Right on point. Gotti had already been a captain for some years when he made his move against Castellano. And although he wasn't made until '77, he was a de facto made guy at least five years prior to that. Point being, he had more than twenty years on the street when he hit Paul.

And furthermore, contrary to the opinion of many, Paul WAS hated by a lot of guys in that family. Gotti had the ear of half of them. So sanctioned or not, Gotti had A LOT of shooters behind him.

And I wasn't even crazy about Gotti. The guy did a lot of stupid things as a boss. But as usual, this is turning into a geographical pissing match (NY, NJ, Philly, etc.). Because at the end of the day, Gotti died in prison. And I have a hunch that Merlino may do likewise. But only time will tell on that one.

Bottom line: At the time, Joey Merlino was a 20 something year old kid who only got his button because of his father (and don't get me wrong, he DID prove himself later, but that's neither here nor there). But if he hit the son of an imprisoned NY boss during that time frame (October 1989), he wouldn't have seen 1990. And that's all I'm trying to say here.

I think Belmont's "big fish-little pond" analogy is appropriate because Merlino proved himself to be a capable leader in a small family. And he's a stand-up guy who did his time like a man. When that nitwit troublemaker started a thread here calling him a rat, I was the first one to nip it in the bud. He wouldn't let things go, and he's no longer a member here.

Beyond all that, who knows? I hope the guy retires and enjoys Florida. Everyone knows how much I love it there myself .