Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [14]
In spite of the best efforts of Andrew and his friends, the elusive Todd Alvino remained alive.
OOPS
In the world of organized crime, problems can arise from inside the family as well as from outside. Later in the year, Andrew made an honest mistake that could have had serious consequences.
One Friday night, Nicky called a meeting at the Seaview Diner on Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie. Anthony Gerbino, Mike Yannotti, Richie, and Andrew drove out there in their work car, which was registered and insured in the name of a dead woman. When they pulled into the parking lot, they noticed a guy talking on the pay phone on the street and a Mercedes convertible at the curb next to him, engine running.
They went inside the restaurant. Nicky wasn’t there yet, so they hung around, talking with some of the other guys. Pretty soon, a made man with the Gambinos they knew came in and asked if they were still in the car business. He mentioned the Mercedes and figured they’d be interested in it.
“The four of us went back outside. Mike would grab the car. I’d get between the car and the guy on the phone. Richie and Anthony went to the work car. As soon as Mike got away, I’d hop in with them and we’d follow Mike back to my place.
“Mike had just gotten in the car when ‘Pay Phone’ spotted him. He made a dash for the car and I gave him a hip check that sent him rolling into the street. He got up and made a grab for the passenger-door handle, but Mike pulled away before he could reach it. I got in the work car and we took off.
“We got to my house and barely got inside when the phone rang. It was Nicky. He said, ‘Have you guys still got that thing you took from the diner?’ I told him yeah, we’ve got it. He said, ‘We’ve got a little problem. Just stay there and don’t do anything. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.’
“As soon as I hung up the phone, we went through the car. We found a wallet in the glove compartment and a satchel in the trunk and took them inside. Inside the satchel were a bunch of white envelopes and a ledger book with a thirty-eight revolver on top of them. I opened the first envelope and there was fifteen hundred in cash in it. We opened the rest and the total came to eighty-seven thousand dollars. It was obvious that the Mercedes didn’t belong to some ordinary citizen. There was a clue on the envelopes; the logo on them said Meats Supreme. That was one of Paul Castellano’s legitimate businesses. But in our excitement over all that money, we didn’t pay any attention.
“About then Nicky called back. He said, ‘There’s a bag in the trunk of that car. Whatever you do, don’t open that bag.’ I hung up the phone and when we got done laughing, Nicky called for the third time. He said, ‘I found out there’s a book in that bag too. That book’s gotta be kept safe, understand? Don’t look in it and don’t let anything happen to it.’
“You know what we did next, right? The book was full of names and dollar amounts and phone numbers. It was becoming clear that we’d taken a car used to collect payoffs and had something to do with Paul Castellano. But what?
“We checked the license plate and looked through the wallet from the glove compartment. The Mercedes belonged to a relative of Paul’s and no doubt some or all of the money was intended for Paul. As much as it hurt, there was no doubt we’d have to give back the car and the cash. The question was would the Castellanos let it go at that or would they want to teach us a lesson.
“We met up with Nicky late that night at Sally the Lip’s house. Nicky told us, ‘I’d never ask you to give back something you stole. But this is the one time I’m going to. Everything’s gotta be returned.’ He said he’d set up a meet for the next morning at a luncheonette at East Ninety-Third Street and Avenue L across from our social club.
“We didn’t know how pissed the Castellanos were and we weren’t about