Not trying to defend Casso,'cause he is a Machiavellian,sociopathic scumbag,but from a Cosa Nostra point of view,I always felt he was at least partly justified in his actions regarding the Jersey Crew.
Casso was the boss(well,underboss,but it was a power behind the throne situation),the rules were always that whatever the boss says,that's the way it is.The Jersey Crew were making millions,maybe tens of millions,and what they were kicking up(50 thousand a year) was,to put it simply,an insult.They should have expected it.
Also,him trying to "whack Jersey" was always a bit overstated.I may be wrong,but I always believed that he mainly tried to kill the Accetturos and a couple of other people,not the entire Jersey crew,which had 40 made guys and probably hundreds of associates
The same could be said about Scarfo. Once he became the boss, he technically had the right to demand tribute and obedience from guys like Riccobene and others who balked at following the new leadership. Especially since Scarfo was backed as boss by New York.
Of course one could argue that, practically speaking, guys like Scarfo and Casso went about it too heavy-handed. They were too quick to kill and didn't really care how many bodies piled up. That doesn't exactly help with loyalty in the ranks.
