December 19, 1932                                                                            

Pete was in the back seat of his car.  Jewels was driving and Popeye sat in the front passenger seat.  They were driving to Brooklyn for a sit down with Profaci and Pete’s Godfather.  Pete had to answer for his shy business and numbers games in Profaci territory.  Pete had been thinking about what to say and more importantly what not to say.  Pete called Charlie but wasn’t able to reach him.  He placed a call to Frank but Frank didn’t have a clue about the sit down or where Charlie was.  The closer they got to their destination,  the faster Pete’s heart began to beat.  It was like a kid going to the principal's office for the first time.  

The car arrived and Jewels parked around back.  Popeye opened the door for Pete to exit the car.  Pete looked at Popeye and told Popeye to stay with the car and that him and Jewels needed to keep their eyes open to drive down the street and swing by in forty-five minutes and then every fifteen minutes thereafter. After the third pass assume that he’s died and let the guys know and everyone get the fuck out of town and never return.   Pete adjusted his tie then shook Popeyes hand.  Popeye gave Pete a nod then Pete gave a smirk.  He then turned and headed to the back door of the bar for the arranged sitdown.  

Pete entered the building and it was dimly lit. There were two teens washing dishes and a guy cooking lunch what appeared to be steaks strips and onions.  Pete walked into the dinning area and saw two men seated at the bar.  They turned and moved towards Pete and checked him for weapons.  They turned and gave an all clear nod and then let Pete pass.  Pete saw four more men seated at two different tables, two men at each table.  Pete then saw the party that he was having a sitdown with.  Profaci who got his territory when Salvatore D’Aquila was murdered in three years ago.  Also at the table Gagliano and Magaddino, one of Pete’s biggest supporters and Pete’s Godfather.    

Pete saw a chair that was placed in front of their table.  Pete walked to the chair and sat there after he greeted each man with a respectful good afternoon.  Then he sat in the chair. They began to tell Pete why he was called in for the sit down.  Pete looked at the men's facial expressions as they spoke and he began to relax ever so slightly.  Pete had been watched for sometime, Charlie couldn’t make it to the meeting but they wanted Pete to take the shy business in Brooklyn and the Bronx while giving up the fledgling numbers rackets to be added to the commission. This was a trade off but Pete looked at his Godfather knowing that the numbers game generated more income.  Pete would also get two points on the bigger numbers racket for the next five years giving him time to increase his earnings.  

Pete had no choice in the matter but did ask if they had any problems with him loaning cash to some of the boys that liked to play the numbers and other gambling operations such as the card games that Gagliano people like to host.  They nodded and told Pete he could loan and collect from whomever.  Gagliano even offered a list of names of people that owe and needed a loan.  Pete stood up and reached for the list of names that showed how much they already owe.  Pete nodded and thanked them for giving him such an opportunity.  Queens and Staten Island had shy rackets but Pete was already in Manhattan and Buffalo, New York.  Magaddino and Pete’s on Godfather was getting a big taste of those two spots from the numbers racket Pete started.  

Pete looked at each man and then asked if there was anything else he could do for them.  They smiled and said yes, have lunch with them.  Strip steaks smothered in onions over a bed of rice.  Pete smiled and agreed as he moved to the table where they sat.  Plates were brought out and covered with the food he was told.  White wine was poured and they ate.  When they were finished Pete excused himself to go wave to his men as he was watching the time.  Pete was stopped by his Don and told that he did the right thing and it would pay off later and that he should stay and talk for a little while longer.  Pete agreed but needed to tell his guys he was okay.  Pete stepped outside and then gave the guys a nod as they were driving by he yelled swing back in an hour then Pete stepped back inside.

January 18, 1933

Pete was at his so-called headquarters or what others called his hang out spot where he conducted his day to day operations The Mulberry Street Bar.  He had been waiting on his attorney to bring him the information he wanted on the two cops that worked him over a month ago.   Police captain Henry O’keefe and the other cop Detective Bruce Mathers.  His attorney confirmed that O’keefe was forced to retire and Bruce resigned when he was busted down to traffic duty.  Pete nodded as his attorney handed him a piece of paper with the former cops address. Pete looked at it and smiled as he handed the paper to Popeye.   Pete then slid an envelope over to his attorney and told him not to spend it all in one spot.

Pete’s attorney smiled then asked for a drink Pete gave a nod to the bartender telling him to make it to go.  The bartender handed him the attorney  unopened bottle.  The attorney nodded and took the bottle and walked out of the bar.  Apples walked with the attorney to the door then locked the door behind the attorney.  Then Apples returned and sat down with Pete, Nails and Joey.  Jewels and Popeye sat on stools across from the table at the bar counter.  Apples began to explain what happened with Grasso.  Grasso murder wasn’t business related.  Grasso had been sleeping with a married woman and her husband wanted to fix that problem.  It was nothing more than a love triangle that went bad for Grasso.  The husband is in jail waiting on a court date his wife called the cops.  Pete shook his head and asked who was stepping up to handle Grasso's spot.

