During the time that Mike is in Cuba in his dealings with Roth, was Tom the official de-facto Boss at the time? Remember, Mike left before telling his executive staff what the deal was (since he didnt know who to trust).

So, how was Neri & Rocco really to know he (Tom) was in charge?
There's an old script I found that explains when Neri was skimming a casino, Tom tells him to "take more off the top." Neri replies "it'll show." Then Tom says "its for Mike."

Then, Neri begins to question whether Tom is "going into business for himself."

Very interesting...thoughts?

Michael played Tom like a violin in the scene just before he left for Florida. "You're my brother and I love you"--Tom practically wept in gratitude. The only credible statement Michael made in that scene is that Tom was the only one he could completely trust at that point. BUT...

I don't think Michael gave Tom much leeway in making any major decisions while he was gone. Michael expected to be away for a relatively brief period of time (I'm guessing two weeks or less), and he expected Tom to "hold the fort," nothing more. Anything longer would have put Tom in the way of possibly having to make major decisions that Michael--the arch controller--would never have delegated to Tom. Even the decision to trap Geary by killing the hooker, I'm certain, had been made beforehand (Geary was a regular at the brothel--"we done it be-fow-wer," and I'm sure Michael gave orders to trap him after the "oily hair/silk suit" speech). What's more, Neri and Rocco would not take orders from Tom indefinitely, especially Neri, whom we saw later as trying to push past Tom to become #2.

The "skimming" script treatment belongs to the other thread you posted today. I'll answer there.

I think, he did tell every-one that Tom was in charge. Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean, it didn't happen. At least Rocco and Neri must have been instructed.

Tom was the boss in Mike's absence for a short period of time and under specific circumstances that were not expected to reoccur. Tom was a caretaker and was not expected to nor entitled to make strategic decisions.