Modus Operandi : A Writer's Guide to How Criminals Work

by CORVASCE MAURO V.

• ISBN13: 9781582971377
• ISBN10: 1582971374
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: Lightning Source Inc

Summary

Detectives Corvasce and Paglino provide writers with the facts they need to give thier mystery and detective novels necessary grit and authenticity. Writers will learn how criminals carry out murder, arson, smuggling, armed robbery, safecracking, and more.

Author Biography

Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino are detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey. Both have many years of investigative experience

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(4)
Arsonists	5	(13)
Examining the most underreported of all crimes
Cause
Origin
Automobile and Other Vehicle Arson
Arson for Hire
Pyromaniacs
Firestarters
Typical Arson Scenarios
Some Final Thoughts on Arson
Art, Antique and Jewel Thieves	18	(12)
The ugly business of stealing beautiful things
Types of Art Theft
The Role of the Fence in Art Theft
Capturing Art and Jewelry Thieves
Criminal Penalties for Art Theft
Conclusion
Carjacking, Hijacking, Skyjacking and Auto Theft	30	(27)
The methods and reasons behind modern-day piracy
Who's the Victim?
Basic Auto Theft
Carjacking
Chop Shops
Vehicles Stolen for Export
Gray Market Vehicles
Heavy Industrial and Construction Equipment
Hijacking
Skyjacking
Vessels and Aircraft
Con Artists	57	(19)
The art of swindling
Salesmen of Fraud
Swindles Against the Elderly
A Glossary for Con Artists
Counterfeiters and Forgers	76	(14)
Stealing a free ride on someone else's hard work or ideas
Currencies
Credit Card Fraud/Counterfeiting
Other Documentation
Marketable Goods
Forgery
Fencing	90	(8)
Converting stolen goods into cash
Fences and the Law
Types of Fences
How to Become a Professional Fence
Depicting a Professional Fence
Homicide	98	(20)
Determining the manner and cause of death
Medical Examiners
Killing and the M.O.
Passion Killings
Premediated Domestic Killings
Adjunct Homicide
Serial Killers
Contract Killers
Ritualistic Cults
Stabbing
Death by Gunshot
Things to Remember
Suicide or Homicide
Kidnapping	118	(12)
One of the most terrifying and cruel crimes committed against another human being
Gang Kidnappings
Ransom Seekers
Cults
Fanatics and Terrorists
Parental Abduction
Stranger Abduction
Apprehending Kidnappers
Prostitution	130	(13)
As long as there are people willing to pay for sex, there will be people willing to sell it
A Brief History of Prostitution
Causes of Prostitution
Prostitute Categories
Prostitution and the Mob
Armed Robbery	143	(12)
Using force to get anything you want
The Professional Armed Robber
Bank Robberies
Armored Car Robberies
The Amateur
Female Armed Robbers
Safecracking and Lockpicking	155	(15)
Overcoming security obstacles and precautions
Surveillance
Getting Inside the Property
Getting Inside the Building
Inside the Building
Safecracking
Lockpicking
Smuggling	170	(11)
Trafficking vice worldwide
Cocaine
Heroin
Methamphetamine
Designer Drugs
The Old Standbys
Asian Gangs
Jamaican Criminal Groups
The Mob
Black Gangs
Turkish Smugglers
Countries in Conflict
Smuggling People Into the U.S.
Shoplifters	181	(12)
An increasingly popular crime among ``normal'' people
Reasons Why Amateurs Lift
The Professional Shoplifter
Catching the Shoplifter
Whitecollar Crime and Money Laundering	193	(20)
Committing crimes with and against businesses
Telephones and Computers
Money Laundering
Loan Sharking
Index	213