# Giuliani's Public Appearances & Mob Justice

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 19, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538 "2001-09-19T04:46:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/no_me_ayudes_compadre/32/5224_2.png) [@No\_Me\_Ayudes\_Compadre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Me_Ayudes_Compadre)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538/1 "2001-09-19T04:46:20Z")

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Before becoming Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani was a U.S. attorney who was successful at prosecuting several high-profile members of the Genovese, Colombo and Lucchese crime families. By his own account, he received several credible death threats over his career.

So how can he carry on as Mayor, making public appearances and having his whereabouts generally known at all times? Was he “pardoned” or was some deal struck? Is there a statute of limitations on retribution for past offenses against the mob? Mob lore has straight prosecutors, judges and other officials getting whacked for failure to relent. If you believe Sam Giancana, a U.S. president has paid for treachery with his life, at the hands of the Mob.

In the words of Michael Corleone:

> [@](#):
>
> If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.

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**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538/2 "2001-09-19T04:53:38Z")

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There is so much myth and lore surrounding organized crime, that I don’t know if I’m remebering something from a movie or a documentary or book. I believe the general rule of thumb among those in organized crime is that you don’t whack prosecutors or cops if they’re honest.

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**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538/3 "2001-09-19T04:56:07Z")

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What would they gain from killing him now, other than unprecedented attention from every law enforcement agency known to man?

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**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538/4 "2001-09-19T05:00:28Z")

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Don’t you watch THE SOPRANOS? The Mob ain’t what it used to be.

In any case, killing high-profile politicians is counter productive – it just results in more arrests and prosecutions. The US mob has always manipulated politics and the law through infiltration and bribery, not terror.

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/giulianis-public-appearances-mob-justice/82538/5 "2001-09-19T12:47:08Z")

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Giuliani also does have bodyguards and stuff.