Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [92]
“The other thing I thought about a lot was my own freedom. My federal sentence expired in November. But I still had the state parole sentence to complete. As it stood, I was looking at an additional five years behind bars. If I could somehow get that sentence reduced I—or the new me—could be back on the streets much sooner than 2005.
“I was determined to pursue a sentence reduction and spent a lot of time doing research in the law library. I learned that the parole department held what they called ‘reconsideration hearings’ once a month throughout the state for selected cases. In order to get a hearing, the inmate had to file paperwork giving all the reasons he felt his sentence should be reduced. Although getting selected for a reconsideration hearing was a long shot, it was the only chance I had for an early release. I completed the application. But before I could send it out, I had what I like to call an intervention from above.
“It started when I was summoned to the case-manager’s office for a legal call. It was Tom Scanlon, the state investigator who had arrested me on the fugitive warrant almost three years earlier. He got right to the point. The state needed my help in apprehending some people they wanted badly. Scanlon thought I could help them by providing some intelligence information based on my organized-crime history. So for the next few months, I helped him every chance I could.
“As with the feds, the state investigators gave no promises in return for my assistance. But I hoped that my extended cooperation would be taken into account when I finally submitted the reconsideration paperwork. Having them comment on the extent of my cooperation and the value of the information I provided could only be an asset in my dealings with the parole board.
“So as the summer passed, I was counting the days until everything would take place. I can only compare that time with waiting for a pot of water to boil. The more you watch, the longer it takes. But with the possibility that I could be a free man fairly soon, I had to get my things in order with my family. And if I did get out, I’d be entering phase two of the Witness Protection Program. Andrew DiDonato would cease to exist and some new person would take his place. I realized it would be a great opportunity to be rid of the criminal and all-around bad guy I’d been for most of my life. But the thought of being born again was a very scary prospect for me.”
In early October, Andrew submitted his initial request for a special reconsideration hearing. Within weeks he received word that he’d get his hearing, but not until December. The fact that he would get a chance to present his case was great news. The only minor downside was that he would definitely remain locked up after the expiration of his federal sentence on November seventh. Although he felt he had a fair chance of getting a favorable decision, things could still go wrong.
Andrew went back to the torment of waiting for the water to come to a boil. In his idle moments, he thought about the upcoming hearing. What was the decision-making process of the parole board? Night after night he played devil’s advocate, wondering how strong his presentation would really be. After all, just because they’d granted his request for a hearing didn’t necessarily mean the board would side with him. Eventually, he had to force himself to stop thinking about it or risk driving himself crazy. The approaching Thanksgiving holiday helped serve as an escape from the mind games.
“I had to keep busy any way I could,” Andrew recalls. “So two of my closest jailhouse friends and me started to prepare for Thanksgiving. By prepare, I mean we began stealing food from the mess hall two weeks out. We took a little bit at a time until we had enough