He didn't just up and ask him to kill Merlino. For one, he wasn't in a detox, he reportedly quit cold turkey in '91 while serving a sentence for robbery, assault and possession. And Veasey had a rep of scumbag, but a brutal scumbag who was capable. And Stanfa didn't choose Veasey, he was actually recruited by Stanfa underboss Frank Martines, he was a part of Martines' killing crew, whom held the responsibility of killing Merlino. The group consisted of Phil Colletti, Sal Brunetti, Herb Keller, and Sergio Battaglia, as well as Veasey.