How does the mafia get away with murder?

[KidCharlemagne]

Beyond a few exceptions it seems that the mafia gets away with an undue share of murders. Witness intimidation notwithstanding, it seems pretty rare that the prosecutor can ever come up with any physical evidence. Now, I watch my share of those forensic science shows on the Discovery Channel and I find it hard to believe that anyone can get away with murder nowadays let alone a murder where law enforcement can probably pinpoint to a group of 5 the murderer in a mob killing. What do they do different than everyone else to avoid leaving physical evidence? Sure they get rid of the body but if you've ever seen "The New Detectives" that doesn't seem to be much of a hindrance these days.

[scotth]

Very general answers:

1) Generally, anyone the mafia might want to kill probably has more than a couple of people that might also have a motive. The pool of suspects is probably larger than you might think in most cases.
2) Plenty of (lying) alibi's.
3) Practice and planning.
4) Intelligent disposal of murder weapon.

[Wumpus]

Also, when a mafia member kills another mafia/gang member, that case will probably fall to the bottom of the police's list of murders to investigate.

The way the police look at it, it's one less criminal they have to catch, and the cases where "civilians" have been killed deserve a much higher priority.

[Cooper]

The way the police look at it, it's one less criminal they have to catch, and the cases where "civilians" have been killed deserve a much higher priority.

That's quite a generalization. While some police may think that way, others certainly recognize that putting dangerous people in prison for a long time is a good thing, regardless of which victim they are convicted of killing.

What do they do different than everyone else to avoid leaving physical evidence?

A lot of the physical evidence is only evidence that person A had contact with the victim, had been in the room before, etc. If they knew each other, then this would hardly be evidence of murder. It is far more meaningful in "random" crimes.

Also, human nature hasn't changed since prohibition. Police and judges can still be bought.

[BlackKnight]

I also doubt that the mafia kills nearly as often as "The Sopranos" and various movies would have us believe. Sure, it happens, but I'm guessing it's not nearly as prevalent as it might seem.

[KidCharlemagne]

Originally posted by Cooper


A lot of the physical evidence is only evidence that person A had contact with the victim, had been in the room before, etc. If they knew each other, then this would hardly be evidence of murder. It is far more meaningful in "random" crimes.

Great point.

Wumpus - I don't agree. I don't think the no one cares about hookers/vagrants applies. Police may not care about the victim but they sure as hell would like to put the mobster who killed him in jail.

[cornflakes]

Ditto BlacKnight. The Mafia of today is nowhere as big or powerful as the organization(s) was (were) in years past. Decades ago, before DNA testing and other lab work, before the Witness Protection Program, they could influence investigations through intimidation. They can't do it quite as easily today.

[elsobrante]

Actually, if you think about it, the Sopranos don't kill that many people. I believe they kill an average of 8-10 people every season. Season one had the most kills with 15 I believe. Remember that this is just a TV show, so maybe if they were real they'd kill a few more people. Still, a season spans a time of 1- 1.5 years, and it is fair to say they don't kill more then 10 people in a year.

Many real "families" or gangs kill much more then that in a year. The infamous Murder, Inc. killed over 700 people in their span.


I would also assume a big part of Mafiosos not being caught is the fact that most of their murders are planned. They are in an experienced business, they know how to not get caught. So, unliscensed gun, a remote location, a car which can disappear quickly, a good hiding spot for the body (like in the Sopranos, a meat factory possibly). And if they need to disappear, it wouldn't be hard to get the guy out of the country.

[ralph124c]

I think the Mafia has quite a bit of expertise in making sure that murder victims disappear. see "THE GODFATHER"-remember the undertaker (who asks the don to beat up the two lads who had dishonored his daughter)? he was terrified that the "service" that the Don would ask of him, was burying the bodies of people murdered by Don Corleone.
Killing somebody in the open (ala the hit on paul Castellano, by the orders of the late John Gotti) is considered quite declasse, as well as being messy!

[mmmiiikkkeee]

I'd say they do it along the same lines that other organized crime groups do, (outlaw bikers for example).

Have at least a couple people go do the job (so there is less chance of the victim getting away), do it where no one will see, and get rid of the body where no one will find it... which could be fairly easy with several hands digging.

The secret is kept through intimidation and "team work" - a lot of the group's members may know about it, but they all provide alebies for the guilty. I'm pretty sure it's also understood by all involved that if anyone says anything, they're next to be offed... including the killers... once they get covered for doing something, they'd better cover for "whoever did whatever" after that, which may include taking the blame for something else that the law happened to solve.

What the group will do to squeelers is much harsher than anything the law ever could do, and potential squeelers know it and also know they don't get a trial - say the wrong thing to anyone at all and you'll be wearing cement shoes after a good torture session. I don't think organized crime is very tolerant of "changes of conscience".

That's one of the reasons it's difficult to get out of such groups and live a normal life afterwords - you know too much and they'd rather just put a bullet in the back of your head and dump your body than to risk you saying something during the next 30 years.

I saw a documentary about a woman who searched for her missing teenaged daughter for about 30 years after she went missing after partying with some bikers in Florida. No one knew nothin' for all that time, and she was even looking in Europe. Finally she learned that her daughter had been killed for mouthing off to the bikers, hacked up, and fed to the alligators that same night. Several bikers knew it, but none would say anything; one guy even gave a misleading story that sent the mother looking in the wrong places. She got the true story from a woman who I think was the wife/gf of one biker who knew about it, but only just before the guy died after living secluded in a trailer for years after being nearly beaten to death by his comrades for something else.

Even telling a 3rd hand story 30 years after the fact this woman was wearing a loaded handgun and met the mom in a secluded area to tell her the truth. Organized criminals are a nasty bunch, so a lot of what they do is kept secret through fear.