"We could be Bosses` within a year, soldiers working for us,
running with a top city family and Dames throwing themselves at our feet" said
Joey as we walked down the busy Main Street of Philadelphia. His imagination
was as wild as his need to live, and he wanted it all........this was our first
day in the big smoke, two still wet behind the ears youngsters who knew nothing,
we had left the easy comforts of home behind us.............convinced of our success,
we were clueless yet immediately felt part of the enormous swirling mix which
was the hallmark of this place, everyone had an opportunity, the trick was to
spot it, and grab it with both dirty, sweaty, grimy hands.

Our lives revolved around knocking off small betting shops
and pickpocketing, sometimes petty theft, especially if we hadn`t eaten for a while.
We developed a relationship with a local tailor, Mr.Cafretti, who ran a shop
just off 3rd avenue, he allowed us to sleep in his back yard among
the bags of textiles and boxes in return for a little protection after hours.
It was high summer and we were surprised how comfortable you could get with a
little thought. The evenings were sticky and hot, we had all we needed in those
early days and never had cause to get out of our beds, except for the
occasional stray dog, cat and rat.

Visits on a regular basis to family run bars and coffee
shops provided an insight into the world of organised crime, and much needed
toilet and washing facilities, we both looked much better on the
outside........Our weekly shot at the "big time" was a shoe shine outside
Fratelli`s, sat up high reading the news with local made men felt so good,
followed by a strong coffee outside the Guetenberg hotel. We both knew that an
introduction was needed to gain that important first step to being accepted
into one of the local families however.

Our big chance came soon after, we were asked by an
acquaintance who worked at a well known funeral home, to be at one of the
coffee shops we frequented regularly, late on Friday evening, the anticipation
of the meeting ran like steam through our veins, we did all we could to meet,
greet and even sweet talk our way through that week. We were afraid too, we had
also seen the other side to this life, and witnessed many deals, muggings and
collars.

Friday came and the morning went well with a take of $300 on
a banker leaving a local drug store, we`d watched him for about 3 weeks and
were pleased with our execution of the steal. A bite to eat was needed and as
usual we made our way to a small bar not far from Cafretti`s,Joey said he would
meet me there as he`d picked up a prescription for the old man and would
deliver that to him first and as usual come in the bar through the back entrance.
I sat awhile looking through the old Smokey window of the bar at the busy
street outside, the local PD was trying to break into a disused shop opposite;
they would be disappointed, Fat Larry moved his dope line out the previous evening.
The system worked well in Philly.

Twenty minutes past and I asked the owner to put my coffee
on the hot plate while I took a look out the back. The sight that greeted me
was something I wasn`t prepared for,a flat cap was holding a gun to Joey`s head
while another was picking up banknotes from the ground around him, there had
obviously been a struggle and they were clearing up, I called out and ran
towards the three of them, what followed took everyone by surprise, a flash and
a loud crack was heard, the guy with the gun cried out in pain, Joey fell to
the ground, the two guys ran down the back alley, Joey lay motionless, his face
covered in blood, the discarded banknotes danced around his body on the hard
dusty floor in the warm summer breeze. The gun lay on the floor in several pieces,
a cheap old piece of iron,a $5 lump of shit.I knelt down and cradled Joey in my
arms, his wound was so bad I had to place my jacket around the side of his head
to stem the blood and tissue flowing from the terrible wound, he was still conscious,
but slipping away..........he murmured to me but it was too faint, until his
very last breath in the dusty hard back alley of this unforgiving city, he said
the words...."don`t be late"

I stayed with him as long as I could.........he passed away
moments before the police arrived.

I walked for the rest of the afternoon, not knowing where I
was going, forgetting sometimes just who I was. Our lives had been a part of
each others for so long, Joey had been like a younger brother, we watched each other's
backs, if one got dirty the other did too, we shared so much.

As I watched the fancy procession of Studebakers leaving the
local Mafioso HQ, I wondered if this was for me, I wondered what if I was to
find a quiet corner of this big country and get a job, I wondered all
afternoon...............and then I heard Joey`s last few haunting words, that
memory will never leave me, I knew I had to make that appointment, it was
probably my only chance of getting somewhere in this place.

I made my way back to Cafretti`s,he was so upset with the
news he broke down crying, Joey looked after this guy more than I ever could. I
got a few things together and bid the old man farewell, he gave me $50, and a
cheap suit off the misfit stand............it was a welcome reward, I looked a real
mess, that bad you`d swear I had been shot.

The evening sun was still warm and the evening population
were starting to emerge onto those hard, unforgiving history stained sidewalks.
I saw the coffee shop as I turned the corner, the owner was reading the paper
behind the counter, he wasn`t busy.

