system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why was it so hard to prosecute old time mob bosses?

What I'm wondering is why did prosecutors have such a hard time convicting mobsters/mob bosses of murder?
gpt
The higher up you were in the food chain, the harder it was to get convicted.  In most cases, the mob bosses never kill anyone with their own hands.  That means that there is no physical evidence, such as fingerprints, that ties them with the crime.  Futhermore, they never directly order anyone to kill either.  The order usually gets passed down through several people; the mob boss never actually talks with the hitman.  Also, if any hitman did confess, and implicated the boss, there is a good chance they would get killed in jail by fellow gang members.  So, there was a heavy incentive to stay quiet.  Finally, these gangsters had a lot of money, enough money to bribe enough people to bury any evidence that might incriminate them, and get some top class lawyers.