In the upcoming GALLIANO CLUB series, Benny Rotolo is a Chicago hitman who
ran afoul of Al Capone and fled to the relative safety of Lido, New York. His breakfast conversation with new friend Al Genovese takes an interesting turn.
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“Not my problem.” Benny rattled the newspaper to signal the conversation was done.
“Like I said, I figure you would know what to do with my information. With what I seen.” Genovese was clearly angling for some dough.
Benny started to say the information racket was small potatoes compared to beer and hookers, and that Genovese should shut up and go back to the farm. But then Benny remembered Vinnie Salerno, a sometime pal from Chicago. Big Vinnie always had new suits and expensive dames on his arm. Nobody ever shot at Big Vinnie, neither.
“I know a buddy,” Benny said, making up his mind. “He’s got this system. Say he’s got a friend whose got the goods on somebody but doesn’t want to tell the mark direct, just in case they finger him to the cops. So he writes a letter and sticks it in two envelopes, and sends it to my buddy Vinnie. Different post office, is the trick,
see?”
“Okay,” Genovese said dubiously.
“Vinnie takes the letter in the clean envelope to the post office and mails it to the mark. This way the letter comes from a place the mark don’t know at all. It can’t get traced, see?” Benny snapped his fingers to make the point. “The mark pays, the friend picks up the dough, and Vinnie gets a cut. Everybody’s happy.”
“Except the mark,” Genovese said.
“That’s right,” Benny said, pleased that Genovese caught on so fast.
“Do you think your buddy would help?”
“Sure,” Benny said. “But Big Vinnie don’t work for nothing.”
“Okay,” Genovese said again.
“You ever been in the information racket before?” Benny asked.
“No,” Genovese said. “I have cows.”
Benny slurped up more coffee and regarded the cafone across the table. A rookie partner with more brains than Nick and dirt to sell.
This could work out real good.
With Big Vinnie’s system, extortion was fool proof. Benny could steal the Galliano Club right out from under Vito Bottini’s feet, with Bottini’s own money.
More about the forthcoming GALLIANO CLUB series here: https://carmenamato.net/galliano-club-series