Viper - Michael Morley [106]
The slide changed to show another man in his late fifties with a long horse-like face, no hair but thick black eyebrows. ‘This good-looking specimen is Giotto Fiorentino. He runs the south, specializes in smuggling tobacco and, well, pretty much anything else that can be smuggled.’
‘Is violence business or pleasure to those guys?’ asked Jack.
‘Strictly business. Angelico’s done his share of rough stuff, but not recently. Giotto’s probably never thrown a punch in his life. He’s a wily old fox, but not one for getting blood on his own hands.’
The slide clicked to another middle-aged man. He had slicked-back hair that was white at the temples, making him look like a hooked-nose badger. ‘Ambrogio Rotoletti. The west is his area, and he’s a gambling man. He did a ten stretch about fifteen years ago. Came out early, as many of them do, and the Don gave him back his full rights as Capo Zona.’ Jack was about to ask what for, when Lorenzo answered for him. ‘He was implicated in the murder of a politician. Since his release he’s not been connected with anything heavy.’
‘All old-timers, except for Valsi,’ observed Sylvia. ‘These three wise guys are, what – twice his age?’
‘And some,’ confirmed Lorenzo. ‘We’re expecting a bloodbath any day soon. Way we read it, Valsi has to take out Finelli, or vice versa.’
‘The young buck will make first play,’ said Jack. ‘That’s the way it always goes down.’
Lorenzo shrugged. ‘I’m no profiler, but I’ll tell you this. Most Camorra bosses are dead within five years of sitting at the top of the tree. Fredo Finelli has been squatting up there for close on twenty. My money is on the old man.’
Silence hit the room like a slap in the stomach, as Pisano clicked to a giant blow-up of the Finelli gang tattoo.
‘This is really unusual. While crime Families like the Sicilian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza favour identity tattoos, it’s uncommon in Camorra circles.’
‘Honour, loyalty and vengeance,’ said Jack, translating from the screen. ‘What’s the meaning of the serpent and the knife?’
Lorenzo sat on the edge of a desk as he answered. ‘It’s a viper. I’m no expert, but I’m told they have hidden fangs and giant hinge-like jaws that allow them to lock on to something and then grind it to death or swallow it whole.’
‘Highly appropriate then,’ said Jack.
‘Some vipers also keep the eggs of their babies in their mouth,’ added Sylvia. ‘And there are many different types of viper. I dated a herpetologist once and he bored me to death with stories of snakes and reptiles.’
‘Talking of reptiles, take a look at this.’ Lorenzo flashed up an organization chart of the most important members of the Finelli clan.
‘It’s far from complete, but it deals with the main players, especially those connected to Valsi.’ A shot of a pretty-faced, dark-haired young woman appeared. ‘This is Gina Valsi, Bruno’s wife, Fredo Finelli’s daughter. Don’t be taken in by that butter-wouldn’t-melt look. Gina’s quite a lady, a power in her own right. She runs several garment factories and counterfeit fashion houses. Probably makes as much money as any of the Capi.’
He clicked on. ‘And this is their consigliere, Ricardo Mazerelli. He’s understood to have an increasing say in the Family business, and not just on the legal front. He manages a lot of the old man’s business portfolio as well. These days, most Families have two consiglieri, but Finelli has only ever used this guy.’
Jack sat in silence in the semi-darkness, studying the dynasty. ‘Who are these other two – Pennestri and Farina? You see them in the bottom left on the chart.’
‘I don’t have their mug shots here. They’re new recruits, members of Valsi’s crew. He’s starting to put together his own Family-in-waiting.’
‘And the guy in the box beneath Mazerelli – the bodyguard?’
‘Salvatore Giacomo.’ Lorenzo pulled up a grainy head-and-shoulders surveillance