Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Marco Del Piero was a long time acquaintance of Walter Mancini. They were both wine makers, but Marco did it almost on a commercial scale. He made a lot, drank a lot and sold a lot. For a man of almost seventy years, and despite his short and portly frame, Marco was indeed very industrious. He owned a take out Pizza place, which was operated by members of his family; he raised chickens, rabbits and pigs for sale, grew a sufficient quantity of produce for consumption and sale and, in addition, was a skilled cabinetmaker. A seasoned businessman would probably say that Marco was doing too many things to be really successful in any of them. As it was, he got by and seemed content enough with his forever busy life style.

It was through Walter that Marco became acquainted with Frank, who in turn, became one of Marco’s best customers. Frank would buy almost anything Marco had for sale including wine when his own stocks were depleted. A good payer, Frank would always pull out a wad off cash and offer a hundred dollar bill to settle his debt. At first Marco would protest that he didn’t carry enough cash to give Frank his change and thus had to wait until the next time, but soon became wise enough to bend his frugal nature when dealing with him.

Walter was not particularly discreet, especially after he had drank a couple of glasses of wine. Since he and Marco were often comparing their vintages, it was inevitable that Walter would not be able to contain his joy regarding the business relationship he now shared with Frank and thus Marco was apprised of Walter’s ‘hush hush’ connection to the Vancouver mafia. Marco wasn’t impressed with the organization as such, but he was interested in the easy money investment program about which Walter seemed so happy. He remembered Walter saying “thisa gonna make my retirement much a more comfortable”. 
One day Marco broached the subject with Frank.
“Frank, I know you have soma kinda investment deal ’cause Walter one day tell me a little about it”.
Frank’s response was swift and intense “That fucking Walter can’t keep nothin’ a secret. I fucking cut him off if he talk to anyone else”.
“Wait a minute Frank, I don’t wanna get Walter in trouble and he only say it’s a good thing you got and I don’t talka to nobody. But I got a little money and I like to make more than 2% the bank pay,” said Marco pleadingly.
“ Yeah but fuck man, Walter shouldn’t talk to nobody. Only my friends are in on it and they don’t talk about it. They make their money and don’t do nothin’ to fuck things up,” replied Frank his outrage seeming to subside while his benevolent persona kicked in. He continued “you been a good friend Marco and we do stuff together. I might be able to let you in. How much spare you got?”
Marco, his right hand scratching his chin thoughtfully for a moment, said, “I gotta maybe fifteen thousand”.
“Did Walter tell you how this thing works?” inquired Frank.
“Yeah, he told me. I understand everything, no problem”.
“O.K. “ said Frank “I’ll see if I can get you in, but it might be some time before an opportunity for 15 grand come along. So if you don’t mind waiting we’ll see how things work out”.

Coincidentally, Walter’s first investment was due at about the same time Marco was offered an opportunity to invest $17,500. With a little grumbling at the extra $2,500 over what he had originally declared as being his available funds, he did produce the cash and was given a promise that in 9 months he would be a very happy man with a return of $8,200 profit on his investment.

A week later Frank called Walter to say he had received the money from Walter’s investment and that they should get together to celebrate and discuss further opportunities. Five minutes after the phone call Walter was at Frank’s front door carrying a bottle of wine and grinning from ear to ear. Frank threw a bundle of hundred dollar bills onto the kitchen table and had Walter count it.
“Didn’t I tell ya I maka you happy?” said Frank.
“Franco you don’t imagine ‘ow ‘appy I am right now,” responded Walter emotionally.
“You aint seen nothing yet. You stick with me an’ I make you a very rich man,” gloated Frank.
“When I can get another one you think?” asked Walter.
“I talked with my guys in Van and they got three more right now. I gonna take one, Ernie gonna take one. Bill, he want another one but if you want I give it to you.” explained Frank.
“’Ow much is this one?” Walter inquired.
“It’s a big one. $64,000 get you $92,000 in one year,” responded Frank.
“That’s a lot a money” Walter hesitated and continued “I got the money but it take time for me to get it”.
“Look my friend if it’s too much don’t worry, I give it to Bill” said Frank almost tauntingly.
“No Franco I take it but it maybe take a week to get the money. ‘Ow long you can wait?”
“I got exactly 8 days, but if you want it you have to make a down payment ‘cause I can’t fuck around with these guys. If I tell ‘em you’re in you gotta be in” replied Frank with a very concerned look on his face.
“O.K. ‘ow much I give you now?” asked Walter.
“Gimme ten grand now an’ the rest by next Thursday. But don’t let me down or I have to keep the ten grand” demanded Frank menacingly.
“No Franco wait just a minute. I can’t afford to lose that money just ‘cause I’m a late with the rest. I said maybe a week but maybe it’s 9 or 10 days. Perhaps I let this one go,” replied Walter wilting under the pressure.
Frank didn’t want to hear this. He had made his demand hoping to spur Walter into acting with maximum haste but he had no intention of letting him go so easily.
“I was kidding Walter. For fuck sake relax my friend. I take the ten but I cover you if it take longer to get your money” said Frank reassuringly.
“Yeah Franco, I appreciate if you do this for me. I don’t let you down but I not sure right now ‘ow long it take”.
Walter got his money together within six days and everybody was happy.

Chapter 4

Walter and Tina Mancini were genuine Italians. The couple had arrived

from Italy in the late 50’s and had prospered sufficiently to enjoy a

comfortable retirement. While their English was very good they still had a

sort of melodic cadence in pronouncing their words, which was delightful to

listen to and yet clearly identified their roots of origin. Walter had been a

barber all his life and had until recently owned his own salon in a busy

shopping mall. Having sold the business to enjoy his retirement years he set

up a small shop in his home to cater to some of his best customers and

friends and worked for 3-4 hours a day.

Walter had two passions. The first was making red wine and the second was

consuming the product of his labour in sufficient quantity to reduce the

likelihood of ever suffering a stress-induced heart attack.

