The Other Brooklyn: Joey Toranetti Trilogy

by Ieva, Bob

“Are you calling my son a liar?”

  “No sir, I am going by what the teacher had told me.”

  “What was that?”

  “There were two boys who said they had seen the whole thing.”

  “Who were the boys that told this teacher this lie?”

  “I am not at liberty to say.”

  My father said to me, “Joey did you start the fight?”

  “No I didn’t.”

  My father said to the Dean, “My son doesn’t lie to me. If he had started the fight he would admit it.”

  “I am not saying that your son lied to you. I am going by what a teacher told me. I also told your son that I would forget about the whole incident just go to his class and calm down. It wasn’t even 20 minutes he was back here in my office for fighting again. That is why I sent him home and told him to bring you to see me in the morning.”

  My father said to the Dean, “I know about the second incident also, my son told me. He was reprimanded by me for doing what he did. I do know who really started the first fight and who lied to your teacher.

  “My son and I do not know who hit him from behind. I know my son can be a hot head, but when he saw the three laughing when he entered the home room, he knew they were laughing at him and acted out of rage. By the way how is the boy my son hit in the home room?”

  “He is Okay.”

  “That is great to hear. I am going to the other boy’s father and have a discussion with him about what they did. In the meantime, please do not put anything in my son’s record about being suspended or fighting. Do you understand? It will be greatly appreciated.”

  Dean Summers said, “I will handle that.”

  “Thank you.” My father said to me, “Go to your class now and do not bother with those boys, do you understand.”

  I said, “Yes” and left for my class.

  In Class

  I walked down the hall and went into my home room. I went up to the teacher and said to him that I cannot sit near those three guys. So he gave me a seat on the other side of the room. Larry and Pete were sitting with the guy I hit and not saying a word. I found out the other guy’s name was Jeremy Thompson. He was very tall, a little heavy and had muscles all over him. All he did was stare at me through the whole class.

  When the bell rang I left the room and went to the rest of my classes that day. I was hoping that I didn’t have any other issues with Larry and Pete. I noticed that Jeremy went in another direction to his class and I said to myself, “I hope he stays away from me.” I wasn’t afraid of him but I didn’t want to get in trouble again.

  Antonio & Luke

  I arrived home at 3:00 p.m. and saw my father sitting on the couch deep in thought. I went over to him and asked if I was in a lot of trouble with him. He told me, “No, you stood up for yourself. The only thing is that you need to control your temper and think first before taking action. I have told you this a million times.”

  “I know; I just felt I couldn’t let them think I was afraid of them.”

  “I understand son but sometimes it is better to wait. When I was your age I would have done exactly what you did. I learned from a very good friend that you have to be smarter than the other person and leave the rage behind. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  “I think so.”

  “Well, please try to not let your anger get the best of you. You will have your enemies worried what you will do next. I have a meeting with Arthur about this situation at 7:00 p.m.”

  “I thought you were going to Larry’s father and talk to him.”

  “I must talk to Arthur first. Then I will see Larry’s father, Luke. Understand diplomacy first. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  My father left the house and went to his meeting with Arthur. He came home around 8:00 p.m. and said, “He has a meeting with Luke at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night and that I need to come with him.” I said, “Okay.”

  The next night we left for Luke Campoella’s house. His house was in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn and it was a big place. My father rang the bell and Mr. Campoella answered the door and said, “Hi Antonio, please come in.”

  “Hello Joey.” I said hello back to him. We entered his office and there I saw Larry sitting down next to his father’s desk.

  Luke sat behind his desk and my father and I sat across from him. Luke said, “I heard from our friend Arthur last night, Antonio and I’m very upset with what happened. I asked my son and he told me that he is very sorry for the incident and he only did it to satisfy his friend Pete. It seems that Pete was very upset that your son Joey had kicked him in the groin.”

  “My son, Joey, was only defending himself when Pete decided to make the fight two against one.”

  “I realize this and that is what I told my son. Now, I understand that you are very upset with my son Larry and his friends. How do you want to handle this?”

  “Well, the last thing I want is an issue with you. I believe that you should warn your son and his friends that any further incidents can become a big issue with us.”

  “I understand. I will see to it that your son Joey or your son Rocco will not have any more problems. Isn’t that right Larry?”

  “Yes.”

  “Now Larry and Joey please step out of the room I need to talk to Mr. Toranetti.”

  Larry and I walked out of the office and sat in chairs away from each other. I do not know what was going on in the office but when my father came out he had a smile on his face that we had succeeded.

  We thanked Mr. Campoella and left to go home.

  Brooklyn

  I want to tell you about the area in Brooklyn where we lived. I told you the area was controlled so I need to explain how. There are four sections that made up the area we lived in. The first is Bay Ridge, second is Bensonhurst, third is Dyker Heights and last is Bath Beach. This took up a lot of area.

