The Birth of an Assassin

by Tony Bertot

  “Well right now he is heavily sedated. He should be responsive in about a day or two. Now he needs plenty of rest,” The doctor told them.

  Seeing one of the officers at the nurses’ station Benito left them in the room with Carmine and walked up to him.

  “It’s a miracle he’s alive. If someone had not seen him being dumped into the river this would have been a homicide. The guy pulled Carmine out of the water and called us, told us where to find him and left the scene. I guess he didn’t want to get involved,” the officer told Benito.

  “Thanks,” Benito told the officer.

  “No problem. We’re going to have to question him when he comes through, you know.” He told Benito.

  “Yeah, I know.” Benito responded.

  It wasn’t till two days later Carmine was able to speak. He told his wife he got into a fight with three Irishmen but was too drunk to remember anything else. He convinced her he would never go out drinking again. He learned his lesson. This was the same story he told the police. Though they did not believe him, they had no choice but to take his statement and leave it at that.

  When he and Benito were alone he told him a different story.

  “Benito, they jumped me outside of our apartment and drove me to some warehouse along the docks. I don’t know how they knew. They started to ask me about those men who came around ten years ago. I kept telling them I didn’t know what they were talking about. They kept hitting me but I didn’t say anything. I swear! I took their crap. They said they were going to get Maria and still I didn’t say anything; I knew they were bluffing. But when they mentioned where we lived and they were also going to bring Calito, Sonia and the kids, I started to get scared. Still I kept telling them I didn’t know what they were talking about. Then they told me they knew where we all lived and they would bomb the butcher shop while everyone was in there. I… I broke down. I am so sorry. I was so afraid they would harm you, Calito, the kids and my Maria. I’m so sorry,” Carmine said now sobbing.

  Benito held him, comforting him.

  “It’s ok. You had no choice. But you need to rest now. Don’t worry about us or Maria. I won’t let anything happen to them. I promise,” Benito told him.

  Leaving the room Benito quickly walked over to the phone in the waiting room and called the police.

  After leaving instructions for his friends at the police station to contact him at his home as soon as possible, he called his son and told him to make sure the door to the building was shut and stand guard until he got there.

  Bolnaldo Gets the Call

  New York/New York

  To make his point, Al Giovanna decided it was time to take matters into his own hands by calling Bolnaldo Costellino himself.

  “Bolnaldo, why do you have to be so stubborn?” Al asked him.

  “What do you mean?” Bolnaldo asked.

  “You know what I mean. We can’t talk about it over the phone. But you listen to me. You are a big boy now, so you go ahead and do what you want. You need help you call us but otherwise you run things the way you think. I aint going to tuck you in anymore. You comprendere?” he asked Bolnaldo.

  “Yeah capisco. Don’t worry about me. But thank you for offering your help. Veramente!” Bolnaldo told him.

  Hanging up the phone Al stared at it for a few seconds.

  “That man is going to get himself killed,” he said.

  “So, what’s the story Pop?” Anthony asked him.

  “Bolnaldo is on his own! If he needs our help, we send him help. Otherwise, we stay out of his affairs. Capisco?” Al asked his son and the others in the room.

  They all stared at him. Even the Sabrisio brothers were surprised with Al Giovanna’s attitude.

  Suddenly, Al raised his finger to his lips indicating everyone to be quiet and he gently picked up the phone and listened in. Then he unscrewed part of the phone and looked into the mouthpiece. Smiling he pointed to it and showed everyone there was a small microphone inside. He gently restored the mouthpiece and walked over to the nearby lampshade and looked into it and once again he pointed to a small object under the bulb, another microphone. Sitting down at his desk, he looked up at their faces with a big grin.

  During his time in jail he could not figure out how Fazio and his organization knew when and where to hit his men until it dawned on him. Either it had to be an informant or they were listening to all of their conversations. Since at the time he knew everyone that worked for him the latter seemed the most logical.

  Writing on a piece of paper he noted there were more bugs in the room, pointing at a picture hanging on a nearby wall and to a nearby upholstered chair. After a few minutes Al said,

  “Why don’t we go and get something to eat,” he told them all.

  As they stepped out of the building, they headed towards a waiting limousine but Al motioned to them he wanted to walk. With Anthony on his right and the Sabrisio brothers to his left, he walked for about a block before stopping. He gestured for them to gather around him and in a low voice he told them they were probably being watched, the lines were also bugged and the establishment they frequented was no longer secure.

  A couple of blocks away two men in a black van listened. One of them peered out the rear window and saw when Al Giovanna and his men exited the building and watched them as they walked up the block.

  “What are they doing?” the man with the headphones asked the one peering out.

  “They walked up the block and are huddled together,” he replied to him.

  “Holy shit, we got to get the fuck out of here. They must have made us,” the one with the headphones said urgently as he quickly got up and made his way to the driver’s seat.

  The man peering through the back window saw two of the men break away from the group and start heading towards them, walking fast. As they got closer he could see them reaching into their lapels

  “Oh shit…quick get going,” the man in the back shouted to the driver.

