The question I pose to you TB is.... Would it really have made a difference if he stayed? IMO, the guys on Long Island weren't gonna give the Family up no matter what.
I really don't know, DP. The standard story is that a lot of his people resented his making Bill his consigliere. But. that doesn't strike me as reason enough for such wholesale desertions. Perhaps they thought Joe was dead, and they believed Bill was no wartime leader. I always go with "follow the money," but I don't know enough about how generous--or not--Joe was with his troops (Castellano was a known cheapskate with his troops, which was one major reason for his downfall).
