Chapter 6 - The Mafia King’s Choice
The arrests spread quickly.
Pike.
Six corrections officers.
Two local detectives.
A union official.
Several businessmen.
Then three attorneys connected to Sorrento.
The ledger cracked open a network that had survived for decades.
Bellandi met Walter in the prison library.
“You’re leaving Friday.”
Walter looked up from a book.
“So I’ve heard.”
“Charges dropped?”
“Conviction vacated.”
Bellandi nodded.
“Good.”
Walter studied him.
“You don’t sound happy.”
Bellandi sat.
“My attorney says prosecutors want to talk to me.”
“About Sorrento?”
“About everything.”
Walter understood.
“You’re thinking about cooperating.”
Bellandi laughed once.
“Marco Bellandi, federal witness.”
“You hate the idea.”
“I hate most ideas.”
Walter smiled.
Bellandi didn’t.
“If I cooperate, men go away for life.”
“You’re already serving life.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Bellandi looked at him.
“Because I built my reputation on silence.”
Walter leaned forward.
“Your father built his last years trying to change.”
Bellandi’s jaw tightened.
“Don’t use him against me.”
“I’m not.”
Walter paused.
“I’m reminding you.”
Bellandi looked down.
“My father wanted me out, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
Walter nodded.
“He was selling assets.”
Bellandi stared.
“He never told me.”
“He planned to.”
Silence.
Bellandi finally said:
“I became exactly what he was trying to save me from.”
Walter answered:
“You’re still here.”
Bellandi looked up.
“So?”
“So do something different.”
Bellandi studied him.
“You really think men like me change?”
Walter smiled slightly.
“No.”
Bellandi frowned.
Walter continued.
“I think men decide.”
May you like
That stayed with Bellandi.
The next morning, Marco Bellandi requested a meeting with federal investigators.
