It was October 1, 1923, the sun was out on a crisp cool day.  Victor and Frank Rosario were out with their friends Jack Larusso, Pop Cali and Salvatore Mancuso.   Sal was the youngest and Victor was the oldest.  They were tossing the old pigskin around.  They were talking about making money and living in a big house with nice cars walking around with armed bodyguards. They were inseparable and had each other's backs without question.   The boy’s began earning cash and working smarter than the other kids in the neighborhood.   In their earnings they started becoming known for their style, well dressed, fun, and boys with cash in their pockets.  When they went out on the town they lived like little kings and when at work they were focused on what needed to be done and for getting it done.  They made money from the docks, picking up the booze that the shipper dropped off at night when the coast guard patrolled the area.  They worked for Frank Costello and he worked for Joe the Boss Masseria.  Frank paid them a hundred bucks a night to load up and deliver 2,000 cases of imported irish whiskey to different locations on Manhattan's Lower East Side.  

The boys were in competition with several other local street thugs in New York.  One of the local street thugs was Maximilian (Bugsy) Bercovicz, he was the leader of a larger street gang and worked for Tammany Hall doing little collections and a bit of intimidation of small businessmen to buy police and firemen ball tickets.   The two groups never met but they heard of each other's growth and exploits.  The boy’s were known on the streets as the Little Rascals.  Seven hundred bucks a week was excellent money during that time.  The boys also had a deal with Three Finger Brown window cleaning and news stand business.  They made the collections and anyone that didn’t have the payments had broken windows or their newsstand lost product or burnt down.   The boys worked hard to get the money they needed to start their own rackets.  They took half their earnings and put it in a safe location and the other half they split equally amongst themselves.  The plan was to open a few bars and supply their own liquor and do some loan sharking and powder sales.  

The day came when Frank needed them to put in some work of a friend of his.  The Job was simple.  They would have to take out a union organizer by the name of Terence Pow.  The night before the hit Frank took his long time sweetheart Brenda out to dinner.  She wanted to get to a fancy place called the Alps.  It was in the Alps Hotel.  She loved the table linens, candles and orchestra.  So he rented out the entire restaurant for the night to celebrate her birthday.  The orchestra played classical Marcello/Bach - Concerto in D minor and Beethoven's moonlight sonata.  Then they played Mozart Symphony number 40.  

The night was one to remember they eat porterhouse steaks, garlic mashed potatoes and fried asparagus to include buttered bread sticks.  They drank champagne and danced to modern music of their time and then watched the sunrise.  Then it was time to take her home and get ready to pull the job.  They pulled up to her home and as he opened the door for her, she looked deep into his eyes and asked if everything was okay.  He smiled and nodded yes.  They kissed then she walked into her home as her mother met her at the door.  Frank then drove home to get ready for the job.  He saw his brother strapping up and laughed as he was grabbing his pistols.   They sat at the kitchen table with their parents and talked over breakfast.  Frank had two strips of bacon and a glass of orange juice.  Victor made a sandwich with his two slices of toast, eggs and bacon.  

When the boys stood up from the table they shook their father's hand, the man that taught them that they were to be soldiers, leaders that never lose their composure, to be men that hold the weight of the family on their shoulders and not show it.  No one should ever know it, even when they have to go toe to toe against the big Benzino.  To never drag the family into battles, to handle their opponents, man to man.  They learned from their father to always have a back up plan and if something  pops off, stand beside the family, to re-enforce them, support and guide them.   Their family should never know, because they had to set the examples.   Then the brothers kissed their mother on her forehead and looked into her eyes.  They were innocent for the last time, she would never see that spark of innocents in their eyes again.     

The hit was a failure in more ways than one.  The plan was that the mark would continue his normal routine which was his four block walk from his house to his office.  It was a straight shot the boys would be parked across the street in a water proof canvas delivery truck.  Victor would blow the horn three times and Frank, Pop and Jack would stand up in the back of the truck and open up with their thompsons. Salvatore Mancuso who would stand at the back of the truck with his dolly with four boxes on it.  He would pull the two pistols from the top box and run across the street and finish off anyone still alive as Victor would jump out of the truck with his two pistols and do the same from the other end of the truck.  

The hit went as planned, but this day the mark had three bodyguards and when the horn blew one of the guards drew his guns and fired back at the canvas the mark took two bullets as he was thrown to the gun.  When Salvatore went across the street he took two in the chest center mass and then a third shoot.  Victor popped the shooter with five shoots.  As Frank jumped out of the Truck he saw Sal body jerking in an unusual way and falling towards the ground backwards.    Frank ran across the street and fired on the men huddled on the ground as they were shooting at Victor.  Then Frank bent down to check on Sal holding his friend in his arms as Sal was gasping for air, the exchange of inhaling and exhaling was a struggle for Sal.  Pop, Victor and Jack stood next to Frank and Sal.

