So as not to hi-jack an existing thread, But I’ve never understood if they meant to kill him or not.
It sure looked like they were trying (til the cop stumbled in). But if they were trying, why did they say (something like) Micheal says hello? In other words, if he was going to be dead why say anything? But later, Tom says, to Mike, “Roth played this one perfectly (beautifully?)”
But there was certainally bad blood between the two, and remember the call Johny O. made to Fredo?
Or was it Rizzoto brothers?, sorry it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movies…
Phil wasn’t in the Godfather II… 
It was the Rosato brothers, if I remember right from readin the script.
I think the answer is yes. Michael told Roth that he thinks Pentangelli tried to kill him and said “Pentangelli’s a dead man” and Roth said “He’s small potatos”.
Roth may have figured out Michael’s intentions and mistrust, hence the phone call from Johnny Ola to Fredo.
Or Roth may have thought Michael was on the level and passed it on to the Rosatos who figured they’d throw int he Michael reference for good measure.
There’s no way Roth, or the Rosatos, would have known that a cop would walk in and the job would be aborted. If they didn’t intend to finish the job and only wanted to send a message and throw in the Michael reference, then I don’t think Pentangeli would have believed it. If Michael wanted him dead, he’d be dead. He would have figured out the setup. The cop walking in was the perfect case for Roth.
I think Tom was referring to the aftermath when he said Roth played it beautifully.
I think the point is that Roth had the Pentangeli killing covered, no matter how it turned out. If he died, great, no problem. If he didn’t, by telling Frankie that Michael was the killer would guarantee that Frankie would turn against the Corleones. What Roth didn’t count on was Michael’s resourcefulnes in (a) having Sen. Geary in his debt, and (b) actually digging up Frankie’s brother as insurance.
Then why, if Michael told Roth he was going to kill Pentangeli, did Roth risk getting into Michaels business? Remember he was counting on Michaels $4 M. Or take a chance with it when Michael was going to do it anyway? It doesn’t seem to make sense.
A case could be made that Roth, clever guy he was, had political inside info about the upcoming hearings, staged the cop walking in (the bartender had no knowledge). He would have known Michael would have not known FP lived and opened up the pergery charges, keeping Michaels money and power. And undermining his place in the family.
Sorry about the terrible spelling…I didn’t have the script in front of me…
You got it backwards; it was Michael getting into Roth’s business. Roth wanted Michael to invest in the Cuban casinos (that’s what the whole deal with the $2M was all about). Roth started scheming against Michael because, as Fredo said, Michael was driving too hard a bargain.
Also (and this is my theory), I think Roth held a grudge against Michael for the killing of Moe Green. Why else would Roth bring up that story, then cap it off with the self-righteous “it was only business” line? He was letting Michael know that he knew who Moe’s killer was, and that he hadn’t forgotten it.