I saw a deleted scene where Genco was dying during Connie's wedding. Vito said that he would bring ALL his sons to visit Genco, to pay their last respects. Fredo, Sonny and Mike comes along, but not Tom. Why?

And another question. In Part II, when Vito kills the local mafiaboss in Sicily (Cicci?) one of his friends is shot. Who is this? Does he die?

And another one When does Al Neri come to the Corleones?

#1 Tom has to go to California that night to meet with Woltz.

#2 That is Don Tommassino who is shot - he ends up in a wheelchair. We see him also in the Sicily scenes of GF & GFIII.

#3 Read the novel for more detail. Short answer: He was a cop that Michael spotted & Vito approved who was in trouble within the Police Dept and the Corleone's offered him a position in the Family.

Yes, do read the novel. And the story of how Neri came to the Family is one of the best and most interesting in the novel--too bad it didn't get into the film.
One small point, goombah: Neri's father in law brought Neri to Clemenza's attention. Clemenza brought Neri to Michael. That in itself was an interesting story.

TB or anyone else who knows...is the story of what Luca Brasi did to the Capone people in the Novel or in some deleted part of the film?

Its in the novel. Its not a particularly long description but its one worth reading!

Yes, I'm actually buying the novel tomorrow. Can't wait.

Now that I'm reading your post, I remember. Thanks Turnbull. I remember Vito commented to Michael about Neri: "Now you've got your Luca Brasi."

Yes, and that line--"now you've got your Luca Brasi--was a real triumph for Puzo because it summarized, in just six words, how far Michael had come, and where he was going.
If I had to choose the scenes from the novel that didn't make it into the film, but should have, I'd put the rise of Neri right near the top.

I totally agree with Turnball. Neri's story was a very intersting one, contributing to the quality of "The Godfather".

I loved when Neri beat up his nephew Tommy (who is in the Corleone family in GFR!!! )when he disrespected his mother...

Not only the ascension of Neri, but also of Rocco are significant. I think Michael, by replacing the Don's old associates with his own people demonstrated to the Don that he would be a worthy successor. Sonny never developed those kind of relationships, and with his temperament would have probably been hard pressed to do so.

Albert Neri's nephew becomes a member of the Corleone family? From what I've heard by readers of The Godfather Returns, Mark Winegardner completely destroyed Mario Puzo's characters.