  “I’m trying,” the driver shouted back as he turned the key and pumped the gas only to hear a low humming sound coming from the engine.

  The man in the back pulled out a pistol and opened the back door to the van. The approaching men, now with their guns out, opened fire breaking the side glass as the man peering out from the back returned fire. The driver turned the key again and was elated when he heard the sound of the engine starting up. Within seconds, the van was screeching down the street with the men in pursuit continuing to fire. The man in the back of the van had been hit in the shoulder but was laying on his back, laughing out loud, happy he had gotten away with his life intact.

  “You asshole you almost got us killed. Next time I drive,” he shouted out to the driver.

  “You don’t know how to drive,” the driver shouted back to him.

  “Oh yeah, you’re right. Forget about it then,” he shouted back as they laughed.

  Hearing the sounds of sirens in the distance, Al Giovanna and his men quickly returned to their office. Al had the men perform a detailed search for any more bugs.

  “No use worrying about it now. They’ll figure out we found the bugs,” Giovanna said.

  After the place was swept clean, Anthony approached his father about what they got out of Carmine Davino.

  “The guy wasn’t easy to crack, Pop. But, we finally got him to tell us everything,” Anthony told his father.

  “It was the butcher. He had our men killed. Tortured them first and then shot them in the back of their heads and buried them in some field up north, close to the Canadian border,” Anthony said.

  “What about this Carmine. What did you do with him.” Al Giovanna asked his son.

  “He’s swimming with the fishes,” responded Anthony.

  “Good. So they don’t know what happened to him, right?” Al asked them all.

  “No, Pop. They don’t know,” Anthony responded.

  “Good, good. Let them worry. In a few days we’ll give this Benito Randazzo a message. One he m
ay live to regret,” Al Giovanna said half smiling.

  Join the Military

  South Wabash/Chicago

  With a child on the way, Theo sat Sylvia down and told her he has decided to join the military.

  “Just like that?” she asked him.

  “It’s the right thing to do. I will earn money, get an education and we can buy a house and get a dog,” he smiled.

  She stared at him for a few seconds. She marveled at his immaturity in some things and his maturity in other matters. She knew that in his heart he felt it was the right thing to do. He obviously heard it in an advertisement or something and now felt this was the right path to take. She smiled at him, knowing he was only thinking of her and the baby. She learned he would not let his own emotions get in the way of doing the right thing.

  “Honey, I love you and if you really think this is the right thing then ok. Do it. But I have to ask, wouldn’t you miss me?”

  He stared at her in shock. As if the question was ridiculous.

  “Of course I’ll miss you. But it’s for a short time. Plus I’ll be able to see you after I do my basic training and I could send for you from wherever they station me,” he replied excitedly.

  “You know I’m a good marksman and they could use good shooters in the military. I’ll probably make a ton of money which I’ll send you. You can buy the things you need for yourself and the baby,” he went on to explain.

  “How long will you be gone?” she asked him.

  “I don’t know, but I do know I won’t be shipped out immediately. First, I have to enlist and fill out a bunch of papers and then they send for you. I also have to take a physical. So it’s at least a few days before I would have to go,” he told her.

  “Ok. If you think it is the right thing to do,” she said.

  Theo got up and took her in his arms.

  “I love you,” she told him.

  Theo stared into her eyes and smiled at her. His mind raced back to when he was a child and his mother held him in his arms and told him the same words.

  “I love you, too,” he told her.

  With that, Theo kissed her and grabbed a jacket that hung on a nearby chair, started walking towards the door, stopped and returned back to her side and kissed her again.

  “I’m going to the recruiters’ office to enlist. I’ll be back soon.” Theo told her.

  Sylvia smiled at him and kissed him back.

  “Don’t be too late or dinner will get cold,” She told him.

  “I won’t,” he replied.

  After returning from the recruiting office, he sat with Sylvia and they enjoyed a quiet dinner together. Theo told Sylvia he filled out some papers and had taken a physical. He was interviewed by a recruiter who asked him all sorts of questions about where he came from, who his parents were, where he was born, and so forth

  “So did they take you?” Sylvia asked Theo.

  “I don’t know. They told me to wait for the letter.” He told her disappointed.

  “Theo, don’t worry. I’m sure they’re going to want you,” Sylvia assured him.

  Two weeks later Sylvia came to Theo with a letter from the Department of the Armed Forces of the United States. Everyone in the butcher shop stopped what they were doing as Sylvia read the letter of acceptance into the U.S. Army. Mr. Theodore Gresco is hereby ordered to report for active duty on July 6, 1955.

  Sylvia saw the look in Theo’s eyes. It was one of happiness and sadness all mixed into one. She hugged him and he hugged her back.

  “Theo, we didn’t know you enlisted into the service,” Benito said.

  Sylvia turned to Benito who came over to them and handed him the letter.

  Benito looked at Theo and then at Sylvia.

  “Congratulations, Theo,” he told them.

  Sylvia realized Theo never told anyone and she could see the hurt in Benito’s eyes. Benito smiled at her and nodded as a sign of understanding; he knew Theo better than most. In his heart, he knew Theo did things he felt were right without any understanding of the hurt he might inflict on others.

