During the early Prohibition days of the Mafia, a contracted hit was easy, fairly inexpensive and you didn’t have CCTV on every street corner or technology that was advanced enough to pin you to a crime. Instead the only thing that could bring you down was witnesses, but for the money it was always worth running the risk.
Some people can kill in their thoughts, some could only kill in self-defence, some have no choice but to kill in war, whilst some can kill with the drop of a hat.
No regrets, no remorse, just a pay-out
A contracted hit was rarely put on a member of the public, apart from a few notable occasions on witnesses and of course the Arnold Schuster murder in 1952. Most contracted hits were mainly put on mobsters, by mobsters.
Even though mob hits seemed to happen on a daily basis, this was still the last and final path to go down when politics, and reasoning were out the window.
How Much Did it Cost?
Depending on whom you got to do the hit, and what era you are talking about depended on the overall price. For an experienced contracted killer in the 1970’s and 1980’s the going rate was $80,000 – $90,000, but some would do it for far less. You average contract was around the $50,000 mark and would be carried out by something such as a silenced .32 or .22 calibre pistol. A couple of shots to the back of the head, no exit mark, and plenty of questions from the Medical Examiner.
Why Hire a Hitman?
Usually it was to take out anyone who either broke Mafia rules by turning into an informer, getting rid of witnesses who posed a threat to a high-ranking mobster, or in the case of John Gotti it was to take over a family and move upwards in the chain of command.
What Weapons Were Used?
Usually it was a gun, and it was usually done in close proximity to the target. Disposable silencers, any fixed barrel type gun and a collection of hollow point bullets, rust coated bullets, and liquid poison bullets would be used.
If you did need a long-sighted gun the AR-7 rifle was the pick of the bunch complete with a 3-6 powered scope which proved deadly accurate even at 65 yards.
Other methods were also used from a lethal dose of cyanide in a syringe, to a knife, rope or garrote wire. All were effective on quiet.
Surveillance & Finishing The Job
The hitman should be able to plan movements over the course of a few weeks, finding out regular routines the target takes and then finding the opportune moment to make the hit. This could take weeks or months of careful planning and constant surveillance.
Of course, if you want the hitman to dispose of the body as well then you can expect to add on plenty more $$$ as this part is often more risky than the hit.
You don’t need us to tell you the different ways of disposing a body, but Richard Kuklinski (The Iceman) had a few good ideas up his sleeves, but ultimately got caught out. Perhaps the methods of the DeMeo crew would come in better, if you had the guts to cut up the body into small parts which makes it much easier to move.
One of the biggest errors is cementing the feet and drowning the body, because gases in the body will usually be released as the body begins its descent to the bottom of the sea/ocean. What you end up with then, is inflated organs which are strong enough to carry the body back to the surface.
To combat this, the hitman will need to make some incisions (stab) the lungs and stomach to prevent the body rising.
The Final Part
After the job has been done it’s all about controlling yourself, the hitman will feel no guilt but you may. Lay low, cover your tracks and get your head together.