People get really off the wall when it comes to Big Paul. First of all, before he got into white collar crimes, he organized and oversaw the typical Mob activities, including gambling, loan-sharking, highjackings and extortion. Those are the blue collar stuff in which a guy overseeing it, has gotten his hands dirty time and time again. I think it's pretty far-fetched to have this belief that Paul Castellano never pulled a trigger in his day, especially in the life he lived. He didn't become the white-collar, business-man type of mobster until later on in his life after he had risen through the ranks considerably, much like Frank Costello. People always denigrate Castellano, as if he was this terrible boss and didn't know how to run his family because he'd rather sit in an office than be in the streets, as a boss. But at the same time in many instances, praise Costello for being the same way, Costello too was a tough guy according to many sources, but he saw the bigger picture, like Castellano and like Luciano before the both of them. You get farther in life with a suitcase and perhaps a gun, than you would with just the gun. The thing is when you have guys coming up under you, and they can't do some of the things you're capable of business wise, they're going to be intimidated and are always going to feel like you're taking extra pieces of the pie. And each Luciano, Costello & Castellano just lost sight of what they truly were, gangsters. They began to believe the hype that they were aristocrats and in some ways, better than the other criminals under them. That was their only fault.

But again, Castellano organized and oversaw the typical, blue-collar mob rackets that people referred to as being "the dirty work", he also knew killers, he had to by keeping Gilotti close to him and recruiting Roy DeMeo, and being able to sit down with the likes of Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone. If he knew killers, I don't doubt he was one back in his day before he became consigliere and boss.

But I don't think there are many bosses who never personally committed a murder. And committing a murder was never really in the qualifications list of being a made guy, I mean it was, but you could also get a pass and your button if you were simply involved in a hit, and contributed in some way other than pulling the trigger. Just look at Al D'Arco.