A silence fell across the room. Everybody was thinking about what the chief had to say. Rory's cell went off and he moved out into the hallway to talk. In a few minutes he came back and said, "My contact says to please hold tight as his boss and two special agents are flying down here as we're talking. He asked if someone could pick them up at the Bandon Airport. It appears they would like our help. The FBI is very aware of our last cases being solved so efficiently. I told them to have an agent call when they landed that we are only a few minutes away."
"If nothing else," said Stacy, "it'll be a learning experience for all of us."
A Family Affair
On the 12th tee, golfers in three golf carts sat admiring the scenery listening to the 'Father' of the Chicago Russo Family, Dino. They'd been in and around the Chicago area since the Capone days. It was the Russo Family, slowly, but steadily, that rose to power over all others. They combined legitimate business with business that made Capone rise to the top of the heap. When using the term deep pockets, in street talk, meant huge profit margins. We're talking drugs, gambling, prostitution and any other forms of ways to make money without paying taxes.
The six men from Chicago were down to five. Mario Moretti got out of line and was eliminated from the family. He was literally sent up river and put out to pasture.
Dino said, "Okay you math wizards, multiply 405,000 times 47 and tell me what you get. Number two man Emilio used his score card and went to figuring. Dino drummed his fingers on the small steering wheel waiting for an answer. The others were waiting for Emilio to provide the answer.
Emilio said, "Around 20 million give or take. I know what you're doing Dino. If I'm not mistaken that's the amount of cranberries and the wholesale price of the total. So, 20 million dollars is the answer. That's not bad for a hick town like this windy place. I thought Chicago was windy, but this takes the cake."
"We need more legit biz boys. Wisconsin is the biggest producer and Bandon or Oregon is fourth behind east coast states. People are sucking up cranberries due to its prowess against cancer. My sources tell me the common folks are going more natural yearly to fight obesity and illness. Let's jump on the bandwagon. But we've stirred the locals up with the execution of Mario. I think we should clear out in a day or two after we've checked out the realty markets for bogs," said Dino. Now, let's continue losing golf balls."
Here Comes the Calvary
Flo came into Stacy's office saying, "A FBI agent is on the phone telling me they're at the airport waiting for a ride." I told them it's only a half mile so walking is good for the health."
Stacy, Rory and even Ben was laughing knowing full well Flo would never say that, but it sure made for breaking the tension of a murder case. Rory went to give them a ride.
When they walked in Flo stood up smiling noticing three men in black suits. Stacy took a quick glance at Flo seeing her raise an eyebrow, almost making Stacy laugh out loud. The lead man was Special Agent Joe Dumas who was the Lead in the Portland office of organized crime. Stacy held out her hand in greeting. Stacy was relieved to see a warm smile on his aging face. The other two agents, Jim Flemming and Jorge Sanchez were young and appeared under thirty.
Stacy said, "Welcome to Bandon gentlemen. Follow me please to our incident room." Chairs had been made ready around a conference table meant for six not seven which included the Chief Ray Foreham.
Special Agent Dumas got right to the point. "Both the Chicago and New York mobs are fighting for legitimate business outside the metropolitan areas. They're looking for solid investments where taxes are lower and labor cheaper. In this particular case, the cranberry industry is booming and appears to be a good investment. Bandon is number four in total product produced in the US.
We've seen nothing out of the ordinary to this date. No complaints from land owners being threatened or scared from physical harm have come in. Nor has there, up until now, any major crimes committed. From your reports, it appears one of their own murdered the victim. Of course we'd love to capture and prosecute the perp.
I'd be happy to hear a report on what happened and events up to this date."
Rory took the nod and said, "I'll summarize sir if that's alright with you?" He saw a nod and continued, "We found a well dressed male body in a farmer's field not far from the Coquille River. After the autopsy, it had all the hallmarks of a mob execution hit. The victim was registered at the upscale Dunes Resort just outside of town here. He was registered under name of Michael Corleone, obviously an alias. As it turns out, he was one member of six from Chicago. The other five recently check out. In addition, a group of four men from New York are there now. They are registered under the company name of Bandini Export/Import Co. We checked and they're using their real names.
