Originally posted by Remember Vito Andolini:
Was Vitelli connected to the Mob? Why did Mike's bodyguards feel threatened by this man?
According to the novel, after Michael, Calo, and Fabrizzio are seated in Vitelli's cafe, they ask him if he knows the girl that fits Appolonia's description.
Vitelli goes back inside and does not reappear, even after the three call for more wine.
Fabrizzzio goes inside, then comes back out, stating "Just as I thought, it's his daughter we were talking about and now he's in the back boiling up his blood to do us a mischief. The old bastard mentioned he has two sons, big tough lads that he has only to whistle up. Let's get going."
It was Vitelli's sons, I think, who were the source of their feeling threatened.
Originally posted by Peter_Clemenza:
Mario Puzo explains in The Godfather, the novel, that Vitelli was a "friend of the friends" - a respectful term used by civilians, meaning associate of the mafia.
Puzo writes nothing that indicates that Vitelli is a "friend of the friends" himself.
Rather, Puzo writes that Vitelli intends to make some inquiries about Michael, as he "was not without his own
contacts (italics mine) among the 'friends of the friends'."
