The Heart of an Assassin by Tony Bertot Page B

Jersey)
    Fabio Giordano met with his lieutenants on a
weekly basis. During these meetings they discussed various topics,
such as any significant changes that may be of interest to the
family. One of the items brought up this week was the arrest of
several soldiers on gambling charges.
    For this meeting, Felicia chose not to
physically attend. Instead she decided she would only monitor it
from her study via closed-circuit TV. This was one of many steps
she had taken to distance herself from the day-to-day
responsibilities of running the organization, giving Fabio more
control.
    Fabio informed John De Luca that the family
lawyer would be representing them, and that if things got really
bad, they would arrange for the case to be brought before one of
the judges they had on the payroll. “Well, as you know, Mr.
Giordano, we are down to only one since Judge Livingston is on
vacation,” De Luca replied.
    Fabio stared at John De Luca for only a
second and went on, “Well, let’s see how things go. Make sure you
keep me informed.”
    “Yes, sir,” responded De Luca.
    After discussing several other items, the
meeting was adjourned and Fabio quickly returned to Felicia’s
study.“Felicia, has the judge ever taken time off without letting
us know first? Is this normal?” he asked his sister.
    “Actually, I was wondering the same thing. I
don’t recall it ever happening before,” she finished. Felicia was
very proud of her brother. He was quick and did not take anything
for granted. Without any hesitation, Fabio left the room and began
to make some calls.
    Within an hour, Fabio was back in Felicia’s
office. “Sis, I think we have a problem. In fact, I am sure we have
a problem,” Fabio said. Felicia listened intently to what Fabio had
to say.“It seems as if the judge went on vacation quite suddenly.
Actually, no one knows where he went. Attempts to contact him via
his beeper went unanswered. Lastly, they went on vacation before
the youngest kid, who attends NYU, finished her semester.”
    “What about their son, the one who worked at
a local hardware store?” asked Felicia.
    “I didn’t check on him since he didn’t live
with the judge. But I’ll find out.” Fabio told her as he left her
study.
    Felicia sat there quietly thinking the matter
over, waiting for Fabio’s answer to her question. An hour and a
half later, Fabio returned. “It seems as if the judge’s son quit
his job suddenly and was gone. Something about having to go on
vacation with his family is what his boss said,” Fabio told
Felicia.
    The two discussed the matter in great length,
trying to come up with a good reason why the judge would suddenly
leave on vacation. They mulled over the possibility of a death in
the family, which would explain the sudden departure. However, why
wouldn’t they have advised anyone about it? Why doesn’t anyone know
where they went? After all was said and done, the only possible
conclusion was that the judge had been compromised and had gone
underground, probably being protected somewhere by the FBI.
    “Fabio, get a hold of the rest of the
lieutenants. We need to have an emergency meeting right away,”
Felicia ordered.
    Within a few hours, all the lieutenants were
assembled; eight men and two women. Their responsibilities included
all aspects of overseeing the prostitution, gambling, extortion,
investments, and real estate operations. These lieutenants were the
best in their fields and were handsomely compensated for their
expertise. Today they had more than seven hundred soldiers in their
employ. In addition, the family was successful in infiltrating
select government agencies forming liaisons with individuals who
had a price. These contacts were well rewarded for keeping the
family informed of any changes or situations that might affect the
well-being of their organization. Nothing was left to chance.
    Though Fabio headed the meeting, it was
Felicia’s attendance that gave urgency to the matter. “It seems