Kingpin (An Italian Mafia Romance) Read online

  “Good question, Dominic,” Leo replies. “What I came to tell you all is that our good friend, Danny Ramano, has flipped.”

  The four of us gasp like school girls.

  “Danny has turned state’s witness, and he has given information about Jimmy and me. According to my guy inside St. Louis PD, Danny has provided enough information to put us both away for a long time, and it doesn’t look like there’s anything we can do about it. He’s locked up and under witness protection, as is a part of his deal, and the FBI is using his information to press a judge for arrest warrants for Jimmy and me as we speak.”

  “That rat fuck!” Sal explodes, slamming his large hand on the table.

  Leo puts his hand up and shakes his head.

  “There’s no need to get upset. When you’ve been in this game as long as I have, something like this is bound to happen. We all know the Feds best weapon is a rat, and all it takes is one. Now that they have their rat, all we can do is prepare. So, I’m not here to discuss revenge. We’ve had enough bloodshed over the years, and I don’t want this indictment to be the end of Our Thing here in St. Louis. It’s gonna be on all of you now, to make sure this family keeps going. So, there’s something I need to tell you, and it’s even more important than the fact that Danny is a rat. When Jimmy and I are sent away, I will not be running The Family from prison. There will be an acting boss initially, like always, but then a new, permanent boss will be selected. The Commission has already given approval, and they’re gonna advise on the decision, but I have final say. It’s what’s best for the family in the long run.

  “I also don’t want Danny’s family touched. None of them. As much as I’d like to send a message to everyone about being a rat bastard, what’s done is done, and the new boss of this family will move things forward, not backwards. Danny’s family will not be harmed. Is there any confusion about anything I just said?”

  The four of us stare at Leo, completely stunned. This is a bombshell being dropped in the middle of the glass table and exploding all around us, and none of us know how to react to the devastation.

  “This will be the last time all of us meet like this,” Leo continues. “I need all four of you to be on top of your game, because the next boss will be one of you, and I expect the rest of you to show him the same respect and loyalty you’ve shown me all these years. Do I make myself clear?”

  We all nod slowly, still stunned, and we stay that way until Leo and Jimmy get up and walk out of the room.

  The air is thin for a few minutes. There’s just so much I can’t believe. Danny’s a fucking rat, but we can’t do anything about it, and Leo’s appointing a new boss. That’s a lot of big information for one meeting.

  “This is bullshit,” John chirps. He’s suddenly filled with an annoying energy, as he stands and starts pacing like he has to piss. “Why don’t the four of us get to vote for the new boss?”

  “Hey! That’s not what Leo wants to do, so you can drop your shit, John. This is a big decision for The Family, and Leo and The Commission are thinking long-term, so they’re gonna weigh all the options,” Sal snaps.

  “Look, I understand The Commission wants to advise, but they’re all the way in New-fucking-York; so why are they advising on our business? It doesn’t seem right to me. You guys don’t have a problem with this?”

  “Shut the fuck up, John,” Frankie hisses, but John’s on a roll.

  “Oh, of course you don’t have a problem with it, Frankie! We all know you’re gonna be the next boss anyway. I’m just sayin’ it’s messed up is all.”

  Suddenly, Frankie jumps up and points a finger at John.

  “I said shut the fuck up! You’ve been a captain for less than a month, and if you want to keep that title, you better learn to keep your fucking mouth shut. We don’t know who it’s gonna be, so shut your mouth and wait for the word to come from Leo or Jimmy.

  “Now, all of you heard the old man, he’s about to get locked away, and we all know Leo doesn’t have many years left anyway. So, we’ll be supportive, but we also need to be thinking about how this family is about to change. It’s on us now. So, go back to your crews and do what you can to prepare them. That’s all we can do right now.”

  We all agree with a nod, and hug Frankie as he makes his exit. Big Sal is the next to go, but he only hugs me, choosing only to eyeball John as he walks out. Everyone needs time to think, and we have to tell our crews about Leo and Jimmy. It’s a lot to take in, and none of us are happy about the fact that we’re losing a boss and an underboss because the consigliere is a rat. It doesn’t matter if we expect Frankie to be the next boss, this is the kind of thing we hope to avoid in Our Thing. There isn’t much time to dwell on it, though. It’s going to happen no matter what, so I have to get back to my crew and pass the message down.

  “Those guys need to learn to relax, huh Dominic?” he says to me, but I ignore him as I put out my cigar and turn to walk out. “Maybe you all need to just loosen up a bit. We’re about to get a new boss. No need to be so tense, Boy Wonder.”

  Before my hand can touch the door knob, I stop. Ice shoots from my heart and runs through my veins as I turn around. John’s dumb fucking face stares back at me, grinning playfully. He’s a made guy, so I’m not supposed to hit him. I try to remember that as I walk to him and stop only a couple of feet away.

  “You don’t know me very well, and I’d hate for you to get the wrong impression, so it’s important that I’m honest with you. You talk a lot, you know that?” I ask. John frowns, but I continue before he can answer. “And the things you say are gonna get you in trouble. I know you’re older than me, so you think you can say little playful shit and break my balls, but I think there’s something you should know. If you ever call me that again, I’m gonna rip your fucking tongue out of your mouth and use it to make you lick your own asshole.”

  I don’t ask if he understands, because I can tell from the frozen, terrified look on his face that he knows I’m not kidding.

  I don’t smile, I don’t wink, I don’t fucking play. I just turn around and walk out the door.

  You better remember it forever. I’m Dominic Collazo.

  Dominic

  “Alright, we all here? Where’s Skinny?”

  “He’s in the bathroom. Skinny, hurry the fuck up! Dominic’s here and we got business to discuss!” Tommy screams, even though the bathroom is only a few feet away.

  We’re in the conference room of River City Casino & Hotel. “Skinny” Joe Cuzamano flushes the toilet and comes stumbling out of the bathroom as he struggles to get his zipper up. He’s the newest and youngest of all of us at twenty-four, so he’s always under a lot of pressure. The guy’s six-foot two but only weighs a buck sixty, so he’s got long and lanky limbs that look stretched out and creepy. He’s been with me for three years though, and he’s always been a stand-up guy. He’s not quite ready to be made yet, but he’s a good associate who has no problem setting up a score. He also doesn’t mind killing anybody. Skinny Joe’s a little quick on the trigger because he’s short tempered, so if we don’t watch him, he can cause some unwanted attention, but he’s a good guy, nonetheless. He’s just still learning the business side of Our Thing. The blemishes on his face aren’t from acne, they’re from fights he’s gotten himself into from blowing a gasket when he shouldn’t have. He’s taken a few too many punches and kicks to the face, but it usually takes two or three guys to get Skinny Joe down. Stringy arms or not, Joe Cuzamano can fist fight with the best of them.

  Skinny Joe takes a seat at the end of the table next to Charlie Mannello. Charlie’s the same age as me, and he’s not made either, but he’s getting there. He’s done a ton of robbing on the streets and he’s starting to do some decent earning of his own via illegal gambling and loan sharking, so the capos are taking notice. I put in a good word for my guys every chance I get, because This Thing of Ours needs to keep growing, and we need guys like Charlie and Skinny Joe to keep The Family going in the right direction. Charlie
’s less of a killer and more of a money-maker. He’s a thinker. It’s not often I need to think of ways to earn fast cash because my three casinos do plenty of that, but when the occasion arises, Charlie’s my guy. You need a diamond sold or some evidence to be “misplaced,” you talk to Charlie. You want to get information about a guy, you call Charlie. You want to find someone, put Charlie on it. He’ll clip a guy if he has to, but he’s more the type to find the guy that needs to be killed and watch you do it. He’s the smart one of the crew, and he looks the part with thick glasses resting on a thin nose.

