War Never Changes: Part III

New Orleans, a place where all of those fuckers made their riches and became the most feared outfit in Louisana, they were some of the guys that people wanted to remove, they were people that were not the best and simply needed to be knocked down a few rungs on the chain. Now see, we weren't the type to move into a new country and establish a rule over the place, but when Frank and his squad offered allegiance, offered men and defensive support, we were all for it, we jumped at the chance. 

We were hungry, we wanted more, we wanted to be more than a shitty outfit with a couple million to our name, we wanted the world and everything in it. I guess this is where my smarts would kick in, telling me that it wasn't possible, that I was overshooting and needed to be brought back to the light. You see, that is where I would have kicked myself for even thinking that I could become that way. You notice the way I'm wording this, would have because it already happened and it was already in motion. 

Whitney Kohrmeck was brought back to our warehouse, tortured, beaten, near death, and he walked out of that motherfucker alive. He was still kicking like the old motherfucker he was, only, he told us what we wanted to know, Frank Carloni, breaking out on his own orders, not from the New Orleans Mob itself had taken over London. 

We were in a war and that motherfucker was getting rich off of our business, he got us into a fucking war and now, he needed to die, this was going to end one way, and god knows that we weren't going to become innocent in the eyes of the NOM, we were as guilty as Frank and I doubt Carlo was gonna hear us out...we were alone, again.

During the days of Don Carlo Oulio

Don Carlo, De-Facto Ruler of the New Orleans Commission, even the Upstate New York fuckers feared him, he was a man of action, unlike his predecessor. Gio Lombardi, the former boss of the Lombardi Crime Family that ran his operations here before his son fucked off to that old commission style. 

Don Carlo had a system, he had control and oversaw his businesses with ease, had Capos, Bosses, even the occasional Godfather answer to him. To everyone, the commission was everything, whatever Don Carlo said went, no one got a word in edgewise, that is why when Frank Carloni rose his way through the ranks, no one questioned the man on his style and how he got there, Don Carlo liked him, that was enough to get him by. He was untouchable and everybody knew it.

Now, Don Carlo didn't have a stronghold enough that no one in the Old Country didn't take notice, specifically, the Garranzino Family, now you wonder, what business does that family have here? Well, they say that old man Garranzino was owed a few and wanted that repaid, Don Carlo, being who he was, did not pay and went to war, soon enough, the Garranzino's backed off, not before taking a stronghold in the city. A diner in the french quarter. 

So, Don Carlo sees this as an act of war, an act of aggression, he asks his Big Boss, his Street Boss in all but name, Frank Carloni to handle it and he did, getting a name in the process and that name pointed to England, it pointed to the Hendon Outfit, you wonder how I know this? It came straight from the old man's mouth himself, he ratted on his boss, so we could allow him into Sicily, set up with the luxuries of an old Mafia Chieftain.

- Frank Carloni's Events, written by Joseph Pavanno.

Whisper unto me, your dying wish...

Frank Carloni, former Street Boss of The New Orleans Mob and now boss of a rogue faction, The Carloni Family they called themselves as if their blood traced back to the old country itself, they were nothing more than fools playing games, they wanted to feel and hold the power in their very hands and they got it, they got it all, they had it for a small while before their games turned on them, the Asian and Jewish gangs, well, they soon became headless without Frank leading them and we took care of the supporters in those little gangs. Gave their territory to the Irish and a small part of it to the Haitians, as a sign of thanks and a small little gift of trust, from one friend to another. 

As for Frank Carloni himself, he became a nice little bastard in the proceedings in the family, he wanted to trade information on Oulio's operations, he wanted to take us to New Orleans, in pure rage, in pure stupid youthfulness, I believed myself ready to take on the New Orleans Mob, with the support of the Garranzino Family, I was prepared to take the fight to their yard and show them that I meant business and this wasn't going to be a one-sided battle. 

In the end, Frank died, courtesy of The Hendon Outfit, Don Carlo had heard of this and heard of his man's traitorous behavior, he knew that we were coming and he was prepared, if only I could stop myself, I would have prevented a much bigger loss, a much greater loss than I could ever imagine, but we'll get to that, for now, we won. For now, we fought the big dog and won.

