Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [52]
“My friendship with Billy was heaven sent in some ways. It allowed me to make money independently. And because Billy was a generous guy, I didn’t need Nicky’s help in situations where I might want to get involved in a business deal that required a large amount of capital. I even started to loan money out with Billy as my silent partner.”
It didn’t take long for word of Andrew’s close association with the Cutolos and their crew to reach Nicky Corozzo. The wayward crew member was summoned to meet with his boss and straighten out a few things.
“In late November Nicky called me in,” Andrew recalls the incident. “When I saw him, he wanted me to tell him everything I was involved in. After we discussed my many new ventures and who I was associating with, Nicky gave me a little speech. It went something like this, ‘I’m glad you’re home and seem to be gettin’ on your feet. And I appreciate the money you been sending my way. But if you need help in any of your future ventures, your flag is here. You come to me and I’ll give you what you need. As for Billy, he should know better than to try to steal you from us. You be careful, because the war over there is still lingering. He’s just using you to have more shooters around him. Now listen close. I don’t give a fuck who you sleep with or who you earn with. Just as long as at the end of the day when the sun sets, you come back to Sorrento [home to the crew]. You got it?’
“I smiled and said, ‘One hundred percent, Nick. I was just trying to build a little something for myself.’ We embraced and I walked away. When my back was to him, a big grin crossed my face. I remember thinking, this motherfucker wouldn’t give me a dime when I got released and now that I’m earning with Billy, he wants to help? And I still hadn’t forgotten about that loan he denied me when I needed money for my lawyer. Fuck Nicky Corozzo! I’d still kick some of my earn to him, but I was going to hold back more for myself.”
As Christmas 1993 neared, Andrew was doing pretty well financially, but his personal life was a shambles. He thought he might be able to rekindle his relationship with Dina and he gave her a Chaumet watch worth twenty-five hundred. They dated a few times, but the writing was on the wall and divorce was in the air. That was their last Christmas as husband and wife.
For Andrew, 1994 began on an up-and-down note. Although he was technically still doing time, work release was more of an inconvenience than a deterrent to his criminal activities and his earnings were on the rise. But while his social and business relationships with the Cutolos were bearing fruit, they were also further alienating him from Nicky Corozzo and his crew. Of course, there was also the unpleasant matter of his divorce from Dina.
In spite of those issues, Andrew preferred to look at the glass as being half-full.
“I started the year with optimism that I was headed in the right direction as far as my street life was concerned. As for my home life, that was a different story. Dina and I had grown apart to the point that divorce was the only option. It was unfortunate, but that’s the way shit happens sometimes.
“I wasn’t the only one with a headache, though. Billy Cutolo faced a crisis of his own. His father and several members of his crew were arrested for racketeering and held without bail in the federal Metropolitan Correction Center. This placed a lot of the responsibility for the crew’s day-to-day activities on Billy’s shoulders. He wanted very much to prove to his father and others that he was capable of handling things and could be a good earner, but that placed him under a