They lived on a cul-de-sac in a nice neighbourhood. Most of the houses had

been built in the last 5 years. They watched with interest when a new family

moved in across the street. A pretty young girl who was at an advanced stage

of pregnancy and a shortish middle aged man who seemed to have

boundless energy, a very loud voice and wanted to be friends with everyone.

Walter had strolled outside to take a closer look and welcome his new

neighbour. His new neighbour beat him to it with a warm “hey, how you

doon. I’m Frank Marino and this is my wife Kim”.

“I’m Walter Mancini, nice to meet you”.

Frank immediately responded in Italian and a friendship was born.

Tina Mancini is the stuff that angels are made from. She speaks quietly, she

sees good in everyone and is ever willing to help other people. Tina and Kim

soon became friends, Tina somehow becoming a mother figure that Kim

never really had. On the other hand it is difficult to know how she truly felt

about Frank whose manner of speaking was clearly an assault on her ears

and her sensitivity. To her, Frank was an enigma. He could be warm and

sweet with Kim yet in an instant become abusive and violent. It didn’t take

long for Tina to realize that Kim was totally dependent on Frank while at the

same time being scared to death of him.

When Frank discovered Walter’s passion for red wine he was able to forge

an even greater bond with his countryman. Because, according to Frank, his

father had made the best wine ever and had taught Frank the secret of wine

making. Walter of course felt that he too was an expert in the art of wine

making and, as a result, there were many conversations and arguments on

that very topic. Soon they were involved in a joint venture making some 50

gallons of red wine.

In his customary fashion, Frank acquainted Walter with his skill and

diversity in home repairs and building techniques in general. He also

suggested to Walter that his daytime job of a self employed carpenter,

bricklayer, tile layer and electrician was purely to maintain the appearance of

being a hardworking everyday citizen. His extravagant lifestyle was financed

through his ties to the mob. Walter, being romantic, bought into this notion

to the extent that after a while he actually fantasized that through Frank he

might also become an associate of this ‘made in Italy’ family enterprise.

Among the many seductive phrases Frank used were things like “friends

help friends”, and “to me my friends are like family”, and “my promise is a

debt of honour”. The list goes on but the intent is always the same because

Frank wants to be liked by everyone.

Walter almost became a fixture in Frank’s house after 6:30 p.m. They would

banter and bullshit, argue and discuss, and drink their wine. I do not know

what exactly is the magical component of the wine, but without a doubt the

more they drank the more intelligent and knowledgeable they became. For

the most part their conversation revolved around the esoteric process of

wine making, the social values of having the mob keep some semblance of

order in the world of crime, and the number of women they had seduced or

otherwise gotten into. On the few occasions I was present at one of these

social events I tended to be an observer rather than a participant in the

competition for masculine supremacy. Drunk or sober Frank often referred

to his penis as “my huge thing” while at the same time putting both hand on

his crotch in an obscene gesture. He would have Kim confirm his claims by

asking her “Kim, tell him what you said the first time you saw it”. She

would comply by saying something like “whew! Is that for real? I’ve never

seen anything that big before”.

On a number of occasions Frank had alluded to his connections with the

mob and the profitable nature of his investments. Walter had seen a number

of people come and go from Frank’s house and had been introduced to a few

of them. He categorized them into two groups, there were four apparently

well-heeled gentlemen who all seemed affable and content in their

relationship with Frank, and there were two younger men who were much

less urbane and definitely had a subservient role in Frank’s affairs. In the

former group one owned a Jaguar, one a Mercedes, another a Cadillac. In the

latter group one rode a Harley Davidson and the other drove a battered Ford

Escort. From these encounters Walter drew his own conclusions albeit with

a little help from Frank, who vaguely hinted as to how the individuals fit

into his operation. As a result of these encounters Walter was becoming

more eager to participate in this thing Frank had going.

One evening Frank was showing off his newly constructed patio deck and

roof. He was extolling the quality of the craftsmanship and the beauty of the

design and preserved not even a gram of modesty. Walter was truly

impressed by what he saw and wanted one for himself.

“Franco, I think I like one like this on my house”.

“Yeah, I think you should! One like this add $10,000 to the value of your

house,” replied Frank.

“Franco ‘ow much you charge to build one for me?”

“Walter you’re my friend and I give you the best deal possible”.

“Yes, but Franco I still need to know ‘ow much”.

“Walter you worry too much, relax man”.

“Franco, I ‘ave money but I don’t make interest like you make”. Walter

paused briefly and then continued “you think your people would let me

make investment with you?”

Frank put on his serious business face and thought for a moment. “Walter,

this is a different kind of arrangement. With us there are no documents, we

deal in cash only and everything is based on honour, my word and my

handshake. We don’t talk to nobody about what we do so’s not to get

attention. If you can go along with that I’ll see if I can get you in”.

“I know ‘ow the system work Franco, but I don’t want my wife to know.

You know what I mean?”

“Fuck man, Kim don’t know nothing of what I do and that’s the way we like

it”.

“O.k. that’s good. So ‘ow much to build my patio?” Walter persisted.

Frank made like he was doing some calculations in his head and after a

moment said “I do it for $1,200, anybody else cost you twice as much”.

Less than two weeks later Frank had a small investment opening for Walter.

It was a warm and wet July evening and they were sitting outside on Frank’s

deck and under the roof that didn’t leak a drop of the rain that was falling.

Kim was inside taking care of the now three-month baby boy that didn’t

look a bit like Frank. On this particular evening Frank was especially

convivial. He poured a glass of wine for Walter and said “salud my friend, I

got good news and I got good news”.

Walter responding with an equal measure of exuberance replied, “Franco, I

like to hear the good news first and then I like to hear the good news”.

They chuckled at their humour.

“I talk with my people in Van and they say it’s okay to let you in. I tell them

you are my good friend and a good Italian and they like this. Right now I got

only two opportunities. I take one and the other is for you if you want it.”

“’ow much is this investment?” asked Walter a little nervously.