First Days in New Orleans

The Family arrived in New Orleans, we were at the very least, surprised, business back in London was sorted and Angelo was in control. We had some support, in the form of the Garranzino Family stronghold out here, along with the heirs to the family, Lucille, and Lacy. We had everything ready to take the war to these fucks, to begin the takeover of New Orleans, taking on the big dog and winning once more, heh, if only I knew what the fuck was gonna to happen, but we get to that later, for now, the family arrived in New Orleans and it became clear that this wasn't London and people didn't owe us a dime. 

We met up with a Garranzino Capo, he told us the news and we set out in the ways we could seize control, in a matter of twelve hours, we had assumed control of an Autoshop, Junkyard, and trucking in New Orleans. We were not quick to establish rackets, but we knew that this would get the attention of some goons, who wanted to see a change in New Orleans, we also knew that this would get the attention of Don Carlo. He was not going to be happy but that didn't matter, the fucker would die.

The Hendon officially staked a claim to the businesses in NO, no one wanted to fucking give us the clue, we wanted to have the best, only it came at a price, in the coming weeks, blood would be shed, bodies would be dropped, and lives would be ruined. 

All because of me, and my quest for power in this life, the criminal underworld had its claws in deep and I don't think it would let go...

Days of New Orleans...

Never say that the New Orleans Mob were nothing more than a bunch of pussies, these guys had fought with the best and they had not let it go, they wanted a war and Don Carlo was showing that. His personal Hit Squad had arrived with the quickness and cut us off, not allowing us to gain any further ground, even my own soldiers had trouble getting a cop on their payroll, shit was not cool and we were being pushed back, luckily, we had gotten some assistance in the form of The Garranzino Family who had begun pushing the New Orleans Mob back, it was quickly becoming a bit difficult for Don Carlo to fight two wars on two fronts, and he would need to make a truce or set one of the bosses up for failure. 

Then came The Bayou Massacre, this was something that shook me to the core, Don Carlo had sent up a message and this one, it wasn't the usual fish packed into the armor of one of our own, no, this one was a body strung up like a party decoration and was my own personal bodyguard, my Caporegime, Victor Gallardo. 

Victor had been the one to provide me with multiple solutions to this New Orleans and all of them were peaceful, yet I did not listen, I never listened. This was my fault, Victor Gallardo became a casualty of war because of me and that was it, he was nothing more than a fucking casualty.

Days of New Orleans: Part II

Don Carlo would wait for the next attack, he wanted us to act on our anger, he wanted us to become weak and allow our anger to cloud our reason, there was the small moment that I wanted this to be over, I would gladly take my gun and aim it at my skull, I wanted it to be done, I wanted the bloodshed to stop, yet it didn't, body after body, friend after friend, blood of my blood, they died. They ceased to be my family, all because of my personal thirst for more territory and power, there was the time that I became nothing more than a puppet, yet no one controlled me, I controlled myself, I was the master of my own destiny and I wanted Don Carlo dead...

Nothing came of my lust for his blood, nothing came of my thirst for the end of everything, nothing came, nothing happened and nothing would ever happen unless I took the gun in my hand, cocked it and aimed it at Don Carlo, ready to kill the fucker. Only then, I learned that in my absence of not leading and mourning, Henry Gough had led a personal hit squad and sought out Don Carlo, wishing him dead, in return, Don Carlo paid him with a bullet...

Victor Gallardo and Henry Gough, my brothers, my family, dead. Was it all worth it? Was this never-ending bloodshed worth it? Maybe, maybe not, I guess I'll see.

Days of New Orleans: Part III

A Sitdown, Don Carlo, he finally wanted an end to the bloodshed, he wanted me to cease all operations in New Orleans, or the blood would continue to flow from here to across the pond, he promised a mountain of dead bodies that would be a little too much for the feds to ignore. He was going to get me one way or another, this was how I ended my own personal struggle, Don Carlo was a fool, he believed that I would be peaceful? He killed my friends, he killed my family, and I was supposed to sit back and just take it? No, I was not going to be that man, I was not going to be the one who started shit and would now take it back. 

Don Carlo, the man that had succeeded in crippling my empire saw me for the use I was and knew that I could be a boon to him and I was not about to let that go, I used him, I learned from him over the next couple of days, he taught me some things that I never should have known. Soon, Don Carlo would realize that enlisting me to work with him or as he put it, work for him, was a bad motherfucking idea and he would become known as the one that crippled his own empire from the inside out...

