Chapter 9 Section five

A few days later, I came back from outside, and when I walked to the door of the apartment, I saw two people getting out of a car.I almost yelled that they were Joseph Masseria and Samuel Firenau, Joe's boss.Shangfeng asked each of us to carefully look at the photo of Boss Qiao.They looked at me strangely, you know, that's the Jewish quarter, and they could tell I wasn't a Jew.They followed me into the yard and I was supposed to turn right and I knew they were supposed to turn left to Samuel's place, but they followed me into my building and followed me into the elevator.I asked them which floor to go to, and they said, "It's up to you."

I live on the second floor, but I pressed the sixth floor.We stood face to face against the wall, neither of us speaking.When I got to the sixth floor, I pretended to be careless and walked out, but they were still inside.When the elevator door closed behind me, I ran to the second floor. I rushed into the room and shouted, "Boss Joe! Boss Joe! I saw him." No one believed me, they all said how could Boss Joe come here.I was arguing anxiously, when a boy by the window saw Boss Joe and Samuel crossing the yard.He also yelled: "My God! It's them!" That night, I started to regret it.People come and go in my room, it's a mess, that's all.They even sent two gunmen to stare at the window in turn, and they would shoot whenever Boss Joe showed his face.I said this is not okay, didn't I agree not to shoot from my room?

The Chicago devil said: "Joseph, listen to me, this matter is too important. Otherwise, if he doesn't come out tonight, we will rent another apartment tomorrow." I remember I kept praying that Boss Joe wouldn't come out that night, and he really didn't.Not only did he not come out, but more and more people went in, about 20 or so.It looks like they are having a meeting. The next day, Bobby Doyle rented a flat on the ground floor, and they were determined to shoot from there.After the meeting adjourned at noon, the meeting participants left in groups of two, but Boss Qiao never came out.As I learned later, he decided to be the last one to go.All those people were about to leave, so the little devil was a little anxious.Then I saw Samuel Firenno and another person coming out of it.Bobby Doyle immediately said that he knew this person, Alfred Minlio, the boss of the Minlio family.They felt that they could not let go of this opportunity, and the three of them, Bobby, Kidhead, and Nick Kabutz, shot together and beat Alfred and Samuel into briquettes.

Afterwards, the little ghost went out for a block or so and saw a policeman.The little ghost said that there were several shots fired there just now, and the police immediately ran in the direction he pointed, and the little ghost ran in the other direction. I also left New York to visit my brother at Dannemora. (According to NYPD records: On November 5, 1930, at 2:45 p.m., Alfred Minlio and Samuel Ferino, also known as Steven Ferino, were leaving Bayer 759 Hannan Street, Samuel Ferrenau's apartment, was fatally shot by an unidentified gunman, and the two were killed on the spot. The gunman shot at Unit C-1, 760 Bell Hannan Street, police officers Three submachine guns were found there.)

A few days later I returned to Pelham Street from Dannemora.The old man at the door told me that something serious will happen as soon as you leave.He told me in vivid detail how Alfred and Samuel were killed, and how the police went up and down to check on the tenants, and many people moved out. I said, "Yes, I can imagine. Even if the apartment is destroyed by something like this, I will leave this place of right and wrong." I rented a storage room and stacked everything in it. I have been back in New York for days and no one has contacted me.I went to look for them in the places I used to frequent, but there was no one there.I was wandering on Lexington Road in the East End of Harlan that day when a car braked suddenly beside me. The driver was a soldier of the Cariano family named Frank Carrasay, nicknamed Chicken Cub.He beckoned me into the car and said, "My God, how dare you walk on the street? Do you know we're all blacklisted by Joe's boss? You should thank God that you're alive today."

"Oh yeah?" I said, "I've been walking around like this. I don't know anything. I went to see my brother at Tannemora." Chicken Cubs led me to an apartment in the Bronx, and there were Nick Padovano and Sally Silitani, who did the robbery with me in 1929, and Castleland was short manned when the war started, I just introduced them to Tom Cariano. "Don't move around. I will take you to the north to meet the boss and other people." Chicken Cub said, "Wait for my news." Two days later, the chicks came back. "Are you ready? We have a 90-mile drive." Chicken Cub drove.The three of us, me, Nick, and Sully, were a little nervous, and we could roughly guess the purpose of our trip.

I don't know where it is, it's in the country anyway.An old house, white.We arrived at night and couldn't see if there were any other houses around.After we got in, Chicken Cub made us wait in a little room, and the Chicago kid and some people I knew from Pellham Street came in and chatted with us.Then it was only the three of us left.Finally, a person came in through the door. I forgot who it was, and raised his hand and said to me, "Joseph, come with me." I followed him into a very large room with no furniture of any kind except a very, very long table, about 5 feet wide by 30 feet long, covered with a white tablecloth so it couldn't be seen Is it one or many tables put together.There are cups, plates, knives and forks on the table, waiting for the guys to eat.