The big boss is Sig Bandini and his second is his son, Paulo Bandini. We've done nothing since reporting the finding to the FBI. However, prior to that we've check on local alibis and nothing seems out of the ordinary at this point."
"I see in your reports that his shoes were missing and a ring was found. I'm puzzled by the missing shoes. The autopsy report doesn't mention any form of torture. Any idea about the missing shoes," Agent Dumas asked.
Ben took the lead and said, "A large cabin cruiser is docked in the harbor. I can think of only one reason to the vic being shoeless. The owner of the luxury cruiser didn't allow street shoes on his boat."
"Makes sense detective. How about the ring?"
"The vic took it off, dropped it next to the bank. I found it sir. I think he didn't want the executioner to have his expensive ring."
"Good thinking again detective. Now, how do we prove he was murdered his own people," asked agent Dumas.
"We don't, said Stacy a little too loud, but it did get everyone's attention. "What I mean is – it will almost impossible to tie the killer to the Chicago men. The murder weapon is in the river somewhere. Nobody witnessed the victim on the boat or getting off the boat. The resort will confirm they all had dinner there and went to their respective rooms. His personal belongings revealed nothing germane to his murder. However, I'm all ears to keep working and not let these guys get away with murder."
"Coming from you surprises me a little," said Special Agent Dumas. "Your past record is excellent, but this reaction seems a little defeatist to me."
"I face facts Agent Dumas. The fact is we have no evidence and no witnesses to go on. Like I said, give me a lead and I'm on it," said Stacy.
"Killing one of their own is not a big deal to the bureau. However, having someone murdered and dumped upon a citizens land, is a big deal to us. Word goes around and suddenly the whole community thinks the mob has their sights on them; especially when they start poking around for cranberry bogs to purchase. Will that event lower the value of land around here," Agent Dumas asked.
"Yes it will," said Chief Ray Foreham. "At the present time, if I'm not mistaken, we don’t' have any absentee land owners of our cranberry bogs. Yes, new owners have added to community our increase in population, but if these back east companies' start rattling their swords; prices will go down, along with the safety and security concerns of ordinary citizens."
"We appreciate your input Chief. Meanwhile, as a murder has been committed, we must investigate. I'll begin at the Dune Resort interviewing Sig Bandini and his associates. I'll make it clear we're not happy with their intervention into the area for business reasons. But he'll throw the old democracy, free enterprise system at me. We don't have much leverage. I might suggest, if there isn't one already, a farmer's alliance. They should stick together and establish a fair market price of their land. Real estate agents should be made aware of that formation," said Dumas.
"Yes, they have one but it's so loosely organized and run that I'm afraid it's not much help at this point in time. However, this might shake them up a bit," said the Chief.
"Okay, Detective Caltex can take us to the resort for our initial contact with the New York Bandini group," said Dumas.
Stacy remained b
ehind rather fuming at the futility of the case. As she paced the office over at the Dunes Resort, Sig Bandini was on the job seeking to purchase as much cranberry land as possible.
Sour Cranberries
In his suite of rooms, Sig Bandini and his son were entertaining a local real estate agent who was known to move in the berry market. Sig said, "So Mr. Broach you think there're a few bogs available for purchase right now?
"I'd have to meet with them, but my contacts tell me a few are thinking about selling to pay off some debt. Give me a couple days to find out and I'll contact you soonest I can."
"Any idea how much per acre this land might be Cain," asked the son Paulo."
Cain appraised both men and really didn't feel comfortable with big shots from back east with east coast accents. He saw right off they were Italian and he didn't want to stereotype, but they looked and sounded like mafia to him. "It's in the neighbor hood of 8 ~ 10,000 per acre," Cain said."
"We're anxious to land a few forty or more acre pieces Mr. Broach," said Sig Bandini.
