They got Capone for tax evasion. Most of the mobsters Giuliani put away in the 90’s went on RICO charges. Not murder, drug running, extortion, etc.
Not sure the relevance of that to Mr. Vickers. Unless you are saying they were so successful at putting perceived bad guys away for BS process crimes that they purposefully made the sentences higher on those, which is why Vickers is facing 20 years for giving money to the wrong oligarch.
I'm also no longer as enamored with "The Untouchables" style of "We know this guy is a bad guy and we're going to get him no matter the tactics" as I once was. See thread on Trump's prosecution for how that goes. THe Cynic in me wants to ask if Chicago or New York actually got any safer for the average citizen after Capone and the Mobsters were put in jail. Or did random gangs and street crime take over with the PD's unable to control it?
But that's probably it's own thread.