by Tony Bertot
Back at the station, John Connolly waited impatiently by the phone and jumped every time it rang. Captain John O’Malley was working with other police captains and assigned a team of over fifty of his most trusted men to the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. They would be responsible for checking and double-checking anyone and everyone who entered the courthouse. Every window and entryway to the courtroom would be guarded. Only authorized individuals would be allowed onto the floor where the judge was to testify.
To eliminate any suspicion of Giordano family influence, a Supreme Court justice would be flown in from Washington DC. This coordinated effort between the FBI, the local police, and the Justice Department was as a direct result of the testimony given by Agent Sam Williams, Lieutenant Eric Thomas, Captain John O’Malley, and Special Agent John Connolly. The seriousness of the situation was made clear during these testimonies, resulting in this collaboration to bring down one of the most powerful crime families in the United States. They felt that this would be only the beginning, that once they had the Giordano family the rest would fall like stacked dominoes.
Though most of these events were kept under wraps, the news media somehow got a hold of what was going on and were frenzied with excitement and anticipation. The headlines were filled with innuendos and rumors about the Giordano family. A coordinated effort between FBI and police efforts to bring the Giordano family to justice filled the dailies. That a hit man had been hired to kill the witness against the family was also being reported. As a result, reporters lined the steps of the courthouse every day, waiting for news, waiting to get a glimpse of the judge, or to get exclusive interviews from anyone who knew anything.
Felicia and Fabio were also waiting for any information on the whereabouts of the judge and those protecting him. Three weeks had gone by, and in that time frame, Felicia and Fabio put in place several plans to deal with the judge. They had ordered all of their contacts to silently occupy downtown Manhattan three days before he was scheduled to testify. Their lawyers had been advised as to the time, date, and courtroom in which the judge would make his appearance. Felicia and Fabio decided they would need to delay the trial, and this would be the window of opportunity they needed to resolve their issues.
Nick checked into a room in downtown Manhattan a couple of days after his encounter with Tyler, and had been busy scoping out the neighborhood around the courthouse. He had gotten a hold of the building plans for Hundred Centre Street, the courthouse. He memorized every floor, bathroom, and office, developing several entry and escape routes. He knew this would not be as easy of a job as any of his previous ones. This excited him. They’d be talking about this for days if he was able to pull it off.
The Giordanos shared their plans with Nick, giving him a better chance of success. Nick knew that he would only have one chance. Once he tried, he would not get another one.
A week before the judge was to testify, Nick saw a version of himself on the front page of the local newspaper. Grabbing a copy, he rushed back to his apartment.
Those assholes are getting too damn smart. Looks like after this hit I may be out of business. Shit, this sucks, Nick thought to himself. Nick once more was forced to change his appearance.
After much thought, Nick decided to tell the Giordanos to have the money ready for him at the courthouse. Both Fabio and Felicia were named in the indictment against the Giordano family, requiring them both to appear before the Supreme Court Justice. This would make it easier for Nick to collect, once the mark was out of the way.
A Shot Is Taken
July 9, 1984
John Connolly, Sam Williams, John O’Malley, and Eric Thomas were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Tyler, Sheila, and the judge. No one had heard from any of them since they took off some three weeks ago.
Upstairs on the third floor, in courtroom number three, they were getting ready to begin the opening statements. It was determined earlier that Adriana’s testimony would be inadmissible as much of it was hearsay. The testimony by Judge Samual Livingston would implicate both of the Giordanos in extortion since the judge had cleverly taped many of the conversations he had had with them.
Additionally, the judge had gotten pictures (from a camera he had hidden in his bookcase at his home) of both Fabio and Felicia, sitting with him, discussing a few of the cases, and revealing his receipt of several envelopes containing large sums of cash.
The front of the courthouse was mobbed with policemen, undercover FBI agents, curious onlookers, and the press. The people were caught up in the melee the media perpetrated as the last stand for the Giordano family. The fact that there was a hit out on the judge only heightened the excitement. Some people in the crowd were saying that the judge would never make it, that he would be dead before he reached the steps of the courthouse.
Suddenly, a limousine pulled up in front of the courthouse. The crowd surged forward as the police barricades bulged, but the crowd was held back. Exiting the limo were Felicia and Fabio, along with several lawyers. Their faces were known to everyone, and some of the people in the crowd cheered as they passed while others booed.
Both Felicia and Fabio smiled back at them as they made their way up the steps. The lawyers led them through the hallway into an awaiting elevator that took them to the third floor. One of the lawyers was carrying a briefcase, which he was instructed to leave inside the tank in the third stall of the men’s bathroom on the third floor. Nick said that he would be collecting his fee immediately after eliminating the judge. Though Felicia and Fabio were not in agreement with the arrangement, they had no other choice but to follow his instructions. They both decided they would catch up with Nick at a later date when they could devote more resources to his elimination, once and for all.
The courtroom was already filled to capacity when the Giordanos arrived to take their seats. Among the spectators in the courtroom where members of some of Chicago’s crime families who had come to admire the Giordanos climb, and wanted to see how this drama played out. After all, someone would have to take over if both were arrested right here and now. Felicia smiled at them, and they nodded and smiled in reply.
