mal, you're absolutely right! with gotti it was kill, or be killed, it was him or paul castellano. [/quote

My feeling is this; if there is a power struggle within my own "family" I do not see why I would have to go to the commission in order to get permission to take out my leader. Secondly I would be crazy to tip them off that me, a soldier was looking to take out my boss. From what I have always read and understood about the formation of the commission, Luciano put it together, sought of like a board of directors, so that there would not be ONE boss over ALL of the families, but instead the families would work together dividing up territories and resolving differences that may arise between different families. However it has always been my understanding that when this commission was agreed upon by the heads of these families, the Boss of A family retained the right to govern his own family and resolve disputes that would arise "within" his own family. Therfore I strongly feel that if I was a member of a family, a Button man per say, and I started a revolt within the familiy itself and decided to take out my boss, I should NOT have to go to any commission to do so. If my family had a problem with another boss, and we wanted to take him out, THEN we must go to the commission to get approval. Sort of like the Bonnano / Gambino situation. These are my feelings and not anything that has been written in stone, but this is how I would interpret the "commission rules." Heck, maybe because of my interpretation they would have taken me out! DonCardi

That's an interesting speculation. My opinion, no way Tommy would have been touched. He wouldn't be with Paul in his car when going to Sparks 'cause he wasn't Paul's driver. Still, IF Tommy had been with Paul and Bilotti and the hit would have to go down, would they spare Gambino or not? What do you guys think?

no way tommy gets killed

I agree!! Out of respect for his father, and the fact that he was known as a true gentleman with respect from all the families, Gotti would never or he would be DONE before he started

Why were Carlo & Tommy Gambino so beloved? Granted, I find myself feeling a curious affection for them from a great distance, but why should they be anymore beloved than other mob bosses? It is not as though Carlo created the American mafia or even his own family. He was preceded by Anastasia, Mangano, and others. And certainly Bonanno had no love for Carlo. But by and large, this crafty & ruthless Carlo, and his son Thomas, appear to have been beloved by the troops. Why?

Tommy bilotti had 12 to 13 hits under his belt so he was a Killer a guy to be feared got that hit info from the book big boss paul castellano the rise and fall good book