by Mark Anthony
Each press conference that was held elevated me to a higher status in the mind of the public. And it took the attention off of Horse’s and Supreme’s deaths. I was being billed as “what was right about America.” The media loved the fact that I was a young black girl originally from Compton, California who managed to risk her life and infiltrate the seedy underworlds of hip-hop and the Mafia. But we made sure that we kept most of the focus of the press conferences on the Mafia side of the investigation so that we wouldn’t have to explain any of the hip-hop deaths.
To the media, here I was, a young, beautiful lady who had been kidnapped, and witnessed all sorts of barbaric violence and had survived. And in the process I had done something that no other agent had ever done before: getting so close to a Mafia don via his daughter! Instantly there was talk of book deals and movie deals about my investigation.
I played along with the script at the press conferences but things didn’t sit right with me. All my life, since my incestuous childhood, I had been conditioned to be someone that I wasn’t in order to hide the real truth. I guess that is why I was so good at it. I had tons of guilt but there was no way that I was gonna expose all of the scandalous things that I had done as far as the drugs and the sex were concerned. And of course there was no way that I was gonna mention the money that I had wired into my secret bank account.
The fact was, that with Horse and Supreme dead, any type of prosecutor would have had a hard time proving any allegations of wrongdoings on my part and I knew that. If it ever came to it, the only person that the prosecution would have on their side was the Gun Clap Records crony O-Water. But being that he was an ex-convict with a lengthy rap sheet I was certain that he would be the absolute last person that someone would want to use as a credible witness.
All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind, especially thoughts of just disappearing to another country with the money I had taken from Supreme. But that would have been too much work and it would have also made me a worldwide fugitive for life. However, I did strongly consider that option. That was up until the big news came. When that news came down, I knew that I would be safe.
Angela Calvino had decided to turn against the mob. She agreed to enter the witness protection program and turn State’s evidence and testify against her father and anyone else that she needed to testify against. She did that as an act of vengeance against her father who had already turned his back on her. To add to the matter, her father found out that she was carrying Horse’s baby and had put a contract out on her life even though she was behind bars.
* * *
When I had silent time to sit alone and think, I wondered if my investigation had really done any good. In essence I had managed to end Horse’s life and thereby ruin his son’s life in the process. Supreme was a bad apple but even his life was over and I was sure that his family would never be the same again. There were numerous people, such as S&S and Tech-9 and G-Baby who had lost their lives as a result of the Gun Clap Records and Mafia feud. An FBI agent had gotten killed. Gun Clap Records would cease to exist, meaning many jobs would probably be lost and record careers would be ruined. Angela Calvino would be separated from her family forever in the witness protection program. My relationship with my family and my former fiancé was ruined beyond repair. The mob had put a million-dollar contract out on my life so I really had to change my identity for real. I had to get a new social security number, driver’s license, as well as minor plastic surgery. Those were the things that I would think about as I asked myself, was it all worth it? Yeah, Paulie Calvino Sr., and his cronies would get locked up and it would put a major dent in organized crime, but I would still ask myself, was it all worth it?
I knew that eventually, when the time was right, that I would access the money that I’d taken from Supreme, and with the toys that money could buy I was sure that it would help to justify the entire investigation in my mind.
But one thing was certain and that was that money could never help to perfectly re-engineer my self-esteem. When I looked back on the course of my life I knew that I had created double personas and was so good at being someone else, simply because I found it less painful and more enjoyable than facing who I really was.
I knew that I would have to do some deep soul searching to correct the character flaws that I had. And I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to change my character flaws until I was willing to face the incest demons from my past head on.
What was really wild is that the book that came about as a result of the major publishing deal was titled White Chocolate, and it went on to sell three million copies worldwide. The movie, titled Jessica Jackson, debuted at number one and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. And with those successes I was labeled the poster girl of what can happen when hard work is mixed with relentless ambition.
What I would say about the White Chocolate investigation is that it enabled me to experience things that I would have never experienced otherwise. But the price that was paid as a result of the investigation—it certainly was not worth it.
I’ve come to learn that we must look at the root causes of why we are the way we are and why we are motivated to do the things that we do, even though they are harmful to us and those around us, yet provide pleasure. It is easier than disguising what we don’t want to deal with or disguising who it is that we don’t want to be.
I can say that my disguise, like the disguises of many people, was in the name of ambition and accomplishment. Ambition and accomplishment are never worth it when it takes an emotional toll on yourself, your morals, your ethics, or those around you who love and trust you.
Unfortunately I realized that after the fact.
EPILOGUE
Paulie Calvino Sr. and Paulie Calvino Jr. each were sentenced to twenty-five years behind bars for conspiracy, money laundering, and racketeering. In all, fifteen members of the Calvino crime family were sent to prison on various charges. However, all of the members of the Calvino crime family pleaded guilty to the charges they faced without going to trial. They didn’t want to give the government the satisfaction of having Angela Calvino testify against them and in the process bring down more mobsters than necessary.
* * *
Angela Calvino entered the witness protection program and she lives under a new identity in Oklahoma. She eventually gave birth to Horse’s baby boy. The positive side of Horse’s legacy continues to live on through his children.
* * *
Gun Clap Records folded and a whole host of Gun Clap Records’ and Supreme Team associates were tried and convicted on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, murder, and racketeering.
* * *
With the fall of Gun Clap Records, White Lines went on to sign with Roc-a-Fella Records, where he found multiplatinum success.
* * *
Jessica Jackson retired from the FBI two years after the White Chocolate investigation ended. She never told anyone about her misdoings while conducting the investigation, nor did she ever tell anyone about the money that was wired into her account. She relocated to the Bahamas, where she lived off the one and a half million dollars and made a new life for herself while finally trying to deal with the incest demons of her youth.
ALSO BY MARK ANTHONY
Paper Chasers
Dogism
Lady’s Night
This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE TAKE DOWN. Copyright © 2006 by Mark Anthony Holsey. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anthony, Mark, 1973–
The take down / Mark Anthony
.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-34079-7
ISBN-10: 0-312-34079-6
1. United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation—Fiction. 2. Government investigators—Fiction. 3. Music trade—Fiction. 4. Mafia—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3601.N556T35 2006
813'.6—dc22 2006043588
First Edition: October 2006
eISBN 9781466856318
First eBook edition: September 2013