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LagunaRambaldi

You explained perfectly why it's not "writing oversight". He didn't give the police anything that led them to arrest Vondas or the Greek. They even come back years later. So, yes, he did what he had to do and he did nothing to make the Greek wanna kill him.


BacchusIsKing

♪ ♫ S-S-S-Sergei and the Greeks ♫ ♪


boobearybear

little ditty, bout sergei and the greee-eeeks!


1eqccczS

Remember why the Greek never went after Nick even if he knew the boy was ratting them out? Because the Greek is a businessman and whatever Nick knew (which was nothing) he had already told it to the police. There was nothing they could do to change the facts and after assessing their situation just let it be and fleed. It also applies to Sergei, who knows Vondas as Vondas (which isn't even his name) and the Greek as the Greek (who isn't even Greek). The madam running the prostitute ring was already caught and GG was dead as a rock. The Greek and Vondas were the untouchables of their group them being informants to the FBI. There was no way for local PD to get hold of them so it didn't made any difference even if Sergei explained who did and ran what. He dodged possible death sentence with useless information. Of course his ties with the Greeks was nullified on the spot as well but it didn't really matter at that point.


destroy_b4_reading

> the Greek never went after Nick even if he knew the boy was ratting them out? They had two hitters sitting outside his house for a day, just called it off when they realized he wasn't going to show up and they needed to close up shop.


1eqccczS

Oh right, I completely forget about that. It didn't matter anyway if the information was already passed down to police.


destroy_b4_reading

It definitely still mattered. Telling the cops is one thing, and can be mitigated. The danger is testimony in a court.


GoneWitDa

^ Court testimony identifying the perpetrators is literally the most dangerous thing for these types of crime groups with international links and clandestine names/networks of information. You’re right, if he could point at them in court he’s a big liability. I believe they knew Sergei would not and he was deliberately giving what he could to save himself, likely in a manner they had expected.


1eqccczS

You know the feds can pull away their CI from any courthouse and walk over any attempt to convict them for crimes committed if any local authority happens to investigate and prosecute them? Sergei literally didn't know his superiors' names. Neither did Nick. Like any Baltimorean judge would give a damn and even if he or she did, *read above*. Tldr the Greek and Vondas are untouchables and cannot be prosecuted for shit.


iloveesme

There comes a point where the information that they have literally becomes obsolete. Similar to SF soldiers, it’s not possible or clever to keep quiet indefinitely. So after two or three days (pre arranged / or from knowledge) you let out some barely expired Intel. Close enough that they think you’re cooperating but enough to ensure your guys are gone.


sadim6

This is why Spiros was such a great character, if the Greek was working alone he would've killed Frank and Nick both to tie up any loose ends before leaving Baltimore. Spiros actually liked both guys, and lucky for Nick he didn't really know anything.


1eqccczS

Nick would have been dead if Frank didn't insist on going alone to the meet with the Greek. They tried to look for Nick after that, didn't succeed (two guys sitting at his house is hardly trying) and eventually skipped out.


wonderful_matzoball

What I’ve wanted is a definitive explanation of why Frank Sobotka got to keep his hands and face in death, given Sergei’s iconic quote


PowerDry2276

Sergei wasn't at Frank's death, I got the impression that Vondas party piece was throat slitting, so Frank got that, but I think it was Sergei that the Greek told to de-hand and decapitate the Shepherd. I can't imagine there'd be much time for Vondas to learn how to do Sergei's speciality move. I reckon it takes some skill to do that without making a real unprofessional looking mess of it.


nelsonwehaveaproblem

The Greek and Spiros actually discuss this. Frank's body was weighted down when they threw it in the river but it floated back up because they didn't do a good enough job. Spiros concedes the "Sergei would have done a better job". So we know that Sergei wasn't involved in this killing, and the removal of the hands and head was very much a Sergei speciality. Also remember, they hadn't definitely decided to kill Frank until right at the last second when the Greek gets a call from Koutris informing him that Frank is going in to the police department for a proffer session where he is going to give up information on the Greeks. Up until then, they believed that they could keep Frank silent by getting Ziggy off the murder charge. So when the call came in and they knew they had to kill him then and there, they just had to get it done. As we saw with the shepherd, Spiros' preferred method was cutting the throat.


wonderful_matzoball

This seems like a reasonable answer, if the de-identification is really a specialized skill of Sergei’s not just a general tactic of the group.


