If Ranieri was Fernadez' right-hand man and friend then I'm not so sure how close and loyal he would still be to the Rizzuto group since Fernandez became persona non grata to Vito for refusing to join his side. I wouldn't be suprised if the Ranieri murder would be connected to Fernandez. Based on the facts at hand I don't see the Rizzuto group having much to do with the Angelo Musitano murder. If they had a beef with the Musitanos they probably would've gone for Pat Musitano instead. Rival mafiosi usually want to cut of the head of the snake right away to end things right there. The owed money/gambling situation seems a more logical theory. Not to mention the statement that New York mobsters connected to the killers washed their hands of them, meaning that it was unsanctioned.

If you look at Montreal, you could see that there were a lot of political manoeuvres before a high-level killing. First Sal Montagna's lobbying before the Rizzuto guys were killed, then the meeting in Toronto followed by Joe Di Maulo's murder and a subsequent killing spree of Rizzuto enemies.