The question of when Michael decided to whack Fredo has been discussed here many times, but I don't think anyone doubts that the decision was cast in concrete by the time of Mama's wake. Attest Michael's look when he's "hugging" Fredo, and his whisper to Neri earlier, after the boathouse outburst--"I don't want anything to happen to him while my mother's alive."


Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu,
E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu...
E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu
Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.