How did huge mob bosses that “everybody knew” was a mob boss, or criminal running the place, etc, get away with it?
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Assuming you mean the USA, it’s because they didn’t personally commit any overt criminal acts.
That’s why in 1970 the US Congress passed the RICO act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,) which allows the bosses of criminal organizations to be prosecuted for the acts of their underlings.
To arrest someone, you need probable cause. To convict them, you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A boss can put so many people between himself and an illegal act, it’s impossible to prove anything. Witnesses will be scared to cooperate, henchmen will take the fall to protect their families.
_Knowing_ something is one thing – _proving_ that thing in a court of law is another.
Mob bosses were very careful to not commit any crimes themselves; instead, they had their crews commit those crimes. Sure, they _directed_ those crews, but they were also very careful to not have those directions documented or easily discovered. So we _knew_ that Capone was running the mob in Chicago, but there wasn’t any actual _evidence_ linking him to those activities.
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I’ve watched numerous documentaries and read a few books on the subject. Basically, the bosses insulated themselves. They were almost never directly giving the orders to do things and if they did, they absolutely knew they were being monitored, or at the very least, could be being monitored.
They were so careful that the only way charges were finally able to be brought was through the RICO act. That basically allowed them to be charged with crimes other people committed under one umbrella. So they treated the mob like a corporation. One guy gets busted selling drugs and another guy gets busted for driving a stolen car. A bunch of guys get busted running an illegal gambling ring. On their own these guys get 5 years in prison or whatever, get out and rejoin the organization. Through the RICO act they could prove all these crimes and more were committed as part of an organized crime scheme or whatever. Through surveillance they could prove these guys were all connected and bring them all down together.
Yes, lots of folks saying “they didn’t get their hands dirty”, but skip right over the actual reason… corruption within the government bodies involved. Mob bosses have $$$. Politicians love $$$.
The same way celebrities, politicians and CEOs do: Money, influence, and intimidation are remarkably effective resources for averting prosecution. It’s not that law enforcement and prosecutors aren’t aware of the allegations and evidence, it’s just harder to prosecute someone who has the resources to defend themselves.
Because it’s not about what you know, it’s what you can prove in court and most of these mob bosses actually didn’t do much themselves, their power was in getting others to do their dirty deeds.
Plausible deniability. They never committed the crime themselves but gave implied orders to underbosses who gave direct orders to ‘soldiers’. Add a couple of layers, a complex system of shell companies to launder the money, a cult like hierarchy and then it becomes very hard to prove that they are the puppet masters.
Money Laundering is easy and its not hard for someone with cash to get on a community’s good side. Your average criminal organization thats not just a few gang bangers has more in common with the way Gustavo runs things than Walter White. Set up a few okish resturants and do some community events and nobody will csre what you do if you keep it under wraps.
Al Capone ran a soup kitchen for example. Even if the locals thought the charity came from dirty money they were incentivised not to care. Same with El Chapo or a lot of other crime lords.
Think of the negative reputation a lot of police departments have due to shit thats happened. If the local cops are seen as corrupt or incompetent or just plain mean and the local criminals are helping the community in some way, the community is motivated to not side with the law.
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