When guys they knew got hit and the order came from the top, they took it because they were CN through and through (unlike Amuso and Casso who broke virtually every rule in the book).
But isn't it a little contradictory? I mean, if they were Cosa Nostra through and through by following its rules while Amuso and Casso broke every rule, shouldn't they have whacked Amuso and Casso following this code and rules? Standing aside and watching makes it seem like they either had something to gain or were afraid. Or did Tony Ducks put a lifelong veto against any decision that wasn't favorable to Amuso and Casso?
At first, they were most certainly following Ducks' orders. I've said countless times here that Ducks had to have given the okay on Buddy. I've also stated that I believe that he was "losing it" towards the end.
As far as standing aside as opposed to going to war, it would have happened eventually. But life is timing. Little Al flipped, and Vic and Gas took it on the run. Had none of that happened, it all would have eventually boiled over and the Bronx would have had no choice but to go on the offensive.
They would have most certainly had the backing of not just the Bronx/Harlem faction of the Westside, but of Chin himself and the downtown crew. Because I've long believed that Chin eventually would have killed Gas to cover his tracks in the DeCicco car bombing. And Little Jimmy, who was running the downtown crew while Matty was doing his time in Texas, hated Casso and Amuso with a vengeance.
Long story short: The Vic and Gas faction would have ended up at war with the Bronx/Harlem faction of the Luccheses and the entire Westside. They would have been fucking slaughtered. They're lucky they got arrested when they did (or unlucky, depending how you look at it, because personally I'd rather go down in the street than spend thirty years in the can).
