I think more than anything New York is just annoyed by him and just can't stand what he's doing. They think hes a joke and don't want to associate with him just like if there was a kid that annoyed you in class you wouldn't associate with them either.
Merlino somehow always managed to overcome this.
He was not recognized by The Lucchese family and Lucchese members were told not to associate with him, yet he has been around the Pernas, Big John Castelluci, John Pennisi...
