by Joe Corso
“Ok, Ok I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Just untie me and get me a cup of coffee to clear my head and I’ll tell you everything.”
After his second cup of coffee Porky started spilling the beans and once he started talking it was as if the floodgates opened. He mentioned that he was paid $5,000 and Slats $15,000 and Profaci was the one who put the hit on Yip. He blamed everything on Slats saying that he was never told that the target was Yip.
“Do you think I would have gone along with it if I had known Yip was the target?”
As he looked at Red with large cow eyes he told him what he knew trying very hard to look convincingly innocent but it didn’t work. Red tried not to show it but he was out for blood and Porky was a dead man only he was the only one who didn’t know it. Porky was still clinging to the hope that because he talked, Red would let him live but that wasn’t going to happen. After the discussion ended they both sat looking at one another then apparently satisfied with the information Porky had given him Red stood up and thanked him and put his arm on his shoulder and told him how much he appreciated the help Porky gave him. He said it cleared up a lot of loose ends then he apologized to Porky for having treated him the way he had. Red concluded the meeting by telling Porky that he forgave him but as punishment I’m keeping your money because you don’t deserve it. Then he looked at Ralph and said to him.
“Porky’s in no shape to walk back to his car. Do me a favor and drive him there Ok?”
Ralph put on an act where he appeared to be put out as if he had something better to do but he reluctantly agreed to drive him and he glanced at Porky. “Come on let’s go. I want to get back here in time for the ballgame.”
Red like most of the mob bosses had Slats phone number. He called a contact at the phone company as soon as Porky left. He gave Slats phone number to his contact and he got an address in return then he gave the job of tailing Slats to Vinnie and Moose.
“We have to do this fast because in a day or two Porky’s body is going to be found and Slats will go undercover and we’ll never find him. Do any of you guys know where he hangs out?”
It was Frankie who answered. “He usually hangs out in the pool hall in Corona Heights when he’s not driving his oil truck.”
“Good Frankie. Now can you get a patrol car for a day?”
Yeah I can take one home with me. I’ll tell them my car’s at the shop and I need a loner and they’ll do me a favor and assign one to me for the day.”
“Then we’ll grab him tomorrow. Frankie you’ll be in uniform and we’ll have to get a uniform ready for Vinnie then when you’re both in uniform you’ll pick Slats up for questioning either when he leaves his home or when he’s at the pool hall. Frankie do me a favor and call and confirm that you’ll have the car tomorrow.”
Frankie made the phone call and when he hung up he told Red a car was reserved for him for tomorrow morning. Red instructed Frankie to take Vinnie to a Police supply store and get him a uniform. Two hours later they returned and Red took them into his office and they brainstormed for the next hour and eventually they forged a workable plan. They decided not to pick up Slats when he left his house because neighbors might be able to identify the two cops. Also decided against was picking him up at the pool hall because there were too many witnesses with long memories. They decided to pull him over for a traffic violation put him in cuffs, place him in the backseat of the patrol car, and then leave his car at the curb where it would be one of many cars parked along the street. Once he was cuffed and safely confined in the car they were to take him to the city dump wait until it was safe and then kill him. Red usually kept Frankie out of the wet end of the business but he had no choice. If he had the time he would use Tarzan or Ralph even Trenchie or Gibby but this had to be done fast so he made a small concession. Instead of Frankie doing the hit Vinnie would do it and Frankie would be his back up.
The police cruiser was parked six houses down the street from Slat’s home. It was now nine fifteen in the morning. They had been waiting patiently since seven am. Frankie was an old hand at stakeouts and he knew from experience that having a thermos of hot coffee and a bag of mixed Donuts handy was a necessity so he told Vinnie to reach over and get the bag of donuts from the back seat while he poured two cups of coffee. The coffee and donuts broke the boredom of the last few hours and shook the lethargy from their bones because waiting in a car for hours slowly sapped a man’s strength if he didn’t counter it with coffee and donuts. Frankie was just screwing the top onto the thermos when Slats came bounding down the steps and got into his car and drove off. Frankie put the car in gear and followed from a safe distance until they got to Queens Plaza. They decided to pull him over because it was obvious that he wasn’t heading towards the pool hall. Frankie flipped a switch and their lights suddenly lit up the darkness of the street caused by the tracks overhead blocking the sun. Then he hit the siren for a second or two until Slats got the message and pulled to the curb in front of a bar under the el in a desolate part of Queens. The trains running to and from the city high overhead were noisy as hell but it didn’t bother them because they would be gone in a minute.
Frankie walked over to Slats car and said authoritatively. “Would you please step out of your car sir?”
Slats couldn’t figure why he was stopped. He couldn’t think of anything he did wrong, but he did as the officer requested and got out of his car. “What did I do wrong officer?”
It was nothing unusual to see a squad car pull someone over for a traffic infraction so no one paid any attention to the man standing outside his car talking to a policeman.
“Can I see your license and registration please?”
“Sure.” Slats took out his wallet and handed his license and registration to the officer who looked at his picture, then at him, as if to confirm this was the man in the picture.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to come with us. Please turn around and put your hands on your car.” Having done as he was told, Slats was handcuffed and placed in the backseat of the cruiser. Once he was safely confined, the hard part was over.
“What’s going on? What did I do wrong?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Don’t worry - this won’t take long.”
“But my car’s parked in a no parking zone. I’m liable to get a ticket.”
“You’ll be alright. Your car will be safe there; nobody will give you a ticket.”
Frankie left the area and drove towards the Ridgewood dump. It took 45 minutes to get there and when they pulled through the entrance there were three Sanitation trucks dumping garbage in a designated area and one pickup truck unloading construction debris from a job they were working on. The cruiser drove further into the interior of the dumpsite until they found a spot where bulldozers had pushed debris on two sides as high as two small mountains. Frankie pulled between them and told Slats to get out of the car. Slats knew that something was very wrong but he was professional enough to understand that something like this was bound to happen someday. But in his gut he never believed it would happen to him and as he walked he didn’t show fear. He let them know he was a man who lived by the gun and was not afraid to die by the gun. So he calmly asked.
“Just tell me why this has to happen. I deserve that much.”
“Sure Slats I agree. You do deserve to know. This is for killing Yip and two of my friends.”
“How’d you know it was me that did the job?”
“You chose the wrong guy to take with you on that job.”
“Porky? That sonofabitch. He talked? I’d kill him with my bare hands if he were here.”
“Don’t worry about that Slats. We saved you the trouble - he’s already dead.”
This was it then, there was nothing more to say, so he lifted his head and said to no one in particular. “Tell Red that it was nothing personal it was just business.”
“Sure Slats, we’ll tell him.”
Vinnie brought his gun up and squeezed the trig
ger putting six 45 caliber slugs into Slats face blowing the back of his head clean off splattering chunks of bone and grey matter from his brain which left him without a face bleeding among the garbage and the rats. Then they got back into their squad car and left.
The next day a newspaper article stated that.
A man named Porky Sullivan was found dead near his home by a neighbor. He was killed by a single 22 LR bullet to his temple. A tan 1959 ford sedan was seen leaving the scene of the crime and the man who found his body memorized the plate number. The police traced the car to a Zelda Jackson living in Rego Park Queens. The car had been reported stolen two nights ago and was discovered under the Long Island Expressway underpass. The police found no prints on the car and no evidence as to who might have stolen it.
Two days later another newspaper article stated. “A body was found at 8:15 am yesterday in a dump in Ridgewood Queens by a Joseph Garfone a heavy equipment operator. The police have identified the man though his fingerprints as Carlo Slats Lattieri who was known to his associates as Slats. He drove an oil truck for Premium Oil and had a lengthy police record. The police have no motive for his murder.
Since Yip’s death Red spent most days at the Corona Gentleman’s club taking care of the families business just as Yip had done since before he was a kid. It wasn’t just the desire to continue Yips policies by running the business in the club. By working here he insulated the family business from the Starlight Club but he tried to spend as much time as he could at The Starlight Club which was mostly in the evening.
Two weeks after the murders of Porky and Slats he held a meeting with his top men at the Corona Gentleman’s club. He had his expert sweep the place for listening devices before the meeting started.
“I told you guys that when I found out who murdered Yip I would retaliate but I couldn’t act until I knew who committed the hit. Through a stroke of luck and some monumental stupidity on the guy who rigged the bomb we found out who did it and those two men are no longer with us. But we have a more serious problem to consider. We know for certain that it was Profaci who paid these men to kill Yip so what do we do about it? Do we kill him? Or do we negotiate with him? We can continue this war and take care of that bum or we can have a sit down and negotiate with him for a larger share of his business. What do you think we should do?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Trenchie was spending more and more time with Mary. The two were quite comfortable with each other and were becoming a steady twosome. Trenchie had been looking at condos for weeks and up until now, he hadn’t seen anything he liked. After an exhaustive search in what seemed to be every inch of Queens, this morning, his real estate agent took him to Island Estates in College Point, Queens. It was a convenient ten minutes from Corona and Trenchie loved Phase Two of the development. Trenchie was a man who knew what he liked when he saw it and this was no different.
“How much is this place?” Trenchie asked.
“$75,000.00,” replied the petite agent.
“How much down do you need?” He thought for a moment then said, “Forget it. I’ll give you a check for the full amount.” The agent was caught a bit off guard. Cash buyers were not common. It was time for the obligatory questions - a buyer needs to be qualified. Do you have a business? Are you the only one on the contract? Do you have an accountant? The agent asked for a check for $20,000 and access to his accountant before requiring the balance. The two of them discussed putting the condo in his business’s name and using the monthly payments as a write-off. It made sense to him to have the business pay the monthly mortgage payment. He thanked her but had already decided- he was buying this place no matter how it was executed.
The moment Trenchie got back to The Starlight Club, he called his accountant to solicit his input regarding the mortgage. The accountant echoed what his agent had said. Trenchie phoned his real estate agent notifying her that he would not be putting any more money down on the condo, but for her to proceed with the paperwork. One last call - Mary. He wanted Mary’s opinion. “What does a mug like me know about buying an apartment?”
