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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: Hx04]
#555960
09/25/09 09:35 PM
09/25/09 09:35 PM
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,696 AZ
Turnbull
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,696
AZ
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Welcome, Hx, hope to see many more thoughtful posts from you.  Michael's decision to have Fredo killed has troubled many of us here, and we've had many discussions on one aspect or another of that decision. But I think Desertwolf has nicely summarized the answer: None of us here is a Mafia Don, so none of us here would have the same criminal circumstances that surrounded Fredo's betrayal of Michael--and Michael's necessity to have Fredo killed to protect himself, his family and his criminal empire in the future.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: Hx04]
#555966
09/25/09 10:15 PM
09/25/09 10:15 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 8,224 New Jersey
AppleOnYa
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 8,224
New Jersey
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...Personally I dont think i could..I would send him away somewhere far and cut him off from all family business but who knows lol! Personally, I don't think I could either. However, if someone had asked a young, wide-eyed Michael Corleone, newly enlisted in the Marines the day after Pearl Harbor...if he would ever consider having his brother (or anybody) murdered for betraying the Family...I bet that he would give the same answer.
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.
- THOMAS JEFFERSON
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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: BAM_233]
#557674
10/16/09 06:34 AM
10/16/09 06:34 AM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325 MI
Lilo
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 5,325
MI
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To play devils's advocate, would Vito have ordered Fredo's death under the same situation?
I don't think so. Of course Fredo wouldn't have had the same resentments so the whole thing would never have happened in that way. But if it did would Vito have ordered the ultimate sanction. No way. So could Michael have found a way to remove Fredo from any power or influence and not kill him? Yes he could have.
But I think that Michael is so insecure and such a black hole of control and rage that he never really considers letting Fredo live. Well, maybe if Fredo hadn't run from him in Cuba, Michael would have found a way. But the boathouse outburst sealed Fredo's fate.
If Michael had had Vito's people skills, he would have noticed something going on with Fredo and would have tried to make sure Fredo was content with what he was doing. Of course as a Mafia Boss such things aren't really part of his job description, but as a brother and defacto patriarch, they should have been.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming
Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: Lilo]
#557677
10/16/09 07:14 AM
10/16/09 07:14 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,272
Mark
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,272
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Fom a Mafia Don's perspective, Michael makes two grave mistakes when dealing with Fredo. He breaks Don Vito's rules of "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer." and "Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking". In Cuba, it is quite clear that Fredo is the traitor and no "friend" of the family. After losing control of his emotions, Michael then kisses Fredo and tells him that he knows about the betrayal. Any other mafia family traitor, without warning, would have been dead in 24 hours or followed to find out who else helped him and revealed the balance of conspirators. Michael should never have told Fredo that he knew it was him. Fredo and his wife should have been moved back to the family compound immediately where he could be monitored. From a brother's perspective, Michael was indeed crushed and heartbroken - no doubt. Back to the original question...No, I could not have had my own brother killed. Great question, HX and wecome to the board.
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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: Lilo]
#557723
10/16/09 12:59 PM
10/16/09 12:59 PM
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,473 No. Virginia
mustachepete
Special
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Special
Underboss
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,473
No. Virginia
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To play devils's advocate, would Vito have ordered Fredo's death under the same situation?
Two words: mental institution.
"All of these men were good listeners; patient men."
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Re: How would you handle Fredo's betrayal?
[Re: Mark]
#557729
10/16/09 01:50 PM
10/16/09 01:50 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468 With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
dontomasso
Consigliere to the Stars
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Consigliere to the Stars

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468
With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
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Fom a Mafia Don's perspective, Michael makes two grave mistakes when dealing with Fredo. He breaks Don Vito's rules of "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer." and "Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking". In Cuba, it is quite clear that Fredo is the traitor and no "friend" of the family. After losing control of his emotions, Michael then kisses Fredo and tells him that he knows about the betrayal. Any other mafia family traitor, without warning, would have been dead in 24 hours or followed to find out who else helped him and revealed the balance of conspirators. Michael should never have told Fredo that he knew it was him. Fredo and his wife should have been moved back to the family compound immediately where he could be monitored. From a brother's perspective, Michael was indeed crushed and heartbroken - no doubt. Back to the original question...No, I could not have had my own brother killed. Great question, HX and wecome to the board. Welcome FX Regarding the quoted post, I think Michael did "keep Fredo closer." Yes he had the "I knew it was you....you broke my heart" scene, but shortly after he tried to get Fredo into his car to allow him safe passage from Cuba. Terrified, Fredo would not go. The first business move Michael made when he got back to Nevada from Cuba was to instruct Tom to get in touch with him, to tell him that things were ok, that Roth misled him, and basically that he could come home to Tahoe, which he did. Fredo lived there in comfort for some time. I believe Michael did not decide that Fredo had to be killed until the "I was passed over" scene. What happened there were a couple of things. First, Fredo showed how much he resented Michael and the fact that his own father wanted him to be passed over. This demonstrated that Fredo had not lost any of the rage that led to his betrayal of Michael to Roth, and it meant that given the chance, Fredo would do it again. Second, Michael learned that Fredo knew Pentangeli was alive. Not only did Fredo keep this to himself while Michael and Tom were prparing for the Senate hearings, but after the perjury trap was set he lied to Tom, claiming he knew nothing. Michael got Fredo mad, and obtained this information. This demonstrated that the betrayal was ongoing, and that perhaps Fredo wanted Michael to go to prison so he could "take over." As a mafia Don, once this happened Michael had to have him killed. Note Michael did not give Neri the order until after that outburst.
"Io sono stanco, sono imbigliato, and I wan't everyone here to know, there ain't gonna be no trouble from me..Don Corleone..Cicc' a port!"
"I stood in the courtroom like a fool."
"I am Constanza: Lord of the idiots."
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