Supreme Court Rules in Mob Case That Crimes of Violence May Be Committed Through Inaction

Salvatore Delligatti argued unsuccessfully that an act of omission doesn’t make him guilty of violent crime.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 on March 21 that crimes committed through inaction can nonetheless be violent, rejecting an alleged mobster’s argument he was innocent because he did not use physical force.

In oral arguments on Nov. 12, 2024, Salvatore “Fat Sal” Delligatti challenged a conviction that added five years to his prison sentence. Delligatti argued that a crime leading to death or bodily injury through omissions cannot be considered a crime of violence.