Thoughtful post, Lana.
“If Michael had been killed in the Tahoe shooting, Pentangeli would have been blamedâ€
Pentangeli could not have known Michael's exact response for certain that Michael would side with the Rosato brothers / Roth
How can Pentangeli be blamed?
Pentangeli would have had no time to arrange the Tahoe shooting unless Pentangeli anticipated Michael's response and came prepared which seems highly unlikely especially as Pentangeli “I don't have your brain -- uh -- for big dealsâ€
Pentangeli had come to Anthony's party contentious over Michael's support of the Rosato brothers--and Michael's support of Roth over him. He had a loud argument with Michael in the boathouse, witnessed by Tom and Neri. Roth wasn't there because of "ill health," but he sent Johnny Ola with the promise of a big deal in Havana. Pentangeli would have made the perfect patsy for the Tahoe shooting. You saw how scared Pentangeli was when Michael showed up at his home in NY, and how absolutely relieved he was when Michael said he wanted him to "help me take my revenge."
I think Tom would probably have taken the vice-presidency of the house and hotels offer and moved his wife, his family, his mistress, them all to Las Vegas even before Michael's funeral!
That's an interesting proposition. But, I think Tom would have stayed if Fredo weren't whacked or banished immediately.
While moving to the "House and Hotels" might have made far more business sense for Tom, I also think family loyalty was more important to him. The Corleones were his family ever since he was a small kid. He was loyal to Michael even though he wasn't Michael's choice for brother or consigliere, and Michael was curt and abusive toward him (look how he practically broke down in tears of gratitude when Michael said, after the Tahoe shooting, "You're my brother, Tom"). He probably would have thought that his brother, Fredo, needed him more than ever--certainly more than Michael did.
If Rocco and Neri had the stomach to fight for Pentangeli's Corleone operations in New York and came to some sort of joint partnership or similar, I think they would have been able to pull it off as they were always in the muscle-end
If Tom, Neri and Rocco can figure a way to work together, keeping Fredo as a figurehead? “difficult not impossible†to try to keep the Corleone casino holdings going
Logical enough in a conventional business. But, Mafia is an absolute monarchy--there's only one CEO. I think Rocco and Neri saw themselves as competitors. They probably had no respect for Fredo because he was weak and stupid; and no respect for Tom, who was never in the muscle end, and who was more often than not at arms-length from Michael. "Difficult, not impossible" for them to cooperate. But, I think bloodshed was more likely.
And nobody, figures out it was Roth all along
If Michael had died in Havana, the finger would have pointed at Roth. But Roth, clever fellow, had foreseen that. That's why he chose his birthday party to anoint Michael as his successor--an alibi: "What, me have Michael killed?? Why, I loved the kid like my own son. Just ask any of those thugs who were at my birthday party!" At the same party, he promised big chunks of his Havana empire to other families. So, the Corleones have to think twice about all the other powerful families who'd been promised parts of Roth's holdings--and who'd see a move by the Corleones to whack Roth as an attempt to grab what was promised to them.
