Chapter 12 Section VIII

During this time, several important people around Wallachi have undergone some changes.First, in 1935, the power of the artichoke king Chiro Telanava was crushed by the Luciano family. The artichoke king himself quit the arena and retired from the arena.He finally died of old age on the sickbed, one of the few heavyweights in the Italian underworld who died well. Then in 1936, Charlie Luciano was arrested for "organizing prostitution".According to Wallach, Charlie himself was dismissive of things like brothels and brothels, but after the abolition of Prohibition, more than 200 people in the "Kosha Nostra" families in New York were "unemployed". , with Charlie's status at the time, he couldn't ignore it.Charlie Luciano was sentenced to 50 years in prison in July of the same year.There are rumors that during World War II, the U.S. Department of the Navy suspected that there were enemy spies entering and exiting the ports of New York, so it adopted the FBI's suggestion to fight poison with poison and hand over these ports to underworld organizations. In 1942, Charlie Luciano was transferred from Dannemora Prison on the US-Canada border to Albany, which is closer to New York.As for what he did specifically, Wallach's generation does not know.But in 1945, Charlie's lawyers applied for bail, citing his service in the war.Charlie has been in the United States for many years and has no intention of becoming an American citizen.As a foreign national, he was deported to Italy after being released on bail.Charlie Luciano died of a heart attack in his native Naples in 1962.

At the same time that Charlie was arrested, the second boss of the Luciano family, Victor Novance, was questioned by the police on suspicion of murder, and fled to Italy alone with a huge sum of money, where he stayed for more than ten years.During World War II, Victor donated $250,000 to the Mussolini regime, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. As a result, Frank Costello, the first column captain of the Luciano family, became the interim executive boss.But this Frank is in his position and does not seek his own politics. He does not care about the family affairs, and is only enthusiastic about building his own business kingdom.Wallach said that Frank Costello was a diplomat, familiar with celebrity politicians, and well versed in the upper echelons.In fact, he is a rare entrepreneur in the underworld.In the late 1930s, his lottery, gambling and liquor wholesale businesses had a national scale, his slot machines spread all over the states, and he began to develop into "legal industries" such as real estate and oil.Frank's ability to bribe and bribe government officials is superb, and he can even deal with opposing political enemies.After Louisiana Governor Huey Long was assassinated, his nemesis took over as governor.Frank Costello ignored all of this and passed on the 20 percent of the slot machine profits originally allocated to Huey Long to the new governor.Occasionally, though, there were times when Frank felt embarrassed.He had secretly funded Thomas O'Reilly's campaign for president of the New York State Supreme Court. He didn't know that the police had tapped his phone, and the result was widely exposed by the media.In "Kosha Nostra," Frank Costello does his best to separate himself from the blatant, rampant bandits.But when necessary, he did not hesitate to use the power of the underworld, such as the incident mentioned earlier in this article that he manipulated all the hotel staff to go on strike because of taking a sauna.

For a while, the Luciano family had no leader, and several column captains were allowed to toss around indiscriminately, causing the Valachis to suffer a lot. Bobby Doyle came back from Anthony Bender one day and said the Wacker brothers had smashed Eddie Kapobenko's head off for a girl.Eddie lad is our man.Bobby asked, "Do you know Brother Wacker?" "Yes," I said, "they belong to the Lucchese family." "Well, Anthony wants you to get them done." I said, "Bobby, you shouldn't pick me on anyone. You know Gitano Lucis and my late father-in-law were best friends. Are you trying to mess with me?"

"It's not that serious," he said. "You didn't tell me to kill them. It's just a lesson learned." It's useless to say, I know Anthony Bender did it on purpose.I was like, "OK, where are they?" "I don't know, you can find it yourself." I thought, as long as I can't find them, I don't need to "teach" them, just spend every day like this.Maybe Anthony has read my mind. One morning, a fat Anthony called me and asked if I was looking for Brother Wacker. I said yes, and he asked, "Which one?" I said, "Any one will do, they just say it's the Wacker Brothers."

