The Jersey Wars

Chapter 2 - An Offer You Can't Refuse

April 1988    

Back then The Syndicate always met once a month, and always at an undisclosed location which wasn't known until approximately four hours beforehand. The reason for all of the cloak and dagger stuff was because of the meeting being oversaw by none other than Vincenzo Ditta himself, yeah THAT Vincenzo Ditta, the Capo Di Tutti Capi (boss of all bosses) of the United States of America. He was also the head of The Commission.

We always thought that he did this not only because The Garden State Syndicate operated within his most profitable territory, but also because he wanted to possess intimate knowledge of our inner workings and business which tend to come out at meetings of this magnitude.

As of April 1988, the monthly Syndicate tribute to The Commission was $1,968,000 collectively. While that wasn't much to mobsters who had unbridled access to millions, to them it was all profit. Don Ditta personally doled the money out among the Commission members himself.

This month our meeting was being held at The Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Narragansett, Rhode Island, a three hour drive from Newark. KC always drove and acted as security for myself and Tre, which brings me to The Rule. The four Syndicate Dons were only allowed to have two people with them at the (mandatory) monthly meeting; their second in command (either a consigliere or a capo) and security should they see fit. Needless to say we ALL saw fit.

There weren't any grudges being held at the time, but as my Pop always said, "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." KC was my "it". Should anything transpire well, go back and re-read my description of him.

Ghost can be edgy and opinionated at times and never bit his tongue for anyone which is why I always went with KC whenever I had business to conduct with the other Dons. I once asked him, "How come you never offer any insight to anything K?"

He answered without hesitation, "You tell me what the job is and how you want the job to be done, what else is there for me to know?" You have to admire that kind of focus and discipline.

As we made our way up The New York Thruway, Tre and I sat in the back of a brand new 1989 Lincoln Towncar (complete with mini bar and telephone) lost in our own separate thoughts while KC drove and sang (loudly) word for word to a rock song I'd never heard before. The man loved his pop and rock music and almost always listened to that genre strictly. I had an affinity for the opera myself, so who was I to judge a man's musical tastes?

If I had to bet, I'd wager that Tre was thinking about his wife Takeera. They had been in wedded bliss for five years but you'd have thought that they were still on their honeymoon. I knew that he missed her dearly whenever we ventured out of town for business and no disrespect to KC's skill set, but in this line of work it wasn't guaranteed that you'd make it home in time (if at all) for dinner.

"Go ahead Tre," I said which snapped him out of his reverie. "Go on and call her young man. Let her know that you'll be home by 9PM sharp."

He grinned widely as he picked the receiver up from out of its cradle, dialed the number that a lot of us had committed to memory and began speaking sweet nothings to the love of his life. I smiled and looked out of the window, mesmerized by the beauty of the passing countryside while getting mentally prepared for the upcoming gathering.

2.5 hours later....

Don Vincenzo Ditta stood in front of the banquet room at 57 years of age but not looking a day over 45. He was dressed in a $5,000 Dormeuil Frères suit and wearing a pair of $1,500 wingtips. He considered this as casual dress for the Tuesday afternoon meeting.