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What are Concrete Shoes?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

According to American legend, concrete shoes are used as a method of execution by the Mafia, also known as the mob. When someone is executed with concrete shoes, his or her feet are encased in concrete, and then the victim is tossed into a body of water such as an ocean or bay. The weight of the concrete pulls the victim to the bottom, thereby causing the victim to drown while also ensuring that the body cannot float to the top.

In actual fact, no documentation of the use of concrete shoes for murder can be found. Most people would be understandably likely to struggle while the concrete was setting, and most mobsters do not have the patience to deal with a victim while the concrete sets. It is more likely that the myth arose from the practice of weighting bodies with concrete, cinder blocks, and chains for disposal in bodies of water, with the weight being used to prevent surfacing of the body, rather than as a method of execution.

The notion of concrete shoes being used by the Mafia probably is connected to the use of cinder blocks and other material being used for weighting dead bodies.
The notion of concrete shoes being used by the Mafia probably is connected to the use of cinder blocks and other material being used for weighting dead bodies.

Legends about concrete shoes are rife in American culture, with some stories dating to the rambunctious days of the 1920s, when criminal groups were very active. Concrete has certainly been used in body disposal, as numerous criminal cases attest, but as a method of execution, it has not been found outside Hollywood films and crime novels.

Some people use the term “cement shoes” to refer to this execution technique, which is technically incorrect, as cement is a component in concrete, and it would be unlikely to see cement alone used in body disposal. Cement is the binding material in concrete, acting to cause the gravel and other ingredients in concrete to stick together, ensuring that a solid mass is formed. If cement alone was used, it would have a tendency to crack and stress, especially if the victim was alive and struggling when the feet were encased.

The use of concrete shoes can only be found in Hollywood films and crime novels.
The use of concrete shoes can only be found in Hollywood films and crime novels.

Alleged victims of this particular form of execution are sometimes said to be “sleeping with the fishes,” a reference to the fact that they are disposed of underwater. Slangy references to “sleeping with the fishes” may also be used to discuss murder victims in general, not just people wearing concrete shoes. Contrary to the desires of mobsters, it is possible for body parts to surface after they have been submerged, as the body begins to disarticulate as it decomposes. As a result, this particular method of disposal does carry the risk of eventual discovery.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon223220

The Holy Taco website has a photo of human leg bones encased in concrete, at rest on a river bottom (or ocean). Concrete looks like it was poured in an old #3 galvanized wash tub.

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    • The notion of concrete shoes being used by the Mafia probably is connected to the use of cinder blocks and other material being used for weighting dead bodies.
      By: tsach
      The notion of concrete shoes being used by the Mafia probably is connected to the use of cinder blocks and other material being used for weighting dead bodies.
    • The use of concrete shoes can only be found in Hollywood films and crime novels.
      By: 2707195204
      The use of concrete shoes can only be found in Hollywood films and crime novels.