Fat Anthony said that he had an appointment with one of the brothers to talk about a business somewhere at 3rd and 97th at two o'clock that afternoon, but he would be there later.If there's anything I need to do with them, this is my chance.Do you understand?They are all arranged, and you can't do it if you don't want to. Someone found it for me too, Johnny and Tommy, each with a baseball bat.I'm under the contract, so I don't have to do it myself. We drove to where Fat Anthony had said, and Wacker was there, but there was someone else.We jump out of the car.He was dumbfounded when he saw us.Two thugs tackled him, and I pushed the irrelevant man against the wall and said, "Don't mind your own business. He hurt our people."

Usually in a situation like this one would just smack him in the legs, but Johnny and Tommy were beating so hard that it was too late for me to tell them to stop.Later I heard that the kid lay in the hospital for half a year. I have completely offended Ji Tannuo Lucise.And I know Anthony Bendert the villain, he will never take any responsibility.It wasn't a big deal that the Wacker brothers and Eddie Kapobenko were fighting over a girl.There will always be winners and losers in a fight, but if you lose and then recruit family members to take revenge, the nature is completely different. According to the regulations, you have to go to court. The "court" was also one of Salvador Maranjano's reforms.There are a total of six judges, one from each of the five families in New York and the Novak family in New Jersey.If there is a tie in the final ruling, either boss can come forward and cast a vote.

It was almost Christmas, and I had to wait until the holidays were over before going to church.Every year at Christmas, the Lucchese and his wife invited us to their house for a party.The other day Melzo told me that Kitano's wife, Katie, had called to invite us, and for some reason, I was a little moved. We arrived at Lu Qisai's house, and after a few drinks, Gitano called me upstairs, avoiding everyone, and asked me who gave the order.What can I say?Anthony Bender is my immediate boss. If I betray him, I'll just wait for my shoes, or it will cause another family fire.So I said, "Just take it as my own doing. Even if I tell you it was someone else, what can you do?"

He said, "Listen, I can kill that Anthony Bender kid right now." "Gitano, listen to me, I believe what you say. But let's leave this at that, shall we? Let's just pretend I did it, shall we?" The official trial took place at a private room in Jolly Joss's restaurant.The other party was the column leader of the Wacker Brothers led by Ji Tannuo Luqisai.There was no need for Gitano, and I knew that his trip was entirely for my sake.We have Anthony Bender and Bobby Doyle on our side.The judge in our family is an "old oil ball" named Shadino. "Old oil balls" is what we call those first-generation immigrant old men who were born in Italy and later came to the United States, which is a bit pejorative.But Sardino, the "old oil ball", is very smart. Every time Anthony Bender goes to court, he sits next to him and tells him not to talk nonsense.

Gitano Lucis was uncharacteristically magnanimous that day, and everyone shook hands when he left. Everyone was relaxed and happy, only the captain of the Wacker brothers looked angry, and since then the members of the Lucis family Very cold to me. Anthony Bender figured it out, it was either my bad luck or the dumbness of Gitano Lucis.What's even worse is that this bastard tasted the sweetness, and then kept repeating the old tricks. This incident put a rift between me and Bobby Doyle, and I figured I'd part ways with him sooner or later.I took my share of the profits from our joint lottery and started trying to lend usury.

There are many usury people in "Kosha Nostra", but the methods are different, and the interest rates are also different.The interest I set is generally around 20%.For example, I lent you $1,000 this Monday, and you will repay me $100 every week starting next Monday, and pay it off in 12 weeks.The interest is calculated and added from the beginning, so for some customers who have outstanding old debts and borrow new ones, I actually earn them double the interest.For example, if a person borrows $500, he should pay me back $50 a week for 12 weeks.Well, halfway through, he still owes me $300, and that $300 already includes interest, right?He came again and said that money is too tight, please lend me another $500.As for me, I only gave him $200, plus the previous old account of $300, a total of $500.From then on, he paid me back $50 a week for 12 weeks.Not convinced?If you are not convinced, you can borrow it from someone else.To be honest, if he had the ability to find someone else, he wouldn't come to me.We call this "cream usury," and the creamy part, or the sweetest part, is double interest.

