The obvious point is he did what he did because he HAD too. It was FEAR that motivated him. Not courage.
True 'balls' and true LCN would've been taking the rap. Broken down, hit, whatever. He'd broken many rules and instead of taking the rap, lashed out. He was a cornered dog who reacted. He wasn't true LCN (drugs, sleeping with other men's wife, backstabbing gravano) He was a self serving ego maniac.
Let me know who hasn't broken LCN rules.
You have choices when you are threatened. Anybody would have feared Castellano. A coward would have flipped. A coward would have let his brother and friends get whacked. He did what a true gangster does when threatened. If he was self-serving, he would have flipped and done the TV and book circuit like Gravano and Leonetti.
What would you have done if you were in Gotti's shoes?