“It’s just small stuff right now. Sometimes they come big other times they

come small. I like the big ones ‘cause they pay more but the little ones are

good too.”

“’ow much is big an ‘ow much is small?” said Walter still a little

apprehensive.

“I got two days to get them $7,500 from you and from me. In three months

they send back $10,500 each. The big ones come at $50,000 to $75,000 but

get you interest between $20,00 to $35,000 in less than a year” a brief pause

and then he added “tax free of course”.

Walter felt more than a little relieved that he hadn’t been offered ‘a big one’

first time round, but before he could reply Frank continued with “If you

don’t want this, no problem, ‘cause Bill has been asking for some more and

he’ll take it in a minute, but I prefer you take it ’cause you deserve it more”.

“Oh yes Franco I take it. I get you the money in the morning”.

They poured more wine and Walter asked, “So tell me what is the good

news?”

“First tell me, are you happy with what I do for you?” said Frank seeking

approval.

“Of course Franco, I appreciate what you do for me”.

“O.k. I don’t do this for all my friends, only the special ones. Some of the

pricks only hang around just to get a chance to make money. They can go

fuck themselves. I only help people who appreciate what I do for them”.

At that moment Kim opened the patio door and came out carrying an empty

wine glass. “Can I have a glass of wine too sweetheart?“ she pleaded.

“You honey can have what ever you want” Frank said as he took hold of her,

pulled her onto his lap. He put one hand on her breast and one hand on her

crotch squeezing her tightly. She looked more than a little embarrassed and

protested “maybe you could save that for later!”

“I want it now, later and in between. You know I’m a horny stallion,”

replied Frank as he released her from his grip.

She settled into a seat and poured herself a wine. “So what are we talking

about, or shouldn’t I be listening?”

“I was just telling Walter I’d start building his patio deck and roof next

week” said Frank. He went on “the only thing is I told Walter it would cost

around $1200 but the material is a bit more than I figured so the price has

gone up to $1500”.

“$1500” repeated Walter a little surprised.

“Yeah, but don’t worry you make twice as much on that other thing”

responded Frank while reminding Walter he had already done him a big

favour.


Chapter 5 to be posted November 7th

Chapter 3

Tina and Brent Connor were an industrious husband and wife team who

operated a carpet and upholstery cleaning business.

They were both in their early fifties and when the kids had left home they

decided it was a good time to start a business venture of their own. They

certainly knew the carpet cleaning business would not make them rich, but it

would give them flexibility to make their own work schedule. For a few

thousand dollars they had purchased equipment, supplies inventory and

customer list from Dennis Drewil and had thus taken their first risk in

entrepreneurial investment.

One of their prime contracts was, at regular intervals, cleaning the hotel

rooms that Dennis Drewil managed. It was at the hotel that they became

acquainted with Frank Marino. Frank went out of his way to befriend the

Connors. He was ever willing to assist them in carrying equipment, moving

furniture or surprising them with cappuccinos at his own expense. In spite of

his rough edges the Connors developed a genuine liking for Frank.

While Brent’s heritage was Scottish and Irish, evidenced by his reddish hair

and fair complexion, Tina was of pure Italian extract. I suppose it is human

nature to bond in friendship with kindred spirits. Dennis and Brent the

Scotsmen, similar in nature and temperament, had an excellent rapport. Tina

and Frank, the Italians, felt a heritage bond and, though diametrically

opposite in temperament to the Britons, they too developed a kindred spirit

relationship.

Over a period of six months or so Tina, Brent and Frank had become friends

rather than mere acquaintances. The Connors’ had been invited into Frank’s

home a few times to share a bottle or two of red wine and feast on Frank’s

Italian cuisine. It should be said that Brent deplored Frank’s sometimescrude

humour and his untamed penchant for using the ‘F’ word, but since he

knew Tina enjoyed their occasional conversations in Italian he tolerated the

churlish aspect of Frank’s personality.

Tina had, on one occasion, called Frank to ask if he would be interested in

building a short stretch of fence on their property in order to prevent their

pet dog from wandering onto neighbouring properties and leaving his

business card.

No job was too small for Frank especially when friends were involved “Hey,

for you guys I do anything, and I give you a deal you can’t refuse”.

Less than a half hour after Tina had called, Frank was at her door. He took a

quick look at the place where they wanted the fence and said, “I do it”.

Tina, a little nervous at this point asked, “But how much will it cost?”

“For you I do it for nothing”.

Still dubious Tina persisted “But you can’t do it for nothing, materials and

labour. You have to make a living!”

“Don’a you worry. I make my money in other ways. Anyway I got a

’paesano’ that work in the lumberyard. He help me sometimes with

material”.

Tina needed no translation as to how Frank intended to acquire the wood

and while her conscience offered some resistance it wasn’t enough to

override the joy of having a fence built for nothing.

“O.K. lets do it,” she said eagerly. “But I still don’t understand why you

don’t charge, at least for the labour. My God, when we clean carpets for

friends we still have to charge. We give them a good deal but we’ve got to

live too!”

Frank didn‘t say anything immediately. He had a kind of ‘shall I tell her’

look on his face, and then with a sigh he said, “The truth is I do this work as

a cover. Me and my organization got a thing going here, you know some of

the people involved. We invest money and we make money. Lots of

money”.

Tina’s curiosity was bubbling over as she queried, “So what do you invest

in?”

“I can’t give you too many details but there are a number of ventures we

control or influence. Right now me and a couple of other people are

investing in the commodities futures market. The key is in having the right

information about what’s happening in other countries and we got contacts

all over the world. This is guaranteed success, we’ve been doing it a long

time and it never fails. I’ll give you an example I got two $5,000 deals right

now that will get $2,000 profit each in 3 months. You can’t get that kind of

return anywhere and these are all cash deals”.

“I’d sure like to have one of those deals,” commented Tina wistfully.

“Well I’d like to give you an opportunity ‘cause you’re friends, you work

hard and you deserve it, but there’s another guy who’s begging for a chance

to get in on the deal” Frank paused momentarily before exclaiming “Awe,

fuck him, if you want it and you’ve got five grand it’s yours”.

