I never bought that unpaid drug debt thing with Tommy Ryan. First of all the amount is crazy. No way Carlo’s giving him 4 million or even 1 million. Not to mention, you don’t think Carlo could find suppliers if he wanted to. I think Tommy Ryan got got because he thought he was bigger than everybody else. He was a hothead. He was acting boss and thought he was the real boss, until Catena, the underboss at that time tore him a new asshole. Also, absolutely no way the Gambinos would hit the acting boss of the West Side with no repercussions, even if Tommy Ryan was an asshole. The West Side would have retaliated. Even if the Genovese okayed the hit, they certainly wouldn’t have let another family kill one of their own. That’s a big no no. Big Paul did that years later and no one could believe it. The only conclusion we can draw from the Tommy Ryan hit is that it was ordered by the Genovese, specifically the boss at the time Benny Squint, and carried out by the Genovese. I’m reminded of the Chin’s “we don’t break our captains. We kill them,†quite. They didn’t break Tommy Ryan down, they killed him.
I agree; 4 million dollars in the 1970's is a ton of money to just put up in the ''air''. I believe this was plain and simple; A pure; flat-out whacking of a Front Boss by the internal leadership of the Genovese's. No-way the Gambino's would have had Eboli whacked without fatal repercussions. Catena; Eboli; and Miranda in the 1960s and early 70's had a mistrust of eachother. I think when Vito Genovese died; Eboli was rubbing people the wrong way; and got whacked because of it. Him; and Catena were definately feuding.
Another thing; Why would Eboli; A Boss; Go to another Boss to borrow $4 million dollars? Doesn't make sense; He could borrow within his own family.
One last thing; Thomas Eboli's brother Pasquale Eboli dissappeared; Do you think the Genovese's are going to sit-back and let two high-ranking guys in their family get whacked by the Gambino's. This was plain; and simple; ''Westside'' clean up.
