So what your saying is Paulie lied for his own best interest,which is the very definition of loyalty. But often when mixed with reality being loyal means knowing when to put others first. The very fact that lying nearly gets Paulie killed on that boat makes me wonder. O.k. your bright. Tony does pull out because like you, he understands why his being lied to. Credit where credits due. Dis-loyalty has existed since humans had holes in their arse. You say these things like loyalty is chartered and recorded....bizarre. Don't you think the 1970's, hippies, drugs and the mob play any sort of role. The godfather (Marlon Brando) sees the darkness of the future. Greed, yes certainly, had alot to do with it. But was not a deciding factor to being a rat. Way back these gansters saw a couple of years in the can for extortion and what not. But once they started to push hard drugs, and see the capitol gain from it...there greed started to make them sloppy. If they were caught they were looking at the equivalent of life for say selling h. They ratted out on each other so they didnt have to do the time.