  Once Joe takes his seat, I take mine. To my right is Tommy “Two Nines” Caprio. Tommy’s the oldest of the crew, at twenty-seven, and he’s a made guy. Tommy’s a captain’s dream. When things get hot and need to be handled “aggressively”, Tommy’s the one who’s going to handle it. He got his name from the obvious fact that wherever Tommy goes, he’s got two nine millimeter pistols stashed somewhere on him. Sometimes they’re in a double holster under each armpit, sometimes they’re tucked under his belt, sometimes they’re tucked in his socks. It doesn’t matter where they are, just know that they’re always there, and he’s ready and willing to use them. One nod from me and Tommy will put three bullets in your chin just to prove a point. Tommy used to work for Big Sal, but when I got upped to captain, Big Sal gave him up to me as a show of respect, so Tommy belongs to me now. I trust all my guys, but I don’t trust anybody more than I trust Tommy Two Nines. He takes no shit, he makes good money from loan sharking and extortion, and he’s as loyal as they come.

  “Hey, when Dominic shows up, you hold your fucking piss until he says what he has to say,” Tommy scolds Skinny Joe just as he’s getting comfortable. Joe tightens up with nervousness. “I don’t care if he talks so long you end up pissing your pants. You wait for Dominic to finish saying his business, you don’t leave.”

  “I’m sorry, Tommy,” Joe says. “I didn’t know he came in.”

  “Did I ask what you fucking knew?” Tommy snaps. The room goes quiet as Tommy stares at Joe like he’s ready to slit his throat. Joe doesn’t move, and he looks like he isn’t even breathing. Suddenly, Tommy smiles. “Ah I’m just breaking your balls! Relax, kid. I’m just kidding.”

  Everybody in the room busts out laughing.

  “That’s not funny, Tommy. Why you gotta mess with me like that?” Joe asks as he laughs. I can see the relief on his face, though. Tommy’s five-ten and over two hundred twenty pounds. Not only is he crazy enough to kill you, he actually looks the part, with a mean scowl that seems to never fade away. He’s either smiling or scowling, there’s no in between. This guy never lifted a weight in his life, but you wouldn’t know it from how stocky he is. It doesn’t matter how short a temper Skinny Joe has either, because Tommy’s a made guy and Skinny isn’t, so Joe can’t lay a finger on him.

  “Alright, alright, listen up,” I interrupt with a wave of my hand. “We just had a meeting with all the captains, and I’ve got some news. So, turns out Danny Ramano decided to flip on Leo and Jimmy. Leo got the word that the cops are getting warrants sometime in the near future, so things are gonna be changing in The Family. Leo says there will be an acting boss temporarily, but then he’ll choose a new permanent boss with the advice of The Commission. We all expect it to be Frankie, but Leo didn’t say anything about who it’d be. So, we’ll just wait and see I guess. Nothing has changed for the moment, but it will. That’s what came out of the meeting.”

  The three of them look just as stunned as the capos did when we first heard.

  “I always knew Danny was a sneaky little bitch,” Tommy snips. “I don’t know how he became consigliere anyway. Fucking rat.”

  “I swear, a rat has always been the downfall of Our Thing,” Charlie chips in. “Fucking rats. There’s no way to get rid of ’em. Even when things are going good and everybody’s happy, there’s always a rat lurking in the shadows ready to ruin it to save his own ass. So, when are we making an example out of this cock sucker?”

  “Leo doesn’t want that,” I answer to the annoyance of everyone. “I know it’s fucked up, but Leo doesn’t want his family touched. What’s done is done. So, we’re not gonna dwell on it. We’re gonna move forward with business as usual until we hear something from Leo or Jimmy. That’s it. Understand?” They nod along together, and we move on to the next topic. “Alright, so where are we with Lumiere Place, Tommy?”

  “We’re in the same place we were before. The fucking guy isn’t budging, Dominic. I mean, he’s a fucking multi-millionaire for Christ’s sake. He could go buy another casino, but he’s making life difficult.”

  “Ugh, fucking Russians,” I complain. “This hotel is right off of Highway 44, and if we own it, it’ll go a long way towards partnering up with Frankie, who has already taxed the trucks on that road anyway. We can stash merchandise and money right in the building without even having to travel a mile off the highway. The Lumiere Place Casino & Hotel would be a goldmine, and it’d give us control over everything coming through St. Louis. So, I don’t give a fuck what that little Russian prick wants, I want that hotel. You tell him to name his price.”

