Re-reading the novel:

Antwort auf:
Don Corleone did this by putting a pistol to the forehead of the band leader and assuring him with the utmost seriousness that either his signature or his brains would rest on that document in exactly one minute.


I almost had forgotten this difference between novel and film. This shows us that Vito was still a violent gangster who was ready and able to use immediate violence against his opponents.