I have a curiosity. Not being a mob guy or familiar first hand with that life, I often wondered how can a truly strong mafia boss keep his family in check without being a hitter himself.
Or let me phrase it like this. Are Bosses allowed to do their own hits under Cosa Nostra?
What I mean is, if a Boss has to rely on other people around him to hit his enemies, doesn't that sort of put him at the mercy of his hitmen and bodyguards?
The boss can do what he wants, but why would he do hits when he has 200-400 made men and 5-10 times that in associates that will do what they are ordered to do? There is also the layering that is needed with plausible deniability.
And it's not about the boss being a psycho fucker that will chop you up with an ax if you piss him off. It's about the boss being the top of the tree of an orginisation that deals in secrecy and murder, and that boss can ask anything of his underlings and get it, or those underlings will be killed by others.
A boss didn't make it to the top without being harder than the rest, but once on top it's his decisions that decide if you live or die rather than his guns or his hands.
On the other hand, if a Boss did their own hits from time to time, wouldn't that Boss exercise far greater control over his administration and family? He can call any of his lieutenants to a meeting and they have to arrive alone on his terms. They don't know whose at the meeting. They can't bring anyone with them, and the Boss can see them coming before they ring the bell to the hideout. On top of that, they must answer the Boss' every question and can be whacked by that Boss at any moment. So this Boss has everybody in deep check, his Underboss, Consigliere, Capos, everybody. A Don like that you aint takin out easily.
That's how it already works. Except if you are called to a meeting you will never know if you are meeting the boss to talk shop or walking in to an ambush. But if you don't come when called you are as dead as they get.
Look, it's not about the boss being Hulk Hogan. It's about the system. Old men like Carlos Gambino, who any street tough could beat to death in a minute lived in absolute fear of him because, like a Roman Emperor, a smile or a grimace from him would decide your fate.
