This article deals with social networks, directly or indirectly, linked to the organized crime in Brazil today. The analysis is based on the theoretical and methodological contributions of two of the most important theories in contemporary sociology: the analysis of networks and the new economic sociology. This analytic task is guided by the hypothesis that the best way to understand organized crime is one that takes it as a process situated on a continuum that goes from lawful activity to the criminal act. The empiric basis on which this sociological narrative is founded is supplied by the written reports of operations carried out by the Federal Police in the last three years and by a research already concluded on gangs specialized in robbing banks in the countryside of the Brazilian Northeast.
Organized crime; Social networks; Informal economy; Illegal economy; Trust and uncertainty
