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Lemons, Sicily, and John Gotti: The History of Organized Crime, Italy to present day
In Sicily, the Mafia began as a way of life; a way to protect one's family and loved ones from the injustice of the government. Sicily's long string of judicially inept governments fostered an environment where those who were shrewd enough could manipulate the system to their advantage, creating wealth, power, and prestige.
For many years, Italy turned a blind eye to the activities of the Mafia, which is not the case anymore. Throughout Italy, there is a concerted effort among all factions of society to address and eradicate the Mafia’s influence. The Mafia not only operates illegitimately, but also infiltrates legitimate businesses. For years, politicians, judges and citizen groups have collectively mobilized to remove the Mafia’s influence and intimidation.
Between 1880 and 1920, a wave of Italian immigrants, including many Sicilians, arrived in the U.S., fleeing poverty, political instability, and limited economic opportunities. The Prohibition Era provided a turning point for Sicilian organized crime.
Professor Dreisbach currently teaches at PSU-LV and came to PSU-LV from the PSU Berks campus, where she helped grow and develop the Criminal Justice program, from 2016 to 2022. Prior to teaching full-time, Professor Dreisbach worked in the federal government, where she was employed as a Special Agent/Criminal Investigator, from 1987 through 2013. As an investigator, she specialized in financial crime, money laundering, public corruption, and counterterrorism. Throughout her time as an investigator, Professor Dreisbach was stationed in Maryland, Richmond, Virginia, and Philadelphia, PA. She served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, at the FBI office in Philadelphia, from 2008 through 2013.
While an investigator, Professor Dreisbach was also a firearms instructor and was responsible for qualifying agents quarterly on the use of handguns and semi-automatic weapons. She spent time in dignitary protection and was responsible for protecting members of the President’s cabinet and members of Congress when they traveled overseas. Her work in dignitary protection in foreign countries inspired her love of travel overseas.
In her role at Penn State, she created and leads the course Organized Crime in Film & Society, in Palermo and Rome, Italy, for three weeks each summer.
Professor Dreisbach is currently appointed to, by then Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, the Governing Board of the Commonwealth Investigator Training Program (CITP), which was created to provide professional, standardized training to Agents in various Pennsylvania investigative agencies. She also serves on the advisory board for Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, a social-service fraternity, at West Chester University.
She enjoys the beach, reading, and crime documentaries.
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