  By controlled I mean that the big families made sure there were very few problems. For instance, you could not start a sanitation business unless you asked permission. You could not open a club or put in vending machines without permission. There are many other examples, but I know you get the picture.

  I lived in the Bath Beach & Dyker Heights area. I lived in a two family house that was converted into a one family. This was a great area because across the street was Dyker Heights Golf Course and down the street was Dyker Heights Park. On the other end of the park was Graves End Bay. We used to go there and watch the big tankers and freighters come through the bay to the downtown Brooklyn piers. If you walked west along the water you could get to the army’s Fort Hamilton. This fort watched the whole bay. During WWII a German sub was spotted in the bay and that really was a cause for alarm. Across the street from the fort was Fort Hamilton Park. In the park there was a huge cannon that we used to climb on to get a better view of the water.

  If you walked east by Grave Ends Bay you went into Coney Island. My brother and I used to go to Coney Island with my mother and father at least once a month. Coney Island was a big amusement park with great rides and of course the famous Nathan’s® hot dogs. We would go on the largest wooden roller coaster, the Bobsled, bumper cars, and many other rides. The one we both loved was the Merry-Go-Round. We always had to get a horse that was on the outside because they had this arm that came out from the sidewalk that had rings slide down to the bottom of the arm and stick there for us to grab. There were always at least five brass rings and if you got one you got a free ride.

  Inside Coney Island was a place called Steeplechase. This was an amusement park inside Coney Island.

  You had to buy tickets to get in. They had quite a few rides but the one we loved was the horse racing ride. The horse was just like a horse on the Merry-Go-Round but it sat on a rail instead of a pole. The horses were in a row of four just like a race track. You get on the horse, a bell would ring, and you’re off and running. These horses went pretty fast so you had to put your strap on and hold on. This was the greatest ride of all. You didn’t wi
n anything but it was a lot of fun. My father used to fix the cars for owners of Steeple Chase so they gave him lots of tickets for free. Sometimes we would take some of the kids on our block with us to Steeplechase and they would love it.

  I loved living in Brooklyn and I had made many friends. We played a lot of stick ball, baseball, and built snow forts stacked with snowballs. It was a lot of fun living in Brooklyn.

  10

  My Father

  My father grew up in a home in Farmingdale, Long Island. He was there with his two brothers Carl and Mike and his close friend Arthur Antonella.

  Arthur became a well-respected man in our area and told my father that if he ever needed anything to call him. Because of Arthur my father received a lot of business from the known people in the area.

  While I was in high school I wanted to join the baseball team but because I had a history of asthma they would not allow me to join any sports at all.

  I was very upset and my attitude got in the way of my thinking. I started to rebel by not going to class, not showing up at school, and getting in with a bad crowd. These guys were all a bunch of thieves and only wanted to fight and steal. I was in the middle of this and really wanted to get out of it.

  They had protection rackets, and money lending, and even threatened many teachers to give good grades.

  Dean Summers had me in his office many times in the next four years. He had my father in a couple of times and my father would talk to me and tell me that I was making a fool of myself. He would also say, “If you continue staying around these people you will end up in jail. I will tell you only once that you had better smarten up.”

  I decided that I had better listen to my father. He always taught me the right thing to do and I finally started to take my school work seriously. I stayed away from the people I was hanging around with and I was threatened by them a few times. I held my ground and told them I didn’t want to end up in jail and if they had a problem with that I would only be too willing to solve their problem. These guys knew that I meant every word I said and decided that they didn’t need the extra trouble. I walked away and didn’t have any other issues.

  11

  Getting a Job

  I didn’t want to continue with school so my father said I would have to get a job. He said, “Do you want to work with me in the shop or do you want to do something else?”

  I wanted to work with the Teamsters driving trucks. I have always admired Uncle Tommy when he used to take us for rides in the truck he was driving. I knew he was a big shot in the Teamsters so maybe he would get me a job.

  My father said he didn’t think it was a good idea to ask for a favor from my uncle. I didn’t care.

  My father asked, “Do you know how to drive a truck?”

  “I know how to drive a car it can’t be that hard, it’s just bigger.”

  My father laughed and said, “Okay I will talk to him and let you know what he says. In the meantime I could use your help at the shop.”

  “Great Dad, thanks.”

  About three months passed and my Uncle Tommy showed up at the shop. I said, “Hi Uncle Tommy.”

  “Hi Joey, so you want to drive a truck and join the Teamsters. What do you know about driving a truck?”

  “Not much but I am a very fast learner.” He laughed and said, “Do you have a chauffeur’s license?”

  “No.”

  “That’s okay I will get you one. How old are you?”

  “I am seventeen.”

  “You need to be eighteen. Okay, get me your birth certificate and I will fix it. On Saturday I want you to meet me in Maspeth at Transamerica Freight. Be there at 7:00 a.m. I will have a good friend of mine teach you how to drive a semi. I will also be there with your new license and your new birth certificate. You will have to join the Union and the cost is $125. Then you will need to pay dues of $20 per month. So have the membership fee and two months dues at that time.”

