Contract killing

Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people.^[1] It involves an agreement which includes some form of compensation, monetary or otherwise. It is an illegal agreement. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, dictatorships, and vendettas. For example, in the United States, the Italian- and Jewish-American organized crime gang Murder, Inc. committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and '40s.

"Hit lady" redirects here. For the 1974 television film, see Hit Lady.

Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to carry out the actual killing, making it more difficult for law enforcement to connect the hirer with the murder. The likelihood that authorities will establish that party's guilt for the committed crime, especially due to lack of forensic evidence linked to the contracting party, makes the case more difficult to attribute to the hiring party. Contract killers may exhibit serial killer traits, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives.^[2]^[3]^[4] Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both contract killers and serial killers.^[5]^[6]^[7]

A contract killer is colloquially known as a hitman. Contract killers who work for criminal organizations are often known as enforcers.

an Irish-American hitman from Gweedore, County Donegal, who worked for Salvatore Maranzano, Dutch Schultz, and Owney Madden.

Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll

notorious hitman and supporting player in the Great Brink's Robbery

Elmer "Trigger" Burke

Maia "Mainha" Cunha, a notorious hitman; he is considered the biggest hitman in Northeast Brazil and his targets were usually northeastern politicians, mostly mayors of cities in the interior of northeastern Brazil.^[10]^[11]

Brazilian

American dentist who moonlighted as a hitman.

Glennon Engleman

Italian-American hitman and soldier for the Cleveland and Los Angeles crime families, best known for the October 1977 car bombing murder of Irish mob boss Danny Greene in Lyndhurst, Ohio; later Ferritto became a government witness and testified against the mob.

Ray Ferritto

reputed Australian hitman.

Christopher Dale Flannery

a notorious Mexican drug lord and hitman, he was a high-ranking member of Sinaloa Cartel and the leader of Los Antrax, a feared hitman squad and an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.

El Chino Ántrax

a Sicilian hitman who killed at least 58 people during the Second Mafia War.

Giuseppe Greco

American hitman, father of actor Woody Harrelson.

Charles Harrelson

Irish alleged hitman for the Dublin-based drug trafficking ring led by John Gilligan and John Traynor. Accused by Irish law enforcement of having been responsible for the 1996 murder of investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.

Patrick Holland

an alleged hitman for the DeCavalcante crime family and the Five Families who claimed responsibility for more than 200 murders.

Richard Kuklinski

Serbian hitman convicted for 11 murders.

Marinko Magda

,^{[Note 1]} an Italian-American hitman and soldier in the Bonanno crime family. He was known for having serial killer-like characteristics, and was a skilled martial artist.

Tommy "Karate" Pitera

Alexander "Sasha-Soldier" Pustovalov, hitman and Orekhovskaya gang soldier. Pustovalov has 22 confirmed kills.

Russian Mafia

hitman and initial leader of Murder, Inc. along with Martin Goldstein.

Abe Reles

a notorious Brazilian hitman; he is considered by the Brazilian and international media as "the deadliest hitman in history", for having killed 492 people officially (more than 500 unofficially),^{[Note 2]} considered the highest number of fatal victims killed by a single hitman.^[12]

Julio Santana

a union official and mob hitman, who was associated with Russell Bufalino. Sheeran claimed to have murdered former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa.^[13]

Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran

a Jewish hitman who headed the Bugs and Meyer Mob and was a hitman for Murder, Inc.; Siegel was also the Italian mob's main hitman during Prohibition.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel

Russian hitman, known for carrying a firearm in each hand. Alexander Solonik was a main killer in the Kurganskaya criminal group.

Alexander Solonik

hitman for Murder, Inc. he is possibly the most prolific hitman to have ever lived, committing 100 (possibly 500) murders during his career.

Harry Strauss

Colombian hitman who was part of the Medellín Cartel.^[14]

Jhon Jairo "Popeye" Velásquez

Finnish criminal who also became Finland's first known hitman in 1992

Ilpo Larha

Robert Young, a.k.a. Willie Sanchez, an escaped convict and contract killer employed by an gang headed by Nicky Barnes.^[15]^[16]^[17]

African-American organized crime

a 15-year-old minor who was convicted of murdering an insurance agent under the orders of her husband in Singapore in 2001. He was detained at the President's Pleasure for 17 years.

Z

Billy Gray Williams and John Forrest Parker, the three hitmen who murdered a pastor's wife on the orders of the pastor (who committed suicide) in 1988. Parker was executed in 2010, while Williams was given a life sentence and later died in prison in 2020, and Smith was executed in 2024.

Kenneth Eugene Smith

In popular culture[edit]

Fictional cases of contract killing or "hitmen" are depicted in a range of popular fiction genres in the 20th and 21st century, including comic books, films, and video games.

Contract killing is a core aspect of the video game franchise Hitman, wherein the player controls a hired hitman simply known as Agent 47.^[25]^[26] In the game Hotline Miami, the player controls a man who receives mysterious calls telling him to kill members of the Russian Mafia.^[27]

The website RentAHitman.com is a satirical homepage for a fake contract killing agency. Its owner passes on details of those who try to use his services to law enforcement agencies.^[28]

Nothing Personal is a television documentary series that presents stories of contract killings.^[29]