Question that has been on my mind recently:

Michael throws a wrench in Roth's scheme by summoning Frankie's brother from Sicily. The next we hear of Roth is in the boathouse meeting, where Michael and Al discuss the countries that have refused him entry.

Why did Roth flee the country after the failure to snare Michael in his legal trap? Is it to try and avoid being killed my Michael (surely he knows this is Michael's goal at this point), or was his main motivation to evade prosecution (ie. did his political protection run for cover once they realized Michael could not be taken down)?

Just seems a tad lazy for Roth - after being such a formidable foe - to give up so easily. Thoughts?

This scene is based on an episode in the life of Meyer Lansky, a big-time gambling gangster on whom the Roth character is very closely based:

The US Justice Dept. was harassing Lansky, so he tried to ease the pressure on him by moving to Israel to take advantage of Israel's "Law of Return," which allows any Jew (defined as someone who was born to a Jewish mother) to live in Israel and become a citizen. Israel's Supreme Court turned down his application. Lansky sought to flee to various South American countries, but the FBI was on his case every time. After nearly 48 hours in South American airport immigration offices, he returned to Miami. There he faced four felony charges (one local to Miami/Dade, three Federal). He managed to beat all four charges, lived to age 80 and died peacefully in bed.

Of course, Lansky wasn't facing a foe like Michael Corleone, as was the Roth character in the movie. The bit of dialog that Roth had with the reporters at the Miami airport didn't make it clear if he'd been trying to flee Michael, or "the goddamn Justice Department," as he said at his birthday party in Havana.