  I said, “I will be there and I will have the money for you. Thank you Uncle Tommy.”

  “I will see you on Saturday, Joey.”

  My father came out of his office and asked my uncle to come in. They disappeared into the office and they didn’t come out for at least an hour. When my father and uncle came out of the office my uncle said goodbye to me and my father and said to me, “Be there on time Saturday.”

  “Yes sir.”

  My father came over to me and said, “You realize that you owe your Uncle a favor for doing this for you.”

  “I know.”

  12

  Uncle Tommy

  Tommy Consiglio was a big shot in the union. He was well liked and feared by many people. If he said he would take care of something you could count on it. But you would owe him big time. He wasn’t very big in build but like my father he knew how to handle himself.

  He was actually a close friend of my father’s and I always called him uncle. When I received confirmation I asked him to be my godfather and he said yes.

  I didn’t know until recently that he was in jail for five years for manslaughter. My father told me he really wasn’t the person that committed the crime he just took the blame for the other person. This is probably why he was very much welcomed and liked in the neighborhood. He was known as a standup guy and would never turn on anyone.

  While he was in prison he had plenty of protection from people that knew about what had happened. They were told to protect him.

  When he got out he was given a job as a shop steward in the trucking industry. A shop steward fights for the workers of a company for the union. He was so good at this that he eventually became one of the few in the biggest trucking union in our area.

  Now I owed him big time for the job I was asking for.

  13

  Saturday Morning

  I arrived at Transamerica Freight 6:45 a.m. on Saturday and saw my uncle’s car in the terminal, so I drove into the terminal and parked next to his car. I got out of my car and walked to the steps leading to the door that said dock. I walked in and saw my uncle standing next to a person in a suit and another in work clothes. My uncle saw me and said, “Hi Joey, come on over I want you to meet some people.”

  I said, “Hi Uncle Tommy,” and walked towards them.

  My uncle introduced me to the man in the suit first, Joey this is the terminal manager of Transamerica, Eric Calder. We shook hands and said hi to each other. This is John Talucchi the steward of this terminal. He is going to teach you how to drive a tractor trailer (semi) today. We shook hands and said hi. My uncle said, “You will probably be here all day because you will start work on Monday morning. You have to understand that you will be the last one to work because there are 79 workers ahead of you, these are union rules. Do you understand me?”

  I said, “Yes I do.”

  My uncle said to me, “Let’s go outside and we will talk.” When we got outside he said, “Did you bring what I asked you to bring?”

  “Yes, here is my birth certificate, driver’s license, and $165.00.”

  “Great, I will have these for you tonight and bring them to you, including your union book which will show that you have joined the union and are paid up two months in advance.”

  “Thank you Uncle Tommy I really appreciate this.”

  “Don’t worry Joey, some day you can help me; I am sure of that. Do well, learn fast, and I will see you tonight.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  14

  Driving

  John said to me, “Okay kid let’s get started with your driving instructions.”

  “Okay, great.”

  We went out into the back of the terminal where all the tractors were parked. They all looked fairly new and pretty big. I was a little nervous because the biggest truck I ever drove was a pickup. These trucks were red with a white stripe on the bottom of the door and the name on the side of the door said Transamerica. The first thing I was told was to climb up into the driver’s seat and check out the distance from the gas pedal. I w
ould need to adjust the seat if necessary so my feet could reach both the clutch and the gas pedal. So I made all the adjustments and got comfortable.

  The next thing I noticed was that one shifter had a button on it. Now I really started to get nervous. This looked like it had many speeds on it. John saw how I looked and said, “Don’t worry Joey you will be shifting this transmission in a very short time. For now we are only using the shifter. This is a Road Ranger transmission. The button on the side of the shifter is for low and high. When you shift into first gear and the button is down, this is the lowest gear, you will only use this when there is a heavy load on the vehicle. Since we are going to drive the tractor only we are going to start 3rd gear with the button down.” He then showed me the pattern of the shifter for the gears. “Do you think you can handle it?”

  “I think so.”

  We started the tractor and I put the shifter into 3rd gear and bucked the truck and stalled. I tried about three times and finally got it. I started to drive around the terminal and got used to using all the gears except the high ones. The truck had air brakes and I had to get used to them also.

  After about an hour I was able to use all the gears and got used to the air brakes. John said to me, “You are doing great so now I will show you how to hook up to a trailer.”

  We pulled up to a trailer at the front of the terminal and he said, “I want you to back up as close as possible to the trailer and let the back end of the tractor and the fifth wheel be directly in the middle of the trailer.”

  So I did exactly as he told me and he said, “Great, now stand on the back of the tractor and take those lines and hook them up to here and this is the lights line that goes there.”

  I did what he said and he told me to get back in the tractor. “I did.”