Tina was temporarily paralysed, in the space of about two minutes she had

the promise of a fence that was to be built at no cost, and, an opportunity to

make $2,000 with no sweat. Eventually she was able say “wow, that’s

incredible, but I’ll have to talk to Brent when he gets home from work. I’ll

have to explain to him how it works as well”.

Frank was ready for this and immediately gave his closing argument “O.K.

you know we only deal in cash ’cause we don’t want no revenue people

snooping around. I give you a note that we write up in code to say what you

invested, when the payout is due and how much interest you’ll get. All of

our business transactions are based on trust ’cause nobody fucks with us.

But I have to know tonight and the money must be ready tomorrow. The

guys in Van don’t mess around; if you miss the deadline they take the deal

away and give it to somebody else. And my reputation is on the line”.

The following day Frank collected $5,000 in cash from Tina.

Chapter 2

The excitement of Christmas and Hogmanay was accompanied by the

anticipation of his imminently maturing investment. Dennis had told Frank

that there would be no work done at the hotel for a two-week period

between December 20 and January 5. Though moderately empty for most of

the winter months the festive season was always busy at the hotel. Even

though he didn’t work during that time Frank visited the hotel almost every

day. They would talk a lot, drink to continuing success and generally enjoy

the festive atmosphere and the promise of good things yet to come.

Timed to perfection, Frank showed up at the hotel on New Years Eve

carrying a small sports bag. With the air of a flamboyant benefactor he said

to Dennis “I have a something for you my friend that maka you very happy.

Let’s go somewhere private”.

Dennis had been expecting this moment but had not imagined the rush of

pure excitement it brought to him. The two of them retreated into the

resident managers quarters. Frank opened the bag and tipped the contents

onto a coffee table. The bundle of cash thumped onto the table. Although the

bundle mainly comprised hundred dollar bills at least three thousand was in

twenty-dollar bills making the cache larger than it might otherwise have

been. Frank insisted that Dennis count the money after which they toasted

the occasion with a three-fingered shot of Scotch.

It was during this celebration that Dennis noticed Frank’s diamond studded

ring. The ring was of gold and it had at least 6 diamonds encircling the

letters TC.

Dennis commented “Tony, why are you wearing a ring with the initials TC

as in Tony Carotenuto when you want everyone to know you as Frank

Marino?”

“Ah, but you don’ understand. This ring was a gift to me by the various

families when I was elected Tutti Capo. Boss of Bosses. One day you know

who I am. You stay with me an’ you make lotsa money”.

Dennis was happy, he was impressed and he did want to kiss this little

Italian.

“So what do we do now?” inquired Dennis.

“What do you mean what do we do now?” replied Frank somewhat coyly.

“Well, can we do this again?”

“’Course you can. Only thing is we have to wait. Maybe days or maybe

weeks for another opportunity” said Frank in a very matter of fact way. He

continued “you may want to keep the cash available if you’re interested in

another shot so’s not to have to keep going to the bank for cash. Bank

transactions can be difficult to explain if the tax people ever decide to do an

audit”.

Dennis thought for a moment and said “Yes, that’s good thinking. I’ll keep

it in my safe deposit”.

That night, full of exuberance, Dennis and his wife Fiona celebrated

Hogmanay with their good friends the Mcfee’s.

In the middle of January Bill McFee paid a visit to Dennis at the hotel. The

two of them were talking in the hotel lobby when Frank came barging in.

Without the slightest consideration that they might be having a private

discussion he interrupted the moment by blurting out “Dennis, for fuck sake

man we need more tiles”.

Dennis, taking the interruption in stride replied, “Tony this is the third time

you’ve run short of tiles, there should have been enough for 3 more rooms!”

A brief pause and he continued “Bill this is Frank, Tony this is Bill”.

Bill was somewhat amused by this introduction and laughingly said, “Well

I’m pleased to meet you Frank or Tony” and offered his hand to shake.

Frank took the extended hand and gripped it firmly. “Dennis is all fucked

up. When we met I was using another name but really I’m Frank Marino”

said Frank.

“Ah, so you’re the man who’s responsible for Dennis’ recent good fortune,”

replied Bill affably.

Frank immediately looked at Dennis and said testily “I thought we agreed

you don’t talk to nobody ‘bout our thing”.

Dennis with some indignation responded, “Well I actually didn’t,

unfortunately Fiona was a little pissed on New Years Eve and happened to

mention that we had this thing going. But don’t worry, Bill assures me that it

goes no further”.

“Och don’t worry about me man I’m as silent as a tomb. But I will say this,

if you have some deals going on in the future I’d be interested” said Bill in

his best placating manner.

With that brief exchange over Frank restated his need for more tiles.

“Why don’t you tell the people at Home Hardware that I can sign for stuff,

then I wouldn’t have to keep coming to you every time I run short. I don’t

trust those pricks either,” appealed Frank.

“Well I suppose that’s not a bad idea. You run along now and before you get

there I’ll give them a call”.

Frank headed for the exit with a parting shot “I’m gonna’ need some gas

money for all this runnin’ around!”

When he had gone Bill quizzed Dennis “Are you sure you trust this guy?”

“Oh yes, I know a bit about his background and I know for sure he’s had an

association with some powerful people for a long time. He’s not very refined

but he is reliable” attested Dennis.

“No, it’s just that he seemed a little on edge. Does he always talk like that, I

mean using the ‘F’ word in front of complete strangers,” asked Bill, whose

sense of propriety rose way above Frank’s inconsiderate and insensitive

style of social engagement.

“I understand what you’re saying. I think it’s just their way. I suppose when

dealing with the kind of people they deal with on a certain level the niceties

of civilized behaviour don’t have the right impact”. Dennis picked up the

telephone. Called the Hardware store and authorized Frank Marino to sign

for material. Almost as a postscript he added “but nothing over $500.00”.

