by Tony Bertot
“You know, Sal, you’re right,” said Ricardo.
“We should start attacking all of his places of business. Hit his numbers rackets and bootlegging businesses. Also, let’s use our political connections to bring pressure on him and his organization. That should keep him busy for a while. In the meantime, we strengthen ourselves. Find new headquarters out on Long Island and keep an eye on his movement. Spread the word to our people to be on the lookout for any strangers wandering about or wanting to join us. We got to be ready for when they come,” added Ricardo.
Though they were into gambling, loan sharking, and the numbers racket in Queens and always maintained a low profile, the remnants of the original Anzio Giordano family also controlled several funeral parlors and were heavily involved in labor unions.
From this meeting the groundwork for making this crime family one of the most efficiently run organizations in the Underworld had begun.
The Crossroads of Reality
Queens/New York
Felicia Giordano ran to her great-grandparent’s car and jumped into the back seat.
They had all agreed to meet at Anzio’s house on 77th Street near Penelope Avenue where the rest of the family and friends would be gathering.
Fazio placed Fabio in the backseat, got into the car and waited for his grandfather. As soon as Anzio pulled out Fazio was right behind him heading west towards Eliot Avenue. They turned left on Eliot and were now heading South towards 69th Place where they would make another left and head East toward Juniper Boulevard South.
A mile away, 23 year old Michael O’Shea tossed the empty bottle of rum wrapped in a brown bag into a nearby garbage can and staggered towards his parked two-door, cream-colored Packard Eight/120 coupe convertible, a gift for his 21st birthday from his parents. Mr. O’Shea had just left the apartment of a girl he had met the night before at a friend’s party. Veering out and screeching his tires he made a reckless u-turn on Juniper Boulevard, causing other drivers to slam on their brakes. He headed south on Juniper and with little traffic to impede his speed, he was going over 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.
As Anzio Giordano reached the corner of 69th Street and Juniper Boulevard he turned left and was now heading north with Fazio following several cars behind.
As the liquor started to take its affect, Michael O’Shea began zigzagging all over the road. Ella screamed when she saw the cream-colored Packard a couple of feet from them and Anzio reacted too late to avoid the head on collision. Fazio saw the crash and screamed as he saw his grandfather’s car bounced off the Packard. He stared in horror as his daughter was thrown inside the car like a ragdoll. Fazio came to a screeching halt on the right side of his grandfather’s car and ran breathlessly out to them. Not seeing his daughter in the back seat, he opened the front passenger door. His grandmother’s unconscious body slumped into his arms, her head bleeding. His daughter was on her lap, also bleeding with a head wound that soaked her pristine white dress in crimson. His grandfather was slumped in the opposite direction bleeding profusely from an injury to the face and head. Fazio managed to pull his daughter out and carry her towards the sidewalk while all the time shouting her name and that of his grandparents.
“Papa, Mama, Feli. Oh, God don’t let her die. Please. Please don’t let her die. Oh God, please don’t let anyone die!” he sobbed as tears ran down his face - his little girl in his arms.
The shock of the impact brought Michael O’Shea out of his stupor. He jumped out of his car and realizing what had happened took off as fast as he could, heading south.
Between the tears, Fazio saw a man running from the scene. The man bumped into a stopped car causing him to turn and look at Fazio holding his little girl. Both men looked into each other’s eyes for a brief moment. Fazio was looking at Michael O’Shea fleeing the scene of the accident and though he saw blood on the man’s face, he did not put the two together. He did not realize that he was the driver of the other vehicle.
What is Left Behind
Chicago/Little Italy
Benito and his wife, Ana, escorted Lucia and Theo Gresco back to their apartment.
“I need to get things ready. I have to cook for Theo. I have to clean up. Sergio would be upset if I did not have a clean house and food prepared for when people came,” Lucia began to rant.
Placing both hands on Lucia’s shoulder, Ana looked into her eyes and said,
“No dear, do not worry about these things. We are here to help you. Please, please go and lay down. You will need to rest for what’s ahead of you over the next few days.”
Ana Randazzo was a strong woman. She had witnessed much in her lifetime. She had instructed the rest of the neighborhood women to bring food and to make themselves available at Sergio and Lucia’s apartment to help the family handle their tragic loss.
Benito sat next to Theo on the bed in his room. Theo stared at the floor with his camera still in his hands. He turned to Benito and asked,
“Why, Mr. Randazzo? Why did they kill my father?”
“Because they were afraid of your father,” Benito told Theo.
“Your father was a brave man and they are afraid of people like your father. That is why they took your father from us,” Benito said.
A few minutes later, the police were knocking on their door.
The police officers introduced themselves and began questioning Lucia about what had happened. Unable to obtain any useful information they turned their attention to Theo.
Theo told them that he saw two men come out of the store and then there was a loud noise. That’s what he remembers.
“Do you think you could identify the men who were in the store?” one of the officers asked him.
“I don’t know. Maybe,” answered Theo.
