Kill Only Lesser Men

The nervous quiet that had filled the room ended when Jake spoke. “There’s only one Irish politician who has any chance of becoming president. But he’s a drunken, womanizing, low-life who got away with raping a young girl. The only reason that coward isn’t in jail right now is because his family has all the judges in their back pocket. Besides, he’s not as smart as his two murdered brothers. Even with all his family’s money backing him up, he got thrown out of college for cheating on an exam. He won’t have a chance right here in Pennsylvania. The Protestant vote will go against him, and even the Catholics will turn against him because of his cheating, drinking and whoring around. Hell, even the dirt that’s come out about his two dead brothers will haunt him.” Tony had tried not to become involved in the discussion thinking he had more immediate issues to deal with. Nevertheless, he replied, “The Church will support him behind the scenes, so Catholics will probably vote for him.” “Now how in the hell could you possibly know that?” Jake asked mockingly. “About a week before Monsignor Lessari was murdered, he told me that the Church was flooding Pennsylvania with as many Irish priests as possible and sending Italian priests off into areas where there were few Italian Americans. He knew the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations; that’s who told him. Money talks, especially with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. He said the bishops and cardinals in the northeastern part of the country want to see another Catholic as president, and the only high profile Catholic politician is the dead President’s brother. So the Church worked out a strategy with his family that helps both sides. Money was and probably still is being funneled from his family into the right places within the Church in exchange for its support. We all know the Church can be bought, if you have enough money. You’ve done it, Jake.” Jake cringed because Tony was referring to the death of his son-in-law. With Tony’s help, he was murdered and it was made to look like a suicide. It was the second time Tony had successfully made a killing look like suicide. Because he was believed to have taken his own life, the Church initially refused to bury him. That changed quickly when Jake bribed the pastor of the Church for the sake of his daughter. Tony continued, “So our church is assigning Irish priests into areas where it will do the most good for Irish politicians.” “Why didn’t you tell me immediately?” Cosmo DeGalanti shouted at Tony. The discussion was moving into areas Tony was reluctant to talk about candidly in spite of the common bonds that united the men in the room. “Look Mr. DeGalanti, until a few minutes ago I didn’t know another Irish president would be a threat to our interests; you never told me.” He glared at Tony for what seemed like a long time, though it was only a few seconds. Then he replied, “You are right, Anthony. I should have told you. There is much I will one day tell you and my son.” He looked at Neil and continued. “Like all of you, I am uncomfortable becoming involved in national politics. It was always enough for us to have friends in the cities and states where we do business. In 1960 the Irish brought us into national politics and we were honored by their request for help. We were happy to set aside our past differences with the Irish so a greater good could be served; electing the first Roman Catholic president in the history of our great nation. We helped them, he was elected, and then he and his brother stabbed us in the back! This will not happen again. The Irish hold many positions of power in government and within the Roman Catholic Church of this country. As long as Italians are dominant in crime and in the Vatican, we will accept that. But unions, gambling, the waterfronts of major ports, the police and courts in our areas—these are ours along with our other businesses. What is ours is ours, and we will fight to hold on to what we have. We will not stand by and allow them to acquire the presidency and once again cheat us! And you can be sure that if they eliminated us, they’d quickly move Irish criminals into our territories and into our businesses. We allowed the Westies, the Irish who feed off the crumbs we leave, to exist in New York City, our City. The Boston Irish politicians would quickly bring the criminal elements they work with in their area into a union with the Westies and attempt to destroy us. They will try to take the moral high ground in the back rooms where they are skilled at dealing with judges and priests. But they are no better than us. No, they are far worse!” By the time the meeting ended, Jake and Frank agreed that an Irish American President who believed the Italian mob was involved in the killing of his brother, would be a far greater threat to their interests than the Capilanos and Martinos were to each other. Also, both men were deeply troubled with the possibility that their church, the Roman Catholic Church, would actively work behind the scenes to help the Irish against them. They knew that Tony, who once staunchly supported the Roman Catholic Church while questioning many of its teachings, had expressed outright disdain for it since Monsignor Lessari had been murdered. Neither of them knew how or why he changed his mind, although it was obvious to both of them. It seemed that circumstances surrounding the murder of the Monsignor had turned Tony against his religion. He continued to believe in God, adore Mary and would raise his children as Catholics; yet he now had nothing but contempt for his Church. Neil DeGalanti left the meeting with grave concerns. Had his father established a relationship with Tony that could end with the death of the third brother from the President’s family? And could the Church’s evolving position against the Italians in favor of the Irish had led to the Monsignor’s death; for he would have surely defied his church and worked in support of the Italians? Carol heard the sound of heavy chairs moving away from a table and knew the meeting was over. She assumed her position, and then opened the door. Her boyfriend said nothing to her and had a strange look on his face as he left the room. She assumed he now hated her for whatever happened to him; believing only the Martinos could have attacked him while he was behind the door she had guarded. She was happy for that, because of what she knew was about to happen. Except for Tony, all of them left. He waited briefly before saying, “Come in here, Carol.” She locked the door behind her. Melissa told her she hadn’t made love to Tony in more than a year, so Carol knew he would be wild with desire. She decided it was inevitable and softly said, “Please God, forgive me.” He stood and faced her, pausing for a moment before telling her, “Take off your clothes.”