I thought on this some more. I wonder if mob protocol of what was considered "personal" and what was considered "business" might have been at least part of why Vito refused to interfere in Connie's problems.

Maybe Vito thought it would set a bad precedent within his larger Family if he "corrected" Carlo. In the hundreds of loyal buttons that ultimately answer to the Don there must be at least a few dozen who are abusive to their wives. Would the Don have wanted to get involved in their marital affairs?

As long as you're making money for your leaders and following orders I don't think the bosses care too much about how you treat your wife-unless/until it interferes with business.

And while I think Sonny definitely would have been remorseful about the situation, I wonder if Vito wouldn't have told Connie something like "You married this guy I didn't think too highly of. You're grown. You deal with it".

Of course in the film Vito doesn't see the extent of the beatings. Sonny does.


"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungleā€”as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.