How did you ask me to do it?It's very simple, first make one or two strokes, and then the word will spread.You can hardly imagine how many people want to borrow money in this world.I only do it in the Bronx, where my family lives, and East Harlan, which is my old stronghold.I am also particular about picking people.You can’t lend money to small merchants and peddlers who are engaged in serious business. They come to you when they are short of money. After thinking about it, they feel that you have exploited them. They can’t turn their minds and go to the police or prosecutors to give you money. Sued.You can't lend money to the poor. What if they don't even pay for it?Can you still boil them and eat them?Many loan sharks screwed up because they lost money and were exposed by the media.I don't want to fight or get in trouble with anyone, I just want to make money and take this seriously as a serious business.So I have been lending usury for so many years, although I haven't made a big fortune, and I haven't lost money, all the debts have been collected one by one.In no time, I had over 150 regular clients and over $10,000 "on the street" making me money. I also have times when I can't turn around.There are too many people borrowing money, and there is not enough cash on hand, so I have no choice but to borrow money from usury.The first is for the sake of reputation. If people can’t borrow money from you twice, they won’t ask you again.The second is that I can get a loan with 10% interest.Why?Because the other party knows what I do and knows that I can pay back without risk.Back and forth, one of my old friends, John Roberts, became my partner.He was responsible for delivering the cash and I was responsible for developing new clients.He's not only my partner, but Anthony Bender and the rest of the "Kosha Nostra" as well.I know he has stakes in four or five of Anthony's biggest nightclubs.John Roberts didn't join "Kosha Nostra" because he has a brother who is a cop.It wasn't until later that he mixed into the Anastasia family. Together with John, I released more than $60,000.The old rule is that I take 20% from the client and he takes 10% from me, that is to say, we get half and half.Naturally, this matter cannot be hidden from Anthony Bender.It just so happened that at this time, the kid lost a few big bets in the race hall.One day, John Roberts told me that Anthony had asked him to question us about our usury business for a long time, and it seemed that he was trying to get in.I know all too well what Anthony is.If he intervenes, no matter whether he works or not, he will take at least one-third of it.I said to John, since he didn't make it clear, let's pretend to be confused.It didn't take long for someone to say that if you want to squeeze someone, squeeze the scooter Joseph.I said to John: "I don't want to embarrass you anymore. If Anthony finds you again, you will transfer it to him from your share. If he wants my share, let him tell me. .” Anthony did show up, and he invited me to Duke's in New Jersey. The boss of "Kesa Nostra" and many people who have made a lot of money buy villas there, and they pay attention to a "country sentiment".The Duke's is where they frequent.Anthony said that he was anxiously waiting to use the money at the racetrack, and asked me to get back all the debts I put out.I said that all customers acted according to the rules and paid their bills on time. Why should I force them to pay back immediately?I said I could figure out John Roberts' share and borrow money from someone else to advance it, but the interest would be deducted from it. Anthony said, "Then he didn't lend you money for nothing?" I said: "It was he who proposed to partner with me at the beginning. It is not my idea to withdraw the funds now. If you want money immediately, this is the only way to do it." That ended my collaboration with John Roberts.At the last checkout, I had almost $30,000 left, what am I afraid of? One of Joseph Wallach's clients was the owner of the Paradise restaurant in Upper Manhattan, who had lost again and again with loan sharks, and offered to give Wallach half of the restaurant's shares. "I said let me think about it. This guy—his name is Eddie—isn't an idiot, and I need to find out if his restaurant has any debts... I went to sit there for a few more days, chatting with the bartender and waiter , Talk to the customers. Finally, I figured it out. The total value of the store and the business is 18,000 US dollars. After deducting the 3,500 US dollars he owes me, I will give him another 5,500 US dollars, and I will become the half owner of the Paradise Restaurant. …Eddie said that I don’t need to worry about business matters, just wait for the money. But I still go there every day, bring friends to dinner, take customers to discuss business, and invite a new chef. However, I That half owner can only be in the dark, because I have a criminal record, and if my name is listed on it, the restaurant's liquor license will be