As I walked in he promptly put down his paper, and filled a
large mug with a freshly brewed coffee, I was obviously expected, he placed the
mug on a side table, and gestured for me to sit, as I placed my hand into my
pocket for the 10 cents, he shook his hands and head and pulled a chair out for
me, he knew why I was there.

Five minutes past and suddenly two men appeared from the
rear of the shop, one sat down at the counter while the other walked through
the shop, past my table and to the door. He turned the sign around on the door
and locked it. I knew this was it and my heart began to thump so hard I could
hear it; my mouth was dry and the palms of my hands wet. He walked over to me,
leaned over and whispered into my ear............."Think it`s time you took a
leak kid"

I looked at him as he also walked over to the counter, sat
and waited. I couldn`t finish the coffee and decided to leave it on the
table.............I walked past the heavies and through the back to the men`s
room, opening the door I saw a large guy stood taking a piss, with a plume of
cigar smoke hovering to one side of him.........I didn`t have to wait long
before he spoke, still facing the opposite direction to me he
growled...."Where`s the other one?.....thought there were two of ya"

"My partner had an accident" I replied, the sound of my
voice beating in time with the heavy rushed pace of my heart...........then for
no reason I knelt, I don`t know why, I shall probably never know.....but I did,
lowering one knee onto the wet floor.

The man shook himself, puffing on his cigar he replied "I`ve
heard you know your way around these parts, you could be useful to us kid" He
slowly turned, and ran his hands under the old rusty taps at the basin........."You
can get up kid, nobody in this family swims in piss.............come through."

I followed him through to the shop.............I was in.

Eunice had been tailing this young thug for the better part of the day.  A little bird had told her of the demise of his partner, and for some reason, she wanted to help him through his grief and she had a job in which she could use his kind of hands for. 

She had heard through the grapevines of the family that he was to be inducted into the family as an associate today.  She sat at the bar across the street from the coffee shop that her boss frequented, positive that this is where the meet was to take place. 

Sipping her red wine and twirling a strand of blonde hair in her left finger, she kept an eye on the door as she watched the bosses bodyguard and two of his Made Men escort him & the newest associate out to the bosses vehicle.  She pulled a 20$ bill out of her bra and left it on the bar to pay her tab, making her way out into the streets and on her way down to the headquarters.  She knew she had a better chance of "running into" this young thug in the confines of her family HQ. 

I followed the big guy back into the coffee shop where his
men were waiting; a brief conversation took place between the boss and the
owner before I was escorted out the front door and into a waiting car. I sat,
uncomfortably sandwiched in the rear seat between the bodyguard and two other
men, the smell inside of the car was a mixture of opulent leather and an old dry
cigar box. The Boss sitting in the front spun around in his seat, put out his
right hand and said "I`m Tony Verito,I know who you are, relax kid, you`re with
us now" I shook his hand as he continued............"These are my
boys.........Frankie DeLonhi,he`s my personal shield, these two guys you`ll get
to know better later.....Vincent and Ducky........and before you ask, don't
fuckin` ask "...........The Boss gave a sideways smile and turned to face the
front of the car, pointing in the direction of 3rd Avenue to the driver,
who I wasn`t introduced to. He could drive, weaving in and out of the evening
traffic with a smooth turning of the wheel and cleverly avoiding a bum staggering
after a bottle of something rolling into the middle of the road.

We drew up outside the "big-house "on the corner of 3rd
Avenue, I knew this place well, me and Joey had watched the comings and goings
as we dreamt of being invited in..........I was in shock I suppose at the
thought of what had happened in this one day of my life. I should be on cloud nine,
I think I was but it was all tinged with a bitter sweet after taste.

I was escorted out of the car and up the few steps into the
building.........two enormous polished mahogany doors were opened by two men,
each as wide as a door, on the other side. The inside reception area was palatial,
an exquisite chessboard marble floor with people in two`s and three`s stood in
quiet conversation, several doors led off from this room but we were heading
toward the stone curved stairway, the stone worn away by who knows how many shoes,
and how many men like me........being led into something that they didn`t understand,
yet needed to be in it so much, sounds strange now but that`s exactly how I
felt.

I was so in awe of the whole thing that I didn`t notice a
tall blonde coming straight for me, we collided and her bag contents were
deposited on the first floor landing, I was suddenly transported back to
reality and my initial reaction was to crouch down and help with the recovery,
apologising as I did."I`m so sorry, I was distracted, please let me help"......we
were both so busy scrambling around on the floor, I was momentarily distracted
away from the four men looming above us, and as I passed her the Pearl handled hairbrush,
our eyes met.........

The second lesson

I was introduced to my immediate Boss, Tiny Martelli, the
guy was a giant, but slow. He stood 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 320 lbs.
He gave me my regular duties, and took me under his wing....and protection. He sorted
me my room, which was heaven......Mrs. McGinley the landlady, could cook, boy
could she cook. A clean bed, clothes pressed, and a meal everytime, even when I
got back unexpectedly, nothing was too much trouble.

