Castellano was not a good boss. In addition to being greedy, he seldom left his mansion to mingle with his guys. He got involved in minutia that was below his status. He made deals with other families that his people resented. He openly cavorted with his housekeeper under the same roof where his wife and daughter lived--a big Mob no-no. Even bigger no-no: he failed to go to Neil's wake or funeral. But his biggest sin was his greed--in the Mob, always follow the money.

He would never have made Gotti underboss--like oil and water. Gotti belonged to Neil and his "blue collar" faction--antithetical to Castellano's "white-collar" preference (Sammy Da Bull dismissed him as a mere "racketeer," while he and Gotti were "gangsters."

Mr. Neil wouldn't have lasted long as Don, even if he weren't terminally ill with brain cancer. He had plenty of force, and was highly respecsted among his own men and in other families. But he wasn't that smart. One of the reasons Gambino didn't name him as his successor was that Mr. Neil was in prison on a five-year tax evasion rap--he lost more than $100k in a Puerto Rican casino while declaring annual taxable income of only $10k. He was already too visible--and too vulernable--with a variety of law enforcement agencies.