With Roth, I do wonder sometimes. Roth was clever but after the hearings, how come he couldn't enlist allies and start a war against the Corleone Family?? How come he had to go on the run and were the Rosato Brothers killed? I mean after the attempt on his life and the murder of Johnny Ola, I would have tried to fight back. I don't think this was properly explained in the movie.
Roth had no family or organization. He lived by his intgelligence, his influence, and his alliances. He used (borrowed) muscle only when needed.
Roth didn't need to mount a war on the Corleones. He found a weak link in the family armor by enlisting Fredo in his treachery. Had the Tahoe shooting succeeded, the family would have been mortally weakened--either weakling Fredo would have been the head, forever indebted to Roth; or Neri, Rocco and/or Tom would have contested Fredo for leadership, plunging the family into an internal war. Either way, Roth would win.
Whan that plot failed, he lured Michael to Havana where, as the most powerful gringo in the country, he planned to have Michael assassinated. Had that plot succeeded (and had Frankie been killed), Roth still would have had the above Corleone family chaos ensue--plus, with Frankie gone, the Rosatos would have taken over the Corleone operation in NYC. And when that failed, Roth sprang the perjury trap on Michael. If that had succeeded, Michael would have either gone to prison for five years on each count of perjury; or, even if he was acquitted, his reputation as a "legitimate" businessman would have been ruined. The Nevada Gaming Commission would have yanked his licenses--and guess who would have picked up the pieces?
No, Roth didn't need an army. What he did need was to be smarter than Michael--and he wasn't. He was also too greedy for that $2 million. If he hadn't been so greedy, he could have had Michael whacked the moment he stepped off the plane in Havana, and that would have been the end of it.
As for Roth being on the run:
As you know, Roth is based on the real-life Meyer Lansky. The US Government had a, er, "erection" for Lansky
late in his life, and attempted to prosecute him for tax evasion and "possession of narcotics" (he had some ulcer medication for which he didn't have a prescription). Lansky attempted to emigrate to Israel and live as a citizen. Ordinarily he would have been granted Israeli citizenship, but the US Justice Department leaned on the Israeli government to deport him. A lengthy court battle ensued. The Israeli governmment finally denied his citizenship application and canceled his visa. He tried to emigrate to South America, but met the same fate there. Finally, he returned to Miami, where he was arrested. But he had the last laugh: he beat all the raps and died peacefully at 81.
Roth, as we saw, was bounced from Israel and Panama--perfect match for Lansky. So, if we follow logic, we must assume that Roth was running from the US government, not from Michael.
