That whole situation was fucked lol. Guys who show a lot of initiative can move up fast. Todaro Sr's a good example. He moved up every few years and all the guys saw promise in him. But sometimes it's all about who you know...Gerry was Phil's apprentice so it's to be expected.

I would be careful about saying he went from associate to soldier to capo to boss material. He pretty much made it to captain. I remember it was a magazine article saying he could be boss. Not the members. It was enough to spook Doc Santoro and proved how sociopathic he was. Kinda parallels Scarfo killing Testa over a magazine piece.