All Tommy had to do was take it and just keep earning with Jimmy and he would eventually be made, then Batts wouldn't be able to embarrass him and give him shit about the shine box anymore. Being with Paulie made Tommy think he could get away with anything. After they killed Batts, Tommy figured Paulie knew 'but didn't know' and would work it out with the Gambinos. They worked it out alright. Of course, Henry's Scarface style drug dealing eventually took down Paulie's crew anyway.

"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea