Swimming to Catalina

by Stuart Woods

  They each read the document.

  “You don’t want a hell of a lot, do you?” Cable asked sarcastically.

  “My client is asking for a lot less than he is willing to give,” Stone replied.

  The two men, without another word, got up and went to find the phones.

  “You’re some piece of work,” Rick said. “Do you really think they’re going to buy this, sight unseen?”

  “I think they very well might,” Stone said, handing a copy of the document to him. “Aren’t you?”

  “Well…”

  “You had better start convincing the DA, if you want your department to participate.”

  Rick went to look for a phone.

  58

  They were all gathered around the dining table in Stone’s suite now, and he was anxiously awaiting their decision. John Rubens, without a word, signed Stone’s document and passed it to him. After a moment’s hesitation, so did Hank Cable.

  “How about you, Rick?” Stone asked.

  Rick Grant signed the document, and Stone gave them each a copy for their records.

  “When do we meet your witness?” Rubens asked.

  Stone got up, went into the adjoining suite, and came back with Vance Calder. The IRS man and the FBI agent suddenly became movie fans. They were both on their feet, almost to attention, shaking hands with the famous man, and Rick Grant’s reception was almost as welcoming. They all sat down.

  “Vance,” Stone said, handing him a copy of the agreement, “the IRS, the FBI, and the LAPD have all agreed to offer you immunity from prosecution and complete confidentiality in return for your account of recent events; in addition, you will not have to testify in court, and the kidnapping will be kept out of it. In return, you are expected to be completely frank with them and to answer their questions truthfully. I have to warn you that should you not tell the truth, you can be charged with lying to a federal agent. Do you understand the terms of the agreement?”

  “Yes,” Vance said.

  “I think it would be best, gentlemen, if you let Mr. Calder start at the beginning and tell his whole story without interruption. When he is finished, you can ask all the questions you like. I’d like to remind you that I consider Mr. Calder still to be in danger, and I expect you to keep his location confidential. Vance?”

  Vance Calder proceeded to give a performance that, had Stone seen it in a theater, he would have stood up and applauded. The federal agents and the L.A. policeman listened, rapt, as the story unfolded. When he was finished, the questioning began, and Vance’s answers were as impressive as his monologue had been. Stone began to believe that the actor should write his own scripts.

  When it was over, Vance retired to his suite, and Stone faced the feds again.

  “That was very impressive, but it wasn’t enough,” Hank Cable said.

  “I told you that it wouldn’t be,” Stone replied, “but now you have a direction. I suggest that you begin by arresting Martin Barone on charges of tax evasion, money laundering, and whatever else you can come up with from the wiretap of his offices. You can at least threaten him with Vance’s testimony. Even though that won’t happen, Barone doesn’t know. You could throw in the kidnapping charge, too; I can give you a witness who’ll testify that Barone was in possession of Mrs. Calder’s car for several days.”

  The meeting broke up, and Stone asked Rick Grant to stay behind.

  “You were right,” Rick said. “There’s not going to be much left for the LAPD.”

  “Oh, there might be,” Stone said. “How about murder?”

  “You’re still alive.”

  “Vinnie Mancuso and his partner, Manny, aren’t.”

  “You’ll never tie that to Ippolito.”

  “There’s a new way in,” Stone said. “Let me make a couple of phone calls.” He called Betty Southard and made a request and had a longer conversation with Lou Regenstein; then he invited Rick to join him in the car.

  “Where are we going?” Rick asked.

  “To Centurion Studios,” Stone replied.

  “For what?”

  “To see Billy O’Hara. He’s up to his ass in this.” As they drove, Stone explained what he had in mind.

  “The guy was a cop,” Rick said. “You really think he’ll go for it?”

  “One way to find out. If he doesn’t, you and I have a lot more work ahead of us.”

  At Centurion they picked up the visitor’s passes that Betty had left for them and asked directions to the security director’s office. They hadn’t made an appointment. O’Hara’s secretary disappeared into his office, then came out. “He’ll see you,” she said.

  “Please call Mr. Regenstein’s office and tell him we’re with Mr. O’Hara,” Stone said. He and Rick went into the private office and closed the door behind him.

  “Rick!” O’Hara said rising to greet him with a handshake. “How are you?”

  “Very well, Billy,” Grant said. “I’d like you to meet someone; this is Stone Barrington.”

  O’Hara’s handshake stopped before it got started; he was clearly nonplussed. That was enough to convince Stone.

  Stone and Rick sat down.

  “What can I do for you?” O’Hara asked. He was making an effort to regain his poise.

  “You’d better deal with the phone call first,” Rick said. Immediately, the phone rang.

  The secretary’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Regenstein for you,” she said.

  “Tell your secretary to go to lunch,” Rick said.

  “She’s already been to lunch,” O’Hara replied, his hand on the phone.

  “Tell her to go again.”

  “Robin,” O’Hara said into the intercom, “go over to Office Supplies and stock up on everything. Give me an hour here.” He picked up the phone. “Lou? How are you?”

  Stone and Rick could hear Regenstein’s voice blaring over the instrument; he was clearly very angry.

