It was the late 1930s and the recent crime wave was booming. Robbing purses was punk ass shit now, just another past time. There were Mafiosos now, collecting protection money from local store owners. And should the store owners be late on any installments, they would be paid a little visit by the families gangsters. The guys who would do anything to get the attention of the Don, even kick up money they personally made on the side.  The streets were changing as the vehicle industry boomed, there was muffler smoke everywhere polluting the atmosphere. As well as stop signs and a ton of police patrolling in squad cars now, it was nice but awful at the same time. Back in the day you could just bribe a cop to do your bidding, now they had straight cops and bribery laws. The judges were getting harder and harder to pay off, at least for the low ranking guys that is. Of course they still had their Prostitution Rings, broads would line up from around the whole district just to make a quick buck to buy Heroin and Crack. Of course the prostitute had a bodyguard to protect her and drive her to her sweet spots, the place where she made the most money. But other then that the bosses didn't really care about what went down in the streets, as long as they got their little envelope every month. There was also the Drug Trade, the old timers didn't really care to much about the it but how were they gonna turn down money. There were dealers on every corner slanging different product around the districts. The money was great, there were millions to be made. Lets not forget the different stores and businesses set up to launder the money the families were making.

Tony's job was simple, all he had to do was drive to all the different stores and businesses in the district to pick up packages. Then he would drive through all the slums and collect the bosses cuts from the dope pushers and the whores. Occasionally he would run into problems, like a sketchy dealer or a disrespectful store owner. There were no such things as half measures on these streets, so Tony would always keep a pistol under his seat and a Tommy Gun in the trunk. He wouldn't lose sleep over another dead body in the alley, he just wasnt made like that. There was a reason he kept that job, because he was good at it. After all was said and done in the streets and Tony had all packages collected, he would make a trip to the bank where it would all be deposited. 

 Tony never looked at himself as a family man, due to the kinda lifestyle he lived. He would often find himself sitting in the park looking at couples walking around holding hands, wondering what his life would be like if he chose to attend school instead. However there was a fine young woman who came to the park every day at the same time 2:30 pm. She had been there to many times for Tony not to notice her, she had beautiful blue eyes that turned colors when the sunlight hit them at a certain angle. Tony was infatuated by the eyes on a woman, that and her attitude would ultimately help him make a decision on the woman he wanted to be with. Tony was actually afraid to walk up to her and talk to her, he didnt wanna fall in love with her and involve her in this lifestyle of his.

 Everything was going smoothly until the envelopes started coming in, you see back then people would just fight to solve a problem. Now when mobsters or associates would screw up, the envelopes would come in with the bullet in it that had been chosen to complete the job. Using the bullet would resemble a sign of respect towards the man who sent the envelope. The envelope would then be sent back with various pictures in it and sometimes body parts as proof of completion. Another envelope would then arrive with payment in it.

 One day after finishing his rounds, Tony arrived home to find an Envelope in his mailbox. He had seen these before, he knew perfectly well what they were and what they contained. He walked inside and sat on the table, and began to open the envelope.

Ciro took the first boat out of Sicily he could afford. He knew where his uncle and several men from his village in the south of Sicily had gone. They were entrepreneurs, as soon as they made the money to pay for the long boat ride across the Atlantic they were gone. Now Ciro too was gone. No more Nonna feeding him spaghetti and meatballs til he exploded and no more outings to the soccer stadium to watch his favorite club Palermo. 

Ciro really couldn't reach the age of 18 any sooner and get to the land of opportunity any faster or else he would have. That fabled land where a tall Lady Liberty greeted you in the harbor with her torch and tablet of laws. Screw the laws on that tablet he thought it's time to carve out a life for myself with my own laws. He was determined to find an old school famiglia like some serious wiseguys who enjoyed the Sicilian traditions and good wine and food.

My uncle had told me to meet him somewhere in Chicago, he had made it to the Midwest and was making a good living for himself. As soon as I got off the boat I was approached by several curious looking businessmen. Capos and Consiglieres, Made Men and Dons. I let them all know I was headed out of New York and they shook their heads and passed me their business cards saying that either Brooklyn or Manhattan or Staten Island was the place to be. I shrugged and told em I'd get back to them.

After a long train ride to Chicago I got down at the station with my luggage and before I could hail a taxi a well dressed gentlemen pulled up in a really nice car. He got out of his car and was carrying several envelopes towards the post office. I was not sure why he stuck out to me maybe it was his relaxed and confident stare. He deposited the envelopes at the post office and then noticed me standing on the sidewalk trying to hail a taxi.

"Hey kid the name's Tony. TonyMontana hop in I'll give you a ride into town"

He opened up the trunk to his car to put my luggage in and I noticed some Tommy-guns and a couple of grenades along with some sturdy suitcases that looked much fancier than my own. This guy was a serious player at least that's what I thought to myself. We chit chatted on the ride downtown and I left him my phone number. He dropped me off at the address my uncle gave me and before I headed into the building he told me he'd call me later and he would take me to a club he frequented and we could see some girls dancing and have a drink and talk about my future. Sounded good to me.

"And another thing kid you see those suitcases in the back they're filled with money and lots of it. One day you'll get a nice ride like mine and plenty of clout in this city just work your ass off, keep your mouth shut and respect the establishment. Ill show you the ropes you'll meet some serious wise guys and maybe some day you can help pull the strings in this city."

It all seemed to good to be true but then again that is This Life of Ours.........