If Vitale said that and it was supported by the views of Canadian authority on the matter, his claims would hold merit with me.
But its not just Vitale, if Vitale said that the Rizzutos continued to kick up until 2006, the reason its hard for me to believe that is because all the authorities on the matter don't share that opinion.
It isn't just Vitales word, its also that of the OC reporters from Canada, RCMP reports, and Vitales own testimony, which would contradict the "they kicked up until Massino flipped" claim, as well as them kicking up until 2006.
Do you get what I'm saying? There's nothing, nothing from the RCMP, from Humphreys, Lamothe or Nicaso, that supports the claim of the Rizzutos kicking up after Sciascias death, or until Massino flipped, or until 2006. Nothing I've come across anyway, which is why to me, that claim would be highly questionable.
But I don't even see Vitale saying that, as one of the sources I named, have him quoted stating that the last kick up he was aware of was between 1998 and 1999.
The thing is, the opinion of these authors concerning this is based solely on Vitale's testimony, and Vitale basically said that he didn't know whether the Rizzutos were still kicking up after Sciascia's death. He might have been right, but it's also been said that at some point Vitale was kept in the dark by Massino because he was not held in high regard by him and the other capos and that his role as underboss was mostly ceremonial. Ultimately, the highest authority on this matter is Massino himself.
