by Tony Bertot
“What the hell is going on?” Calito said.
“I don’t know. But Theo is back,” Benito told his son.
“What! When?” Calito asked him.
“Today. About half an hour ago. He’s in there with Sylvia right now,” Benito said.
“That’s not possible. I would have seen him,” he told his father.
“Unless he came in from the back,” Calito said.
“I just bet he did,” Calito said with a big smile on his face.
Benito looked at his son, now nodding.
“You know you are right,” Benito said.
“Why don’t you go over to your Mom and ask her to make you some lunch while I go down and see what Nick is doing,” Benito told his son.
“Ok, Dad,” Calito said.
They both vacated the building together and parted on the street.
Benito walked over to the parked car where Nick and two other men sat.
“Hello, Nick,” Benito said.
Caught by surprise the two men reached for their guns.
“Hold it boys. He’s a friend,” Nick said.
“What’s going on?” Benito asked Nick as he leaned on the passenger side of the car.
“They’re looking for Theo. Think he had something to do with the corner incident. They aint going to stop until they get him, you know that, right?” Nick asked Benito.
“Did they spot him?’ Benito asked Nick.
“No, they didn’t. I told them we were here to take their place. They’re new and didn’t know who I was,” Nick replied.
“What now?” Benito asked.
“I get them before they get Theo. Theo will have to stay out of sight until I do, that’s all,” Nick responded nonchalantly.
“Aren’t you taking a chance someone might recognize you?” Benito asked him.
“Yeah, but that’s the fun of it all. You know the excitement of almost getting caught,” replied Nick smiling.
As Benito and Nick conversed, they didn’t notice another car stop in front of Benito’s building.
“Hey, boss we got company,” Joe Bolano said.
All three men turned and saw two men step out of the car and start walking up the steps.
“Who the hell are they?” Benito mumbled to himself.
Benito quickly moved around the car and headed towards the building. Upon Nick’s orders, Joe pulled out of his parking spot, made a u turn, and parked behind the other car.
“Can I help you?” Benito asked them from the bottom of the steps.
“Who are you?” asked one of the men.
“I own this building,” Benito responded.
Both men came down the steps and whipped out identification badges.
“We are with the FBI and looking for a Mr. Theodore Gresco. Would you know where he is?” one of the men asked Benito.
All of a sudden, Joe Bolano pulled out from behind the parked car and fired above the heads of the men talking to Benito.
“What the f…,” one of the agents shouted as he, Benito, and the other man hit the ground. The agents rushed into their car and gave chase. Benito got up and watched as the cars disappeared around the corner.
“Damn, Nick is crazy,” Benito said to himself.
Benito rushed up the stairs and was met by Theo at the entryway.
“Get back inside, young man,” Benito told him.
They both stared at each other and Benito gave Theo a warm hug.
“What the hell is going on?” Theo asked.
“The FBI was just here. They’re looking for you and so is the Giovanna Family,” Benito told him.
“Crap. I figured the cops would be looking for me but not those jerks,” Theo said.
They went into Theo’s apartment where Sylvia came and stood beside Theo.
“What are we going to do?” she asked Benito.
“You guys will be better off getting out of town, unless you want to talk to the FBI and tell them you had nothing to do with the murders. Of course, the other problem is the Giovanna Family. They don’t listen to reason. Nick said he was going to take care of them for you,” Benito told them.
“This is not Nick’s problem. It’s my problem,” Theo said upset.
In a second Theo made up his mind and turning to Sylvia he said,
“You need to move. Somewhere where they can’t get to you. Out of state if possible,” Theo told her.
“Theo, where? Where do you expect us to go to? We can’t just get up and leave!” she responded almost in tears.
“I… I don’t know right now. But, you can’t stay here. Your life is in danger,” he told her.
“Hey kids. I have a good friend who owns several buildings in New York City and he owes me big. Let me call him and see what he can do,” Benito told them.
Theo turned to Sylvia and said,
“I have a lot of money and will send you some every month to support you and Tyler until I return.”
Just then, they heard one of the doors of an above apartment close and they all looked up. They saw Sonia holding Tyler. Theo stared as she came down and walked over to them.
“What’s going on guys?” she asked them.
Tyler reached for Sylvia and buried his head in her neck. Theo stared at him and then at her.
“You need to get going now. I’ll arrange for a car to drive you to New York,” Theo said as he turned to Benito and asked that he make the arrangements.
Benito nodded and headed for the stairway as Calito was descending them.
“What’s going on?” he asked his father.
“We have to arrange for Sylvia to get away from here right away,” Benito told his son.
Sylvia, carrying Tyler, went back into her apartment with Theo following, leaving Sonia and Calito in the hallway.
Sonia explained the situation to Calito.
Sylvia’s mother came down the hallway responding to the commotion.
After Sonia explained to her that Sylvia and Tyler were going to New York City, she went into Sylvia and Theo’s apartment.
“Mama, please come with us. You can see George and be with us,” Sylvia begged her mother.
