Many threads have been posted about the famous "Michael Corleone says hello" line. Danny Aiello, who played Tony Rosato, in a later interview, admitted that he'd ad-libbed the line. So why did FFC let it stay in the film--to the consternation of many here? I believe that Roth, not Michael, ordered the Rosatos to kill Pentangeli. The Rosatos intended to kill Frankie. The cop entering was a pure coincidence.

The famous line was uttered for the benefit of Richie, the bartender whose place was used for the attempted murder. Richie was obviously a civilian, not a Mafia guy ("Carmine--NO! NOT HERE!" he shouts as Carmine Rosato prepares to shoot the cop who enters). The Rosatos knew the cops would question Richie, and he might crack. Richie would never identify the Rosatos unless he made out a will. So, hearing that famous line, he could tell the cops, "The killer said, 'Michael Corleone says hello.' " That would make the cops suspicious of Michael, not Roth. And the newspapers would pick it up--yet another blow to Michael's "legitimacy."