I always assumed that Michael Corleone had found some anonymous hitman that Roth had never met. But this was not the case. Rocco Lampone had been one of the Corleone’s top hit man for decades. (He was the guy who shot Paulie and Don Tattaglia in the first movie. And a organizational chart shown in the movie lists Lampone as one of the top five men working for Michael.)
It would be one thing if Lampone had been hiding in a crowd and then shot Roth in the back as he walked by. But in the scene we see he was standing there only about five feet in front of Roth as Roth was being questioned by reporters. How did Roth not see him? And having seen him, how did Roth not realize that Lampone was there to kill him?
Roth must have known that after he tried to kill Michael, there was a strong possibility that Michael would try to kill him. And when he saw the guy that Michael sent to kill people standing five feet in front of him, he should have known it was a very imminent possibility.
Plus he was looking down at his notes. Scrutinizing every single person around you at all times for random henchmen is simply not something anyone can do.
Hubris. Despite all of his health issues he thought he was going to live forever. He was not looking to be killed in public while in the custody of the FBI. It didn’t occur to him to look for an assassin.
For other reasons it’s the scene I have the most problems with. The mafia expects loyalty. There is the chance you may die or go to jail for the family. But if you are ordering your people to go on suicide missions you’re not going to be boss too long. Maybe if Rocco threw down his gun immediately he would have been taken into custody. Running away with the gun meant he was definitely going to die. There was no way out.
Good point. Instructing Rocco to do that, and giving him the best lawyers money could buy, and if he went to prison, making his stay as comfortable as possible, was much the better path.
First, Roth didn’t have to go looking for Lampone. Lampone literally walked up to him and stood there in front of him.
Second, this theory would have to mean that Roth was an idiot and he was not portrayed that way. He had been around Michael Corleone for years and he had seen a number of other powerful men who had thought they were immune - and then Michael had killed them.
The theory I’ve heard on this one is that this was atonement for Lampone’s previous failure. Lampone had been the guy in charge of security at the Corleone house when the assassins almost killed Michael and his family. Michael was paranoid and there were undoubtedly questions about whether Lampone’s failure had been a deliberate betrayal.
Going after Roth is a situation which was almost suicidal was Lampone’s way of demonstrating his loyalty to Michael and redeeming himself (and protecting his family) even if it was posthumous.
You are just severely underestimating how easy it is to blend in if you just look like you belong. I keep hearing how all you need to walk into any building is a clipboard and a tool belt and acting like you are supposed to be there. This is no different, the hat and the note pad are the perfect disguise and would have fooled anyone.
Roth could have easily denied Michael that satisfaction by turning to one of the police officers who were escorting him and saying “Could one of you fine officers arrest this man? He’s Rocco Lampone, one of Michael Corleone’s top lieutenants and a multiple murderer.”
Reviewing the scene, it looks to me like Roth didn’t see Rocco in time. Rocco was standing next to a woman in a white suit, not visible in any of the shots focusing on Roth, and there was a man with a spotlight right over Rocco’s shoulder, which would have obscured him. The time between Rocco stepping forward and the shots being fired was less than two seconds on film, which wasn’t enough time for anyone to react.
I would say you have it with the man holding the spotlight making it tough for Roth to make out faces of the people near the light. Anyone who has been on a stage knows how difficult it is to make out the audience - because of the lights.
I don’t know why this comparison is relevant. Roth knew Rocco and Oswald didn’t know Ruby.
I don’t think that’s how arrests work. Frankie Pentangeli basically said the same thing about Michael during his testimony in front of the US Congress with Michael in attendance and no one lifted a finger to arrest him.
I don’t understand the assumption that Roth would know Rocco by sight. The Corleones are in Nevada. Roth is in Florida and Cuba. Roth would only deal with Michael, Fredo and the consigliere. There is no reason why he would know all of Michael’s muscle, even the well trusted muscle. Unless Michael took Rocco on a trip to see Roth there is no reason to assume they had ever seen each other.
My point, which I suppose I wasn’t clear about, was in the two seconds that in real life, as in the movie, in the two seconds where you could see someone come out of the crowd at you, you wouldn’t have had time to react.
Looking at the GFII clip, it would be a miracle if Roth recognized Rocco. All sorts of people crowding around, TV lights, etc. Plus Roth was literally downcast for a lot of it. Only looking up to address a questioner.
And it is common for a Family to send someone who failed them on a suicide mission in return for their family being taken care of. (As opposed to the family “being taken care of, you know”.)
Ok, I get that. Ruby did come out of Oswald’s peripheral vision on the left and Rocco appeared to be in front of Roth but with a bright light behind him making it tough for Roth to see Rocco clearly.
That and the fact Oswald had no reason to recognize Ruby is part of why I was confused.
Except that Lampone wasn’t some random low-level muscle. He was one of Michael’s caporegimes - the equivalent of what Clemenza or Tessio were for Vito.
Roth worked with the Corleones for over thirty years. It’s unbelievable to think he never met Rocco Lampone.
And Roth organized a hit on Michael at his home. Lampone was the guy in charge of security at Michael’s home. Do you really think Roth wouldn’t have paid some attention to Lampone?