This question has been brought up many times, and every time, a new theory is started. One that has never come up is a fairly obvious one:

When Roth asks Michael what is to happen to Frankie, Mike says "Frankie Pantangeli is a dead man." Could it be that Roth gave the order to the Rosatos claiming that the order came from Mike? Perhaps Carmine and Anthony Rosato actually thought that they were executing Michael's orders. After all, while they are backed by Roth, Mike is capo di tutti capo , and they would surely follow his wishes.

I know Turnbull will disagree, saying that Mike sending Frankie to patch things up is a sign that he doesn't suspect Frankie, but I disagree. It is entirely possible that because there was never a sitdown between both sides with Mike directly giving his verdict, the Rosatos and Roth may not have any idea that Mike told Frankie to make everything right. For all they knew, Frankie was just here to make a deal.

This is all evident in Roth's face when Mike told him he never gave the order. Roth seems surprised, as if he didn't expect Mike to find out about his plan. For all Roth knew, Michael had been angry enough with Frankie to give an order and wouldn't be mad when he was found dead.

What do you think?