Cain rose and thanked them for the nice hospitality. He gave them his best smile and went out the door. No sooner had Cain Broach left, when a knock at the door revealed Special Agent Dumas and his two fellow agents.
Sig was a little taken aback as he thought Mr. Broach had forgotten something. He frowned and led the three FBI agents into his suite. Dumas sat where Cain did and it was still warm. Sig returned to his place as well as his son did. "What can we do for the FBI," asked Sig.
"A person was murdered and his body left in a cow pasture a few days ago. He was from Chicago and we suspect he was associated with the Russo Family. They were staying here up until a while ago as you are. The evidence points to execution mob type killing. However, before we pursue that, tell me what are you here for other than to play golf," asked Dumas.
"Just a nice vacation with the wives," said Sig.
"I just bumped into a man leaving your room who is a real estate broker here in Bandon. I almost knocked him over. He told me that you're looking to purchase some cranberry land. Now you tell me that you're here on vacation. What is the original answer to my question, Mr. Bandini?"
"Okay. You'll discover the answer sooner or later. We're here to acquire some cranberry land for investment. Those Russo idiots killed one of their own, but the reason why is unknown to us. Dino Russo and I go way back. We don't cross lines and when we both discovered each other in Bandon, Oregon, we started laughing. They too are looking for investments in bogs. But you know what I think is they didn't want to compete and drive the price of land up."
"Why do you think they killed one of their own, asked Dumas?
"His name was Mario Moriti. One of Russo's boys told me that Mario was screwing one of the daughters of a land owner who wanted to sell his property. The land owner caught them going at it. He hit the guy on the head with a shovel knocking him out. Next the farmer took some cranberries and stuffed them in his mouth making him swallow some. After that he called this resort telling Dino to come get this bag of filth. Russo sent his boys to take care of the matter. Boom, no more Mario," said Paulo.
"They left town shortly after that. Now, Special Agent Dumas, we're a legitimate company wanting to do business in America the land of the free. We've every right to exercise our freedom to purchase something somebody wants to sell if he is the rightful owner. End of story."
"What baffles me is when they killed Mario, why didn't they just dump him into the ocean or the river. Why take him up river to a dairy farmer's land for him to discover. Makes no sense to me. Unless, it was the dairy farmer's daughter Mario was involved with," said Dumas thinking out loud.
Stacy Stewing
Stacy and Ben were the only ones left in the office. Stacy was pacing around while Ben almost got dizzy watching here. She kept repeating, "I don't get it Ben. Let me see if I've this straight. A member of the Chicago mob is murdered mob style, then, discarded without shoes on into a dairy farmers irrigation ditch next to a river. Keep marks on the river bank shows a boat had come ashore at high tide. Oh by the way, when was high tide on that night? Anyway, somehow this guy is forced to eat cranberries or was he already dead when they forced cranberries down his throat? Shoes. The victim didn't have on any shoes, nor were his pant legs rolled up. You find a red ruby ring near the bank. Time of death is midnight to four am. Lastly, the Chicago guys check out and go home, but the New York guys are still here. All fingers and evidence points to Chicago murdering one of their own, but for what reason? Why drag him all the way from Chicago just to kill him. It would be simpler to off him in Chicago where he could disappear without a trace. Here, in a community of around 3000, a dead body found in a pasture irrigation ditch on a dairy farm is front page news. This sense makes no sense Ben."
I'm with you Stacy. If New York had murdered the guy, why would they stick around to be interrogated," said Ben.
"Yeah and by the way, what happened on verifying Darin and his sisters alibis," asked Stacy.
"I heard, kind of second hand, that Darin's pals have no idea where Darin slept that Saturday night. They were all too drunk to notice. As for Debbie Woodrow, her girlfriend thought sure she was sleeping there, but then she confessed she spent about six hours with a friend at his house. Which really leaves them both without a substantial alibi."
"That's what I’m thinking Ben," as she kept pacing, but now Ben gave up following her around the room. "However Ben, what would be the motive to murder a mobster from Chicago? What's the connection?"
