Entering the Family Business Sonny was officially brought into his father's world of crime at the age of 16 after a botched liquor store robbery. His godfather, Peter Clemenza, had brought the matter to Vito, and Vito was far less than pleased.
However, Vito and Michael had figured out early on that Rizzi set Sonny up, and they brought him deeper within the family fold solely as a ploy to make him complacent. Vito cannot bring himself to make his daughter a widow, and so leaves it to Michael to carry out Rizzi's execution after his death.
At the Long Beach Causeway toll plaza, Barzini's men trap Sonny and shoot him to death. During a meeting with the other crime family dons to establish peace, Vito realizes that Barzini masterminded Sonny's murder. After Michael returns from Sicily, he assumes Sonny's place as Vito's heir apparent.
In a fit of pique, Carlo sought revenge by making a deal with the Corleones' rival Emilio Barzini to kill Sonny, which would break the stalemate of the Five Families War and possibly allow the other crime families to negotiate a deal to sell narcotics in Corleone territory.
According to Vito, Sonny never had the makings of a good Don, as Sonny was prone to violent outbursts and was a reactive person rather than a strategist. The audience sees how Vito's assessment is right on the money after Vito had been attacked.
How Sonny Corleone Betrayed the Corleone Family? | The Godfather Explained
Why did Sonny get killed in The Godfather?
In the late summer of 1948, Sonny Corleone was lured into a trap and was killed at the Jones Beach Causeway by Barzini family hitmen in order to avenge Carlo. The hit was engineered by Emilio Barzini after Carlo, angered at the loss of his income and at the fact that Sonny had beaten him, helped set it up.
Connie (who was unaware of her husband's role in Sonny's murder), hysterical after Carlo's death, blames Michael, denouncing him in front of his wife, Kay. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Carlo's demise, apparently relieved to be rid of an abusive, philandering husband.
However, Carlo betrayed Sonny, which was no small matter. He set Sonny up for murder. Sonny's death ended up bringing the Corleone family to the brink of destruction.
In addition to acting boldly and ruthlessly to consolidate his power after Vito's death by killing the heads of the other leading mafia families (along with the traitor in the extended Corleone family, Salvatore Tessio), Michael acts to avenge Sonny's death by killing Connie's husband Carlo for helping to finger their ...
He is also mentioned many times throughout the film; the dialogue makes it clear that Michael is tormented with guilt over ordering his brother's death, and that it has alienated him from his ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), and his son, Anthony (Franc D'Ambrosio), both of whom know the truth about Fredo's death.
Fredo's decision is most likely a result of resentment toward Michael, by whom he felt he had been passed over. Michael was Fredo's "kid brother," and the fact that their father chose for Michael to take over the "family business" came as a great insult to Fredo, who was neither as intelligent nor as strong.
This recklessness gets him killed, as he walks right into a death trap by hurrying out of the house without bodyguards. A man of strong appetites and passions, he cheats on his wife and is barely able to restrain himself from beating his brother-in-law to death when he learns that his sister has been abused.
While in Havana, Michael learned that Fredo betrayed him when Fredo accidentally let it slip that he and Johnny Ola had been to a sex show in Havana. He confronted Fredo at a New Year's party in Havana, telling Fredo that he knew he was the traitor and giving him the "kiss of death".
An interesting side note is that there is no indication in the novel or the first and second movies that Michael or anyone ever tells Kay that Michael had been married in Sicily let alone how his first wife died.
Victor Rizzi was the son of Connie Corleone and Carlo Rizzi. He was at Anthony Corleone's first communion and seen with his brother Michael Rizzi coming in the door at Carmela Corleone's funeral. Victor was arrested in Reno for theft some time shortly before Anthony's first communion.
Tom Hagen's revelation: After Michael becomes the Don of the Corleone family, he learns from his consigliere, Tom Hagen, that it was Carlo Rizzi who set up Sonny's assassination [1]. Tom Hagen informs Michael about Carlo's involvement in Sonny's death, which leads Michael to suspect Carlo of being a traitor.
This cold intelligence and calculating ruthlessness would be inherited by Vito's youngest and favorite son, Michael, who would be the one to take vengeance for his older brother's murder.
Carlo and Connie agreed to the ceremony due to her father's displeasure in her choice of groom (he was not only a hoodlum, but half-northern Italian). They moved into an apartment in Hell's Kitchen.
After her brother's debut concert, the assassin Mosca tries to kill Michael. One bullet grazes Michael's shoulder, but the other accidentally hits Mary in the chest, fatally wounding her. Michael is devastated by Mary's death, and screams in torment while cradling her dead body.
Carlo Rizzi is the secondary antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation and a minor character in its sequel the Godfather part II . He is the abusive husband of Connie Corleone who conspires with mob boss Emilio Barzini to have Connie's brother Sonny killed.
Having Paulie brought to the Corleone compound Sonny Corleone deduced that Gatto had sold out his father. Sonny ordered Clemenza to have Gatto killed as soon as possible, saying he did not want to see Gatto again.
During the meeting, Sonny, the family underboss, expresses interest in the deal, but Vito refuses the offer as he finds narcotics too much of a "dirty business". Barzini then approves Sollozzo's plan to have Vito murdered in the hopes that Sonny, as his father's successor, will accept the deal.
When Sonny brings Tom home and demands he be taken in, the Corleone family welcome him as a family member. Hagen considers Vito his true father, although Vito never formally adopts him, believing it would be disrespectful to Hagen's deceased parents.
Ultimately, Tessio betrays Michael by helping arrange his assassination at a peace summit with Barzini and Philip Tattaglia. The summit will be held in Tessio's fiefdom in Brooklyn, where Michael will presumably be safe. In return, Tessio was to inherit the Corleone family upon Michael's death.
