Yes I think he was a smart man. Can you distinguish being a smart man from being a smart gangster? That is another question for another day.

What was his mistakes? Obviously the biggest one was underestimating what Gotti was capable of. It cost him his life. We’ve all heard how he wasn’t respected by true street guys but did that make him stupid?

I think it has to say something about him that Carlo Gambino looked on him so favorably. Sure you can bring up nepotism but I don’t think Carlo Gambino would risk the future of his Cosa Nostra Family and those responsibilities on an unqualified man strictly because he was family.

Besides those that were in on the plot to kill him, which was obviously a small percentage of that Family, I wonder how many were dissatisfied with his leadership and how many were content with him as boss. That would say a lot about how smart or good he was as a gangster.