One other duck is that Sonny could assume effective control of the Corleone family and provide the drug operation with the political and legal cover that Sollozzo wanted.
That point is well taken, Oli. Tom surmised that, if Vito died, the family would lose half of its political protection. Therefore, it followed that the defecting half would be up for grabs--by Sol and the other Dons. Then Sol could bargain with Sonny for the half that remained loyal to the Corleones at reduced rates. All of that was a
big assumption.
But, Sol (and Tom, for that matter) miscalculated in assuming that Sonny would cooperate. He couldn't--precisely because his gaffe betrayed his greed and put Vito in harm's way. If Vito died and Sonny made the deal, Tess and Clem (and probably plenty of people under them) might assume that he actually welcomed (or at least wasn't too put out by) Vito's death so he could get into the drugs racket. How could Sonny credibly run the family with such a cloud hanging over him?