  “Wait a minute, Lou,” O’Hara was saying, “let’s talk about this.”

  Regenstein went on at some length, and O’Hara wasn’t getting a word in edgewise. “All right,” he said finally, then hung up.

  “Billy,” Rick said, “even though you no longer work for Centurion Studios, we have Mr. Regenstein’s permission to use this office for as long as it takes.”

  “As long as what takes?” O’Hara said shakily. Most of the color had drained from his face.

  “Billy, you were a good cop, maybe even an outstanding one, but that’s not going to help you now, unless I have your complete cooperation.”

  “About what?” O’Hara asked.

  “Here’s how it is: you’re under arrest for kidnapping and murder one; there’ll be other charges later. You know your rights, but consider that I just read them to you.”

  “Kidnapping? Murder? What are you talking about, Rick?”

  “Shut up and listen to me. I’m going to give you an opportunity you’ll never have again after this meeting. I’m going to go out on a limb and offer you complete immunity from prosecution, if you tell me everything right now. You’ll have to testify against Ippolito, Sturmack, and Barone, and anybody else involved, but after they’re convicted, you’re off the hook.

  “You certainly have the right to remain silent, but if you do, I promise you, from the bottom of my heart, that you will have spent your last day on this earth as a free man. You know there won’t be any bail. In addition to that, I promise you the roughest ride in the joint that I can muster, and that’s pretty rough. I’ll personally see to it that you do the hardest possible time in the worst prison this state has to offer, and that’s pretty bad; I’ll see that you’re put on the same cell block with some of the people you sent up when you were a cop.” He paused for effect. “That’s my offer, and time is running out. What’s it going to be?”

  Stone tensed as O’Hara’s hand went inside his jacket, but he came back with a handkerchief and mopped his face. “You said complete immunity?”

  “I
did.”

  “From everything? I’ll walk?”

  “That’s right. I don’t give a shit what you did.”

  “Can I have it in writing?”

  “I’m the only friend you’ve got, Billy; don’t abuse my friendship.”

  O’Hara opened his desk drawer, causing Stone concern again, but he came up with a bottle of pills. He poured himself a glass of water and took one, then he sat back in his chair, a beaten man. “Okay, Rick: I’ll play it your way. Ippolito can go fuck himself.”

  59

  Rick placed a hand-held tape recorder on the desk between himself and Billy O’Hara and switched it on. He counted to ten aloud, played back the sound to be sure he had a level, then rewound it and pressed the RECORD button.

  “My name is Richard Grant,” he said. “I am a lieutenant of detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department attached to the chief of detectives. I am interviewing William O’Hara, a former police officer and, until recently, chief of security at Centurion Studios. Mr. O’Hara has agreed to give me a full statement of his activities without counsel present and to testify against others, in return for guaranteed immunity from all prosecution. Also present, as a witness, is Mr. Stone Barrington, a retired New York City police officer.” He stated the date and time, then looked up at his interviewee. “Are you William O’Hara?”

  “Yes, I am,” O’Hara replied.

  “Have you been informed of your constitutional rights?”

  “I have.”

  “Do you understand them?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Do you wish to have legal counsel present during this interview?”

  “No, I do not.”

  “Are the statements which you are about to make given freely and without duress?”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Have you been promised anything by me or any other law enforcement official, except immunity from prosecution, in return for making these statements?”

  “No, I have not been.”

  “Tell me, as fully as possible, how you became involved in the crimes presently under investigation by the LAPD and the federal authorities.”

  O’Hara took a deep breath and began. His presentation was that of a police officer testifying in court, as he had been trained to do. “I retired from the Los Angeles Police Department five years ago, on the offer of a job from Mr. Louis Regenstein, chairman of the board, as director of security for Centurion Studios. After I had been employed by Centurion for a year I was offered the opportunity to purchase stock in the company. I bought one hundred shares at a price of five hundred dollars a share. The studio loaned me the money to make the purchase.

  “Approximately three months prior to the present date I was approached by Mr. David Sturmack, a member of the board of Centurion Studios, with an offer to trade my shares in Centurion for an equal number of shares of Albacore Fisheries, which is a company controlled by Mr. Sturmack and Mr. Onofrio Ippolito, who is also chairman of the board of the Safe Harbor Bank.”

  “Was this an advantageous offer?”

  “It represented an increase in the value of my investment by a factor of ten.”

  “What did Mr. Sturmack tell you he wanted in return for this windfall?”

  “He asked me to assist him in doing intelligence work at the studio directed at causing other stockholders to sell Albacore their shares.”

  “Did you agree to help him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he ask you to do anything else?”

  “Not at that time.”

  “Later?”

  “A few weeks later, Mr. Sturmack came back to see me. He said that he had learned that Louis Regenstein was planning to fire me as head of security. He said that he would use his influence in the company to prevent such an action, if he could count on me for other work.”

  “What other work?”

  “He made an appointment for me to see Mr. Onofrio Ippolito the following day. At Mr. Ippolito’s office at Safe Harbor Bank I was searched for weapons and recording devices, then I met with Mr. Ippolito alone.”

  “What was the substance of that meeting?”

