The Heart of an Assassin Page 3

  “No way,” answered Charlie.

  “He was going to catch it,” remarked the stranger.

  “Do over!” shouted most of the other kids.

  The stranger handed the ball to Tyler, stating that he would’ve caught the ball. “Yeah, whatever,” Tyler replied. “I know I would’ve caught the ball. You should have stepped aside and let me catch the ball, mister.”

  “Sorry, kid. Really, I am sorry,” responded the stranger.

  Before the stranger moved on, he turned to Tyler and asked if he knew where 224 St. Nicholas was. “Hey, that’s my building,” replied Tyler as he pointed down the street. “Look for a fat man sitting on the steps with a gray shirt.”

  The stranger moved on down the block toward his destination, smiling at the kids as he walked past them. “Hey, guys, he would’ve caught the ball, honest,” he interjected.

  “Yeah right,” replied Charlie.

  After some time, the boys decided to let it go and play another time. They moved down the block toward the building next to Tyler’s, where they parked themselves on the stoop, listening to the Beatles sing, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” from a nearby opened window.

  The eleven-year-olds were a true mix of New York City’s melting pot. Jimmy Johnson and Rick Thompson were black, Tyler Santiago and Adam Ruiz were Hispanic, Davie Costanzo was Italian, and Charlie McNally was Irish. They all attended PS125 and had been friends for more than two years.

  On the next stoop sat Fat Man, one of the tenants occupying an apartment in the building where Tyler and his mom lived. He was a six foot tall Italian, weighing 220 plus pounds, who enjoyed sitting on the stoop, watching the folks go by while listening to songs by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett on his portable radio.

  Across the street was the ever-present Uncle Ted sitting on his stoop at 223 St. Nicholas. Uncle Ted, who was also Italian, was about five foot nine, weighing around 190 pounds. No matter how hot it was, you could count on Uncle Ted to be wearing a smart jacket over a collarless shirt with matching pants and shoes. The kids liked him ’cause every once in a while he would treat them to ice cream. Although he was, for the most part, an introvert, he had a warm smile for everyone.

  After a short time, the stranger appeared with the super of Tyler’s building. It seemed as if he rented the only apartment available, the one across from Tyler and his mom. The stranger walked down the steps and turned right, heading up the block and passing the kids.

  “Hey, mister, you moving in?” asked Jimmy.

  “Maybe,” he replied.

  They looked after the tall stranger as he walked away. “Hey, he’s a cool-looking dude,” remarked Davie.

  “Bet you he knows karate and kung fu,” Jimmy added.

  “Yeah, he’s probably an undercover cop and is looking for you for trying to steal second base,” Charlie remarked to Rick. They all laughed out loud.

  For a couple of hours the kids hung around and discussed the important issues surrounding their lives, such as the newest DC or Marvel comic books, or if Superman could beat the Hulk. All were hot and wishing for the ice cream truck, and praying that Uncle Ted would again foot the bill. As if a prayer was answered, they heard the music coming down the block, and all of their eyes turned toward Uncle Ted, who was already rising and waving them toward the oncoming truck.

  After getting their ice cream and thanking Uncle Ted, the kids returned to their stoop, and waving, he returned to his.

  “I wonder where he’s from,” Charlie asked.

  “Don’t know,” replied Jimmy. “One day he just appeared.”

  “What you talking about?” asked Tyler. “He’s always been there. He was here when my mom and I moved in.”

  “Well, he wasn’t here before you came ’cause I never seen him before that,” Jimmy interjected.

  “Yeah, Tyler. You brought the ice cream man with you,” said Rick. Once more they all busted out laughing.

  After hanging around on the stoop for some time, the calls began. “Charlie, come home this minute,” a voice rang out from one of the windows. Next, it was Ricky’s turn as his father walked past their stoop and nodded to his son that it was time to go home. This was an automatic indication for Adam, who lived in Rick’s building, that Rick was the rule and it was time to go home.

