I think the Chin feared Gotti. Why didn't he attack Gotti head on? Why did they use a bomb to blame the Sicilians? The Chin partnered with the Lucheses only... why?
Cause Gotti controlled Vic Orena and skillfully fueled the Colombo war. And Gotti had the Bonannos, too, via his pal, the Fat Rat.
Gotti controlled three families and was probably stronger and definitely willing to fight. In fact, he probably wanted a war, knowing how much of a gambler tough guy he was.
I think Chin feared others copying what Gotti did as it was a threat to all established bosses like himself. But him not going at Gotti "head on" was just the smarter move. Mob families don't declare war like countries do. And Gotti obviously wasn't itching for a war either, considering he didn't retaliate after he had verification about Genovese plots against him.
Originally Posted By: dominic_calabrese
Gigante obviously could not have been too much of a "stickler for the rules," considering that he tried to knock-off (and ultimately forced into retirement) Costello three decades earlier. Which is to say, the "precedent" was set by Gigante and Genovese, except that this was preceded by Anastasia bumping-off the Mangano brothers, which was preceded by Luciano eliminating Masseria and Maranzano, and so on ad infinitum
It seems many bosses (and mafiosi in general) are in favor of the rules as long as it benefits them. Once that changes, the rules go out the window pretty fast.
Mods should mind their own business and leave poster's profile signatures alone.
