# OK-How Does The Mafia Dispose of Corpses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164 "2012-03-18T21:41:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/1 "2012-03-18T21:41:18Z")
In the Godfather, the unfortunate undertaker (Amerigo Bonasera) is sweating bullets when he gets the call from Don Corleone ( the “service”). Bonasera figures he’s going to be asked to bury the victim of a hit-legitimately. He breathes relief when he finds out that all he has to do is pretty up Sonny Corleone’s bullet-riddled corpse. So I was wondering how the Mob usually does this-some possibilities: - a mob-owned, licensed undertaker buries the body in a double coffin. Nobodies the wiser, and unless the undertaker blabs, the police have no way to find the body. -burial in a swamp-weighed down with rocks or chains, the corpse will rot away unseen. However, the remains might be found by a fisherman, hunter, etc. -burial in a construction site-dump the body at a construction project-it gets covered with cement and never found (Hoffa was rumored to have been disposed of this way) -run through a wood chipper-messy, and great risk of body parts being found -incineration in a boiler, incinerator, etc.-woldn’t this be best? So how does the Mob usually do this revolting (bt necessary) “business” practice? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/2 "2012-03-18T21:42:00Z")
What mafia? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/3 "2012-03-18T21:49:05Z")
All of the above and more. It’s hard to verify some of the stories. Entombed in concrete during construction, dissolved in acid, cut up and thrown away, just tossed in a landfill. It’s not just the mob, it’s any murderer who doesn’t want to leave any evidence behind. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/4 "2012-03-18T21:52:40Z")
Isn’t the normal mafia MO just to open up with Tommy guns, drop the guns, run away, and leave the corpse? Although there’s the allegation Helen Brach was disposed of in an Indiana blast furnace. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/5 "2012-03-18T21:54:36Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > Isn’t the normal mafia MO just to open up with Tommy guns, drop the guns, run away, and leave the corpse? > > Although there’s the allegation Helen Brach was disposed of in an Indiana blast furnace. Don’t forget the cannoli. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/6 "2012-03-18T22:02:44Z")
I always thought the undertaker was worried because he didn’t know what the Godfather wanted him to do, not that he thought he would have to give him a legitimate burial ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/7 "2012-03-18T22:05:46Z")
If we told you, we’d have to kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/8 "2012-03-18T23:52:43Z")
They bury them in the end zone of Giants Stadium. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/9 "2012-03-19T00:13:04Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I always thought the undertaker was worried because he didn’t know what the Godfather wanted him to do, not that he thought he would have to give him a legitimate burial He was worried that he was going to be asked to plant a murdered corpse into the coffin of an otherwise legitimate burial. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/10 "2012-03-19T00:19:36Z")
Dumped in the trunk of a wrecked car, then run through the scrapyard crusher, then to the smelter. The Mob is very into recycling. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/11 "2012-03-19T00:29:24Z")
Goldfinger taught them how. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/12 "2012-03-19T00:33:34Z")
I have access to a crematorium, and for the right price… …ah, but I’ve said too much already. ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/13 "2012-03-20T05:01:07Z")
Upstate burial. In open country, there will be places nobody ever goes, simply by chance. Even if the body’s found, who in the Chenango Police Department will think to call down to New York City? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/14 "2012-03-20T05:08:00Z")
Read the book The Ice Man and your questions will be answered, assuming you believe what a psychopath tells you. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/15 "2012-03-20T05:49:11Z")
I always had my doubts about the whole ‘entombment surrounded by concrete’ scenario. Wouldn’t a body disrupt the structural integrity of the concrete? And it would have to be a farly wide piece of concrete to leave enough to cover the body on every side. I’d go for burial under a new concrete floor. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/16 "2012-03-20T07:04:15Z")
55-gallon drum. Cement or weights with corpse. The ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/17 "2012-03-20T07:50:21Z")
Don’t forget the hot dog stands. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/18 "2012-03-20T08:26:28Z")
Why hide the body? Hiding a body means moving a body, and moving a body means there’s a chance the cops will catch you with a corpse in the trunk of your car. Best to just leave it where it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/19 "2012-03-20T08:47:42Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > So I was wondering how the Mob usually does this There is no Mob, no Mafia. By the way, nice ip address there. Ain’t Google Earth and GPS a blast? Be seein ya… ---
**Author:** ![palacheck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e57/32.png) [@palacheck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palacheck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164/20 "2012-03-20T10:41:39Z")
“The Mafia” is too busy getting a copy of the RICO act shoved up its you-know-what to coordinate any large-scale corpse disposal plans. It all varies from hit to hit and crew to crew I imagine. However, based on news stories and the rumor mill, I have some suggestions: First, coordinate a hit team of at least 8 individuals and designate the 2 least reliable the Body Disposal Squad. -Shoot the person in the head and open the car door and push him out making sure to leave as much gun powder residue and DNA evidence as possible both on the corpse and in the car. -Make a half-assed attempt to weigh the corpse down and dump it in a body of water. -Bury the corpse somewhere it is sure to be found, like an overgrown lot just outside the city or an unfinished basement in a bar or club. Make sure any of this happens after you’ve had dinner with the guy and there are witnesses and security cam footage to throw suspicion on you. If you’re the oldest living member of the Italian American mafia(all allegedly!) , John Franzese(95), you chop them up in a kiddie pool and then feed the pieces-parts into an industrial garbage disposal. Well, you did until you got 8 years in prison in 2011. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-how-does-the-mafia-dispose-of-corpses/616164.md?page=2)