While Stanfa was obviously backed by the Gambinos, the Merlino faction supposedly had the tacit support of the Genovese. Sort of a "cold war" scenario, as one poster on another forum put it. Natale also had connections to NY. Fast-forward, it's well known that members of both NY families plotted with Philadelphia guys to have Ligambi, Mazzone, and Borgesi killed in order to expand their video poker operations. Yet, later on, the NY families are supposedly on good terms with Ligambi. I remember reading one article that said they were pushing for Ligambi to replace Mazzone and Borgesi with Staino and Lucibello but it was ultimately his call. The days where Chin simply told Philadelphia how it was going to be (this guy dies, this guy is going to retire, this guy is the new boss) are gone. But if the current makeup in Philadelphia, or more likely South Jersey, has some affect on NY guys making money, I think they care to some extent.