  “I know, Dominic, but the guy says he’s not selling. I mean, there’s a way we can get him out, but it might get messy, and you know how Leo is about attracting heat nowadays,” Tommy explains.

  I know he’s right. Leo’s been picky about hits the past few years because the Feds are always on our asses, so we have to tread very lightly with this kind of thing. That’s why I love having Tommy around. He knows what to say to keep me from flying off the hinges without thinking things through. He’s like my own personal consigliere.

  “No,” I say quietly, thinking out loud. “I don’t want to take it there just yet. We’ve got enough trouble with the Feds and St. Louis PD coming after Leo and Jimmy. Just let me think for a second.”

  I have to weigh my options here. I know I could send Tommy in there with his two nines to put an end to this Russian asshole in a snap, but then I’d have to worry about the body and the questions coming from the guy’s family and friends, which would lead to questions from the cops. I also don’t want to let it go. If Frankie actually becomes the boss, it’d be a big deal to be able to help him out through that hotel, not to mention how much money the place makes legitimately. It’s good for The Family, and it’s good for me personally. I can’t let it go.

  “Alright, this is what we’re gonna do,” I start, the imaginary light bulb above my head shining bright. I light another Cuban and inhale deeply. “Tommy, I want you to arrange a sit down with this coglione. Somewhere public, so he feels safe. Charlie, I want you do some digging for me. Before this sit down, I want to know absolutely everything there is to know about Abram Baskov.”

  Dominic

  I always noticed Lumiere Place Casino & Hotel, but I didn’t appreciate it until now. We approach on Highway 44 so I can see the route we’d be using to bring in merchandise, and you can see the Lumiere from the road. It’s at least twenty stories, with big blue windows that reflect the St. Louis Arch, which can be seen as you stand in front of the entrance to the hotel. It’s a beautiful place, and the look of it makes me want to own it even more. I always loved River City, maybe because my father owned it before I did, but there’s something about Lumiere Place. Something about the location, and the colors, and the proximity to the Arch. It’s just beautiful, and as Tommy and I make our way through the revolving glass door, the inside affects me the same way the outside does. It’s mostly white with brown accents, and there’s a huge picture of the Arch behind the check-in counter. I love it.

  “This is a nice fucking place,” Tommy says as we step up to the counter and wait for a clerk to address us.

  “Yeah, it is,” I agree. “Never seen the inside before. Now that I have, I want it more than ever.”

  “Between this place and River City, you’d be next level, Dominic. I don’t know how you were able to get into all this casino stuff, but it’s impressive. You’ll be
set for life if you can couple this up with River City.”

  “That’s the plan, right?” I reply. “This isn’t just about my life. It’s about the lives of everybody in my crew. Our kids and their futures, too. We close the deal on this place, and we’re talking about our families being set for life, not just me. We gotta make this happen, Tommy. We can be untouchable.”

  “Sounds like you’re trying to become the boss,” Tommy says with a big smile, but I wave him off.

  “Fuhgeddaboutit. Frankie’s gonna be the boss, but maybe we can lock us in for the future, and if I get it, you’re coming with me.”

  “Don’t get my hopes up, Dominic,” Tommy says with a chuckle.

  I’ve never openly talked about what it’d be like to be the boss of The Family, but it’s a position everyone wants. When you’re the boss, everybody in the family has to kick up to you. Everybody. So, for me, if I can get Abram Baskov to stop being a fucking asshole and let me buy him out of the Lumiere, I’d be owner of two hotels, and partner on two more. On top of that, I’d be getting money from everyone in The Family until I die. Tommy’s right, I’d be set, and anybody else I wanted would be set too. I could also have anybody who gets in my way clipped with a snap of my fingers, and no one would ever find the body, and it’d never come back to me, because when you’re the boss, you’re never around when a hit takes place. At least that’s how it should be. Leo and Jimmy had a bad habit of breaking that rule, which is why they’re in the position they’re in now, but I know better than to be thinking about that. Frankie has the position locked in, but I won’t need to be the boss if I can make this deal happen.