At that time the Bergin crew(besides the future DeMeo crew) was the main enforcement arm of the family, so no surprise Gotti, Ruggiero, along with Ralph Galione got the contract.
But neither of them did a hit before. Yes the bergin crew was a tough crew long before gotti took over but my point was that carlo never asked for gotti to do it. he gave it to neil to handle and neil obviously wanted his protege to impress the boss
Actually Gotti was reporting directly to Carlo in 1972, because Neil was in prison and Fatico was in failing health. Even though Gotti was only an associate reporting to the Boss, Carlo looked fondly upon Gotti because of the blessing provided by Neil. If Neil can have his protege impress the Boss then thats just icing on the cake and all three would be happy.
http://www.amazon.com/Gotti-Rise-Fall-Jerry-Capeci/dp/0451406818During this time period, there were many other future LCN members (Massino) who were given their first contracts. In 1957, The Chin ordered by Vito Genovese botched the hit on Frank Costello.