At the store Frank casually walked around taking time to talk and joke with

various store employees. He strolled out back to where the bulk material

was kept and took stock of the entire yard. He instinctively knew that

security was lax. Two teenagers were assigned to tidy up the yard, restacking

2” x 4”s, helping to load material onto contractors vehicles etc. He noticed

one of the older yard hands that was yelling at and berating the two young

yard workers. Frank walked over to him and in a loud voice and with a large

smile said “That’s right, you need to give those little fuckers shit to keep

them in line!”

Frank had this way of walking, well it was more like strutting with shoulders

alternating in an accentuated up and down movement. It may well have been

what one might describe as the ‘mob walk’. In any event the walk was

meant to convey a signal that I’m a somebody. The point was taken and the

man responded “hey, how you doon?”

With his hand extended Frank introduced himself. His gesture was

reciprocated. Frank and his new acquaintance Mario, who also was of Italian

parents, commenced a business friendship.

Feeling good about this place, Frank returned to the store and picked out a

few items that he needed to do some repair work on his apartment,

paintbrushes and roller, 2 gallons of interior latex, masking tape, baseboard

mouldings and a bronze coloured doorknob. He took the items to the

contract sales counter and heaved his stuff up for the cashier.

The cashier asked if he had found everything he needed. She was attractive

enough but not exactly pretty.

“Now I found you what more can a guy want?” said Frank with all his

charm.

“Sorry, but I’m already taken” she said brandishing her diamond studded

wedding band.

“Then you’ll never know what you’re missing. Anyway I need 10 boxes of

tiles”.

“What kind of tiles do you want?” inquired the cashier.

“The same kind as before” replied Frank.

“And how do I know what kind you had before?”

Frank decided to end his playful game and said “This is all for the Landasia.

I’m Frank Marino and Dennis said he’d call to let you know I can sign for

stuff”.

The cashier brought up the account on her computer screen. With a

businesslike demeanour and not caring much for Frank’s sense of humour

she started to record the sale items including the 10 boxes of tiles. Frank’s

personal items totalled $103.00 and the total was almost $300.00. She

ripped off the invoice and asked Frank to sign for receipt of the

merchandise. Frank noted with interest that she didn’t ask to see any

identification. He scribbled some kind of signature on the document. The

mark on the paper could have been made by anyone. He returned to the

Hotel feeling uplifted and full of promise for the future.

Frank had bought a used box trailer for hauling material since he was now

doing weekend jobs for other people. One day in early spring Dennis was

shocked and worried when Frank pulled into the hotel parking lot, his trailer

weighed down by spruce 2” x 4”s, eight 4’ x 8’ plywood sheets and who

knows what else in the way of nails, screws or hand tools. Frank got out of

his car and hauled a tub of tile adhesive out of the trailer. He set it down

outside the reception door and entered the lobby.

“Tony, I hope you haven’t put that material on my account” said Dennis, his

rage barely contained. Dennis had in fact noticed that Frank was charging

quite a bit of personal stuff on the hotel account. He hadn’t confronted Frank

with hostility when he had discovered this, preferring to admonish him

gently with a suggestion that a few small items were acceptable but “let’s

not be piggish”. Thereafter, he had added a few personal items to the list

whenever Frank needed to collect material and thus avoided the need to

implicate himself with a ‘goods received by’ signature.

“For fuck sake man, are you O.K.? Here’s your invoice. I just put the cement

on yours, and I got you a new hammer as well” retorted Frank with all the

innocence of a newborn babe. He offered the green invoice copy to Dennis

who snatched it from his hand and studied it intently.

“Why do I need a new hammer?” asked Dennis “we must have 3 or 4 lying

around the workshop.

“Yeah, but they’re no good. This is a man’s hammer and it’s time you got

some decent tools to work with!” exclaimed Frank.

Dennis was annoyed by Frank’s attitude and his face showed the taut

muscles of exasperation. “When tools are to be bought, I’ll do the buying. Is

that clear!”

“Fuck man I’m only trying to help you,” after a brief pause Frank continued

“Look, I meant to tell you there’s another investment opportunity if your

interested. Don’t worry if this is a bad time ‘cause I got other people

begging me for more. The pricks make a load of money but it’s never

enough.”

Dennis’ anger evaporated instantly. “ What did you have in mind then?”

“This is a bit different, I got one for $35,000, one for $53,000 and one for

$64,000 and they’re all 9 to 11 month investments. The best interest is on

the $64,000 that gets you $95,000 back on February 15

explained Frank.

“And what do the others yield?” inquired Dennis.

Without a moments pause Frank replied, “The $35,000 gets $45,700 and the

$53,000 gets $71,500”.

Dennis did some quick mental calculations. After a moment he said, “I think

I could take the $35,000, but I was talking to my son Dave who’s also

interested, do you think he could have one”.

“For fuck sake man, I gotta be careful. Pretty soon the whole fucking town

will be involved” he paused momentarily and went on “but I guess it’s your

family so it don’t make too much difference”.

Sheepishly as if not really wanting to press a point Dennis asked “Do you

think you could let Bill in on this?”

Frank, now himself manifesting irritation, said “Dennis, I let you in ‘cause

you helped me when I needed it. I only help people who help me in what I

got to do”.

Sensing a way through this dilemma Dennis appealed to Frank’s mercenary

instinct “When I spoke with Bill he did say he had a fair bit of work that

needs to be done. He wants his front porch tiled completely and he needs an

extension to his cement patio at the back of his house. I’m sure he would

pay good money”.

Frank gave it some thought and responded, “Tell him if he’s interested to

give me a call. But I gotta know by tomorrow and I gotta get the money to

Van by Friday. And that reminds me, Rob’s coming in tomorrow just for

two nights, can you book him a room?”.

Dennis was acquainted with Rob, who, among other things was Frank’s

muscle. He rode a heavy duty Harley Davidson bike, liked easy woman,

used hard and soft drugs and rarely had anything to say. Frank had

persuaded Dennis that his stays at the hotel should be free of charge since

Rob was, in part, instrumental in seeing that their investments were carried

out and fulfilled.