After a few more questions the officers were about to leave when Benito stood and told them about the two men who came to visit his store, about their request for protection money.
“Were these the same two men?” asked one of the officers.
“I don’t know,” replied Benito.
As they were about to go Theo spoke up.
“I have their picture,” he said.
Both officers stopped at the door and turned.
“What did you say?” one of the officers asked.
“I took their picture as they left the store and again as they got into their car. Nick told me to,” Theo said.
The officers stared at the boy in disbelief as he handed them his camera.
“You took the picture of the men who were in your father’s store, just before it was blown up?” the officer asked Theo.
“Yes, sir,” replied Theo.
“He’s always taking pictures. He has pictures of everyone on our block and anyone who has ever visited our block,” Benito added.
“Who is Nick?” asked one of the officers.
“He’s my friend,” answered Theo.
“Do you know where your friend lives?” the officer asked him.
“I don’t know,” replied Theo.
“Well, next time you see your friend Nick, ask him to come down to the police station. We need to ask him a few questions. Ok?” the officer asked Theo.
“Yes, sir” Theo responded.
The officer took the camera from Theo and promised to bring it back with the developed film.
As they were leaving, the local priest and neighborhood people began to pour into the apartment with food.
Over the next few days, people came in and out of the Gresco apartment. Neighbors and friends of the family took up a collection which covered the entire cost of the services and funeral arrangements. Anzio Costello and his family were among those paying their respects.
Anzio was beside himself when he had heard that his son, Nick, had been nearby when it happened. He had no knowledge of it until the police appeared at their doorstep wanting to question his son Nick. One of the storeowners identified Nick to the police when they discovered that they were trying to find a witness to the incident.
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Though Nick pointed to the men and told Theo to take their picture, he denied it to the police and said he did not remember seeing them and couldn’t identify anyone. The police questioned him further but could not get Nick to say he actually saw anyone. Nick said he only remembers a loud noise and flying through the air.
Nick had been taught to mind his own business and not snitch, something the police did not know.
After the frustrated police left, his father grabbed his son and beat him without mercy for disobeying him and returning to Gresco’s store.
Anzio attended Sergio’s services and expressed his condolences to Lucia promising to help her at this horrific and painful time. Meeting his eyes she turned down his offer and advised him she could take care of her own affairs and his help, though appreciated, was not needed. Her intuition told her not to trust this man. Her stare put a chill though Anzio.
Over the next few weeks, Lucia sold what was left of the store and left South Wabash Street. Theo vowed to return someday as he stared out from the back of the car, the family store fading from view. On his lap rested his camera and a shoebox of pictures. Pictures of his father, neighbors, friends, and the last pictures he took before the store was blown up.
As he turned and looked out the side window, he saw Nick on the street staring back at him. There was a lonesome look about him, a look Theo would never forget.
Building an Empire
New York City
A few weeks had passed since Bolnaldo and Clemente entertained the two strangers. With the arrival of Mario Pierina and Rico Vitalia, Bolnaldo began to take tighter control of his organization. Though he still could not get over the fact that he had divulged his plans to two total strangers, he and Clemente agreed not to let anyone else know about what happened and would keep it under wraps. Undeterred, they began to implement their plan for expansion.
However, random attacks on their different enterprises slowed their progress. They had no choice but to hire more guns after their money courier met with a fatal accident. This was both time consuming and costly. To add to their troubles, city inspectors began making frequent visits to their different establishments. First it was a fire inspector who found faulty wiring at their new location, then it was food inspectors who shut down a few of their restaurants for health reasons. These different establishments were fronts for laundering the money made from illegal transactions. They knew that someone was pulling the strings, but who? Finally, in frustration, Bolnaldo decided to call on the Sabrisio brothers for advice. They in turn put Bolnaldo and Clemente in contact with the Giovanna Family who had extensive connections and knew almost every organized crime family in the United States. As a result, they discovered there was once an organization out of Queens. Rumor was that their leader, who had since left the organization, was a shrewd negotiator, who in the late 30’s and early 40’s had controlled all of Queens. He was involved with the unions and had a few politicians and judges in his pocket before he retired over ten years ago.
“Retired!” exclaimed Bolnaldo.
“The guy retired. Shit! I never heard of a capo retiring. He either dies of old age while still in or gets bumped off; a boss never retires,” Bolnaldo commented when he first heard of it.
“Who was this guy?” he asked.
The answer was Anzio Giordano.
Secrets Revealed
New York/Queens
Within minutes, the streets were filled with people. Some were trying to comfort Fazio as others pulled his grandparents from the vehicle. Sirens filled the air as the police, ambulance and fire trucks arrived at the scene. Paramedics rushed to Fazio’s side and pulled his daughter from his grasp.
“We have a pulse,” said one of the paramedics as they ran with the little girl to the nearest ambulance. Fazio snapped back into the reality of the moment, ran with them, and got into the ambulance. Within seconds it was racing through the streets of Queens towards Mary Immaculate Hospital some four and a half miles away.
