The next day, the plan was active.
Their boss, Tommy Maserati, was having dinner, and the guards were sitting at the next table. The restaurant was empty. Ernakand Dimorushed with all their speed. The Khan stuck a knife in the back of the closestguard and took his gun. During this time, Dimoshot down the others. Both came to the boss and Ernak looked at him, “I hope it was tasty.”
He loaded and emptied the gun into his body with savage laughter. They returned the guns in the holsters and went out in the dark.
The brothers were waiting fifteen minutes for Max Chiaveli, the right hand of his uncle Tommy, to get out and enter his car. Not long after, showed his short figure on the entrance, accompanied by his guards. They were headed to his vehicle when two shadows slowly emerged from the dark, saying, “Christmas came early, you filthy dogs.”
Then they shot them with all the bullets they had.
In the morgue, everything was quiet. Four of the bandits were playing poker. Two were sitting and watching. The manager was in his office filing some papers.
A full house later, the door suddenly opened, and Leo, Capone, Lazo and Michele rushed inside, some with Tommy guns in hand. The poker table was overturned in an instant, in a desperate attempt to take out their weapons. There were gunshots and Tommy guns swept all living things. Leo reloaded and walked to the office in the back. He made a sign to the manager to come out.
“Your bosses are dead. Colleagues too. From now on, this place is owned by my organization. Tell the other unemployed gang members from your crew that there’s a new sheriff in town. Whoever is looking for work can wait here for me in three days after 8:00 pm. For those who don’t want to, they should move. If not, they will become crocodile food. And clean the blood during that time.”
They gathered the corpses from the ground and left. The water took a lot of bodies tonight. After nearly two hours, they were all in the warehouse.
“Lazo, I want you and Michele to watch Jack the pimp for the next couple of days. Peruzzis will oversee Ogustas. Dimo will be hanging around the neighborhood for information. Be careful what you do. I want you here no later than 7 pm in three days. We have to be careful, there might be a retaliation.”
The gangsters went home to rest. The next day, they slept until noon. After taking a shower went down for breakfast in the restaurant and Joe brought them the newspaper. The police apparently did not like Tommy’s crew at all, because they did not lift a finger for them. The press was set aside the second page with the garish headline: "Gangster massacre".
“I think that this might attract Masseria’s attention,” Leo said mused.
“Fuck him. If that happens, we will simply pay him for a little while until the time comes to act on the plan and then we are out of here,” swore Capone.
While eating lunch, they thought of future plans.
“It will not be wrong to expand a little faster to raise the necessary funds.”
“Ernak is right. In the near future, we have to think about that.”
“We will visit both casinos today. Everything should go by the book!”
At this point, a man in his 40’s approached the table, “I am so sorry. Mr. Galliano said that I could talk with you.”
“How can I help?” Leo asked diplomatically.
“My son,” he started, “a young boy, fifteen years old, helps me in my business. I have a fruit stand. I have a lot of customers, but one particular subject passes each day and gets part of my income. The last time he took all the money and my son tried to stop him. The man beat him like a dog.”
“Write me an address.”
“What is your name?” asked Capone.
“Lampino, sir.”
“Okay, Lampino. We will fix things. And you tell your son when he is better to send a fruit basket in room 30 across the street.”
“Of course, Don Capone. Thank you very much.”
“Forget about it,” Galfonino waved happily.
After eating, the gangsters got into the official car and drove on business. First, they visited the address. Ernak went hastily, beat the thug and told him to pay a two hundred dollars fine to the boy, otherwise he would break more of his bones next time.
Soon the gangsters arrived in front of the first casino. It was like theirs - in house. They knocked on the door and waited. After a few seconds, a blonde woman opened, “May I help you?”
“We want to talk to the owner. We have business to discuss, honey.”
“I am the owner,” said Madame.
“M-hm what things I will do to her,” whispered Ernak in Capone’s ear.
“Aren’t you gonna invite us?” Leo politely asked and winked.
While sitting in his chair, Galfonino began directly, “I guess you know who we are?! I don’t think that I have to explain that the casino is already our property. It remains only to decide whether you want to continue to manage it?”
“And if I do not?”
“You will follow your boss,” said Capone dryly. “However, if you accept, you will continue to get ten percent but with a future to spend them in.”
The girl nodded as a sign of agreement, “My name is Glenn.”
“Welcome to the organization. I’m Ernak,” presented the chief and kissed her hand. Apparently, he wanted to have her, a lot.
“Don’t miss him,” smiled Leo. “You are talking with a legend and perhaps the third most influential man in history.”
The blond beauty casually smiled, because she didn’t know what they were actually talking about concerning this stranger, but inside, she was shocked by the chief's brutal appearance.
They clarified the situation and entered the car, driving to the last place for illegal gambling in this otherwise small neighborhood. It was located in the center and making more money than all the others combined. It had its own hotel, bar, and all the extras. At the entrance sat two guards. Whether they were mercenaries or from the morgue band, our guys didn’t know. The three gangsters got out of the car and approached the entrance. Leo walked in the middle as always. But the guards stopped them roughly. Ernak came closer, hit the guard with his head and knocked him to the ground. He took out his knife and pressed it into the neck of the other. Capone pulled his gun out, grabbed the arm of the fallen man and pulled him into the casino, all the way to the office of his boss. He opened the door with his foot and tossed the body inside. Ernak pushed the other bodyguard aside and pointed him toward the ground. The man hunkered down and waited.
