Worth. The breaking of such regulations was considered a sign of high-

Spiritedness, like that shown by a fine racing horse fighting the reins.

And Paulie had never caused trouble with his stickups. They had always been

Meticulously planned and carried out with the minimum of fuss and trouble, with

no one ever getting hurt: a three-thousand-dollar Manhattan garment center

Payroll, a small chinaware factory payroll in the slums of Brooklyn. After all, a

Young man could always use some extra pocket money. It was all in the pattern.

Who could ever foretell that Paulie Gatto would turn traitor?

What was troubling Peter Clemenza this morning was an administrative

Problem. The actual execution of Gatto was a cut-and-dried chore. The problem

was, who should the caporegime bring up from the ranks to replace Gatto in the

Family? It was an important promotion, that to "button" man, one not to be

Handed out lightly. The man had to be tough and he had to be smart. He had to be

Safe, not a person who would talk to the police if he got in trouble, one well

saturated in the Sicilians' law of omerta, the law of silence. And then, what kind of

a living would he receive for his new duties? Clemenza had several times spoken

To the Don about better rewards for the all-important button man who was first in

The front line when trouble arose, but the Don had put him off. If Paulie had been