Huck was ordered by Peter Gotti to go to Arizona and whack Sammy. I bet this was hard as he had to dodge his Capo, loose weight and grow a beard. They has sufisticated surveillance equipment and I think a sniper rifle. The van may have even been customized with shooting portals.

I guess I just do not understand why they did not whack Sammy. I read somewhere they were watching him just down the street.

I think to whack him and get away with it was the problem, Gravano was very cautious.

Gravano never testified against his former crew. Maybe that had someting to do with it too.

They monitored him, but he got arrested before they could whack him. It could have been an easy hit in my opinion.

Can you imagine the impact if he would have gotten hit. It would cause more imformants to think twice about ratting on the mob. I know he was out of WP and flaunting out in the open.

They were very very close with succeeding, it would have a great impact like you said. A person like Gravano, killed after betrayel.

I understand why they didn't, but I think whacking Gravano would have sent a serious message to the rank and file. Even if it upped the heat on the organization, it should have been done to demonstrate that no one - regardless of rank - is above the rules of the family.

Imagine the paper headlines, "Gravano whacked!!"

Hitting a high profile rat like Gravano makes no sense at all, after he's already testified. The damage is already done, and you run the risk of the Feds coming down on you like a ton of bricks. It's just not worth the aggravation.

There are plenty of small operations that the Feds are fully aware of that they let slide. If you hit one of their "star" informants, they'd be less inclined to let these "minor" crimes go. They'd start busting up every two bit card game, every penny ante sports betting operation, and every small time loan shark going. They'd hit these guys right where it hurts: In the pocketbook. And to their credit, the smarter bosses realize this. This thing is about money. Don't ever forget that.

The time to hit an informant is before he testifies, if at all.

Well said, pizzaboy. It's something I've pointed out before too. As mob observers, it's easy for one of us to say, "They should definitely hit that guy to send a message!" But it's not that simple you really have to weight the risk vs the reward.

I think the Gambinos had every intention of hitting Gravano. They just couldn't pull it off. As usual, a better example would be the Genovese family. They hit Bruno up in Springfield once they suspected he was leaking information out but before he may have flipped. Granted they were using some real meatballs to do it. Meanwhile, Petey Caporino in Jersey wasn't touched after he flipped and testified against Dentico, Bruschi, etc. The damage was already done. Why hit him and just cause more trouble when the main goal is getting back to business as quickly as possible?

You all raise excellent, and correct, points. I just have a nostalgiac view of some things sometimes.