“I guess you’re Leo and Capone. We finally meet.”
The Chief got angry, “Do I kill him?”
“Not yet,” stopped him, Leo, “he might have something to say.”
“Well, okay, I can wait.”
“I voluntarily join your organization and, of course, your share will be sixty percent. My name is Willie, and those are Brando "The Garlic" and Jimmy "The Mower".”
“Now can I?” asked the Chief impatiently.
“Yes, you can.”
Ernak stuck the knife directly into the throat of the manager. Capone turned to the two guards, “Brando and Jimmy, right? Do you need a job?”
“Yes, boss.”
Brando was sent as Ogustas’s assistant and Jimmy to Jack. The casino temporarily stayed for Ernak, then the group moved there. Glenn’s casino went under Ogustas’s management, who was satisfied, and she took the administration of the hotel.
Chapter V
The next two days passed in resting and walks around the neighborhood and the city. People came one by one when the gangsters were at the restaurant, to ask for favors.
On the third day, everybody gathered in the warehouse at 7:00 pm.
“What’s up?” Galfonino welcomed them.
“Everything is on schedule, boss,” answered the young Peruzzi.
“Any problems?” asked Leo.
They all shook their heads in denial. Ernak appeared last. He had gone to see Glenn.
“Well, did you get any?�
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“Not yet,” the chief replied spitefully. “She is playing with me, making herself unavailable. And I want to fuck her from behind so much.” The Khan bit his lower lip.
Leo interrupted him, “Let’s go to work. Then we’ll discuss your love life. As you know, two days ago, we adjoined two other casinos. We have two new members in the family - Brando "The Garlic" and Jimmy "The Mower". Do you have information about them?”
“I know them, boss,” said, Michele. “I’ve worked with them. They are loyal dogs, especially if they are paid.”
“This is good. After thirty minutes, we will go to the morgue to the meeting with the rest of the gang. When we finish with them, we will discuss all business opportunities and plans of the organization. Now get ready.”
Everybody dressed their long coats and armed themselves. Only Leo and Capone were dressed in expensive suits to be distinguished. They entered the cars and drove to the morgue. The vehicles parked in front of it and the gangsters cautiously got out. Leo gestured the brothers to check around for surprises. The rest went into the building. Five goons were inside. Lazo, Michele, Dimoand Ernak unbuttoned their coats and each took out a shotgun, but they pointed them to the ground. Leo walked in front of them, “So little? I thought you were at least twice as much.”
“We were recently reduced. Including our boss.”
Capone approached slowly. He reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette.
“Peace be upon him. From now on, we’re your bosses. There is a place for each one of you, but if are plotting something, you will meet personally with "The Hammer", the top assassin of the organization. Once you enter, you can exit only in body bags. If any of you feel that this is not his place, he can walk now or never!”
After Galfonino had stopped speaking, silence followed. The only sound came from Capone who was smoking his half-burned cigarette butt.
“We are all in.”
“Good. Ernak, bring the whiskey.”
“Let’s proceed with the oath then. Lazo, call the brothers.”
After a while, Peruzzi joined. The oath was fulfilled. The five presented themselves and their names with addresses were written in the black book. Silo Puccini, Jimmy "The Testicle", Sully, Frank "The Chump", Tony and finally, the manager, Tricio.
“Welcome to the organization.”
Everyone came to kiss the hands of the two bosses. Then they greeted the others, and Ernak divided them into groups.
“Silo and Jim will work for Dimo. His word is the law for you!” he paused. “Frank and Sully will team up with Peruzzi. Tony and Tricio, go with Michele.”
“The next important thing. There are no more free hits. You will consult first with your superiors. How much money you make depends on them. Third, nobody mentions us to outsiders. Go now, you are free. Tomorrow morning, wait for instructions about work and payment.”
After everybody had left, Leo approached the manager Tricio.
“My friend,” he said, “needless to say that you are temporarily here. You will provide expensive, stolen and fast cars. If needed, you will hide some corpses from time to time. If I tell you to bark, you bark. Ultimately, if you’re obedient, you might stay permanently and get a percentage of the earnings in the morgue.”
“Yes, boss,” smiled the man and a drop of sweat ran down his bald head.
“I’m glad we understand each other.”
The work at the morgue was completed, and our guys headed back to the warehouse. They parked the cars, returned the weapons and went to the office.
“This neighborhood is ours. Capone will temporarily allocate the territory among you, but keep in mind that it will not be for long. The headquarters is moving into the casino in the center. The warehouse, however, will remain ours. I want both teams to search all self-syndicated whores around the neighborhood and, if needed, find more in the upcoming days. We will open a second brothel in the center. This will be the extension Ogustas will receive. Now you are free.
After everybody had left, the Italian asked, “Why are you dividing everything now? And we won’t need so many people for the diamonds heist. What do we need them for?”
