Old Fashioned Mobster "Whack" "Hit" etc

Source

Witness in ‘Whitey’ Bulger trial found dead

With some of the recent headlines concerning "The Mob" one might think a mobster these days can't even carry out an old fashioned hit to save their life. (No irony or puns intended.)

Heck, the days of old, Omerta, silence, eliminating the Loose Lip Larry's with a car bomb or cyanide laced banana, heck, we just don't see it anymore.

But Mob fans, cheer up, here's one for you:

A former South Boston resident who said he had been extorted by crime boss James (Whitey) Bulger and has been a near-daily presence at his trial was found dead in Lincoln, Mass., on Wednesday, the authorities said.

Marian T. Ryan, the district attorney for Middlesex County, confirmed Thursday that the body of Stephen (Stippo) Rakes, a 59-year-old who most recently lived in Quincy, Mass., was discovered near a walking trail Wednesday.

Okay okay, morbid humor aside, condolences to the family.

Interesting comment on the story:

Cruel Hand Luke
4:04 PM on July 18, 2013

The FBI was in bed with these guys for 15 years, I hope that Bulger uses this trial as an opportunity to air the dirty laundry he has on his contacts.

I wouldn't be surprised if a sudden plea deal is struck to keep him quiet.

That, or a sudden jailhouse "heart attack".

In any case, Bulgar was not even close to the types of mobsters I was reminiscing about:

Beginning in 1975, Bulger served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[6]

Wiki

Seems he was a "Snitch" from many years passed. There is something like 40 murders he's credited with, which makes me wonder about a much darker "conspiracy" if you will.

For him to be involved in all that he was, and with such a long criminal career with so many bodies involved, and working as an informant for the feds, it really makes me wonder if the most successful criminals are the ones who are backed by the government.

Sure they "help" the government for the war on _______, but it seems like a good number simply get passes on all their crimes just turning in others to keep themselves going.

Isn't that just state sponsored gangsterism in another dress? Seems it really doesn't pay to be a "stand up guy" anymore. Imagine the types of behaviour they are promoting.

reply to post by boncho


Nice catch.
Always interesting to hear about intrigue in organized crime. (Funny nick names and all).

Good work lately btw, keep it up.

There is a story about the old gangster Sam Giancana. It supposedly happened when another mobster found out they were working on killing Castro.

Somebody asked Sam, "how can you work with the Feds?" Sam took out an old coin and rolled it through his fingers. He said, "we're different sides of the same coin."

The feds have been in bed with gangsters for a century or more. They used Lucky Luciano to help destabilize Italy's war efforts. They worked with "Freeway" Ricky Ross in drug distribution. They routinely work with informants in motorcycle gangs to get ATF and other agents inside. Some of those stories are insane.The feds are active participants in the criminal trade across America.

Just like I told the other guy - you got it all wrong see - sometimes peoples they have accidents see - he obviously tripped & fell into whatever killed him

Its obvious he fell onto those bullets and his dead body dumped itself in the forest.

Organized crime, sometimes unsuccessfully, have pulled these types of public stunts off. I am not familiar with the details of the case, but i certainly hope that witness was not the prosecutions key witness or anything...

Like once a week I get into a organized crime topic. Revisiting old topics always brings new gems of info as well.

Dillinger for instance is utterly fascinating. Well not him so much as everything in the world of the era he lived in. The FBI and Hoover, etc.

Things were actually totally screwed up back then, possibly even more so than now in this relative perspective.

Last week I was telling my wife about the infamous Maxi Trial and about Tommaso Buscetta. I saw the film about it back around 2000 or 2001 I think it was "Excellent Cadavers" based on the book.