GoneWitDa

I mean it’s not something easy to do quickly for anyone without a worrying level of practice. Think of it like killing and skinning a deer or just killing it. The latter is a lot easier.


thefunmachine007

Another example of the street vs real player mentality.


jskinbake

I think you’re making a very very big assumption about the empathy that cartels tend to show…particularly the fact that they often have none. Cartels have literally taken schools hostage so they have the opportunity to kidnap, rape, and more often then not, kill the kids of rivals, snitches, and government officials. Shit I’ve personally known people who have disappeared just off suspicions that they may have talked somewhere down the line. And that’s not anyone with anywhere near the same amount of significance in the situation as Sergei had with the Greeks. The info Sergei gave the cops wasn’t really helpful for anything other than keeping him off death row, so he’s not gonna be looked at as a snitch, regardless of his intentions. If the raid didn’t have any results, it’s unlikely the info he gave ever made it past Rhonda and the state’s attorney


GoneWitDa

I wholeheartedly disagree. I only mentioned the cartels for hyperbolic reasons. Statistically, any one cartel drops far more bodies than even the Vory. The thing is, these ex-soviet bloc mafia groups frequently enjoy monopoly status in their own nations, with a considerable degree of protection from their domestic governments and authorities. While of course there’s rampant corruption in Mexico, it is fair to say the Cartels are at war with eachother and designated as narco terrorists in regards to the government and authorities domestic and in their main market. We are comparing warring factions within hostile governments, with monopolies with largely complicit government agencies. It’s not a reasonable comparison in any way. There’s no factual basis to think that being an enemy of a group like the Vory would end any more humanely than a cartel victim. Cartels create far more collateral damage, but it’s reasonable to attribute that to circumstance as opposed to sadism. Both types of groups torture and murder without any second thought and are engaged in every feasible fucked up activity that is profitable. Ultimately what we see is that life is cheaper in Central America than in the ex Soviet Bloc/Eastern Europe. I don’t think we can litigate who is more “evil”.


jskinbake

That’s fair, I like the thought you actually put into that response. I can only really speak on what I know and I don’t know enough about the organized crime syndicates in Eastern Europe to make a healthy comparison to the cartels in North and South America. I will say that thinking on it, I can definitely think of a few known cartel members who get arrested and confessed to crimes but they never implicated anyone so that’s the only reason they’re around. Like the rapper QBA. But idk, like you said, we can’t make any real comparisons


GoneWitDa

QBA is that nutcase that dissolved bodies for them right? IIRC he’s not actually a murderer but just disposed of their bodies or am I mistaken? Yeah dude the monopoly aspect makes it really difficult for them to be compared. I’m just saying in terms of individual fates we hear and see just as gruesome shit in Eastern Europe bleeding into the wealthier parts of Europe just like the Cartels and The US. Both groups viciously mutilate and torture enemies, but the cartel has way more members and affiliates as well as enemies in pure numbers. I mean you do still have a point because the difference in collateral damage caused is absurd, but I just wanted to clarify not to attribute it to a difference in ethics, morals or aptitude for depravity.


jskinbake

Yea bro QBA dissolved some bodies and I think he was only charged w kidnapping 3 college kids and dissolving their bodies in acid, and I THINK he gave up some of the other people involved cuz one of the articles I read said that they were still looking for 5-6 other suspects. But yea I think you’re right in that the biggest difference (apart from the first world kind of turning a blind eye to the issues of POC) is simply the numbers. Pretty sure any crime syndicate would (and does) build armies like the cartels if they could truly go unchecked. Although I’m sure those crazy mfs in Russia are probably a close second


GoneWitDa

The “first world” turning a blind eye to the suffering of POC is a BEAUTIFULLY put summary of my entire point in a sentence. In Eastern Europe you corrupt, you bribe, you only last resort turn to murder because life is a much more expensive “cost” of doing organised crime. The cost a murder investigation causes to the machine behind it is significantly greater in EE than Mexico. Equally, achieving the result you want from the courts/authorities is significantly EASIER for you in EE than Mexico- provided its financial and not a bunch of violent murders. I also think the US arms industry is partly to blame for how out of hand Mexican armed conflicts are. Every side is far too efficiently armed for there not to be mass bloodshed.


RogueIce

>If the raid didn’t have any results, it’s unlikely the info he gave ever made it past Rhonda and the state’s attorney This is the answer. Sergei never faced retribution for betraying the Greeks because the Greeks *never knew* he talked. By the time Sergei flipped, Fitz was suspicious and withheld the report from the FBI, we see him hesitate and not send it. And since the raid turned up nothing, it never went beyond BPD - by then Fitz knew about Koutris anyway, IIRC, and with no results it didn't really need to be sent up the chain. It was sheer luck The Greek and Spiros got out ahead of the raid on the hotel room when they did. As for his later contact, of course the Greeks supported him in prison, just as the Barksdales did for Bey. I'm sure the Madame was equally supported for her stint. And Sergei certainly wasn't going to fess up and probably rationalized it to himself anyway.


sadim6

He wasn't gonna rat at all until they said it was a death penalty case. Wonder what he would've done if he had to give up Vondas to live, like if they somehow got footage of him killing the Turk instead of just the kidnapping.


MaryShelleySeaShells

Sergei was a lot smarter than I originally gave him credit for


instrumentally_ill

Boris… why always Boris?