This makes sense to me, the old Calabrian faction saw an opportunity and tried to seize upon it. Unfortunately, since Vito is a free man now it seems like they are on the receiving end of a serious beat down.

I can also see some validation in the theory that the hits on the rizzuto faction were at least partially personally motivated. Just going on the fact that most everyone hit during Vito's time in the can were family either through blood or marriage. Of course, said people were also highly placed in the family hierarchy, so who knows? Vic and Paolo make good martyrs, a smoke screen through which an ambitious capo could justify the seizure of power. Rizzuto was never meant to be boss.

I do have one last question about the Rizzuto's, though. Back in the 60's when Vito was still making his bones, it seemed as though the family was firmly under control of Massino and indeed just a Bonano borgata up in Montreal facilitating family interest there. However, since the Gerlando Sciascia hit it's always seemed to me like the Canadian borgata began to move increasingly away from its role as "just" another Bonano crew. In the book "the Sixth Family" the authors theorize that the Sciascia hit was orchestrated by Massino out of fear that his Canadian crew capo was beginning to forget to whom he supposedly owed allegiance. Massino isn't an idiot, he obviously knows the real power in Montreal lays with Vito rather than the borgata's legitimate Captain.

I'm getting to my question eventually, hehe bare with me.

So, has separation from the Bonano family always been in the books? Vito has always been the "boss" of Montreal in all but name, he even refused to accept a promotion to Capo from Massino. To me this says that Vito is not at all interested in legitimizing his claim in the eyes of NYC's boss. It almost seems to me like Montreal has always seen itself as a separate entity, paying only lip service to the Bonano Boss.

Where does the Rizzuto family stand now? Still has a crew in the Bonano family, or are they well and truly independent? relying more on their Sicilian alliances rather than their American overlords? Is Vito Rizzuto a boss in his own right? Does he even need American families given his lucrative drug trafficking?