I am aware of that what i am saying is that only a select few knew Fat Tony wasnt the boss. They set up the front boss position for the exact reason of misleading LE. They accomplished their goal for many years also. Hell everyone thought Tony was the boss, that why he was in the commisssion case. Was the Chin even named in the case?
If the feds targeted Salerno, that does not mean that they weren't aware of the Chin being the real boss. They will practically go after any big name to show off with to the public. Salerno, being just a front or not, was still an achievement in the public's eye. And for the feds, it's all about achievements. It's just a game of cat and mouse they like to play over and over again.
