I was under the impression that whatever NYC backing there was, was due to Montagna. Not sure how much they'd care about Desjardins.
Ray def was respected by them way back in 1973, he accompanied Di Maulo and Paolo Violi to New York for the election of Philip Rastelli as the acting boss of the Bonanno family.
1973 is a long long time ago haha If there's any environment where minds and hearts can change in the blink of an eye, it's the criminal environment
Ofcourse Desjardins was first close to Paolo Violi, later became VERY close to Vito Rizzuto and then became the architect of the rebellious faction that challenged the leadership.