That Michael and Tom never saw Fredo as a potential threat is their fault.
Yes.
Here's an example of what I am talking about. Whoever hatched the plan to set up Geary, it was done in a place Fredo ran.
He was clearly in on the plot, and there is no reason Michael and Tom could not have lavished him with praise, given him credit, and telling him he was the family's "secret weapon."
Yes, I understand this happened after the betrayal, but thing like that being done all along could have kept him in line.
Maybe not. When the manager (the guy who looks like Gene Vincent) greets Tom and Fredo, he says, "Freddie, good to see ya," which suggests that Fredo wasn't there very much. I bet Fredo once told Michael: "Hey, Mikey, ya know who's a regular in my jernt? Yer buddy Senator Geary. Yeah, he's into some kinky s**t with one a my girls--a regular." Michael would have tucked that bit of info away like a 100-carat diamond. I bet neither he nor Tom ever told Fredo in advance that Geary was to be set up, and the hooker murdered. That was probably another reason why Fredo resented Michael.