Fazio watched as they cleaned the blood off her face and placed oxygen over her small mouth and nose. They set up an intravenous link in her small arm and all he thought about was how he failed her and her mother. Then it hit him, Fabio, had been left in the back seat of his car.
“Oh my God, my son,” he almost shouted.
The paramedics looked up at him with wondering eyes.
“I left my son in the backseat of my car. He’s only three years old,” he told them.
The driver immediately radioed back to the police and in less than a minute the police confirmed they had the boy and would meet him at the hospital.
“Don’t worry Mr. Giordano, a police officer will bring him to the hospital,” one of the paramedics shouted back to him.
He watched as they feverishly worked on his little girl, being careful and yet meticulous as they probed and examined her little body.
In less then fifteen minutes they arrived at the hospital. The ambulance doors flew open even before they actually stopped. Two ER attendants were ready, pulling the gurney out with practiced speed while pushing past Fazio in a race to the ER. Nurses shouted orders, a doctor asked the paramedics questions while moving efficiently through the hallways, straight into the emergency operating room. Fazio followed frantically.
He was stopped at the treatment room where the head nurse assured him that everything would be done to help his little girl and directed him down the corridor to a waiting room.
About half an hour later a police officer, Patrick Gruelich, delivered Fabio to Fazio in the waiting room. Hospital staff came over to Fazio and offered to take Fabio to the hospital nursery, assuring him that he would be safe. Fazio agreed but wanted to escort them there so he knew where it was. Within the hour, the waiting room filled with friends and family who were at the house or the church and had heard what happened.
While Fazio waited for news on his daughter, his grandmother, Ella Giordano, also arrived at the Emergency Room with a head injury and facial lacerations. The same police officer who delivered Fabio came to him with the news that Anzio Giordano had died at the scene. Officer Gruelich sat next to Fazio and slowly extracted the information he needed, trying to determine and document what had happened.
Before Officer Gruelich left, Captain Frank Dempsey arrived. He took the report from Officer Gruelich and then sat with Fazio for a few minutes asking him additional questions about the accident.
“Do you think the other driver intentionally drove into your grandfather’s car?” Captain Frank Dempsey asked Fazio.
Fazio stared at the Captain for a few seconds, trying to digest what he had asked.
“What are you asking? You think someone would deliberately want to hurt my grandparents on purpose? Why would anyone want to hurt two old people?” asked Fazio, not believing what he was hearing.
“Umm... Well, given your grandfather’s past associations. You know. I thought maybe someone had a grudge,” responded the Captain Dempsey.
“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about! What are you talking about?” Fazio, now standing, as he began to raise his voice.
“Mr. Giordano, your grandfather, at one time, was alleged to be the head of a crime family here in New York,” the Captain told Fazio.
Fazio grabbed the captain by the lapels and propelled him against the wall.
“Are you out of your mind?” screamed Fazio into the captain’s face.
Officer Gruelich and others rushed in between Fazio and the Captain. Captain Dempsey stared at Fazio and brushed himself off.
“Given the circumstances I’m going to forget this happened,” said the Captain while pointing at Fazio’s face.
It was obvious to the Captain that Fazio had no knowledge of his grandfather’s past.
After the officers left, Fazio’s great-aunt, who had arrived with the rest of the family, came over to him.
“Fazio dear, please sit down,” she told him in a calm voice.
“I have to tell you your grand
father was involved with some bad people over ten years ago. But he put it all behind him. He kept it from you because he did not want you involved and that was another reason why he quit. After you came back from the military he distanced himself from that life and then a little over ten years ago he quit,” she told him as delicately as she could.
Fazio stared at her as if she was some stranger, trying to digest what she was saying.
His grandfather may be the reason why his daughter was now fighting for her life. It was inconceivable his grandfather would allow this to happen.
In News Today
New York City
“In a developing story we have just learned that alleged mob boss Anzio Giordano has been killed in what police are reporting as a hit and run accident. The unidentified suspect left the scene of the accident and police are investigating. Anzio Giordano was believed to be the leader of a crime family operating out of Queens.
Mr. Giordano had just attended his granddaughter’s First Holy Communion and was driving to a family gathering when a car hit them head on. It was reported the other car was travelling in excess of 50 miles per hour, fifteen miles over the speed limit. His wife and great granddaughter were in the car when the accident occurred. They were rushed to Mary Immaculate Hospital where they are listed in critical condition. Anzio Giordano was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. He is survived by his wife, grandson Fazio Giordano and his great-grandchildren,” reported the news anchor.
Ricardo Gallo and Sal Manetti stood staring at the television as the news anchor announced the accidental death of Anzio Giordano. Among them were other members of their family. All were quiet as they listened to the details of the accident.
“Son of a bitch, you think they got to him?” asked John Battanio aloud to anyone who would listen.
“How the hell do I know?” responded Ricardo.
“John, Ray find out! I don’t care if you have to knock a few heads. I want to know,” Sal ordered them.