Mary walked through the apartment looking at every aspect of it through a woman’s eyes. She loved it. It was practical. It was in a good location with great access to the major arteries and airports. And, best yet, he could drive to The Starlight Club or to his restaurant within minutes. From Mary’s point of view, it was perfect and would make a lovely home.
“So how do you like it?”
“Trenchie, I love it. It’s perfect. When will it be yours?”
“Well, I gave the agent a deposit today and I’m waiting for the loan to be approved which shouldn’t take long,” he fibbed. “Then we’ll move in.” She caught the “we’ll move in” part but didn’t say anything. Whether she moved in or not was a decision that had been plaguing her. Although she loved being with Trenchie, she didn’t like the thought of being a kept woman. Trenchie was in love with her. It was the first time in ten years that he felt something alive inside of him. For years, his emotions were suppressed or just plain dead. He wasn’t lying when he had told Yip that he had no feelings, no fear, no love, no life. But right now at this moment, those negative feelings had evaporated - gone. He had a real life now with a gal who loved him. Maybe it was time he settled down. He had a nice business and he had a cut of some other businesses, he had a lot of money put away, and he tried to think of a reason why he shouldn’t settle down. Nothing came to mind, so he phoned trusty ole Red for advice on the ring.
“Don’t do anything, yet Trench. Get back to The Starlight Club because I have some pretty snazzy rings in my safe. Take a look and if you see one you like, it’s yours.”
Trenchie drove to the club where Red greeted him at his office.
“It’s gotten serious eh, Trenchie?”
“Yeah. Mary’s brought me back to life. I forgot how good it is to have feelings again. It surprised the hell out of me.” Red was the only person Trenchie would open up to. He always had difficulty displaying his feelings or discussing his life because he really felt it was nobody’s business. Red was the one exception.
“You said you had some rings to show me?”
“Come over here and take a look at these beauties. About a month ago, I had a load of fine jewelry come in and I kept a few of the best items for myself.”
Red removed a pouch from the safe, took out a few rings and placed them on his desk. “These are the two best rings. This one’s three carats and this one here is five.”
Trenchie examined the three carat diamond through the loop Red handed him. It looked flawless. He also liked the setting on this ring better than the other one and five carats on Mary’s hand might be a little bit too much. Done. The three carat ring it was. Then he hesitated, “Is any diamond too large for a woman? Maybe I’ll be cheatin’ her by getting’ the smaller one. The three carat ring is prettier . . . but the five carat is bigger. Which one do I get?” He checked the five carat ring with the jeweler’s loop and it, too, was flawless.
“Red, help me out here. Which one should I get?” Red was amused. Here was this big tough guy confused over a diamond.
“Well, I know the three carat ring has a nicer lookin’ setting, but don’t let that influence you. We can always change the setting if she doesn’t like it. Take the bigger ring. She’ll love it.”
Trenchie smiled. Red had taken the pressure off of him.
“Thanks for your help. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Consider it my wedding gift to the two of you.” Trenchie smiled a faint smile and gave Red a big ole Italian bear hug. And at that moment, Red had another idea. Why didn’t he think of this sooner?
“Bring her here for dinner on Saturday night and give her the ring then. I’ll have something interesting set up for the two of you. It’ll be special.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Vinnie and Red were congregated at The Starlight Club, just shooting the breeze when Vinnie’s eyes opened wide. “Jimmy the Hat, wh
at the hell are you doin' here? Aren’t you supposed to be making a movie?”
“Yeah, but shootin’ starts in two weeks and I missed you guys, so I took the red eye and got here this morning. I wanted to be here, had to be here for Yip. If it’s not too much trouble, I’m gonna spend the next couple of weeks with you.” Red who had spoken to Jimmy earlier chimed in.
“You timed it perfectly. Trenchie just bought an apartment so you can use his room.”
“That’s great, Red. You know I can’t stay in a hotel because I can’t get any rest when I’m there. Everyone wants to meet me or shake my hand and it’s getting’ to be a pain. Don’t get me wrong - I love the action and I don’t mind meetin’ people, but since this picture opened, I haven’t had a single night’s rest. I know this won’t last forever and I’m doing my best to handle it, but I never knew that fame could be such a pain in the ass. It’s like I could use a little R & R, sort of like when we were in Florida with Iris and Tiffany.”
Some local girls had spotted Jimmy when he stepped out of the cab and clusters of fans, mostly young gals, were hovering around The Starlight Club positioning themselves in strategic spots near the entrance so as not to miss him when he left. Red looked through his window at the activity going on outside and remarked, “Christ, they’re lining up in droves outside here. It looks like an infantry attack’s about to take place. Jesus, Jimmy, is this what you put up with every day?”
“Yeah, only worse. At least here I can duck somewhere, but at the studio I’m a target for every starlet or teenager within ten miles of the studio.”
“I went to see your picture at the Loewe’s Plaza and I have to tell you, I was impressed with your performance. The picture was good but you were terrific, especially in that part where you hit the guy in the knee with a wrench. Man that was realistic.”
Jimmy laughed and thumped his knee with his hands and then told Red the story of how that part came about.