Mafia kills Hitler,Mussolini, Stalin, and Franco
- Thread starter edvader
- Start date
Brilliantlight
Banned
ED(Mister) said:
Alien Space Bats fly through their countries as they must be the ones guilty of allowing a gang of criminals penetrate the security of a bunch of paranoid dictators with a large "palace guard" around them.
Y
Why would they want to do that? It is certainly unlikely to succeed (though not as unlikely as it looks - Mussolini was known to show up at public functions and seek contact with the masses, Franco during and immediately after the war had much less personal security around him than later (and had a degree of trust for fellow Fascists and Catholic clergy that modern politicians would consider foolhardy) and Hitler, in spite of all those uniforms around him, was just amazingly lucky. So I could see mafiua hitmen managing to penetrate the screens of all three, if not with ease, then with some chance of success. Stalin is different, he was a bona-fide paranoid, but even so there is a slight possibility.
The question remains, of course: Why on earth? I mean, worldwide war is not exactly the kind of business environment that the mafia would want. True, they tend to be resolutely anti-Communist (gangsters believe in free enterprise), but organised crime throve in Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Wars will destroy assets in their millions, draw manpower away from the branches where it is needed, return thousands upon thousands of citizens with combat experience (not good news if you make a living on protection money) and put all kinds of unreasonable patriotic demands on your organisation. The contract would need to be worth trillions. Who put it out?
Why would they want to do that? It is certainly unlikely to succeed (though not as unlikely as it looks - Mussolini was known to show up at public functions and seek contact with the masses, Franco during and immediately after the war had much less personal security around him than later (and had a degree of trust for fellow Fascists and Catholic clergy that modern politicians would consider foolhardy) and Hitler, in spite of all those uniforms around him, was just amazingly lucky. So I could see mafiua hitmen managing to penetrate the screens of all three, if not with ease, then with some chance of success. Stalin is different, he was a bona-fide paranoid, but even so there is a slight possibility.
The question remains, of course: Why on earth? I mean, worldwide war is not exactly the kind of business environment that the mafia would want. True, they tend to be resolutely anti-Communist (gangsters believe in free enterprise), but organised crime throve in Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Wars will destroy assets in their millions, draw manpower away from the branches where it is needed, return thousands upon thousands of citizens with combat experience (not good news if you make a living on protection money) and put all kinds of unreasonable patriotic demands on your organisation. The contract would need to be worth trillions. Who put it out?
NapoleonXIV
Banned
carlton_bach said:
It did?? I can't say about Hitlerian Germany. (Come to think, I've never heard of a German Gang, they must be good at it) I had read somewhere that Mussolini broke the back of the Mafia, at least on the mainland, since he was able to go after them without Constitutional niceties. OTOH I'm also aware that Luciano was deported back to Sicily from prison after the war because he had enlisted the Sicilian Mafia to aid the Allies.
Why do it? At least with Mussolini I've given one answer. Criminals thrive in war. They run black markets everyone uses and steal more easily from both sides since everyone assumes its losses to the enemy and noone investigates.
While the black market might have flourished, during peace time mussolini was close to eliminate the mafia. Many members fled to the US to escape imprisonment or execution. If im not wrong, Lucky Luciano was released because he provided information that helped the Allies to invade Sicily. He was exiled to italy and wasn't allowed to return to the US.
Brilliantlight
Banned
carlton_bach said:
The Mafia is not nearly as powerful as you make out. Powerful enough to scare some of the competion in the criminal world? Yes Powerful enough to get protection money from small businesses? Yes Powerful enough to overthrow a national government? No They didn't even attempt to overthrow Mussolini when he went after them as far as I know. That is something that is out of their league.
Brilliantlight said:
I'm not thinking in terms of a coup d'etat. Hell, the mafia couldn't even do that in Albania, and that place hardly has a government ATM. I'm merely talking of three guys with guns, and that would certainly be doable (though pointless). I mean, they aren't in the politics business like that, are they?
NapoleonXIV said:
I dunno about the 'old families', but Mussolini's Italy was riddled with corruption and black marketeering. As to Hitler Germany - organised crime in Germany traditionally worked differently, on a smaller scale and decentralised, and it did great business. Drug dealing, prostitution, racketeering and gambling all got what amounted to "don't ask, don't tell' deals in many cities with the police being more eager to make crime 'vanish' than to make it go away. Mind you, if you got caught things could get really uncomfortable.
Brilliantlight
Banned
carlton_bach said:
Even an assasination of the leader of a major nation is too risky for the Mafia. They aren't stupid and know perfectly if a mistake is made and it is traced back to them a lot of Mafioso are going to be planted 6 feet under in a short time.
