[Posted as Gabriel Manicini]
It had been a handful of days since the bombing. Other than a couple of molars, they didn't have anything. Sure, talk of the town was that A. Tommasi was dead.
But I know better. I just can't believe my "boss" killed his own brother on this power trip of his.
See, normally I'd be deader than his kid now if Don Aronne were to catch a whiff of this pile that's been added to the entire ongoing federal investigation of all his books and businesses. But Zasa doesn't know. Not that he would be able to do anything if he were out.
Oh, that damn Tommasi was clever. He made Aronne an offer he couldn't refuse- threatening to expose the Zasa operations if the Family refused to do business with him. I'm sure Aronne's a smart guy- he probably knew there was more to the "gimme your goods to supply my Vegas degenerate clients with, and I'll cut you twenty-five-percent of all figures" Tommasi was pitching. First off, the Zasa's didn't need money- the green coming off our own NYC streets were already tripled that of all three of Al's casino's out West. Secondly, it's not like the Don needed anymore favors or friends- Liam was well connected to the petzo's here in Long Island, and he had me to keeps things cool in the NYPD. Still, I guess it was hard to refuse the prospect of using them casinos to filter out even more drug cash and flow. Besides, if something every did leak out we could always just move out operations out West. No big deal, right?
Wrong.
That snake Tommasi had intended to hand us over like lamb to be slaughtered to begin with. You have to admit the randomness of that Federal raid was deliciously well-planned. I'm sure Old Man Farina probably has his suspicions- which would keep Tommasi out of his radar. I mean the Genovese codger is so old fashioned when it came down to narcotics, he would never suspect one of his own- and one of his best in collections, I might add- to pull something stupid like drug sales. And the best part? The entire time I had thought it was my old friend from our Corleone youth that was the mole. But it was Alfonso all along- demonstrating his genius, yet again. See, if Diego did act on his suspicion, it would have been Salvatore who went down. Yep- anonymous tip my hairy ass. Al called the feds in, letting the hungry media jump all over it, thereby letting all the Families in New York know what the Zasa's were up to, which basically put us on a really fucking short leash. All of which makes our "innocent" business partner the one holding all the strings now.
Which brings us now to the present moment. He's technically a Genovese bulldog- if any other family were to touch him, they'd suffer the repercussions of a Farina retaliation- and no one survived those. So then why would Al blow his twin to kingdom come, when he needs him alive so he can move back and forth comfortably between Vegas and the Rotten Core- (it's not a Big Apple no more- not with a Tommasi walking around in it)? It just doesn't make sense....
There's more to this, but even my cop-ertese can't finger anything. But there is something I can grasp with the tips of my digits. And they do latch on to those luscious lumps of Miss Moore. I picked up Mia from the Seasons a few days back. Surprisingly- and she knew my schtick, too: a lonely New York cop. Wonder why she invited me in- not that I'm complaining about it. Whether she really like me or is just using me for my body, it's basically "lucky me." And no, not the sentimental kind. See, I found it odd she figured me for a cop from the get go. So I let my intuition run free and figured that the Seasons was a Genovese joint. True, the girl was about as Italian as the sausage they sell at the Kosher market. And she's a she- which normally means women aren't involved with Family business (well, unless you're a Zasa, chuckling to myself). Still, I'm sure they're kept on the know in some ways- so I gotta figure that she might be just taking me for a sucker's ride. But then why do I feel so at ease with it?