The guy certainly isn't a master criminal mind by any means. His career has mostly centered around shaking other people down rather than being a big earner himself. But judging from what I've seen from the opinions of local Philly people on other forums, there is a certain amount of respect for the moxy (or whatever you want to call it) Merlino had. There weren't really any coattails to ride on in terms of his father. He has always had the loyalty of guys around him and pretty much made his own way; surviving the odds in terms of avoiding both getting killed and serving a life sentence. So far anyway.