Seeking the right word for the wrong doer.. "Customer"? "Sponsor"? of a contract killing?

Question

Hi,A bit of a thriller story:A murder was committed. The police find Mr A's bullet-riddled body and brilliantly deduce that he must be the VICTIM of the crime.Then they catch Mr B, with a smoking gun that matches the bullets, GSR and all that, and conclude that he is the KILLER.So far, so good (except for Mr A and Mr B). But then they find a lot of money in B's pocket and conclude that he is a CONTRACT KILLER who was paid to do this essential if unpleasant job. And he firmly refuses to say by whom.So the police are still looking for the.. for the WHAT of the crime? The customer? The sponsor?? The enterpreneur???TIA,L.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, A bit of a thriller story: A murder was committed. The police find Mr A's bullet-riddled body and brilliantly ... police are still looking for the.. for the WHAT of the crime? The customer? The sponsor?? The enterpreneur??? TIA, L.[/nq]
In crime fiction if the killer is a paid/contract killer the person who hired him is called the contractor.
A common threat is to put out a contract.
There's also an open contract which puts a price
on the victim's head payable to anyone who kills him.

But it's unlikely any contract killer would have a bunch of money in his pocket at the time.

Usenet · Answer

Thank you for your reply;
U¿ytkownik "John Ramsay" (Email Removed) napisa³ w wiadomo¶ci
[nq:1]In crime fiction if the killer is a paid/contract killer the person who hired him is called the contractor.[/nq]
Just in fiction? Not in real-life crime?
[nq:1]A common threat is to put out a contract.[/nq]
That means to hire a contract killer to dispatch of someone you don't like? What is the syntax when the intended victim is included in the sentence - would you say that you put out a contract *on* someone?
[nq:1]But it's unlikely any contract killer would have a bunch of money in his pocket at the time.[/nq]
Or a smoking gun, or left fingerprints. I know; I just made up the simplest possible story to illustrate my question.

Thank you again.
Cheers,
L.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]In crime fiction if the killer is a paid/contract killer the person who hired him is called the contractor.[/nq]
[nq:1]Just in fiction? Not in real-life crime?[/nq]
Difficult to say. Crime fiction writers use terms
employed by real life crime figures but
also invent terms. Real life crime figures sometimes use terms invented by the writers of crime fiction.
[nq:2]A common threat is to put out a contract.[/nq]
[nq:1]That means to hire a contract killer to dispatch of someone you don't like? What is the syntax when the intended victim is included in the sentence - would you say that you put out a contract *on* someone?[/nq]
Yes. In older days an organized crime boss would 'order a hit', meaning one of his own gang would do the killing, but nowadays, with better informed police, it's customary to hire an outside killer to make it more difficult for the police to trace the murder back to the crime boss.

Usenet · Answer

U¿ytkownik "John Ramsay" (Email Removed) napisa³ w wiadomo¶ci
[nq:2]Just in fiction? Not in real-life crime?[/nq]
[nq:1]Difficult to say. Crime fiction writers use terms employed by real life crime figures but also invent terms. Real life crime figures sometimes use terms invented by the writers of crime fiction.[/nq]
Apart for the naive details (money in the pockets etc), my story was not unlike what you might hear on evening news. In such a context, would a news reporter
or a spokesperson for the police say that "they are still trying to identify the contractor"?
[nq:2]That means to hire a contract killer to dispatch of ... you say that you put out a contract *on* someone?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes. In older days an organized crime boss would 'order a hit', meaning one of his own gang would do ... an outside killer to make it more difficult for the police to trace the murder back to the crime boss.[/nq]
Sigh. With all this globalization and outsourcing, it's getting more and more difficult to have a stable job in a respectable organization.

Best,
L.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Difficult to say. Crime fiction writers use terms employed by ... sometimes use terms invented by the writers of crime fiction.[/nq]
[nq:1]Apart for the naive details (money in the pockets etc), my story was not unlike what you might hear on ... would a news reporter or a spokesperson for the police say that "they are still trying to identify the contractor"?[/nq]
Yes. Might also say 'who commissioned the murder.'

I've seen news reports dealing with someone who
wanted to hire a killer and got an undercover cop
instead. In court the formal accusation was
either comissioning murder or conspiring to commit.
[nq:2]Yes. In older days an organized crime boss would 'order ... police to trace the murder back to the crime boss.[/nq]
[nq:1]Sigh. With all this globalization and outsourcing, it's getting more and more difficult to have a stable job in a respectable organization. Best, L.[/nq]
Or even a non-respectable one. Or should I say respected?

The Mafia became a respected organization by killing people who refused to show them respect. Then seized legitimate businesses so they could become respectable -:)

Usenet · Answer

U¿ytkownik "John Ramsay" (Email Removed) napisa³ w wiadomo¶ci
Thank you for your reply.
[nq:1]I've seen news reports dealing with someone who wanted to hire a killer and got an undercover cop instead. In court the formal accusation was either comissioning murder or conspiring to commit.[/nq]
I vaguely remember a case when the contractor was
a UN member state.
Cheers,
L.

Seeking the right word for the wrong doer.. "Customer"? "Sponsor"? of a contract killing?

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