  Davie, Tyler, and Jimmy hung out until Tyler’s mother stuck her head out of the third-floor window and called him up. Jimmy and Davie turned up to look at Tyler’s mom. “Hi, Ms. Sylvia,” both boys shouted up to her.

  Tyler’s mom was nominated as the best-looking mom on the block. Charlie, face reddening said, “In all New York.” She waved to them and said goodnight, and they responded with big smiles and waves.

  Both Jimmy and Davie lived in the building where they now sat and were upstairs in their home in a matter of seconds.

  The Black Aces

  July 7, 1964 (New York)

  A few blocks away, a stretched silver limo turned up the block toward 126th Street on its weekly pickup run. In the back was Joe Coleto, a six foot, broad shouldered lieutenant with the Costellino family who, over the last six years, had been entrusted with the responsibility of bringing in the loot made from drugs on the streets. Headed for his rendezvous with the Black Aces, a local street gang, he smiled about how things have developed over the last few years.

  Initially, there was little income for the family from this area of the city; however, after enlisting these gang members, business picked up. Their monthly income went from $3,000 to $25,000 in less than two years. The Black Aces, who first numbered six, now numbered eighteen. Their territory covered five square miles of upper Manhattan and was growing every day.

  Jose Torres, the Black Aces leader, grew up on the streets. By the age of seventeen, he quickly adapted and won the respect of his peers when he slashed and stabbed Louis Sanchez, the local nineteen-year-old gang leader who tried to take his bike away.

  When the ambulance arrived with the local police, as was the norm in this neighborhood, Jose stepped up and provided them with detailed information on how a gang from another street came into the neighborhood and attacked Sanchez. His demeanor and character convinced the police that he was telling the truth. Jose, who could charm a young girl’s mother or serve at Mass on Sunday, could change his persona as easily as he changed his shoes. The world was his oyster. He could have it all.

  The gang members were impressed and adopted him into their ranks. Within three weeks, Jose became the leader of the Black Aces. His first act as their leader was to eliminate his predecessor.

  Louis Sanchez became a victim of a hit-and-run driver on the day he was released from the hospital. The driver was never found, but it turned out that the vehicle was traced back to a stolen unmarked police car out of the nearby police station. Politics and embarrassment kept the news out of the papers and was simply forgotten.

  Jose Torres, also known as Blackie, kept as low a profile as possible while his empire grew. His most trusted members, or brothers as he referred to them, were Nelson Diaz (Loco) and Kenny Roberts (Lefty), who were with him from the beginning and would do anything to please him.

  Loco got his name when a man named David Cassidy, a neighborhood resident, tried to organize the community in driving the gang out by taking pictures of their activities. A couple of nights later, Mr. Cassidy was found hanging from a lamppost. This, of course, infuriated the local police chief, Lt. John O’Malley, who ordered an immediate investigation. It took them almost two weeks to identify who Mr. Cassidy was, and by that time the local residents were scared into looking the other way whenever the Black Aces were around and doing their thing.

  Though a task force was created, it was dismantled within a month due to budget cuts and a lack of neighborhood cooperation and support. After the incident, the police began patrolling the neighborhood more frequently. But after a short while, with other neighborhoods requiring more of their time and no other incidents to speak of, the task force abandoned their more freque
nt vigilance and went back to the normal routine of an occasional run through the area.

  Blackie, though slightly upset with Loco for his part in eliminating the local resistance, was actually quite pleased with the results. The message got across to all, via word of mouth, that they weren’t going to take any crap from anyone. Blackie was even more proud of him when Loco mentioned how this particular troublemaker had no family, and no one to make a fuss over him. This showed Blackie that Loco could be trusted to make the right decisions, as extreme as they may be, under the right conditions.

  Lefty, who was highly respected by both Loco and Blackie for his cunningness, always carried a knife. It was his idea of how to get rid of Louis Sanchez. Blackie thought the idea of using a stolen car out of the local police precinct was a stroke of genius. After eliminating Sanchez, dumping the car, and getting back to their neighborhood, they laughed about how it would take the police months to find out that the car used was out of their own pool of unmarked cars.

