He had as much power as any front boss. It's like with Vince and Fat Tony. Tony may have been Chin's front boss, but it still gave him the same power that any underboss would have. Same applies to Funzi under Squint.

That's why it's silly for people to get upset when you refer to guys like Funzi and Fat Tony as front bosses. Like being the second most powerful person in the strongest and wealthiest family is something to sneeze at.

These guys literally ran that family like corporate executives. Tony would go to Rhinebeck for a month at a time and leave things to Sammy Black. If there was ever a problem, Sammy could see Vince one-on-one.

And vice versa. You read about Vince never leaving Manhattan in his life, and it's pure bullshit. An urban legend. He spent a month on his Rockland property every Summer and left things to Tony. You didn't bother him. And during those hiatuses, Tony WAS the Boss. It's not like he or Funzi were just puppets.