I can't accept the notion that a hit was put on Michael Corleone and left to rot in a farm's drainage ditch. Why not throw him overboard or off the Jetty."
Stacy heard voices outside the incident room. Rory and the three FBI agents followed him in. They sat down at the conference table like they owned the joint. Stacy slowly walked over and sat down at the head of the table like she really did own the place. Dumas nodded and after it became quiet said, "Here's what we gleaned from out interview with Sig Bandini and his son Paulo. Sig said it was a coincidence that both the Chicago and New York families were here in Bandon at the same time. Sig said the reason they're here is to buy cranberry land for investments. He also said they had nothing to do with the murder of Mario Moriti. Yes, that's the victims real name they told us. Now the son said he was told by a Chicago member that a farmer caught Mario having sex with his daughter. The farmer hit the guy over the head with a shovel and then called Dino Russo to come get his filth. According to Paulo two guys came out and wasted Mario leaving him in the drainage ditch. They came by boat so as not to alert the dogs or any family members. The shoes were thrown overboard with the murder weapon. Okay, what do you all think about what we heard so far," asked Dumas.
Stacy listened with both ears tuned in completely focused on what Dumas said. She thought about it and after a long thirty seconds said, "My first reaction is it’s a crock of crap. It sounds plausible and a prosecutor would probably like it, but let's consider a few things here. First, what farmer and how did he know who to call? Those are two things that are a must know in my book. Next, a farmer or father sneaks out in the middle of the night to find his daughter, say, in the barn, banging a guy from Chicago? I think somebody is filling somebody with a pile of manure."
Rory was smiling revealing his handsome face. Ben too has a large grin on his face. The three FBI guys were not grinning but grimacing. Stacy was looking directly at Special Agent Dumas. Dumas said, "Well, you leave nothing resting on your chest do you Detective Foreham? Talk about cutting to the chase. I for one, thought it rather plausible, but then that's why we have these meetings." He turned to Rory and asked, "You're or were very quiet detective coming back here. What do you think?"
"At this juncture I'm really not sure what I think or who murdered Mario. I'm like Stacy and we need to check further into what farmer might have discovered his daughter doing thing she shouldn't have been doing. I'd say for a farmer to call Dino Rossi, the boss of his family, would
mean that he and the farmer had discussed buying his property. However, in this case, Lance Woodrow is a dairy farmer not a cranberry farmer. I know, you're thinking he could have invested in land years ago. That's possible and not hard to check on ownership of land here in Bandon."
"Thanks Rory. At this point, I'd like to think about this case and reread the police and autopsy reports again. I wonder is there a reasonably priced motel here in Bandon?"
"Sure there is," said Stacy. I'll ask Flo to book how many rooms Agent Dumas?"
Two rooms with double occupancy for my two agents. Mine, a single please. Here is a credit card Stacy," said Dumas. Stacy heard him use both her and Rory's first name being used by Dumas. The guy, in her book, was a leech feeding off others. A climber if you will. She took the card and left to see Flo and a lung full of fresh air.
These guys reminded her of who not to work for. She was sort of proud of Rory as he didn't seem to be sucking up to the larger than life FBI. In fact, she felt warm about him being happy working for the Oregon State Police.
Flo asked how many days they staying and Stacy shrugged her shoulders frowning. Flo book an overnight only. She too wanted them gone. However, it wasn't to be as the deeper they dug, the more artifacts were found.
The Dairy Farmer's Son and Daughter
Rory and Ben talked about the case on their way back to Coos Bay. Mainly they talked about the two off spring of dairy farmer Woodrow: Darin and Debbie.
"I think we dropped the ball on that one," said Rory to Ben.
"I'm not sure you can say we dropped the ball, but we haven't had a chance to follow up like we usually do. Tomorrow I'll take the son and you take the daughter with Stacy. Also either you or I should check on land ownership under Lance Woodrow or is wife, Laurie."
Murder Mysteries # 2 Page 6
