Jake’s doctoral dissertation uses the state of Arizona to examine the role of organized criminal actors from two parallel groups, the state’s interlocking political-business elites and members of the Italian American mafia, in shaping the post-1945 political culture and political economy of the U.S. Southwest. The focus on organized crime reshapes several historiographical debates, including: the post-WWII political economy of the Sunbelt; the growth of western conservatism; and the interrelated roles of race and undocumented migrants within the transformation of the U.S. Southwest.