  A couple of years earlier, Joe Coleto approached Blackie with a proposition for making more money. He felt they could bring in more than what they were making by running numbers and extracting protection money from the local vendors. Joe provided them with direction on how to go about making the most out of their venture; throw parties, visit the local schools and parks, and give the stuff away. “Please them and they shall come,” was Joe’s motto. He was right; they returned by the droves.

  Within several months, Blackie brought the entire process under control. With help and direction from Joe Coleto, he organized them into four different groups, consisting of approximately four members, each with its own leader.

  One group, led by Loco, was responsible for looking for new prospects and enlarging their business. The second group was led by Lefty and was responsible for maintaining control in the various locations they operated. The third group, led by Eiffel Bonnila, nicknamed Skinny, picked up and dropped off the drugs and money. The last group, led by Blackie himself, was made up of the administrators, or overseers. They were headquartered in what appeared to be an abandoned building owned by the Costellino family, on 118th Street and St. Nicholas. The building was entered through a neighboring alley and only from the back. It consisted of six floors with four apartments on each one. Of these, only fifteen were in good condition and were all located in the back, hiding any activity that might be seen from the streets at night.

  An Assassin’s Plan

  July 7, 1964

  Nick Costello took the A train down to Spring Street in Little Italy. Walking east, he turned south on Mulberry Street. After walking for approximately three blocks, he was in the vicinity of a couple of restaurants frequented by his mark. Looking around, he noticed the six-story buildings on both sides of the street.

  Next, he surveyed a couple of the buildings to better determine if he had free access to enter them. To Nick’s surprise, he did not. In both cases, he would need to ring one of the tenants to be admitted; this was not acceptable. Then walking down the block, he noticed most of the buildings had alleyways that ran between them. Looking around, he ventured down an alleyway unnoticed.

  Behind the buildings Nick found that most of them had backdoors. Some were locked and some were open. Entering one of them, he found out he had free access to the roof, which automatically gave him access to any one of the buildings. Additionally, it gave him a clear view of most of the restaurants on Mulberry Street, while at the same time provided several escape routes. Satisfied in having found a perch from which his observation of the streets was wide open, he left the area. He would return, and with a little bit of luck, his mark would be clearly in his sights. Normally, Nick would not rush things, but the attempts on the Giordano family hastened his resolve to complete the mission. Can’t get paid if the payee is dead.

  As he ventured from building to building making mental notes of alternative positions and efficient exits, he noticed the little pockets of crowds gathering on the street. He backed away from the edge of the building, thinking that maybe someone spotted him. He cautiously glanced over the edge again and noticed the crowds were growing. but were consumed by something else. What was stirring the masses, he wondered.

  Returning to the streets as discreetly as possible, Nick ventured close to some people having an open conversation. Listening intently he heard a woman say, “Don Fazio era stato assassinato;” Don Fazio had been assassinated.

  Nick didn’t need to hear any more, and within seconds was on his way back to the train station. Once there, he made a quick call to Jay and asked him how it was going. “Will be ready tonight,” Jay was happy to report.

  “Good. I will be there first thing in the morning,” came Nick’s response.

  The Dinner Invite

  July 7, 1964

  Sylvia Santiago, Tyler’s mom, was about five foot seven, with a slim build, beautiful green eyes, and dark hair she always wore combed up. At thirty, she made the heads turn as she walked down the street. Except for one time when she had to borrow money, she never complained about anything and was quite content with her life, having taught Tyler to also be appreciative of what they had.

  Tyler always wondered about his dad, but his mom never talked about him, and he never pressed the matter. All he knew was that they were married for a couple of years before he came along and that his dad left before his first birthday.

  As they were sitting to eat, they heard some commotion out in the hallway, causing Tyler to move quickly to the door only to be stopped by his mom. She pulled him back, walked forward and looked through the peephole. She saw that the new neighbor was carrying a couple of suitcases into his apartment. Sylvia opened the door and asked if everything was all right. The neighbor looked up, smiled, and replied, “Yes, thank you.”

