Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
Originally Posted By: SC
The bartender knew the mob well enough to know that if he cooperated with the police in any manner he was a dead man. He was smart. He didn't object to a mob killing - he objected to a mob killing in HIS PLACE.

He would not have helped the police in any manner. His answer would have been, "I was in the back washing some glasses" or somethinhg like that.


I tend to agree. If it was today, maybe not. But in 1959, at the height of the Mob's power and "mystique," no way he'd rat. Don't forget, this is before the Witness Protecion Program was formed. Where was he gonna go?

Riche wasn't a made guy. If the cops found a stiff in his bar, he'd be squeezed. Because they knew he was a civilian, they'd offer him immunity from prosecution. That's why "Michael Corleone says hello" was tailor-made for Richie: He could "cooperate" with the police by claiming he didn't know the guys--only that one of them said, "Michael Corleone says hello." Meanwhile, the phrase would implicate Michael. By itself, it wouldn't be enough to form the basis of prosecuting Michael for murder--but it'd go a long way to besmirch his "legit" front when it hit the newspapers. The Rosatos would give Richie a pass as long as he didn't identify them by name. It's just the sort of complex scheme Roth would have thought of.

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.