  Benito gave Theo a big hug and smiled back at him. With Carmine Davino still in the hospital, he was shorthanded and using that as an excuse, he said,

  “Well until you leave, you work for me. So get your butt back to work, now.”

  Theo immediately went back to what he was doing without any notion Benito might be hurting inside. Sylvia smiled back at Benito, hugged Theo and went over to sit with Sonia for a spell before returning home.

  After closing the shop that evening, Benito, Calito and Theo walked home. Theo asked Benito about the cop car sitting in front of their apartment building.

  “Oh, that. We have an officer living in our apartment building now,” Benito replied.

  Theo said nothing as they continued their walk.

  “Mr. Randazzo the other day when I was leaving the apartment building a car pulled up and some men stepped out. They started to come up the stairs when a police car pulled up behind them. The men stopped, looked back and then retreated to their car and pulled away,” Theo told Benito.

  “Also, Calito was sitting on the stairway with a bat in his hands. Why?” Theo asked.

  “Are you in some sort of trouble?” Theo went on to inquire.

  “This doesn’t concern you, Theo,” Benito told him.

  Theo stopped in front of their apartment building and looked into Benito’s eyes. Then turned and looked at Calito.

  “Perhaps you are right,” he said nodding.

  Theo walked with the men into the building and said goodnight. Theo placed his key into his apartment door. After entering, he walked over to the window and stared at the police car sitting in front of their building.

  “Is that you, Theo,” Sylvia called out from the kitchen.

  “Yes, it is,” he shouted back.

  I promised I would never let anyone harm any family or friend of mine ever again, he thought to himself.

  Bugs to the Left, Bugs to the Right

  New York/New York

  Bolnaldo remained quiet after Al Giovanna called him.

  “Why? Why would he call me directly? He never called me before and why did he say we can’t talk over the phone?” Bolnaldo thought to himself.

  Sharing his thoughts with Clemente and the other men brought various comments and suggestions. None made any sense to Bolnaldo. It was Clemente that asked again why he made the phone comment.

  “Boss, you think he was trying to tell us we were being bugged?” Clemente asked.

  Bolnaldo stared at him as his eyes widened and he began to nod.

  They all looked at each other and almost immediately began to check the room for any bugs. Within twenty minutes, they found six.

  Bolnaldo pulled a .45 caliber out of his side holster and signaled them to follow. Bolnaldo discreetly moved towards the front door and then down the stairs. Before stepping outside, he scanned the area. About a quarter of a block up, he saw a parked white van. He motioned to his men. One by one, they stepped out onto the street. Two crossed over to the other side and casually made their way up the block while the two others came up the other side. When they were within a few feet, they rushed the van. Pulling open the back door they found it full of rolled up rugs. The men on the left side pulled opened the driver’s side and yanked out the driver, who was having a sandwich and coffee.

  “What the he…,” he shouted as he was thrown into the street.

  Another man sitting on the passenger side yelled as he too was yanked out.

  Realizing they had the wrong people they looked around in time to see a van just a few feet away on the other side of the street, quickly pull out with tires screeching.

  “You better run, you assholes,” Clemente screamed at the van.

  A few minutes later they were all in Bolnaldo’s office.

  “I want this entire place completely searched. Also, find us another place to meet. Now!” Bolnaldo ordered.

  Before the day was over t
hey had found over twenty bugs. They also found bugs in the limousines they used. Clemente even found one in his coat pocket causing everyone to check their clothes.

  “How the hell did they get these bugs in here?” one of the men asked.

  “They’re smart. But we are going to send them a message on how smart we are,” Bolnaldo said.

  After a few minutes thinking, Bolnaldo raised his head and motioned to Clemente and a couple of the men to come a little closer, just in case they didn’t get all the bugs. All of the men’s eyes widened as they stared at Bolnaldo when he ordered,

  “Put a hit on Sal Manetti and Fazio Giordano.”

  The Warning

  South Wabash/Chicago

  Al Giovanna was shocked to have found over 32 bugs placed between their headquarters, the Wabash Pub, eight of their business sites, his home and his limousine.

  “Marone, these bastards have been hearing all of our conversations for who knows how long,” Al Giovanna swore.

  Not taking any more chances Al ordered one of the rooms be set aside for planning all their meetings. The room is to be kept locked at all times and completely scanned before any meetings. A long plain looking wooden table was placed in the center of the room. The chairs were kept in a locked closet also located in the same room. Finally, two radios at both ends of the room would be playing during their meeting to avoid anyone using a remote listening device. After two weeks of preparation, Al Giovanna was pleased with the results and held his first meeting on June 28, 1955.

  The meeting opened up with Anthony reporting that on the night they tried to hit Benito Randazzo, a police car pulled up behind them forcing them to cancel their plans.

  From a safe distance, they have been monitoring the apartment building and noticed the police car parked around the clock.

  “Are there any cops in the car?” Al Giovanna questioned.

  “For the first few days there were. But not anymore,” Anthony responded.

  “So, what the hell is going on? Do they think we hit this asshole Davino?” Al Giovanna asked.