An exchange with Evita in another thread brings up something that has long puzzled me:
As I’ve argued many times: Michael had to have Pentangeli and Roth killed. Both were threats to him; and, as a Don, he had to show enemies and potential enemies that no one escapes his vengeance, no matter how well they’re protected.
Using Tom to convince Pentangeli to kill himself was a brilliant move because his death could not be linked directly to Michael. But, having Rocco whack Roth in the Miami airport, surrounded by FBI agents, news reporters and cameramen, strikes me as being insanely risky for Michael. Rocco had been identified as a Corleone Family caporegime in a chart displayed at the recent Senate hearing. Rocco, killed after the shooting, would be immediately linked to Michael. And, even in the extraordinarily unlikely event that Rocco might have (temporarily) escaped, he would have been identified from still pictures and newsreels taken of Roth’s arrest, as well as from eyewitness descriptions. Everything would lead directly to Michael. I’d think that’d be the last thing Michael would want after his own narrow escape from having his “legitimate†front destroyed at the Senate hearing.
What do you think?
I think this shows how much of a threat Michael thought Roth was. The airport was really the only chance Michael had to get to Roth, so he was left with no choice but to take it. And he wouldn't have trusted a mere buttonman with such an important task. It had to be one of his top men. I agree that he did sacrifice Rocco, again proving that Michael felt he needed to eliminate Roth at any cost.
TB, you're right that Rocco - dead or alive - would have quickly been linked to Michael.
Rocco getting killed was the best thing for Michael, under the circumstances. In fact, I think Michael was counting on it. I don't think he would have expected Rocco, with only one good leg, to be able to outrun the feds and their bullets.
The feds would put immense pressure on a captured Rocco to implicate Michael in any number of crimes. And how loyal would Rocco have been after Michael sent him on a suicide mission? Michael barely survived the Senate hearings; he probably wouldn't have escaped a second time.
A dead Rocco would tell no tales, so there would be no legal repercussions for Michael. No more Senate hearings. No damage to his legitimate front.
