Originally posted by stavka:
...Either you are going to let Tom go, or you aren't - right? How is that bad luck for Hagan?...
Whether the Don lived or died...what Sollozzo never, EVER feared or envisioned was his own demise at the hands of the Corleone Family. He had the imagined luxury of being 'invulnerable' due to the protection of McClusky.
So he truly (and justifiably) felt he had Tom cornered. At that point they would HAVE to make the deal or the Family would be substantially weakened.
All this of course...before Michael Corleone came up with that little plan of his
Apple