I slowly became a regular driver for the family "greaser"
Henry Fontaine, a real gent, wore a different suit each day, spotless spats,
and had a shelf full of hats back at the office. Henry made regular calls on
the "list", the people the family paid on a regular basis, from city hall to
the local PD; we even called at the local hospital. We would leave each week in
a three car convoy, four heavies in front, Henry and I next with another four
heavies behind.........the money was in the trunk of our car, up to $300,000
dollars at a time. The money was in a triple padlocked steel box, welded to the
floor of the trunk, it was secure, but the car handled like a shit.

Henry always told me that the runs we made would become so
familiar to me that my concentration may lapse and it could slowly become a
mundane chore............he would continuously ask......."Sharp kid?"to which I
would always reply "Like a knife Sir"........I had heard that Henry had been
held up twice before, by rival families, both attempts unsuccessful however,
but the memory of those incidents obviously were a constant reminder to him of
the delicate nature of the operation.

Henry was a testament to the family, he was held in high
esteem from everyone from the top down. He was a man who would never show
anything other than respect to any member of the family whether they be a made
man,Boss,Don or Wise Guy, he always had the time to ask "How`s it going young
man?..........good to see the angels are still with you"followed by a fatherly
pat on the shoulder. The young guns learned much from Henry, we all did.

The journey was nothing other than "typical",3rd
Avenue was the main route and a constant tour around each street coming off it........the
only difference this particular day was the weather.....it was raining heavily,
the city drains couldn`t cope and many streets were under 6 inches of water.
The trees lining 3rd grew heavy and their branches brushed the roof
of the car. Cars were the only transport this weather, there were very few
people on the street, some shops had even closed. It was the worst downpour for
a long time, and the windows were misting up, we had to stop several times to
wipe them clear, the two cars protecting us disappeared once in a while,
obviously suffering similar problems.

The lights at Browning Street stopped us, the front car was
in sight, the back car however wasn't. I looked in the rear view mirror and caught
site of Henry, the look of concern on my face was evident, he calmly smiled and
said, "don't worry kid.........we got Scippio up front, he's as good as ten...."   before Henry could finish there was a loud crack,
the windscreen shattered, glass was hurled into the rear seat, I saw a guy
walking across the front of the car with a coachgun,as I leaned forward to pull
the pump action shotgun from beneath the passenger seat he fired a second shot
through the screen into the car. I knew I had time to get a shot back between
his reload and sat up quickly with the gun only to see the man slump forward
over the hood of our car, he was missing an eye and bleeding
badly..............as he fell forward Scippio was stood behind him, gun in hand.
He then looked as though he fell himself, but as I got out the car he was
running whilst crouching, he yelled "Geddown", I dived to the floor grinding my
chin on the hard surface, Scippio let out two further shots, I rolled towards
him and crouched at his side. Gunfire was now all around us.......the three
heavies in the first car were all running and shooting, I could see four men
running down the street toward us, it was the rear protection......caught up in
the jam they had heard the commotion and were legging it towards us. The rain
was hammering down relentlessly, hats were floating about on the street, I
glimpsed the outline of a guy stood just inside the doorway of a Barber shop
opposite us, he had a gun and waving it to guys across the street, he was
obviously organising the "hit".

I started to run toward that side of the street as Scippio
and another guy, dropped two other guys making for the rear of our car, gunfire
was erratic and haphazard almost.....a bum was caught up in it, and he fell
immediately before me taking a slug from the guy in the doorway. I continued
running towards him lifting my gun as I ran, I was within shooting range and
let one go, he raised his handgun and aimed, and fired..........he was out, by
this time I was within 6 feet of him and let go another,...........the guy fell
into the doorway, his eyes wide open, the rain diluting the blood running from
his chest.

I turned as Scippio beckoned to me...."in the car, in the
car"..........three of us bungled ourselves in, the engine was still running, I
hit the gas and drove.The rain hurt as it rushed through the nonexistent windscreen,
peppering all in its path, I drove like a madman, Dutch yelled from the
back.........."Henry`s bought it, Henry! Henry!"I could see in the rear view
mirror the sight of Henry slumped backward over the rear seat, the rain didn`t
seem to hurt anymore, and the shouting from the rear seat faded to a whisper, I
wasn`t feeling cold anymore.................wiping the rain from my eyes I saw
the gates to the HQ,I pulled straight in catching a rear wing of the car on the
cast iron post, a group of guys rushed out.....I stopped and slowly looked
around me, people appeared hazy, as I got out the car I felt a sharp pain in my
stomach. I too had been hit....I couldn`t stand....I slumped forward and was
caught by a Made Man......the sounds around me faded even more, and I felt so,
so tired...........