There were more than 40 people sitting around the table, including members of the Maranjano family and the Cariano family. I didn't know many of them. All I knew were the boss, the second boss, and the column captains.As soon as I entered, everyone stood up. I was led past them to the other side of the table.The man who brought me in introduced me in a very formal way: "Joseph, this is Mr. Salvador Maranjano. He will lead us all until the riots are over." It was the first time I saw In El Salvador, he was like a bank tycoon.People who don't know the details will never think that he is a gangster.

Salvatore Maranjano turned to the crowd and said, "This is Joseph the scooter." I need to say a few words here.All the people who join the gang have a nickname, such as Guozui, Jizai, Xiaoguitou and so on.First of all, this is to deceive the police, and second, in our era, there were only a few Italians in the United States with names that went around, Joseph, Frank, Anthony... If you go to a party with a dozen people, you can meet at least Three Josephs.Our Italian surnames are very long, sometimes four or five syllables, which are difficult for outsiders to read clearly.My name is "Scooter" because when I was a kid, I was especially good at building scooters out of old wooden boards.You're going to ask "Kosha Nostra" now, say Joseph Michael Wallach, nobody knows.When it comes to scooters, more people know about them.Just like the kid from Chicago, no one knew his real name until his death, and everyone called him "Little Devil".When you become the captain or the boss, no one will call you nicknames.For example, Ji Tannuo Luqisai, who is now the boss of the Luqisai family, is nicknamed "Three Fingers" because he only has three fingers left on his left hand.I have never heard anyone dare to call him "Three Fingers" in person.

Salvador sat me down in the empty chair to his right.As soon as I sat down, everyone sat down.Someone came and put a pistol and a knife on the table in front of me.I remember the gun was .38 caliber and the knife was a double-edged dagger.Salvador motioned us to stand up again, and everyone raised their hands. Salvador muttered a long paragraph of Italian, and everyone sat down.Salvador turned to me and said something about guns and knives, still in Italian, which I understood roughly to mean, "This means that you will live with the guns and die with the guns." Salvador asked again: "Which finger are you pulling the trigger?"

