I believe you have mentioned this on another thread sometime back. I grew up in Illinois and was very aware of the murder of Valerie Percy and the fact that it was never solved. I have never heard that it might have been a mob hit. What I heard was that the probable killer died years later in prison and was a career criminal and drifter. I would like some source on your assertion. The mob has not been known for killing people's children.
We've talked about the Percy case before. I was friendly with a few Dem party employees/appointees in Chicago back then, and that was the rumor going around those circles. Often, unsolved cases get attributed to a "probable killer" like the one you mention, and fades into oblivion. Recently, the long-sought Green River serial killer was arrested after a 20-year search. Over the years, virtually all of the media, web sites like All Points Bulletin, various writers, came to some conclusion or another about "the police had the killer but let him go." A police psychologist in Seattle wrote a book about Green River killer and stopped just short of identifying a police investigator as the killer....disproved the minute the real killer was found. So these things go on and on.
The point I want to make about the Smarts is that they may well be big-money people in the construction business, which is a business notorious for attracting mobbies....maybe mafia, maybe other extortionists of one sort or another, and Ed Smart's business dealings and associates would be the first place I'd look for clues. This would NOT be true in a case where mega-bucks were not on the table.
I have not seen a good report on Smart's finances and dealings. The large house and name on his own real estate business suggests he might have neough smarts to be a developer of some substance. the National Enquirer report of Ed's plan to move his family to a "ski cabin," is wide open to interpretation. My guess, if the report is true, is that "cabin" is substantial mountain house in location where new ski area being developed by Smart and probably partners...High risk, high reward endeavor. Perhaps he's borrowed money from shady sources, who knows? Construction loans can be a nightmare of red tape, time limits, etc and often need to be paid back in full before the project is finished. So many possibilities, and the police have to check all of them.
It could be that Ricci took Elizabeth, raped and killed her all by himself, but early in this case, the police and family were saying that there's more than one person involved. I've always had the impression that they know who took her. We shall see.