revoked. You know, selling alcohol pays more than selling food. So I and Eddie signed a contract in private, and asked his wife to be the witness." Another problem is that the restaurant makes a lot of money, and the money must be accounted for in the tax books.Wallach desperately needed a source of income as a cover.Just in time, a similar situation brought him a garment factory. Marty's clothing factory is at 595 Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, and it is called the Prospect Clothing Factory.He is my regular customer, and the old and new debts add up to thousands of dollars.But he never delayed the bill, and delivered the money on time every Friday.Suddenly, once, he asked me if I could have a two-week grace period, and after two weeks passed, there was another one-week grace period, so I went.I said, "Marty, what's going on?" Then I realized that the client didn't want to work for him because he thought his machine was old.I went around the factory, and according to my layman's eyes, the machines looked pretty good.Marty the monkey spirit, he guessed my mind and said that if you help me and close this, this factory will be ours.I went to talk to his client, who said that as long as Marty got a new machine, he would guarantee to give the job all the time. ………… In addition to the money Marty owed me, I put in another $15,000.We're going to buy so many machines that I've never heard of. Marty was very good at getting a second-hand stock, fixing it here and there, and started working like a decent guy.Not only do I not have to worry about business matters, I also don't have to worry about the tax office. At this time, we had a son named Donald. From then on, Melzhuo was tied up at home, and he no longer wanted to go out with me to socialize.For a long time, I raised a mistress outside, named Laura.I rented her an apartment alone, and bought her clothes and jewelry from time to time. Joseph Wallach also ran his lottery, loan shark, restaurant, and clothing factory.He didn't have the instinct to keep his own law and order in his nature, and when all his business was on track, he began to think about horse racing again. Horse racing may be the only thing Wallachi really likes to do, say the judicial officers who tried him.When it came to horse racing, he jumped out of his chair and paced back and forth in the cramped interrogation room or cell.When it comes to the wonderful place, I can't help but dance with joy and gesticulate. 〓 Until 1937, I thought horse racing was just about determining lottery numbers.Later, I went to the horse racing hall with people a few times. When betting, people around me will give you advice and ideas, but I almost never win.That winter, I took Meltrow, Gozui, and a few other "Kossa Nostra" guys to Florida for vacation.One day at the racetrack, Meltrow bet $2 because she liked the horse's name, and I teased her hard, and an old man next to me said, "Don't listen to them, ma'am, I You've got a good eye." Hey, that's what he said, the horse won.Melzo made $200. I am completely convinced.I sincerely said to the old man: "Old man, thank you for pointing out my wife, this is the first vote we won here." He said no thanks, I just saw that you made her nervous and wanted to help Give her a hand. I asked: "Is the victory or defeat of these games determined in advance?" He glanced at me and probably thought the question was stupid, and said, "Are you a novice?" I said yes, he smiled and said: "Let's put it this way, the first thing you have to remember is that even if someone wants to manipulate the game, in a real contest, there may be factors beyond his control, or results he cannot predict." He said something The thing is, say there is a man who has eight or nine horses and has never won, why?Because there is an occasional incentive race, the horse must have never won in the year.The man's horses were all eligible, and he had bribed other owners, so all his horses were put in the same race.This is a situation where it is impossible to lose. After a game, he can earn more than 200,000 US dollars steadily.The race started, and his presumed winner was leading the way, only to stumble at a turn.As a result, the guy almost broke his fortune. "Wow!" I said, "I see what you mean, but how did you know that the horse my wife bet on would win?" "That's exactly my second point. I didn't know he was going to win, but I knew something about him. A little horseman told me that he was actually three seconds faster than the newspapers said. That is Said that they withheld the horse's true grades when they provided the data... If you really want to really study this business, you have to spend all your time in the stables." I suddenly understood what it means to see the sun through the clouds and see the sun. Then when the season started here, I met the old man again in New York, and he introduced me to some of his friends, all of whom were experts.He's a really nice old man, so I'm not going to tell you his name.