“I distribute them, so they can act as independent units in order not to change the future as far as possible. When we disappear, they will continue to exist independently, and big fish will eat them at one point. So everything will stay the same. About the people, they are just an optical illusion or more of screens, so we don’t have problems with the neighbors until we are ready to act, which in light of recent events, I think will be soon. Not that I fear Masseria or anyone else, it’s just if we get there, the events will be irreversible.”
* * *
It’s been ten days. Gambling and prostitution flourished as never before. It was time for new events.
It was morning. A beautiful day to collect money. Leo, Capone, and Ernak, as always, got into their new Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and went for breakfast in "Galliano" at 8:00 am. While enjoying the smell of fresh Italian coffee and discussing common issues, a policeman suddenly appeared and sat at their table.
“May I help you?” Leo asked politely.
“You can,” the cop replied slyly. “I understand that I have new people in my neighborhood. And on top of that, no one thought to ask how I was doing. How am I with the money? No one thought to ask, "Hey Artie, how are you?"”
“Hey Artie, how are you?” asked him Galfo while jokingly raising his cup.
“I hear also,” the cop ignored the joke and continued, “that people have started to disappear mysteriously. Not to mention dead bosses in restaurants, places of illegal gambling... My list is long.”
Leo watched with implicit interest, wondering when he will finally say his price.
“So, let’s cut to the chase. My name is Sergeant Pushevski, and I’m responsible for this neighborhood. My department is taking care of all of South Brooklyn.”
The Sock saw potential benefit from him and winked at Galfonino to put his gun away.
“And what would you and your friends want?” asked Ernak. “Let me rephrase: how much would you want?”
“After you put it this way, I believe that two fifty a month for each colleague and two thousand for my boss would be appropriate. And this is just to close our eyes. Any other services will be paid separately.”
“Expensive friendship,” frowned Leo. “But I want a list of names of people who will cooperate with us. To avoid mistakes,” this time, The Sock smiled slyly.
The policeman nodded incredulously as a sign of consent. They shook hands and Capone wrote the names of the new associates to the organization.
“Those bastards will delay our plans for at least a month...”
“They will create more problems if we don’t pay...”
“True. We’ll have to expand a little that costs became higher than revenue. It’s time to go into the racketeering business.”
After they had finished breakfast, the gangsters returned to the hotel and called the others. At exactly 14:00, the big eight were there.
“It is time to act. Lazo, Peruzzi, and Michele will take the western part of the neighborhood. Leo, Ernak, Dimo and I will take the east half. I’m giving you one week. After that, I want every club, bigger shop, restaurant or undertaking to pay. Let them know that they are already under the protection of the organization. If someone resists, you know how to proceed. In any case, all the guards should be on alert. If there are no questions, go...”
The briefing ended after half an hour, and they all went to work. Next week, the whole Flatbush had started to work for the organization. Each place was paying someone voluntarily, others by force. All living things were giving, some more, others less. Leo and Capone, however, were much more generous than the late Tommy Maserati.
This, as expected, drew the attention of Joe Masseria, boss of bosses in New York, to whom everybody was paying a percentage. Lazo arranged the meeting.
Apparently, the gangsters decided to appea
r with a less noticeable Phantom, instead of the Rolls Royce. The meeting was to take place in one of Masseria’s largest alcohol warehouses in Brooklyn. On the road…
“It’s time for a little history,” began Capone. “In 1929, Masseria is expanding, seizing the territory of Terranova and Carfano, boss of Frankie Yale’s family. Terranova was shot and killed, and after his death, both families go under the control of Joe Masseria, called "Joe The Boss", leader of the largest family in New York at the moment. Under his command were mobsters like Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, Joe Adonis, Vito Genovese, Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel, you know who they are. It is quite possible that one of them will be at the meeting, so I expect everyone to behave!” Galfonino looked at Leo after that last word.
“Why the fuck are you watching me? I know it is dangerous for the future, calm the fuck down!”
Their vehicle stopped in front of the building. In the front seats of the car were Ernak and Lazo. All doors opened simultaneously, and everybody went down. All four looked around, with hands tightly caught on their pistols. Leo was smoking a big cigar, and Capone also lit one. The Sock looked around and nodded to Ernak and Lazo. Galfonino and Cassis started to walk slowly with a gait inherent for a twenty-years-old neighborhood star that just got out of the gym. The guards followed them.
Masseria watched their arrival through the window of his office, “Who the fuck are those? They have taken themselves very seriously!”
The two security guards, who welcomed the gangsters at the entrance, checked them and took their weapons. Ernak reluctantly handed his big knife, a personal gift from his father Attila and explained politely that if the guard did not return it back, he would slap him with his own hand, after cutting it off.
One by one, they all entered the warehouse full of crates of alcohol. Masseria stood by the window at the bottom. Beside him was Lucky Luciano. Throughout the storage, at least twenty people with Tommy guns in hand were scattered. Joe did not waste time. Dressed in an expensive, elegant white suit, he had a typical Sicilian face. He made a sign to the newcomers to approach.
Gangsters In Time: Good Gangster, Crazy Good Gangster (A Leo and Capone Book, #2) Page 3
