Vito makes it clear that they are NOT murderers, despite what that undertaker says. Maybe I view it wrong but I always thought that since Vito was born fighting against the pezzonovante and his family was murdered when he was just a small child, combined with the fact that he was forced to flee and was a poor immigrant, meant he was simply doing what he had to to support his family.

That said, he could have eventually pulled the plug on the mob life but didn't. There just wasn't enough time Cardi, there just wasn't enough time.

And as far as making their livings off the backs and misfortunes of others? Isn't that what most ppl do in a capitalist system? (EDIT-one of the Brando bios I read said that the central theme of Godfather was Capitalism, which as a system allows things like La Cosa Nostra to thrive. The fact that we have a system of capitalism means we will always have things like the mob.)Those wall street bankers who alter the interest rates and control stock price fluctuations must be REAL scum in your eyes.

Besides, Vito's business was gambling. Hardly a tyrannical practice of mass genocide.