Suddenly they could hear sirens in the distance coming up the block. As the sound got louder, Felicia became a little edgy, looking into her brother’s eyes while he looked into hers.“Don’t worry, we’ll be all right,” he said to her while taking her hand.
One of the officers nearest to the window shouted out, “They’re here!” Out on the street, Tyler was the first one out of the car, followed by the judge, and then Sheila. They were immediately surrounded by police officers and agents. A clear path up the stairs and into the courthouse was laid out in front of them. Tyler scanned the crowd, looking for anyone who looked suspicious.
John O’Malley was at Tyler’s side. “Don’t worry, we got this covered,” he assured Tyler.
As they entered the courthouse, Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. Sheila moved quickly in front of the judge with Tyler walking on one side and John Connolly on the other.
“Quick, into the elevator,” ordered O’Malley. They all piled into the elevator where both Sam and Eric waited. It was crowded, but no one noticed. The ride up was deathly silent. When they reached the third floor, Tyler stepped out first into the awaiting police officers, and then Sheila followed with the judge behind her. Behind the judge were Eric, Sam, O’Malley, and Connolly.
The courtroom was down the corridor and to the right; both sides of the corridor were filled with uniformed policemen. All were cheering and clapping as Tyler made his way down the hall. He smiled at them as he passed, feeling somewhat proud of his accomplishment. Every once in a while, he would meet the officers’ eyes as he passed, and then he saw them: the same eyes he had seen so many years ago, when he was only a boy, the same eyes he saw in Massachusetts. It was for only a moment, but he was sure he saw them.
“Down!” Tyler screamed as he drew his pistol and turned. But before he could react further, he heard the sickening report of pisto
l fire.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Shots rang out from down the corridor. Everyone hit the ground. Every police officer had their gun drawn while Sheila had jumped on top of the judge.
Then again:
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
They turned toward the other end of the corridor from where the shots were fired. There was no one there.
“Get the judge out of here!” screamed O’Malley.
Sheila reached down and grabbed the judge under the armpits and tried to pick him up, but she couldn’t. “Someone help me get him out of here!” she screamed. She tried to stand and slipped on the river of blood flowing with purpose and finality toward the courtroom door. There he lay with a hole in his head, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not protect him; the judge lay there with his eyes open as his life drained away. “Noooo!” Sheila screamed.
Tyler looked down and saw Sheila covered in blood. “What the…?” Tyler said. He got up fast and looked around. “Where the fuck did he go?” he screamed. “He’s wearing a uniform!” They all looked at each other.
“Quick, that room,” Tyler said, pointing to the closest door to them. They immediately rushed to the room. There was another door on the other side where they found a policeman’s uniform, with blood on it, on the floor. “Fuck! He changed again!” Tyler screamed.
They started going through every room. A couple of policemen charged into the men’s bathroom and did not notice the officer behind the door, carrying a briefcase, exit behind them.
Merging into the crowd of police officers, Nick made his way to the stairway and turned to see Tyler staring right at him as he quickly started to descend the stairs. Tyler rushed past the rest of the officers, screaming that he was on the stairway and that he was still dressed like a police officer. A couple of seconds later, Tyler was flying down the stairs, followed by Sheila and Eric. They reached the first floor in less than fifteen seconds and rushed outside. The crowd had doubled in size; there were officers everywhere. Tyler fired once up in the air, causing the crowd to hit the ground, and then he saw him, the only officer who did not turn but kept moving forward. Tyler ran as fast as he could, with Sheila and Eric close behind him.
Nick turned and saw Tyler coming and began to run. If I can make the train station a few blocks away, I could lose them, Nick thought.
Nick ran between the people, pushing some of them into each other, trying to cause chaos for his pursuers. Tyler screamed, “Get out of the way!”
Tyler was running on the street, trying to see if he could get a clear shot of him, but Nick continued to dodge in between pedestrians, making it difficult for Tyler as he continued north on Centre Street. Suddenly Tyler lost sight of Nick as he turned left on Canal Street. Tyler reached the corner of Centre and Canal in time to see Nick cross diagonally to the north side of Canal.
“He’s headed for the train station,” Tyler screamed back to Sheila and Eric who were about a quarter of a block behind him. Eric stopped a cab, and he and Sheila jumped in, shouting at the cab driver to go as fast as he could toward the Canal Street train station. The cab rushed past Tyler as it hit the corner of Centre and Canal in time to make the green light.
As the cab came around the corner, the driver veered to the right, barely avoiding a woman pushing a carriage. They only went about half a block before they came to a screeching halt as the traffic was backed up. Both Eric and Sheila jumped out of the cab and took off on foot with Tyler now half a block behind them. Sheila spotted Nick going down into the subway system at the north entrance of Canal and Broadway and shouted back to Tyler to cover the south-side entrance. Tyler, now only a quarter of a block behind, waved his gun at her to go on as he crossed back over to the south side of Canal Street.
