ehhh that's a little deus ex machina, don't you think?
Not really IMO. Vito is a mobster, he knows how things work; it also goes back to that "Sicilian Cunning" that is mentioned and which Tom lacks. Also, while it's not touched on in the movie in the novel when he was at war with Maranzano, he won the war due to Maranzano being sold out by one of his own guys. So it can be inferred that he knows from past experience because he pulled that same trick on Maranzano years ago.
