Book description
Badfellas is the story of how Ireland lost its innocence and became
a hotbed of gangsterism, murder and mayhem.
Until the explosion of paramilitary violence in the 1970s,
Ireland was a criminal backwater. However, petty criminals with dreams
of the big time were quick to emulate the ruthless actions of the
subversives. Organized crime took hold in Ireland and soon stories of
armed robberies, kidnappings and murder dominated the news. After the
introduction of heroin to Ireland by Dublin's Dunne family in the late
1970s, there was no going back. Since then the drug trade has become
the most lucrative criminal activity in the state and Irish gangs are
among the most sophisticated and deadly in the world.
Badfellas is the definitive account of the growth of Irish organized
crime by Ireland's outstanding crime journalist, Paul Williams.
Drawing on his vast inside knowledge and an unparalleled range of
contacts Williams provides a revealing insight into how Ireland's
crime scene changed so rapidly, describes the shocking depths to which
Irish cirminals have sunk, explores how crime has corroded communities
and destroyed families, and he examines the strategies other countries
have used to tackle their criminals. Badfellas is essential reading
for everyone who cares about Ireland.
Paul Williams is without doubt the number one crime journalist in
Ireland. He has the inside track, second to none, and is so valuable as
a journalist that when he moved newspapers from Sunday World to News of
the World in early 2010, his former employers went to court to try and
stop him. He has sold a phenomenal 196,680 copies of his previous titles
in Ireland (Nielsen ICM). He is taken seriously by police, politicians
and criminals and trusted by the public to give them the inside scoop.