Nick rushed down into the subway and crossed under Canal Street heading to the south-side exit. As Nick started to rush up the stairway, Sheila and Eric were going down the north-side entrance. Tyler reached the top of the south-side entrance just as Nick was about to emerge. He ran head on into Tyler’s gun.
“Freeze, you motherfucker!” Tyler shouted to Nick. Nick, caught completely off guard, reached for his gun, but could not move quickly enough. Not now. Not ever. Not Tyler.
Tyler fired, hitting Nick in the shoulder, flinging him backward down the stairway. He fell flat on his back dropping the attaché he was carrying. Nick, now with his gun drawn, recovered quickly as people were screaming all around him.
“Stop him, he is trying to kill me,” Nick shouted to the people. All that people could see was this guy (Tyler in plain clothes) shooting at a police officer (an assassin in uniform), and though most were scared, a few of them got in Tyler’s way, hampering his attempt to apprehend Nick before he got up.
“I’m a detective. This guy is not a cop. Get the fuck out of my way!” Tyler shouted as he pushed his way through.
Sheila and Eric had run into the train station and were over the turnstiles when they heard the gunshot coming from the other side of the train station. They both quickly turned around and began heading back toward the turnstiles when they saw Nick run by. “Hey you, asshole!” screamed Sheila.
“Freeze!” shouted Eric.
Sheila took a shot at Nick as he ran by but missed completely, almost hitting a passerby. People began ducking and screaming when they heard the gunshots. A transit police officer drew his gun and fired at Sheila, just missing her. Sheila almost returned fire when she saw Tyler run up behind the officer and cold-cock him in the head as he continued his pursuit of Nick.
As Nick exited the north-side entrance to the station, he pushed several people down on the stairs as he ran into the street hailing a cab. The cab screeched to a halt, Nick jumped in, pulled out his gun, and aimed it at the driver. “Get going, this is a police emergency,” he threatened the driver.
The driver sped off as Tyler reached the top of the Canal Street entrance in time to see him speed away. “Fuck!” Tyler screamed. Less than a minute later, Tyler was joined by Sheila and Eric. All three stared at the multitude of cabs heading down Canal Street.
Back at the courthouse, the news that the judge had been killed reached the Giordanos’ ears. As the Supreme Court Justice took his chair, he motioned both lawyers to the bench.“Is it true?” the judge asked the prosecution lawyer.
“Yes, Your Honor. My witness was killed by someone his client hired,” he told the judge.
“Your Honor, I object to his insinuations,” the defense attorney almost shouted to the judge.
“I don’t doubt you do. May I suggest you lower your voice? It would be in your best interest,” ordered the judge.
“Yes, Your Honor,” replied the lawyer for the defense.
“Do you have any other witnesses?” the judge asked the prosecutor.
“No. No, Your Honor,” he replied.
“Then, in that case return to your seats,” the judge ordered, waving them away. “Based on the information and facts I have before me now, I have no other alternative but to dismiss all charges against Ms. Felicia Giordano and her brother, Mr. Fabio Giordano. I do this unwillingly but knowing full well it’s only a matter of time before they are before me again and hopefully, we will be able to put them where they belong,” the judge said, staring at the Giordanos and slamming the gavel down, demonstrating his displeasure.
The courthouse erupted with a mixture of chaos with flashes from photographers, reporters rushing to the front of the courtroom, and people either cheering or screaming obscenities.
Felicia and Fabio were mobbed as they exited the courthouse to their awaiting limousine. Felicia was overjoyed and relieved. She was smiling from ear to ear.
As they descended the courthouse steps, they heard a scream.“You fuckin’ bastards!” Then a gunshot rang out. Adriana Romano had a gun and was firing at Felicia and Fabio as she came up the courthouse steps toward them. Fabio was hit in the abdomen.
A police officer instantly fired at Adriana, hitting her in the chest as she fired a second round. The shot went wild hitting one of the Giordano lawyers in the head. Adriana fell backward onto the pavement. Raising her gun to fire a third shot, an officer took her down with a round to the head.
“Fabio, no! No!” screamed Felicia as she tried to clutch her brother. She was pulled away as the police administered first aid. Within seconds, an ambulance could be heard rushing to the scene. Minutes later, Fabio was in the ambulance, with Felicia at his side, heading to Bellevue Hospital amidst an entourage of police cars with sirens blaring.
The End of Life Commences with the
Beginning of Another
July 11, 1984
Tyler, Eric, and Sheila arrived at the courthouse in time to see the ambulance pull away with Fabio and Felicia. At first, Tyler thought it was for the judge but then saw a covered body laying on the ground at the foot of the courthouse steps and another body half up the stairs.
“What the hell happened here, Captain?” Tyler asked O’Malley.
After John explained what had happened, Tyler filled him in on the events at the Canal Street train station. “Though I shot him almost point blank, we didn’t find any blood at the bottom of the stairway or anywhere down the path he took,” Tyler reported.
“He probably had a bulletproof vest,” the captain responded.
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Tyler said.
“We put an all-points bulletin out on him, asking for any cab driver who might have picked up a police officer in the downtown area next to the Canal Street station to call dispatch immediately,” Sheila told O’Malley.