I beg to differ with you. I don't believe that by Fredo talking to Ola and Roth, that there was an intent of betrayal on his part. You need to keep in mind that The Corleones sent Fredo to Las Vegas. And while Fredo was in Las Vegas, he worked under Moe Green. And by working under Moe Green for all that time, Fredo had to have been exposed to Johnny Ola and Hyman Roth. Keep in mind that Roth was a business associate of Vito in the early years, so Fredo must have known him or of him from back then. Then with his being in Vegas with Moe Green, I am sure that Fredo was reaquainted with Roth and now also came to know Ola.

What I am trying to say is that it was not as though Ola and Roth were strangers to Fredo. It was not as though they were known enemies of the Corleones, at least not on the outside. So Fredo probably became comfortable with Ola, through Moe Green.

Therefore when Ola approchead Fredo about a deal that they were trying to make with Michael, and told him that things were not going as planned, Fredo trusted Ola because he was comfortable with him. He was convinced by Ola that if he did this favor for Ola, it would make the negotiations go smoother and that there would be something in it for Fredo.

I don't believe that Fredo approached Ola, or visa versa, on the blind, out of left field. Fredo was with Moe Green for a pretty long time, and through Moe he had to have been introduced to Ola at some point, and therefore he felt comfortable with Ola and probably trusted him.

Fredo never intended to hurt Michael or betray Michael. He was stupid enough to believe that he would be helping Michael and at the same time would be doing something on his own. Something that Michael would look at and be proud of him for doing. At least that is what Ola probably led him to believe.

And it is probably also safe to say that while Fredo was with Moe Green, he complained every now and then about his not being trusted or directly involved with the family buisness.

"I'm the older brother and my kid brother is running things now?"

I am sure that Green relayed these types of things to Ola and they knew that they could play on Fredo's unhappiness, and make Fredo believe that they were coming to HIM, not Mike, to do something to help himself and The Family.

Don Cardi