Then why the lie? Why tell Frankie that "Michael Corleone says hello" 10 seconds before he's dead? Why not tell him "That jew in Miami sends his regards"?
There's no sense to it. The only reason to do so is to make Frankie believe that Michael ordered the hit on him. And why do that if the main goal is Frankie's death? That's as much nonsense as Sollozzo telling Luca Brasi that "Vito says hello".
Taunting? I'm not buying it. Especially when it's revealed by Tom later that Roth engineered the whole thing.
Keep in mind that the "Michael Corleone says hello" line wasn't originally in the script. Neither Puzo or Coppola came up with it. Danny Aiello thought it up when they were filming it and asked if he could slip that line in and Coppola said he could.