They heard Frank talking to himself just as a grown bellowed from Sal in his last exchange of exhaling.  They heard Frank saying okay, okay, alright, okay and they knew that whatever was going through his mind that he made up his mind to do just that.  Victor started telling everyone that they had to leave and in the distance they heard the sirens of the police.  They all ran toward the get away car.  They left the truck as Frank instructed them it was rented by Sal that morning.  They boys made it to their meeting spot.  Frank began telling them that someone tipped the mark off and he was going to make that piece of shit pay.   Pop and Jack agreed as Victor was telling them they need to start at the beginning, the man that hired them for the hit.  They went to see Three Finger Brown to collect their money and meet the man that ordered the hit.

They met with Three Finger Brown and the man that hired them Harry Martin.  They spoke with Harry asking was the job ever offered to anyone else?  Harry told them that they were actually the only group that accepted the job.  They wanted to know everyone that was asked.  They had three names.   Gyp Rositti, Leo D’Alessio, Maximilian (Bugsy) Bercovicz, then the Rascals.  Gyp was older but no rat and he would never cross Joe the Boss people.  Leo was out in New Jersey hiding from the cops that left their competitor Bugsy.  They heard that he was walking around spending big money like he was making big dollars.  Frank looked at Victor and they nodded.  Bugsy would be the one to speak to first he would be made the example even if he didn’t they needed to incase he did.  

The boys met in the basement of the Rosario’s home, they reviewed the names of the men that were offered the job before they took it and lost their buddy Salvatore Mancuso.   Victor wanted to blast them all but Frank the thinker had to calm them down and remind him that these men also work for Joe the Boss and without his permission they all would end up at sea or in some gutter face down.   Jack Larusso and Pop Cali both wanted to fight but not with Joe.  Frank told them that he would talk to Costello and get him to get Joe’s approval for Bugsy.  Bugsy was greedy and he knew that he would not want Joe to know he made money by double crossing other associates of Joe the Boss people.    Pop agreed that the plan should be easy as he heard that Bugsy was already on Joe’s list for getting a truck load pinched by the proby’s. He apparently was at a brothel when the prohibition agents and local cops raided the place.  When Bugsy should have been crosstown picking up the booze.    The truck was just sitting across the street of the brothel.   

The boys were on the good side of Frank and Joe the Boss.  They needed to stay on the good side and get permission and with that permission Bugsy would be given to them gift wrapped.  They wanted to have Costello have Bugsy make another pick up and when he arrives they would take him and eliminate anyone with him.  They would take Bugsy out to the woods and work him over and get him to tell them where he hides his cash and then rub him out.  They agreed.  The next morning Jack went with Frank to talk with Mr. Costello, the conversation didn’t take much convincing to get Costello to agree when Joe had tapped Costello to end their relationship with Bugsy earlier that morning.  Bugsy mistake cost Joe 500 cases 12 bottles a case at $5 bucks a bottle totaling $30,000.00 and Bugsy now walking around in tailor made suits.  Bugsy wanted a chance at the big leagues and after three swing’s at bat he decided that he was a big shot and could put Joe’s business on hold while he goes to the hospital to check on his girlfriend.   

Costello set it up where Bugsy needed to do a drop for Joe but because he fucked up he needed to take this shipment to Detroit on a nonstop run.  He was to pick up the truck in the Bronx and he needed to bring his best guy as a backup driver because on the way back they are to drive back with a truck load of cigarettes.  This would remove a portion of what he owes Joe the Boss.  Bugsy agreed and thanked Costello for a chance to make good.  Bugsy tapped his pal Louie Deplamer as his backup driver.  Louie liked the sawed off double barrel shotgun as his weapon of choice and was making a name as bugsy protection.  The night that Bugsy arrived in the Bronx to pick up the load.  They were met in the yard by Victor and Frank.  Bugsy felt a lump in his throat as he turned to Louie who was no longer standing beside him.  He saw that Louie was standing with his hands up just at shoulder level and that Jack was holding his shotgun while Pop held a pistol to Louie’s head.  Victor walked up to Bugsy and whispered that he told him six years ago that they would be the guys to end him.  Busgy started asking what was all this about and how he was working for Joe the boss just like them and that they needed his approval.  Pop fired his pistol and Louie dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.  Jack then said yeah Bugsy we got the go ahead on all that.  Frank then walked up to Bugsy and told him that they knew it was him that warned Terence Pow about the hit on him.  

Bugsy smirked and told them to do their best, he wasn’t going to say a word.  They looked at each other without saying a word and then Victor shot Bugsy in the chest a few times.  Bugsy laid there looking up coughing up blood at them.  Frank stood over him and pointed his pistol at Bugsy.  Victor gave a smile then Frank pulled the trigger and bugsy eyes went black and the boys walked away.  The yard had been sold to some businessmen a month prior so it wasn’t Joe’s property and there was nothing linking them to Bugsy.  Frank Costello arranged for his people on the police force to be the first cops on the scene and ensure nothing could be traced back to anyone in the organization.  The cops reported it as a robbery that went bad.  However Costello never did a favor without asking for something in return.  The boy’s had to go out to Chicago and meet with Big Jim Colosimo and get permission to do a little business out there and they needed to meet some guy named Monroe Johnson.  He was to set them up with a package that Joe wanted them to bring back to New York.