Michael did not try to kill Frank Pentangeli, it was Rosatto Brothers who had the orders from Hyman Roth. Hyman Roth wanted revenge for the assassination of his protege Moe Green, and wanted to get rid of his biggest competitor, or 'partner' as he called it.
Michael briefly considered having Frank killed, but realized he was too heavily guarded for this to be a realistic option. Michael instead had Vincenzo flown in from Sicily. Vincenzo's presence at the hearing was to warn his brother against testifying and thus breaking the code of omertà.
Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avenge Moe Greene's murder (as depicted in The Godfather). Roth instructs Ola to befriend Michael's brother Fredo, who provides Ola (and Roth) information about Michael that enables them to make an attempt on his life.
Because Pentangeli's protective custody was so secure, Michael could not have him killed before the hearing. Instead, he flew Vincenzo in from Sicily. Upon seeing his brother in the committee room, Frank denied his written testimony and feigned ignorance of the Corleone family's criminal activities.
A rift grows between Pentangeli and Michael, however, that eventually results in Pentangeli betraying the family. Pentangeli's character was created in The Godfather Part II by Coppola and Puzo due to actor Richard Castellano not reprising his role as Clemenza in the sequel.
Did Frank Pentangeli betray Michael Corleone? & Why Did He Change His Mind?
Did Michael ever regret killing Fredo?
In The Godfather's Revenge
In Winegardner's 2006 sequel, The Godfather's Revenge, Fredo appears in one of Michael's dreams. In the dream, Fredo warns Michael about an unspecified threat, and asks him why he had his own brother killed. Much of the novel portrays Michael dealing with his guilt over Fredo's murder.
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.
He found his brother tried to have him and his family killed. How could you ever trust him? Even if you cut ties with Fredo, Michael would always have to fear the possibility of Fredo going to the cops or planning another hit. He thought he and Fredo were good and Fredo betrayed him over jealousy.
The reason Frank Pentangeli contradicted his sworn testimony before Congress was exactly because his older brother, Vincenzo, had come from Sicily to attend the hearing.
Hyman Roth is based on real casino mogul Meyer Lansky.
Hyman Roth, played in The Godfather: Part II by actor Lee Strasberg, was based on real-life mobster Meyer Lansky. Lansky is widely credited for coming up with some of the key innovations upon which the casino and gambling industry is built today.
Most noteworthy, the novel depicts Clemenza's fatal heart attack (mentioned in The Godfather Part II), and the many conspiracy theories that he had actually been murdered by the Rosato Brothers, former Corleone soldiers who had formed their own gang after a dispute over the future of the family.
The kiss is known as "Il bacio della morte," meaning "the kiss of death." In this instance, it was to signify to Fredo that he was marked for death for betraying his brother to Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) and his right-hand man Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese) in The Godfather Part II.
This page in: In The Godfather II, Vito Corleone chooses his younger son, Michael, instead of his older son, Fredo, as his successor. This decision is based on Michael's intelligence and ability. Fredo, who is considered weak, is dismissed to do more menial tasks for the family.
Frank Pentangeli was written as replacement for Peter Clemenza, who was slated to appear in Part II but was cut from the film after the actor, Richard S. Castellano, and Francis Ford Coppola had a dispute over his lines, which Castellano wanted his girlfriend to write. This is why Pentangeli wasn't in the first film.
A rat is another word for snitch or informant. These four rats betrayed the Corleone family: Salvatore “Sal” Tessio, Paulie Gatto, Fabrizio and Carlo Rizzi.
Michael removes Hagen as consigliere in favor of having Vito fill the position, restricting Hagen to handling the family's legal business in Nevada, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Michael and Vito explain that the Corleones risk inciting a fight with the planned move to Nevada, and they need a "wartime consigliere".
Following the death of their mother, Connie forgave Michael, stating that he was only being strong for the family as their father had been. She then begged Michael to forgive Fredo for betraying him, and Michael appeared to do so; however, it was merely a ploy to draw Fredo in so Michael could have him killed.
Soon, the Rosato Brothers supposedly killed Frank Pentangeli, faking their service to Corleone in order to convince Frank, one of the Corleone's most long-time supporters, to give up his allegiance. It was not long until he filed an offense against Michael Corleone in court.
At the end of the film, Michael has Greene killed as part of his slaughter of the Corleone family's enemies. Neri surprises Greene while he is getting a massage and shoots him through the eye. This allows Greene's casinos to become property of the Corleone family.
No, Fredo Corleone was not intellectually and socially deficient in the movie The Godfather. He was simply not as smart or as savvy as his brothers Michael and Sonny. This is evident early on in the movie when he gets caught up in a scam with Johnny Ola that nearly costs Michael his life.
Death. Fredo, moments before his death at Lake Tahoe. Upon their mother's death, and at the urging of their sister Connie, Michael relented toward Fredo and seemingly offered reconciliation. However, it was only a deception to draw Fredo in so as to have him murdered by Al Neri.
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.