  “We are about to sit down for dinner. Would you like to join us?”

  He looked back with a surprised look on his face. Looking down at Tyler he responded, “Well, that depends on what you are having and if am going to get chewed out for interference. Do you normally invite strangers into your home?”

  “No, not normally, but I would feel guilty knowing that you probably haven’t eaten, moving in and all, while I am sitting here with too much for us to finish,” she answered.

  “Okay, give me a sec to clean up,” he responded as he went into his apartment.

  Tyler could not believe his mom. “Mom, what are you doing? Are you crazy? You don’t even know him!”

  “You just mind your manners, young man,” she said to him. “He seems harmless enough.”

  A few minutes later, the stranger was at their door. After some introductions they all sat down to eat. Nick told them his name was Tim Goldman, and that he was here on a six-to-eight-week tour as an advisor for a corporation that was having some financial problems.

  Sylvia asked about his earlier comment regarding interference, and Tyler filled her in on his would-be famous catch. Nick again apologized, but added that Tyler would have dropped the ball anyway and that he had saved Tyler from the embarrassment. Tyler looked hard at Nick and then began to laugh. They all laughed when Nick added that it was the first ball he had ever caught and that normally he would be the one to drop the ball.

  After a short time and more pleasantries, the evening was drawing to a close. Nick volunteered to do the dishes, but was shunned by Sylvia. “Please keep Tyler busy a while longer while I do the dishes,” she asked. Nick smiled at her and obeyed as he continued to visit with Tyler.

  They talked about the Beatles, whom Nick didn’t care for, and more baseball. Tyler decided he liked this man, and realized that he had never seen his mom laugh as much as she had today.

  Around 9:00 p.m. Tyler went to bed, while his mom and Nick remained at the dining table having some coffee and just chatting. Tyler was happy to see his mom enjoying Nick’s visit. Yep, Tyler decided, he liked this man.

  The next morning, Tyler was up bright and early. It was 8:30 Sunday morning, July 8, when Tyler fin
ished his morning chores of making his bed and taking out the garbage. His mom was still in bed when he left for his favorite stoop to wait for the rest of the gang. Charlie, as usual, was the first to arrive. Tyler told him about the stranger and that they had dinner together.

  “Gee, maybe your mom likes him, and they are going to get married,” remarked Charlie.

  “Oh man, you’re crazy. They just met,” Tyler answered.

  “Yeah, well I heard about marry at first sight, haven’t you?” asked Charlie.

  “You dummy, that is love at first sight,” responded Tyler. “We’ll see what happens today.”

  They sat there for a short time, scanning the neighborhood. Uncle Ted was in his usual spot, and the Fat Man had just gotten to his step when Jimmy came down.

  “What’s happening, guys?” asked Jimmy.

  “The stranger is going to marry Tyler’s mom,” Charlie shouted.

  “Oh man, what you saying?” asked Jimmy.

  Tyler immediately responded with the fact that Charlie was going crazy and imagining stuff. “Everyone knows Charlie ain’t got any marbles,” Tyler remarked. They all laughed.

  Tyler told the story to Jimmy, who seemed to take it all in without any notice. “Hope it works out for you, Tyler. What’s the stranger like?” Jimmy asked.

  “He seems okay,” replied Tyler.

  “What’s he do?” Charlie inquired.

  “He shows people how to spend their money,” Tyler responded.

  “Wow, he must be rich,” remarked Jimmy.

  “Then why did he move in here?” asked Charlie.

  “Because he doesn’t want to spend all of his money,” answered Tyler.

  “Yeah, he’s real smart,” Jimmy added.

  A few minutes later, Nick descended from the apartment house, turned left and started up the block toward the avenue. As he passed the kids he smiled down at Tyler, and without saying a word, continued on. Tyler smiled back and nodded. Carrying a duffle bag and his camera, Nick hastened passed the kids. They all looked after Nick as he continued up the block.