Feeling somewhat relieved that he had negotiated both his son and his friend

into the deal, he was happy to offer his hospitality to Rob who seemed more

of a Hell’s Angels person rather than a Cosa Nostra person.

Within the hour Frank received a call from Bill McFee. At Frank’s

insistence they would meet at Bill’s house to discuss the matter of

investments and property improvements. As always, when it was

inconvenient, Frank avoided talking on the phone to discuss business

“’cause you never know who’s listening”.

At the house Bill showed Frank around his large home and 3-car garage.

Inside the garage was a spanking new maroon Jaguar which Bill had

imported direct from England, a spotlessly clean black SUV and an about

town Honda Accord. Frank asked Bill about the work Dennis had mentioned

and Bill explained the requirement. Frank’s response to each was “oh yeah, I

done hundreds of jobs like that” and that he would do a better job than the

other people who just want to grab your money and run.

Frank wanted to secure the work contract before getting into the investment

aspect of their meeting. They agreed that the work should start in mid-April

because up to that time Frank was fully booked. With all the modesty of a

prima donna he declared “when you got such a good reputation like I got the

phone don’t stop ringing. I think maybe I should charge more”.

Bill took it all in with a ’pinch of salt’. Having spent most of his life

listening to the bullshit of bidding would-be contractors, he knew their style

and could generally gauge the depth of their expertise or skill. He was not

terribly impressed with Frank but was intent on getting into this great

investment opportunity, which Dennis had so enthusiastically endorsed.

The rules of this particular engagement were explained i.e. cash only, no

documentation other than a hand written note, in code, identifying the terms.

“We do everything on the honour system and my handshake is stronger than

Fort Knox. I guarantee the investment ‘cause we got the muscle to enforce

the contract and we never fail”.

Bill felt the need to ask a few more questions regarding the deal. Who, what,

where, when questions that a normal intelligent person would be inclined to

ask. Frank avoided giving up any of this information citing the need for

secrecy within the organization and so’s not to get anyone in trouble. He

closed the explaining process by saying, “Look my friend, not everyone feels

comfortable with this kind of deal and I understand, if you don’t trust me

that’s O.K. I got two people who are begging me for more opportunities so

it’s not a problem for me if you don’t want to do it”.

Bill settled on the $53,000 deal and promised to have the cash available by

the following day.th next year”

Chapter 1

Every story teller arbitrarily chooses a point at which to commence the tale.

This must be so since each and every event is a consequence, in one way or

another, of a prior event. Indeed all of time is an inextricable chain of events

in which history seems to repeat itself all too often and we the people seem

none the wiser. My tale begins by introducing two good men who

unwittingly acted as enablers to a chain of events which to some, as it turns

out, could be characterized by that unforgettable quote “deja vus all over

again”.

Dennis Drewil and Bill McFee had known each other for a while. Once they

discovered that they shared certain common elements a casual friendship

had begun. They were both born in Edinburgh in the mid 1940‘s and they

both liked drinking scotch and smoking cigars. Bill lived in a large home on

the prestigious Dilworth Mountain. Dennis lived in a hotel suite, which was

provided as part of his employment compensation package. Dennis and his

wife would visit Bill every second week or so to talk about business or the

old country and swap stories of events long past. Until his relatively recent

retirement Bill had been an engineer who spent some thirty years working in

oil extraction installations. Due to his lengthy tour of duty in Saudi Arabia

and other Middle Eastern oil states he had accumulated the substantial nest

egg, which had afforded him the option of an early retirement. Educated

both academically and socially Bill was a good host and treated his guests

with warmth and generosity.

The Drewils did not share the same good fortune and were perhaps a little

envious of Bill’s acquisitions and financial security. For a while Dennis had

owned and operated a carpet cleaning business, which he sold because the

effort/reward ratio didn’t meet his expectations. Thereafter, he landed a job

in junior league hotel management that suited him well, because he didn’t

have to shed a drop of sweat while meandering through his daily duties.

It was while Dennis was in his first hotel management job that he met Tony

Carotenuto. There had been a degree of mystery surrounding this individual

when he arrived with his wife, two children and a plain clothes police escort.

The police officer was a very large man whose pugilistic face would

intimidate the most valiant of men and initially Dennis couldn‘t decide if his

role was custodial or protective. During the month or so that the Carotenuto

family and escort were ensconced in the hotel Dennis had struck up a

friendship with the group. In the process he learned a few scant details of the

mystery on the condition that he would not repeat any of the information he

had acquired.

Dennis was in many ways a good man who probably had under achieved in

his various pursuits of money and social standing. He rarely failed to

reciprocate a favour done for his benefit and probably expected the same

consideration from others whom he had favoured. For example, once he had

secured his position in the hotel he immediately awarded the contract for

cleaning carpets and upholstery to the Connors’, who had purchased Dennis’

former business. Dennis and his wife managed the Fiesta Hotel for about 3

years before accepting a more lucrative offer at the Landasia Hotel just

along the street.

About six months after he had taken over at the Landasia a brief but

memorable acquaintance resurfaced. Tony Carotenuto and his new girlfriend

checked into the hotel. Dennis was discreet and gave no indication of

surprise at seeing the very pale and thin young woman at Tony’s side. Of

course, later the two men talked and Dennis was apprised of Tony’s new

circumstances. Shortly after Tony had returned to Vancouver, he and his

wife went their separate ways. Actually it was more like Tony had

abandoned the family for fear of his own safety. Other than being very

Roman Catholic and feeling ashamed of a marriage breakdown, Tony’s wife

had in fact been happy to see him go.

But at the moment Tony, or Frank as he now preferred to be called, had a

situation. He needed a job for a while, until some people who were

safeguarding a ton of money for him could discreetly funnel it through

channels into his hands. He gave Dennis a long list of skills he possessed,

which embraced all the maintenance support that Dennis would ever need.

He could only work for ready cash but they could work a deal so that Dennis

too could benefit from the arrangement.

