The way they make out the consig in the Godfather has always interested me. First you have Genco who wouldn't even try to help his "beauty." And then you have the lawyer Tom. Do you believe this is where the way people look at the position now a days came from? Believing they don't have anything to do with actual criminal operations. Just a thought.
As you note, Genco and Tom were anomalies because they weren't involved in the muscle end of the business. Nearly all real-life Mob consiglieri came up through the ranks. One of the Gotti tapes played at his last trial has him telling Gravano: "What do you want to be, consigliere or underboss? Whatever makes you feel better."
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
Yeah I remember the tapes. Like you said all consig I've ever heard of were originally capos, so the whole image that the Godfather put out is what a consig became to 'Middle America.' Thanks for the comments.