She walked over to Theo and gave him a hug and turned to her daughter.
“No dear. I’ll be ok. You go, don’t worry about me. I got Ana and Benito here to look after me, so don’t you worry,” she told her daughter.
“Theo, you take care of my daughter,” she told Theo.
“Yes, ma’am,” Theo responded.
Benito’s ability to put something together in a hurry was put to the test. Within minutes he had arranged for a place to stay and commanded Davino and Maria to drive Sylvia and Tyler to New York City. He gave them enough money to cover all their expenses and then some.
Sylvia turned to Theo and asked why he was not coming with them.
“They’ll continue to hound you until they get you. I have to take care of this problem once and for all,” he told her.
“When you get there change your name back to your maiden name. Change Tyler’s to Santiago,” Theo told her.
Sylvia looked up into his eyes.
“Will I ever see you again?” she asked him.
Theo looked into her eyes, smiled and kissed her.
“You’ll be safe away from me,” he responded.
“I love you, Theo,” she said.
Theo did not respond and nodded.
Sylvia turned to her mother and hugged her tightly.
“Mama, you take care. I love you,” she said through teary eyes as her mother hugged her back and pushed her on.
“Goodbye honey. You take care of that grandson of mine. Tell George to call me,” she told her daughter.
Sylvia handed Tyler to Theo as she picked up a bag and headed out of the apartment building. Theo followed carrying Tyler, who was fidgeting, wanting to get back into his mother’s arms. Sylvia got in the back and Theo handed her their son. She stared up at him as he closed the car door. Through teary eyes she waved goodb
ye and he in turn waved back.
Theo stared as the car pulled out wondering if he would ever see them again.
They raced through the streets of Chicago as the feds gave chase.
“We need to get to the apartment building where I rented the room,” Nick told Joe who was driving.
Screeching around corners their pursuer kept up with them.
“Step on the gas, Joe, before they catch us,” Nick screamed.
All of a sudden they heard gunshots behind them. The agent in the passenger seat rolled down the window and began firing.
“I think they mean business,” shouted Nick.
In the back seat, Theodore Enzinola pulled out his weapon and began to return fire.
“Shoot for the radiator. If you kill one of the feds they’ll track us down until they get us,” Nick said.
“Now listen up. Theodore, when we get to the building you run up to my apartment and smash out the window and fire at them a couple of times, then haul your ass out of there. Joe and I will run in behind you. Joe you run out the back and keep going. I’ll fire at them from the entrance door and keep them at bay. Once I hear Joe fire from the upstairs window I’ll wait five seconds and fire again. Then I’ll haul ass out of the building through the back. It should give us enough time to get to your car on the other side of the building. Whatever you do don’t stop running till you get to the car,” Nick told them.
Five minutes later the men arrived in front of the building and as planned all three men poured out of the car with Theodore in the front. Joe and Nick followed closely behind. The feds came to a screeching stop when Nick fired at them. They exited from the passenger side and took positions behind their car. Both agents ducked when the return fire now came from an upstairs window. One of the agents called in for backup giving the dispatcher their location, while the other agent peaked over the top of the car experiencing an eruption of gunfire from the building entrance.
“Shit, they got us pinned down,” one of the agents said.
“Not for long,” the other agent responded.
They now heard sirens in the distance and within ten minutes, they had the building surrounded; eight minutes too late.
It would be two hours before anyone made a move. Enough time for Nick Costello, Joe Bolano and Theodore Enzinola to make their escape.
It was around two in the morning when Nick sneaked into the apartment building where Theo Gresco lived. He quietly knocked and waited. There was no answer.
“Theo you there?” he asked again tapping quietly.
There was no answer.
Moving to the side of the front entrance Nick quickly scanned up and down the street. No one could be seen. Suddenly he heard the sound of breaking glass and his hat flew off of his head. He hit the floor hard.
“What the f…,” he said to himself as he scrambled to retrieve his hat, where a hole now adorned the tip.
“Fucking Theo. That was my best hat,” he said to himself as he got up and glanced out the door. Looking about he finally located him atop the building across the street. Giving him the finger he cautiously crossed the street and ran up the stairs to the roof.
He approached Calito and Theo.
“That was my best hat you jerk,” he said to Theo smiling.
“What’re doing here?” Theo asked him.
“Thanks, Nick, for getting rid of the feds and the Giovanna glee club,” Nick said mocking him.
Theo stared at him, smiled and nodded.
“So what happened?” Theo asked.
“Well we took the feds on a wild ride through Chicago leaving them at my apartment building. Think my boys might be out of work come tomorrow. As for me, I still got a grudge to settle. Other than that nothing new. How about you guys?” Nick asked.
“We sent my wife and kid away,” Theo said.
“To New York City,” Calito said.
Theo turned to Calito and gave him a look showing his disapproval for volunteering the information.
Nick caught the message loud and clear.
“You don’t volunteer information like that,” Nick told Calito.
“Sorry,” Calito said.
“Nick, you think they’ll be safe in New York?” Theo asked him.