I held out my right index finger, not understanding what he was going to do.He made me put my hands together in the shape of a cup, and I still don't understand what he's trying to do.He took a piece of paper and stuffed it into a ball in my palm, struck a match and lit it.I think I must have looked very embarrassed at the time, while turning the ball of fire upside down in both hands, and following him in Italian: "If I betray the secret of 'Cosa Nostra', I will Will be burned to ashes like this wad of paper...'Kosha Nostra' is supreme, above our family, our religion, our country." Salvador said: "It is a period of turmoil, so I will make a long story short. There are two points you must keep in mind, remember deeply. One, betray 'Kosha Nostra', kill without mercy. Two, with other members If you have an affair with your wife, you can kill them without mercy. Look at them," he ran his fingers across the room, "you have to learn to respect them and learn to live like them." Later I heard that the second point is because Several bosses and column captains fell in love with the wife of a certain subordinate, so they killed her husband in different ways.They say it doesn't happen often, but once is enough, right? Salvador said to the crowd: "All stand up. From zero to five, punch." "Wow—" All the people threw out their right hands in unison.Some people have one finger, some have three fingers, and some have a slap—five, or a fist—zero.Salvador started counting from the first person on his left to—I don't remember how much, say, 48, which was Joseph Bonano's finger.He is now the boss of the Bonano family in New York, nicknamed "Banana Joseph". Salvador smiled.He waved to me and said, "Hey, Joseph, come and meet your godfather." Joseph Bonano laughed too.He came up to me and said, "Give me that finger." I knew he meant the trigger finger.He pricked the tip of my right index finger with a needle, and the blood came out. Salvador said loudly: "This blood has made us a family." He explained to me some etiquette and rules in the gang.For example, I was with a member of "Kosha Nostra" and met another member, but they didn't know each other, and when I introduced it, I said, "Hello, John, this is Jem , he's our friend." But if there's a guy who's not a member, just a friend, I say, "Hello, John, this is Jem, he's my friend." After the ceremony, everyone changed their solemn expressions and smiled.I reckon it took about ten minutes. I move to another seat.Next up is Nick Padovano, then Sally Silitani. When they had collected the pistols and knives, Salvador ordered the food to be served, and there was plenty of wine.The three of us newcomers, me, Nick and Sally, were sitting together talking excitedly about what an honor it was to be part of "Kosha Nostra." After finishing his coffee, Salvatore Maranjano stood up and said, "We are here today because Josep Masseria first sentenced us all to death and then shot you. Thomas Rainer, the boss of the ... the 'shooters' among you will be housed in apartments all over the city, and the 'spy' in various neighbourhoods. "You all have phone numbers for headquarters, and headquarters has numbers for each of you. For example, if headquarters gets a call that a spy saw who-so in the Bronx, we'll notify the shooter in every apartment in the Bronx , you must act immediately after receiving the call. Every new member must be led by someone who knows each other, and of course we will show you a photo of Joe Boss, who is our most wanted criminal... I also want to tell You guys, the last incident in Perleham Street confuses them, they don't understand how we know they're meeting there. That's a good sign for us, because they've been screwed over... We must concentrate on killing their big bosses and not entangle with the small soldiers below. The first to bear the brunt is, of course, Boss Joe. The thief should be captured first. It is impossible for us and Boss Joe to sit down and negotiate any conditions, or reach an agreement. Any agreement. If we don't get rid of him as a person, this war will go on forever, five years, ten years, or even longer." After that meeting, Kozui moved Sully and I into an apartment on Levy Street in the Bronx. This period is probably the most frequent day for Joseph Wallach to execute the "contract".In less than a year, he has participated in nearly ten operations, large and small, successful or unsuccessful.He still remembers the first call he received was at 5 a.m. that two column captains of the Masseria family had been seen in a restaurant.The Targets were getting into the car and leaving when he and Sally Silitani arrived.In desperation, Sally raised his gun to aim, but forgot to pull the safety pin.Wallach fired four shots, only to hit one of them in the buttocks. (“I can’t take aim when I’m particularly angry,” Wallachi later told FBI officials.) At this point, everyone in the restaurant ran out, and the two of them had to retreat.From then on, Wallach was no longer willing to be with Sally, and was soon transferred from the apartment on Levy Street to the headquarters of Maranjano, where he met many Mafia figures who later became bosses. On another occasion, Wallach and a veteran who claimed to "know each other," Steven Gennelli, were driving down the streets of East End Harlan when Steven suddenly said that he was in a car that had just passed. Carlo Gambino was seen in the Lincoln.Wallach immediately turned around and chased after him. When he passed the Lincoln car, Steven raised his gun and shot, only to realize that he saw the wrong person.Sitting in Lincoln's car was Carlo Gambino's younger brother Paolo. The two brothers look very similar.Fortunately, it was later learned that Paul had only suffered a minor injury—his left ear was missing.Carlo Gambino became the Mafia's most influential boss in the late 1960's.It was also after this time that Wallach stopped talking to Steven Jeannelli. One day, the Chicago kid asked me, "Do you know a guy named Baker Joseph?" "I know." I said without knowing the depth, "this guy is pretty good." "Don't let the old man hear you say this," said the little devil. "Baker Joseph hijacked some of the old man's liquor trucks. The old man was about to go mad. He said that he would be killed if he saw him." Baker Joseph's real name is Joseph Catania (Baker is the transliteration of English Baker, which means baker - author's note), he is the nephew of Artichoke King Kiro Telannava.Thinking about it this way, I felt calm.I said, "Since the old man has spoken, I have nothing to say." One morning in January, the little ghost took me and two other gunmen to an empty apartment in the Han district of Bronxford. There was a bail bondsman's office diagonally across the road from the window.For several days in a row, someone saw Baker Joseph go in every morning, stay for five to ten minutes, and came out with a brown brown paper bag in his hand.This is obviously a point where he collects protection money. "We're just here today to check whether the information is accurate," said the little devil.Sure enough, at around 10 o'clock, Baker Joseph turned out from the corner of the street, walked about eight feet, walked to the door of the office, and opened the door to enter.Ten minutes later, he came out with a paper bag, turned the corner of the street and disappeared. For the next week, Baker Joseph went in and out of the office every day, rain or shine.Our problem was that every day Baker Joseph came out of the same street corner, walked the same eight feet, and back the same way.The little devil said that the distance was too short, and he had no time to aim.In fact, the most important thing is that our room is on the fifth floor, and the little devil thinks that the range is too far, beyond the effective range of shooting. I had an idea, I said I noticed a flat on the first floor that didn't seem to be occupied, and we might as well break in before Baker Joseph arrived the next morning and start there. When we rushed in, we found that there were three workers in the room painting.This is a terrible situation, and we can only fight with our backs.The little ghost guarded the window, and I and two other people watched the workers with guns.The little ghost suddenly called me: "Joseph, come quickly and see who that woman is." I rushed over with a stride, just in time to see Baker Joseph and the woman push the door into the office. "God, that's his wife." Anyway, we have to do it today, there won't be another chance.Who knows what those three workers will say to people?I hurried out to start the car.A few minutes later, I heard gunshots. The little ghost told me afterwards: "He came out with his wife and stood on the doorstep and kissed. I was very anxious at the time, thinking that if the two of them were stuck together, they would not be able to shoot. But he turned around. Walking toward the corner alone. His wife was standing there watching him when I shot. I think I killed him, and I saw the dust when he got shot." "Supposedly he shouldn't have done it in front of his wife," I said. "I know, but we really have no other choice." Having said that, the little devil was still uneasy.He fired the first shot and Baker Joseph fell to the ground. He didn't know whether the next few shots hit or were fatal.That afternoon, news came that Baker Joseph had died in the hospital. (New York City 46th District Police Department Case No. 122: At about 11:45 a.m. on February 3, 1931, Joseph Catania was shot six times while walking on the sidewalk in front of 647 Crescent Street, He later died in Fordham Hospital. Before dying, the victim did not or would not provide any information about the perpetrator to the police. Joseph Catania, also known as Baker Joseph, male, white, 29 years old, home address: 2319 Belmont Road, Bronx.)