Question about the plot. (plothole??)

It's been a while since I saw this movie, so I'd have to rewatch to be sure, but it sounds like Cosmo may have outsmarted himself.

If he was counting on the DNA to put the police onto Martin Brice, it would have taken much longer than a day or two to get DNA results back, especially in 1992.

You know what inspiration is? The momentary cessation of stupidity.
- SGM Jonas Blane

I'm watching it right now, and he never says that the police would find DNA on the gun...he only says fingerprints. And, considering that San Francisco is a pretty big city, even if they did get fingerprints off the gun, it might take a few days at minimum to process the evidence and get a match.

Police work isn't like it is in the movies and on TV...it takes time to process evidence, and put together the necessary information to go after someone. So even if Cosmo did put Martin's "Martin Bishop" alias into the police system (which we don't know for CERTAIN he actually did), there's probably more than one Martin Bishop in San Francisco, so it's not like they would immediately know it was THAT Martin Bishop.

Obviously I don't know for sure, but I'd be willing to bet he'd have at least a week before the heat would be coming down on him. Plenty of time for them to finish the job and make the deal with Abbott, which would clear Martin of any wrongdoing, including the fingerprints on the gun.

I've seen the movie multiple times & also had the same question as to why Bishop had so much time after Cosmo entered an Alias into the FBI database. First off he didn't have to plant evidence. The gun was handled by Bishop & had his fingerprints all over it. One of Cosmo's men took the gun from Bishop & used it to shoot the Russian guy & the limo driver, then placed the weapon on the ground at the scene of the crime. Cosmo explained that when the FBI ran the gun for fingerprints they'd see that they belong to "Martin Brice", but nobody knows where Martin Brice is anymore. So Cosmo enters in an alias name of "Martin Bishop" & updates the FBI database. Cosmo wrongfully assumes that it will take the police just a day to process the gun for fingerprints, when it reality it takes even in today's time about a week. It is more likely that Cosmo was trying to scare Bishop into hiding again so he wouldn't come after Cosmo & retake the black box.

In 1992, it would have taken at least a few days before the prints were identified. Secondly, it would take some sometime to track them down. Remember, their headquarters wasn't in San Francisco, but in Oakland on the other side of the bay. This was the reason why Liz's house was used as a safe location; since their address was across the bay, once the prints were identified, they likely be focusing the search, at least initially, there.

Also, they weren't only in S.F. but also staking out the Playtronics building, which was across the Dumbarton Bridge, coming from the S.F. side, putting in the Fremont/Newark/Union City area, a good 40-50 miles from the core S.F and Oakland areas.

So all in all I don't fend the scenario as presented to be all that far fetched in regards in their ability to roam around, in a plain gray GM "lunch van" no less, without being caught, which is only exasperated by the fact that finger print look up and verification, given the technology of the day, was not an instantaneous affair.

I agree with the op. As viewers we just have to assume the time estimates given by Cosmo for the police processing to complete are accurate. And even if they're off by a day or so Martin would still have mentioned that there is a time concern once he got back from being abducted. But that never really happens.

But really, in the grand scope of things does this really matter ? Everything ends up playing out in the end legally so why is it really that important?