“Maybe,” Nick responded.
“The Giovanna Family got people everywhere. Even in New York City,” Nick responded.
“Tell you what, I’ll send my boys to watch over your wife and kid for as long as it takes. Hell, they’re already on my payroll. Got enough to last a hundred years. In return, you help me take down the Giovanna Family,” Nick told Theo.
“What about the FBI?” Theo asked Nick.
“Nothing you can do about that, except turn yourself in,” Nick said.
“What do you think they would do if I did?” Theo asked Nick.
“Probably lock you up for about fifty years,” Nick responded.
“Why? I haven’t done anything,” Theo responded.
“That’s not the way they think. They need to lock someone up and you must admit you are their best suspect. Sorry, I know it’s my fault, knocking off those two assholes the way I did. I can always drop them a line telling them you had nothing to do with it. But you think they’re going to believe me?” Nick asked.
Theo stared at Nick, nodding.
“No. It was only a matter of time before I’d have gone after them. You finished them off before I could. Ok, then send your men to watch over my wife and kid. If anything happens to them, I swear I will personally dim your boys’ lights. Now let’s take care of these assholes once and for all,” Theo said.
As Calito bid them goodbye it never occurred to him he would never see either of the two men again.
Though the FBI visited the Randazzo’s several times inquiring on the whereabouts of Theo Gresco and Nick Costello, their efforts proved fruitless.
Benito Randazzo and his family never saw either Theo or Sylvia again. On the next Thanksgiving Day, Ana found a box full of money in front of their door with a plain piece of paper with the words “Thank you” written on it. There was no doubt on who left it; it was Theo’s way.
The next year Sylvia’s brother, George Santiago, came and moved his mother to live with him in New York.
Al Giovanna (R.I.P.)
New York/Chicago/San Francisco
Over the next two years, the Giovanna Family got wind of a rumor that both Joe Bolano and Theodore Enzinola were rubbed out by Nick Costello and he was now gunning for the Sabrisio brothers. Though they could not verify whether the rumors were true or not their disappearance supported the claim.
Fazio Giordano, contacted by the San Francisco Families, was welcomed into the organization. Eric Russo and Joey Costa (heads of the San Francisco Families) now in their eighties, turned control of their empire over to other members of their organization.
During that period, Fazio continued to elevate his power by strengthening his organizations ability to monitor, infiltrate and pocket key political figures thus becoming the envy of every crime syndicate in the United States.
In late 1962, eighty-five year old Al Giovanna suffered a massive heart attack while dinning. The leaders of all of the U. S. organizations including some foreign capos, attended his funeral.
Both Nick and Theo watched from a safe distance as the procession carrying Al Giovanna made its way into the cemetery. They were disappointed to find the Sabrisio brothers were not among the mourners. Their constant attacks on the Sabrisio organization resulted in the Sabrisio’s maintaining a very low profile.
“Crap, those wieners are not there. We must have them shitting in their boots,” Nick said aloud.
“Hey Theo, how many do you think you can take out from this distance?’ Nick asked Theo.
“It’s a funeral, Nick,” Theo said.
“So! They wouldn’t have far to go to be buried,” Nick responded smiling.
Theo turned to him and smiled.
“You have too much heart,” Theo told Nick.
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Over the years the only person Theo trusted was Nick. Even with his antics, though sometimes annoying, Theo liked him. Theo could not count how many times Nick’s quick thinking got them out of a jam. He also realized they would not get into as many jams if it were not for Nick in the first place. He was the only person that ever made Theo smile and his hindsight was indispensible.
“We need to get in, Theo. You know join them as part of the family,” Nick said.
“No, what we need to do is find out where the Sabrisio brothers are hiding,” Theo replied.
Theo watched as the procession came to a stop near the grave site. He also noticed one of the limousines remained at least three car lengths behind the others. When they all stopped, the men in the last limo waited until the other limousines had emptied out before exiting the vehicle and joining the others.
“Nick, who are those men coming out of the last limousine?” Theo asked him.
Nick looked through the binoculars and watched as one of the men moved to the front of the mourners while the other three men positioned themselves in the rear.
“I don’t know, never seen him before. Definitely from out of town,” Nick commented.
They continued watching as the services ended. Nick noticed that the person from the last limo moved to give his condolences to Anthony Giovanna and his family after all the others had passed by. Whoever this person is, he is definitely an outsider, yet recognized by the families.
“Come on, I got a plan,” Theo said.
Fazio Giordano/Nick Costello/Theodore Gresco
Chicago
After the funeral the Giovanna Family invited everyone to breakfast at a restaurant called Chicago Morning. One by one the trail of limousines pulled in front of the restaurant as Theo and Nick watched. As the last limousine pulled up and its occupants entered the restaurant, they watched it pull away from the others and park in an isolated spot.
Almost three hours later the attendees began to exit. The first to leave were the last to arrive. One of the men waved at the driver who immediately started the vehicle and brought it about. Within a few minutes, the men climbed into the limousine and were off.