We've had a few discussions regarding why Tessio chose to be a traitor (by going against Mike). I'm wondering if his previous experience had any bearing on his decision.

Puzo wrote that on New Year's Eve of 1933 Tessio got inside Maranzano's defenses (and killed him). The Maranzano lieutenants were anxious for a deal (and to make peace with the Corleones) and they lead Maranzano to the slaughter. (They told Maranzano that a meeting with Corleone was arranged in Brooklyn and they accompanied him to the restaurant where Tessio and his gunmen killed Maranzano).

Having gone through this is it possible that Tessio thought the plan would work again (against Mike)??

Tessio was simply slippin' as his Don was. He did not believe in michael and just got desparate. The main point is that he chose to betray. How he did it is trivia. Tessio being a capo-regime would have arranged for dozens of murders(like the maranzano one). But he was not unique in that. Even Clemenza must have had experience in sneakily killing people. But his good fortune, he chose to stay loyal to michael

I think that you bring up a very interesting point.

History does have a way of repeating itself, well in this case almost.

I would think that being Tessio was such a large part of a successful plan in taking our Maranzano, it is very likely that he figured that this type of plan would work again. Let's face it, it is human nature to stick with what works, and in this case Tessio probably went with a plan that had been very successful for him in the past.

Yes, I think that past history probably played a big role in Tessio's planning of how to set Michael up.


Don Cardi

i was under the impression that he was not confident with michael's ability to maintain the power of the corleone family and was afraid of the consequences if that were the case... after all, he does have a family to provide for and the protection from the dangers that come with his "occupation"... as for what he's seen from his experiences on the job, that's just more notes to the strategy book to look back to for future references, but yes i would say that it's possible that tessio did go back to that tactic to trap michael...

Given that an SOP of the Mafia is to kill anyone who is in the way or threatens it, Tessio's trying to take out Michael was a very practical solution to what Tessio perceived as a problem. That's the key though: perception. Tessio misperceived!

And it WOULD have worked again. Except Tessio conveniently forgot that his Don Vito Corleone was a part of this history...and therefore would warn his son Michael of basically the exact same plan, initiated by a traitor he could supposedly count on for safety.

Incidentally...don't know why, but I loved that line about the guy dying with a mouthful of bread. I guess it provides an amusing mental picture.

Apple

Sure it's possible, SC. It may not have been the primary motivation, but in anyone's life, nothing succeeds like success. Perhaps he did have it in mind when he made his deal with Barzini.