“Look” said Frank, “I do all the work, cement, carpentry, electrical, clean

the pool, paint the rooms, tile the floors, you name it and I can do it. I give

you a bill for say $15.00 an hour but you only pay me $12.00 an hour. It’s

like everyone wins. The hotel hide some cash and don’t pay tax on it, you

get some cash and don’t pay tax, and I get some cash and don’t pay tax”.

Without a doubt Dennis was acquainted with the possibilities of skimming

in this kind of business but, nevertheless, didn’t want to put his own

reputation a risk. He knew how much the hotel spent on maintenance

contracts. At between $60 to $90 an hour for certified trades people the cost

was in excess of one full time staff at $15 an hour.

“Tony, ”

Frank interjected “Frank!”.

Dennis continued, “Well to me you still seem more like a Tony. As I was

saying, I think we could work something out but you would have to sign for

the full amount of the cash every time you get paid. I do have to account for

every penny you know”.

“Yeah, I’ll sign what ever you want but it has to be Frank Marino ‘cause

that’s who I am now.

The hotel did in fact need a lot of work. Neither Dennis nor his son had any

inclination to do even the most simple of repair or maintenance work, so

there was a general decline until it was time for one of the bi-annual

inspections by the hotel’s owner, at which time there would be a flurry of

activity in order to face-lift the property. Clearly seeing the advantage of

having a ‘go-fer’, Dennis agreed to Frank’s terms and their union was

consummated.

I hesitate to suggest that Frank was industrious in his efforts, but he was as

industrious as he could be. It seems that no matter what the job, big or small,

it would always be done in a hurry. He would only superficially analyze the

task at hand and never prepare a plan of action. I suspect the phrase ‘brute

force and ignorance’ was invented to describe someone just like Frank. He

had no patience and no finesse. The end result of his labour would for the

most part be acceptable to his client, but only because they couldn’t see the

patchwork of corrected mistakes or the spoiled material that had been

thrown in the dumpster. Objectively speaking, the quality of his work was at

best second rate. Nevertheless, his presence made Dennis’ life much easier,

and, Dennis acquired a new friend.

Frank and his girlfriend stayed at the hotel for about a month before finding

an apartment to move into. Seemingly out of the blue Frank acquired an

infusion of cash. He bought a ‘suped-up ’78 Pontiac Lemans’. It was in

excellent condition with new wheels and a sparkling new paint job, and it

rumbled. Now everyone could hear him coming and it truly gave him a

measure of prestige and attention. Dennis was not a shy person and felt no

shame in saying, “So am I to assume your money came through?”

“Sure did” replied Frank and continued “we had a good year and plenty

more to come”.

“Does that mean you wont be working here any more?” asked Dennis.

“Fuck man no! I keep working here and since you’re doing me a favour

maybe I can do one for you”.

“Well, I suppose you’re doing me a favour just by being here, or did you

have something else in mind?” queried Dennis.

“Well remember I said ‘maybe’, I have to get the O.K. from Vancouver

first” Frank responded.

“I certainly hope you’re not going to get me a membership in your little club

are you?” said Dennis humorously.

Seeing the humour and chuckling Frank said, “Awe fuck man, no. I can’t

tell you much until I get the O.K. But there’s a lot of money to be made if

they let you in”.

“Wait a minute,” said Dennis with some consternation “I would like to

know what exactly I’m being let in on before we go any further”.

“Could you use an extra $100,000?” asked Frank.

“I don’t know many people who couldn’t,” replied Dennis pragmatically.

“O.K. then. We have a business operation. We lend cash and we finance

projects that are guaranteed. The interest rate is way more than you would

get from the bank in a hundred years”.

“That sounds like a risky business,” retorted Dennis.

“My friend, you know who we are and nobody fucks with us. If they even

think about it their dead”, a momentary pause and Frank continued “Hey

Dennis, if you’re not interested that’s O.K. The fact is we only let in people

we can trust and since you’re a good friend and I trust you I wanted to give

you a chance”.

“Tony, I’m interested but I need to know a little more,” responded Dennis

showing both interest and caution.

“I’ll tell you what,” said Frank knowing he had already sold the idea “we get

big investments and little investments. They all earn the same high return. If

Vancouver agrees I’ll wait for a small deal, anywhere from 5 to 10 thousand

and you can give it a try”.

“O.K. bud, but I’d prefer not to go more than $5,000 and then I’ll see how

things work out,” said Dennis, the excitement marginally winning over the

apprehension.

When I said Frank has no patience, I meant for work, the business of making

large amounts of money was pleasure and for this he had patience.

The Hotel had in excess of 60 suites. Each suite was the same comprising a

bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. An outdoors pool and hot tub were

the only social amenities the hotel provided. With Frank at his disposal,

Dennis could now consider repair and maintenance projects with a little

more enthusiasm. Since he would also be making an extra $25 a day from

Frank’s toiling he should endeavour to keep him busy for as long as

possible.

Dennis managed to convince the owner that a suite upgrade was necessary

and embarked on a project to replace the linoleum-covered floors in the

kitchen and bathroom with ceramic tiles. In addition, he proposed a tiled

splashguard between the kitchen counter top and the kitchen cabinets. The

cost of approximately $750 per suite was reasonable and provided months of

work for Frank. Work commenced in September and was scheduled for

completion by March.

About a month after their conversation regarding the guaranteed investment

project Frank approached Dennis with a proposal.

“Hey Dennis I got good news and I got good news”.

“Let me guess,” said Dennis wryly “you’ve finished one room and you’re

ready to start another,”

“I tol’yer the first one take longer ‘til I get a rhythm going” replied Frank

defensively.

He had started on the first suite over a week ago and things were not going

as well as he had predicted. The reality is that he did not have the experience

he claimed and thus was in a learning process. What with badly measured

tile cuts and uneven application of the tile adhesive he had wasted a lot of

time in re-doing and re-starting. However, he was getting better.