  “He first told me that he had evidence, in the form of witnesses, that I had participated in illegal actions when I was a police officer.”

  “What actions?”

  “He said he had witnesses who could testify that I had accepted bribes from members of organized crime.”

  “Had you accepted such bribes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what transpired?”

  “Mr. Ippolito said that he had a use for me, and that if I did as he asked I would become rich beyond my wildest dreams. He said he had business plans that would increase the value of my Albacore stock by a factor of fifty, perhaps a hundred, and that if I served him well, I would be allowed to buy more stock at favorable prices. He also offered me a salary of two hundred thousand dollars a year in cash, tax free, and said that I could continue to collect my salary at Centurion.”

  “Did you accept his proposal?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What work did you do for Mr. Ippolito?”

  “I searched the employee files at Centurion and made a list of all stockholders and gave it to Mr. Sturmack. I transported large sums of cash from a Mr. Martin Barone to the offices of Albacore, which are on the floor below Mr. Ippolito’s office in the Safe Harbor building. I did many other routine jobs for Mr. Ippolito, including the disciplining of a loan shark who reported to Mr. Barone.”

  “What was his name?”

  “Ralph DiOrio.”

  “How did you discipline him?”

  “I beat him into unconsciousness with a black-jack.”

  “Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to commit any other violent crimes?”

  “Yes, he ordered me to arrange three murders.”

  “Did you do so?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who were the victims?”

  “The first was Mr. Stone Barrington, who I now realize escaped death.”

  “And who carried out the attempt on Mr. Barrington’s life?”

  “Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”

  “Did Mr. Ippolito subsequently learn that Mr. Barrington had escaped death?”

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “Who were the other two murder victims?”

  “Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”

  “Why were they murdered?”

  “They had been arrested on other charges, and Mr. Ippolito was concerned that they might connect him to Mr. Barrington’s death.”

  “Who carried out these two murders?”

  “Thomas Cosenza and Joseph Zito.”

  “How were they murdered?”

  “On Mr. Ippolito’s specific instructions, they were shot in the head and dumped into the Pacific Ocean with weights attached.”

  Rick wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to O’Hara. “I show you a name; is this a name you recognize?”

  “Yes.”

  “For the purposes of this interview, you will refer to this person as Mr. X.”

  “All right.”

  “Did anyone ask you to do anything with regard to Mr. X?”

  “Yes. Mr. Ippolito instructed me to have the wife of Mr. X kidnapped and held until I received further instructions from him.”

  “Did you do so?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who conducted the kidnapping?”

  “Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”

  “Where was she taken?”

  “She was moved daily from one location to another.”

  “Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to contact Mr. X to arrange the return of his wife?”

  “No, I believe others did that.”

  “Do you know who?”

  “Other employees of Mr. Ippolito. I don’t know their names.”

  “Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to do anything else with regard to the kidnapping of Mrs. X?”

  “When Mr.
Regenstein asked me to help in the recovery of Mrs. X, I told Mr. Ippolito. He instructed me to pretend to help Mr. X, but to report all communications to him or Mr. Sturmack.”

  “Was Mr. Sturmack involved in the kidnapping?”

  “He was aware of it.”

  “What was the purpose of the kidnapping?”

  “To persuade Mr. X to sell to Albacore his stock in Centurion Studios. Mr. X is a large stockholder.”

  “Was there any other purpose?”

  “I believe Mr. Ippolito wanted Mr. X to participate in other of his business activities, but I am not familiar with those.”

  “I ask you again, Mr. O’Hara, have you given this interview without duress, and with only the seeking of immunity from prosecution as your motive?”

  “Yes.”

  Rick switched off the recorder. “All right, that’s enough for now. I’m going to get you a promise of immunity from the feds, then allow them to question you in a lot more detail about Ippolito’s, Sturmack’s, and Barone’s business affairs.”

  “I’ll have a lot more to say,” O’Hara said.

  “Good.” Rick picked up the phone on the man’s desk and dialed a number. “This is Rick Grant; I’m arresting a man who has given me a statement implicating a number of other people in serious crimes. I want a secure hotel room arranged for him now, where he can be interviewed in greater depth. Yes, I’ll hold.” He covered the phone. “I’m going to move Billy now, then we can talk again to Cable and Rubens.” He went back to the phone. “Good. Send an unmarked car and two detectives to the Centurion Studios security department now to pick up my man. His name is William O’Hara. Yes, the same. Got all that? Good.” He hung up.

  Less than ten minutes passed before the two detectives arrived.

  “Put him in the back of the car, no cuffs, no fuss, and take him to the hotel,” Rick said. “Then get his house keys, go there, and get him some clothes. I don’t want him touched.”

  The men departed with O’Hara.

  Rick picked up the phone again and called Hank Cable at the FBI. “Hank,” he said, “we’ve got a witness against Ippolito, Sturmack, and Barone.” He gave him the name of the hotel. “Can you and Rubens meet us there in an hour? Ask for me at the front desk.” He hung up and turned to Stone. “Let’s get over there; I want Cable and Rubens to interrogate Billy. Once that’s done we’ll know our next move.”