Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [66]
“He then explained the rules that were in effect until then. If I met them in a neutral area, I could only react to defend myself. If I saw them in a danger zone, I could shoot to kill without waiting for them to make the first move. A danger zone was around my mother’s or my sisters’ homes, where my son was living, or anywhere I was laying my head at night. If anybody came around those locations, they undoubtedly had bad intentions.
“I had a meet with Mike to discuss the whole situation. I told him it was nearing critical mass. I’ll never forget what he said to me. He said that if they came for me, it was only because they were going to clean house. He said he was the one who had to worry. And then he openly admitted that he had killed Robert. Even though I’d figured he was involved, hearing it from his own mouth was a blow to me. I was so angry I wanted to shoot him right there and then. But I had to bite my tongue and act like it didn’t bother me. If he saw my emotions, he’d have felt justified in killing me. And this wasn’t the time for a shootout. I figured there’d be another time down the line.”
Andrew now had two issues of revenge on the back burner: Sammy Karkis and Mike Yannotti. The timing wasn’t right to take action in either case. But a third man seemed intent on forcing the fugitive gangster’s hand.
“My sister was in a bad way. She wasn’t the woman that I remembered from before I went to prison. My brother-in-law had done a number on her physically and emotionally. Her kids had seen some bad things go down in the house. When I warned him to clean up his act or get out of her life, I thought he got the message. He didn’t. The abuse continued. I thought it was time for him to go.
“Following protocol, I contacted Mike Yannotti, went to his house, and told him what I wanted to do. He said he’d run it past Nicky and see if he’d give his approval for the hit. Mike was already personally on board with the idea. We talked some more and developed a plan for the killing.
“My brother-in-law was an electrician. He respected and feared Mike. I knew that if Mike called him and said he needed some electrical work done at his house, he’d show up fast. He wouldn’t dare not to. When he arrived, Mike would have him pull his truck into the garage that was under the house and kill him there. We’d then get rid of his body and the truck. He’d just disappear and no one would ever know if he was dead or alive. We decided to do a dry run. I followed Mike down the stairs that led to the garage. It was pitch black—a perfect place for a killing.
“In a day or two, Mike got back to me and said Nicky had given me the green light to do the killing as long as it didn’t come back on the crew. For the first time in my life, I knew what it was like to hold that ultimate power. This wasn’t something I was ordered to do by someone else. It was my decision, and my decision alone, whether my brother-in-law lived or died.
“Mike told me that it was all up to me. If I wanted to go forward with the plan, he’d make the call to my brother-in-law right away, get him over there, and be done with it. But he suggested I think it over some more before I made up my mind. He pointed out that it wasn’t just my sister involved. She’d lose a husband, but the kids would also lose their father. If the truth ever became known or suspected by my family, the kids could end up hating me.
“Those were good points and I agreed to think about it. It was a very hard decision for me to make, because I couldn’t stand the thought of my sister being in pain and I knew he’d inflicted a lot of it on her. But in the end, I spared his life. I had the power of life and death in my hands and I chose to let him live. I gave him his walking papers and let it go.
“Looking back at it today, do I think it was the right decision? My sister still has emotional scars from what he put her through and it hurts me to see that. But their daughter was married recently and he was invited to the