Hiding his hurt pride and with a big smile he said, “The people in

Vancouver said you can be in and yesterday I got a couple of opportunities.

I’m taking one for $15,000 but there’s another for $6,500 if you’re

interested”.

“So what’s the deal?” inquired Dennis.

“$6,500 gets you $3,000 in three months, can you beat that anywhere?”

“How do we write it up?” Dennis asked.

“What do you mean how do we write it up” shot back Frank.

“Well I need some sort of receipt don’t I?”

“’Course we write it up. But we do it so’s not to give the tax people

anything to go on. You understand what I’m saying?” said Frank settling in

to his best salesman groove.

“So I give you a cheque and you give me what?” replied Dennis with a little

nervousness in his voice.

“Fuck man, we don’ use cheques. Cash only. You give me cash and you get

cash back in three months time. Cheques leave a trail for the tax people and

we say fuck’em”.

“So what do you give me to say I gave you this investment?”

With weariness in his voice Frank said, “Look my friend, I give you a paper

that I sign but it’s just for our records. This whole thing is based on trust.

Fuck man, when I give my word its solid as gold. That’s the way we work.

Friends don’t fuck friends and nobody fucks us”.

“But Tony, you’re asking a lot”.

“If you don’t trust me Dennis that’s O.K. There’s another person who’s

begging me for more opportunities. But fuck man he’s made a pile of money

already. You been good to me and I want to repay you. But that’s O.K.”.

“But Tony it’s not a question of trusting you, of course I trust you or you

wouldn’t be working here. Maybe I need a little more time to think about it”

Frank was quick to respond, “Problem is I have to let them know by tonight,

I’ll have to give Ernie a call and tell him he can have it”.

Dennis was seduced by the prospect of making $3,000 in 3 months and

decided he should take the risk even though, because of his cautious nature,

he was feeling a little uneasy. A slight quiver in his voice he almost

whispered “O.K. Tony I’ll take it. When do you need the money?”

“You wont regret it, in three months you’ll be wanting to kiss me. Anyway, I

call Van tonight to tell them you’re in. I need the cash tomorrow so don’t let

me down. My reputation’s at stake and the people in Van get upset if we

make a deal an’ don’t follow through”.

The following day Dennis delivered the money and Frank attacked the tile

work with a newfound enthusiasm.

As he became accustomed to the work Frank was able to complete one suite

every 3 to 4 days. A professional would probably have needed only two days

but with Frank unable to concentrate on any job for more than an hour

without taking a 45 minute recess, during which time he would drink coffee,

apprise Dennis of the fabulous job he was doing, and make numerous

telephone calls to his Mob associates, progress was slow and, for Dennis, at

times a little painful. Still, knowing that he was also making $3.00 an hour

on Frank’s payroll and in addition making a thousand dollars a month in

Frank’s investment group he tolerated the situation.

Chapter 1

Here's Johnny

How does one go about becoming a good blogger in order to capture the attention of the masses. One of my many problems is that I crave stardom while being firmly entrenched in obscurity. So how do I break loose from my bonds of dreary anonimity?

I'm moderately talented in a number of ways yet I have never ever managed to be first in competitive endeavours, been runner-up many times and the only time I was adjudged to be a winner I had to share the position with another competitor (quite unfairly I thought).  Now the question arises - 'do I subconsciously want to avoid the pressure of being a winner'?, or, am I such a nice guy that I can't help saying "no, no, no, you go first!", or, do the judges, adjudicators, referees and the like all lack good judgement?

Despite what I said about being moderately talented I am in reality quite modest. I prefer to listen rather than talk and, unlike most people, I never give unwanted opinions. These are two character traits that will inevitably leave one submerged in obscurity. But there is one thing I desperately want to achieve. I have written a Novel and I would like everyone to read it. I refer to it as a novel because while it is ninety eight percent factual there is a two percent margin for writer's creativity. Thus, being scrupulously honest, I must refer to my work as fiction since the fact has been contaminated with a minute measure of entertaining additive. I don't have the reputation or celebrity to command a captive audience so I am left searching for other ways to deliver my work to the eyes and minds of the general public. I thought about offering my manuscript to a creative writing school with the challenge to 'in training' writers to polish and perfect it so that Oprah might consider including it in her library of 'must read' books. My most recent idea is to blog it. What do you think? If I were to publish one chapter per week, in less than one year the entire book would be available for the world to scrutinize and who knows - it might become a Blog Buster Story. It would not make me rich but it would make me very happy.

So here's the pitch, I'd like everyone who reads the blog to send the link to their email contacts in the knowledge that I will be eternally grateful to you for having done so. Chapter one will commence October 3rd 2010.

      

Prologue

It has often been said that Kelowna is Canada’s best-kept secret. Located

approximately at the mid point of the Okanagan Valley, Kelowna has

become a haven for retired people to enjoy their sunset years in tranquility

and a haven for tourists to relax on a no-hurry vacation.

For the first while, after arriving in Kelowna, it seemed that almost everyone

I met came from somewhere else. The large population of retired people are

perhaps less restricted by weather conditions than anywhere else in this great

country, and, there are enough Golf Courses to keep alive their hopes of one

day winning a Masters tournament. They do not have to suffer the wind

lashed rain of coastal regions nor the frigid winter blizzards of the prairies.

Long warm summers and cool refreshing winters make living very tolerable.

The Okanagan Valley, which runs north to south for a few hundred

kilometres, is a richly fertile terrain and ideally suited for growing fruit

crops, and the length and breadth of the valley, is spotted with orchards and

vineyards. Tributaries cascading from the surrounding mountains feed a

multitude of lakes. For people who have lived their lives in the hustle and

bustle of an urban jungle, this must surely feel like paradise found.

However, it would seem that paradise is not without its perils. The notion

that we become wiser and more knowledgeable as we get older is, I believe,

valid. Yet I think true knowledge and true wisdom can only be gained

through experience, and that in the absence of experience knowledge is

reduced to theory and wisdom is reduced to supposition. When the lesser

masquerades as the greater we become vulnerable.