Nothing more depressing than a response like "No, no, no, we can't remove this old code. It doesn't matter that there's 0 references as of 3 years ago"

Remove the code. You cant ? Remove the dev !

Yea, I'm told that too, recently as a matter of fact.

I deleted the code anyway, no one noticed.

Wasn't a file, but entire solutions/projects. We're migrating to a new TFS structure and I'm deciding what goes and what stays. Yea, might piss off one or two folks (if they find out). They'll get over it.

Embrace the "I'll beg for forgiveness before I ask for permission." mindset. :)

Works great so long as you don't have code reviews by the person who 'owns' the code. I use owns loosely, they are just the most experienced with that area of the code