Apples smiled and said Frank Tieri was and that chubby kid Salerno, he was stepping up,Salerno had money on the streets and the numbers business was growing with him.   Pete said yeah Charlie needed the kid.   So hand the key to Frank and tell him that each Thursday he meets me here to address the bank.  Apples nodded and then Pete looked at Nails. He wanted to know who hit the gambling house and touched Samantha?   Nails said it could be dealt with in a few days if he wanted.  Pete nodded and told them that Charlie and the rest gave the go ahead, for him handing over the numbers racket and the kid.    Nails smiled and said that Solomon will no longer be King and Pete told Nails to complete the task before the week is over.   Pete wanted to take over the coconut grove club anyway it was the only club keeping the cotton club from growing.  

Pete looked at Jewels and said after the Solomon situation is over, have his family sign over the Coconut Grove then increase the insurance on it and let whatever happens happen.   Pete looked at Joey and then Popeye and told them those two former friends of his needs to be their top priority.  Then Pete called the bartender from the back and told him to pour around of drinks for them and include himself.   The bartender poured a double shot for everyone including himself.  The guys all raised their glasses and said salute.  Pete then looked around the room and thanked them for sticking with him and then asked was there any other business he needed to be made abreast of.  They each shook their heads no and they all stood up and helped close the bar down.  

Part 3 coming soon

January 22 1933

Henry Clay walked into the bar smiling with David Sarnoff, a big wig executive at RCA.  They quickly spotted Pete sitting with a few of his men.  Henry Clay worked for Joseph P. Kennedy Senior.  Pete met Joseph Kennedy through Frank.  They started working together as partners in the bootlegging business.  Pete was shipping beer north from Mexico in gasoline container trucks and Joseph was shipping in Irish whiskey but didn’t have a buyer.  The match was made in heaven.  Joe needed money to get into the movie business and Pete wanted to clean his money to buy legit businesses.  Pete gave Joe a loan to help with a merger of another company to form RKO studio’s.  Pete was so young, yet he was in the movie making business. 

Joe Kennedy had all the right connections to get the right writers and stars for the movies the studio made.  Pete convinced some of his friends like Tommy and Charlie to get into the film unions like the stagehand unions and the sound and production to include the director.  Pete would spend time out there and just listen to the gripes and then get them to form a union, provide support to those unions and charge them union dues.  Then hire the accountant and invest that into loans and money making capital buying stocks and bonds and precious metals.  Skimming a little from every investment and loan and dictating prices and interest.  Then he would find the business in need and marry them up and when a business looked like they were not going to pay Pete would send in a few guys to talk with the owner until they saw the light.  

Henry and David stood at the table and Pete looked at the men that were there with him and gave them an everso head nod to give him and the men standing space.  David and Henry sat down David handed Pete a black leather bag and when Pete opened it it was filled with fat stacks of hundred dollar bills with bands wrapped around each thick stack.  Pete take for the month was normally twenty percent of the studio which was 100% legal but this was a payoff to hurt MGM and Paramount they were going to have slight hic-ups also known as slowdowns so that RKO can release three new movies first and have a chance to earn more money to put them in the black to hire better actors and make better movies by paying for better scripts. 

RKO was just breaking even and that in the movie business is a slow death.  Joe was more into the actresses and getting them to have a few nightcaps before and after a succession of filming.  Pete's plan was simple, all the camera crews were sick of getting to the set before the stars and staying after the stars left for the day.  He was going to have that become a major pain for the big two prosecutions companies.   Camera crews create the biggest slow downs in movie business.  The cameramen were part of the production union and they have to provide the stagehands with instructions.  So this was a win-win for Pete and the Mob.    

Henry said that there was three hundred and fifth large in that bag and twice that after the three movies were released first.  The slow down need to last six to eight weeks and that was enough time to release the already made movies that RKO made they were just polishing the movies up proofing and checking the sound quality and editing any mistakes the movies would be release in a month and as they first ones out they collect the biggest dough from the movie goers.  Pete looked at them and asked about a fourth movie and saw that Henry became a little unhinged and David started talking about holding off on the fourth movie. 

They were having issues with the actress finishing the movie.  Pete smiled and asked them if they wanted him to talk to Ginger.  They were good friends.  David nodded he wasn’t aware of that fact.  David asked how much it would cost the studio.  Pete looked at David a little puzzled and then replied he owns a piece of RKO and needed it to generate dollars for the next ten to twenty years.  Pete needed to make more money.  What Pete really wanted was a small piece of MGM studio.  Ten percent of that would make a hundred percent of RKO.  Pete was hoping to own five to ten percent and then retire and become a producer hiring actresses unlike Joe Pete was about the money the studios made not the women he could lay with. 

Part 4 coming soon