A Fall From Flight.

Don Carlo was a man of vision, he became warped by power, money, and bloodlust, his career was nothing more than an insult to his family name and all of his former friends had abandoned him, either becoming their own bosses and meeting their own end at the hand of Don Carlo himself or becoming bigger bosses than the man himself before moving on with the life, no longer having anything else that mattered and retiring to an old family mansion in Sicily, as all the old family bosses had done. 

"When a man has friends, he can become lustful and thirst for higher than the station he has already, he can become confident and strong with the help of allies, or they can pull the chair away and become stronger than their friend, its all a matter of trust."

A Former friend once wrote that to me, I wish I had done the same to Don Carlo, show him that the war was not over, not by a long shot, he had cost me my friend, family, and much more. The family was torn and many people wished an end to the bloodshed, once I had told them of the truce, they had accepted it, knowing that there was not much they could do but becoming servants in the service of the Godfather of New Orleans. 

"Lucille is often regarded as the angry one in my family, it is known that the Pavanno's often have a hot-headed streak that gave them the name 'Fireborn' - Our family was nothing if not prideful, we knew our roots, we what we have done. So it did not surprise that Lucille wanted to break away, she wanted to rule ourselves again, she was a spitfire, she was a woman grown and she wanted me to take up the family throne once more, I told her to wait, I told her that nothing would come from this. She had to learn."

So we waited, the Pavanno's of Hendon had worked for the New Orleans mob for a total of two years, growing in rank and service, becoming Capo's in an already growing empire, it was with this that Carlo began to trust me, he wanted me to become his street boss, be the boss in the eyes of the law and in the family to some degree.

"No one knew, no one ever knew, but this was where I began to plot the fall from grace for Don Carlo, he needed to become a memory, a simple whisper in the wind. He would not wield the power that he once had before, I had called in a few favors as well, things would begin turning bad for Don Carlo, he would know that this empire was falling before his eyes, in the next month began a much different war, a war against the law for Carlo, A war of deportation."

The Matters of the Old Country.

At the manse of Don Ricard Adriano, it seemed things had changed, he had elevated his own status and knew what was to come, the Pavanno family had told him the plan, he had already put part of his plan into action. He sent the people on his way, looking to the representative of Pavanno's affairs, Angelo Massario, a man that was already becoming known throughout the underworld had indeed been someone that he had expected. 

Never though was I told of the true meeting between Adriano and my Right-Hand Man, it was completely known to them and to this day, I still don't know what was discussed, either way, I know that they had gotten their part of the job handled. Don Carlo would have been on his way out, allowing for a smooth transition of a new family to come into the light, taking the seat of controlling family in New Orleans, or, it should have been that easy. 

"You know, when someone says that you should always have a plan B, just make sure that you have one ready because plan A, may just blow up in your face and cause you some problems."

Don Carlo had escaped his transport, hiding underground immediately, it seemed that the war was back on, people immediately got their guns, shit was turned upside down. Only it seemed someone was a little ambitious, his name was Rudolph Kaiser, a German-Jewish gangster that worked for Don Carlo. Rudolph had tracked down his former boss, it was said that Rudolph shot Don Carlo a total of six times, before finally delivering the killing shot that was between his eyes. 

"Don Carlo was murdered by his own man, Rudolph Kaiser, who immediately came after us, the Hendon Outfit had fled, now, we had stayed in NO for too long and we didn't want to stay any longer, so we fled. We contacted our men in New Orleans, that should Kaiser make a move on us, they had orders to shoot him dead. You see, Don Carlo was a man of brutality and fear, Kaiser was a man of money and power, he now had a lot of it, he knew what to do, and knew not to come after us."

We avoided a full-blown country war that would have ended the society of the chosen as we know it, myself, well I went back home, and this was when I got the final blow in the coffin, it was time to head to the states, it was time to leave this era, I had my fun, I had my glory, they would remember me in London as the Don who gave, the kind one, and the one that gave Hendon it's fearful reputation. 

- Joseph Pavanno, Life and Rise of a Hothead.

"I'm finally done with it brother, no need to be pissy with me anymore, I hope you're resting well and I'll see you soon. Goodbye Charles, goodbye brother."

Joe rested his manuscript on his brother's grave, wrapped in a plastic bag as he walked away, wondering what was next for him and the writing life, he did have the next one planned and ready.