime (with varying degrees of success) in predominantly African-American sections of the city dating back to the late 1960s. The book is a first step in developing both data and sophisticated theoretical propositions germane to the ongoing study of organized crime. It uses primary source documents, including confidential law enforcement files, court transcripts and interviews and explores the group’s activities in detail, depicting some of the most notorious crimes in Philadelphia’s history. Examining the organization of the Black Mafia and the group’s alliances, conspiracies and conflicts, the author challenges many of the current historical and theoretical assumptions regarding organized crime.