Mafia corpse trussing was practical for car trunks, not symbolic theater

Evidence

Bodies are often delivered with hands and legs tied together in the manner of trussed calves or goats. Although for a while it was believed that this gesture was intended to shock Vincenzo Sinagra reveals that it was done to allow corpses to be stuffed into the trunks of cars (VS: I, 45). Mafia executions are primarily planned to maximize efficiency (Falcone and Padovani 1991: 26); only secondarily are they staged to impress, to he remembered, and to teach a lesson to interested parties in addition to the victim. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 661

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to Galante-style mafia mechanics in Puzo — the efficiency-over-theater reading answers the question of whether killings are communicative or merely functional, echoing the reader’s Schelling commitment framing.