by Patricia Bellomo | Jul 6, 2011 | Mob Blog
Delray Daze, Delray Beach, July 5, 2011
[dcs_p]Big festival this weekend, and we had a houseful. Angie’s sisters came in from Tampa with their families, and every room in the house was filled. Fireworks Monday night over the beach — awesome. Because of last year’s oil spill in the gulf there wasn’t a barge available and the show almost didn’t happen. The city was about forty grand short, and everybody in the business community chipped in, including me. But what a turnout. Our little seaside village of Delray Beach was packed. Victor did ribs and chicken and grilled mahi-mahi and barbecued shrimp, and we ate and drank like kings. Everybody was happy, even Stella.
by Patricia Bellomo | Jun 29, 2011 | Mob Blog
Party on the Stella di Mare, June 29, 2011
[dcs_p]Anthony and his family flew in yesterday, getting geared up for the big holiday weekend. In case you’ve forgotten, Anthony is my cousin. The Feds have an idea he’s running what’s left of the New Orleans mob, and they like to tail him. But it looks like they might have their own families to attend to, because we’re not seeing any familiar faces hanging about. Of course, it was family night last night–I took everybody to Trattoria Romana in Boca. We had the private room in back, so if the Feds were on the job, they weren’t seeing much.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Today it’s a boy’s day–no wives allowed. Victor’s setting up a party on the Stella, and we’re cruising down to Miami. My girl’s bringing along a friend for Anthony, and Buddy Shuler and his wild chick, Rachel–the one he things is an angel–are expected. Nathan’s invited, of course. We’ll pick him up in Miami and probably hang at Franco’s this evening, and there will be plenty of takers, but Nathan won’t play. He never gives in to temptation, and I really don’t know how he does it.[/dcs_p]
by Patricia Bellomo | Jun 28, 2011 | Mob Blog
The Collector, Detroit, June 28, 2011
[dcs_p]I ran into a guy I haven’t seen in years, and we started reminiscing about the old days. My buddy started as a collector, and he tells me about going downtown on Friday afternoons. This was in the seventies and eighties, when bookmaking was a lucrative business. My friend always wore an overcoat and boots, and he’d hit the black neighborhoods first. “Never had any trouble,” he says. “The main man was there … with his muscle, and he’d just hand it over. Always polite and respectful. A real businessman.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p] He tells me about going into the upscale offices at the BUHL Building–one of Detroit’s toniest addresses. “A hundred dimes on a Friday, easy,” he says. “In fact, it was probably the low end.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]The guy he was working for was under indictment–who wasn’t back then? Anyway, my buddy would stuff the money in his boots and the inside pockets of his overcoat. During peak season he’d be carrying two-hundred grand. One day he takes it to his boss’s house, and his boss is sitting there with a guy he’s been seeing all over town. “This man was in every bar and bowling alley and rib joint I went into,” he tells me. “I walk in with all this cash, start laying it out on the table. Turns out this man was a Fed. He never did any thing about it–never said a word–and I’m wondering if maybe he wasn’t on the take.”[/dcs_p]
by Patricia Bellomo | Jun 24, 2011 | Mob Blog
Angie’s Birthday, Delray Beach, June 24, 2011
[dcs_p]Angie comes up from her beach walk with her sunhat in hand. Her face is flushed from exerting herself in the heat–the humidity is thick this morning– and her T-shirt is damp with perspiration. Angie knows I have an early meeting, and she’s surprised to see me waiting on the terrace. “Happy Birthday, baby,” I say.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]I wish I could say I remembered on my own, but I’d be lying. I pay a secretary for this, and she’s made damn sure I didn’t forget. Emily has ordered roses to be delivered sometime today, even though Angie’s favorite flower is the hibiscus, and there are dozens of red-hibiscus in pots on the terrace. I ask her: “Where do you want to go tonight?”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]I already know. Angie’s a homebody, and she doesn’t want to go to a restaurant. “The kids are meeting here,” she says. “Is Victor available?”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]She means is Victor available to cook, and I say yes, because Victor is always available. I give her two tickets to a tony spa in California–she can take her sister. “Oh Louie, it’s so sweet,” she says. “You spoil me.”[/dcs_p]
by Patricia Bellomo | Jun 18, 2011 | Mob Blog
Full Moon Party
Full Moon Party: Delray Beach, June 18, 2011
Stella tells me, “Daddy, we’re doing a full moon party on Friday.” The full moon was actually Wednesday, and we had a lopsided waning moon over the Atlantic last night, but it was beautiful and definitely worth having a party for, especially since it was Stella’s idea. Victor grilled yellow-fin with angel-hair on the side, and Angie and my daughter-in-law drank too much Chardonnay and got silly. All in all we had about thirty guests on the terrace. Stella looked beautiful, and she was so happy–even though her rat of a husband was at the Isle Casino in Pompano and didn’t show till later. Everybody asked about him, but nobody missed him, least of all me.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]Full Moon Party is a little anecdote told from the perspective of Patricia Bellomo’s main character, mobster Louie Morelli. For more of Louie, check out Bellomo’s books. Available on Amazon, B&N, and on all e-readers.
by Patricia Bellomo | Jun 14, 2011 | Mob Blog
The Proposal, June 14, 2011
[dcs_p]Baskets on one television, and hockey going on another, and my daughter’s boyfriend decides to propose. They’ve only known each other a month, and they’re not kids, so they certainly don’t need my approval. But here he comes, on the final day of the playoff’s, when all my money is on Miami, and Dallas is kicking butt. I’m getting agitated, and he shows up with flowers and a ring. My daughter’s beaming–and I’d be happy for her if I thought it was going to last. Hell, if he had any money, I’d be happy for myself. Let somebody else pay her bills. But he doesn’t have two nickels to rub together, and I think he’s looking for a free ride.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Anyway, he can’t even wait till halftime. He’s got to come right into my face and show me the ring, and tell me how much he loves my daughter. “Good for you,” I say. I’m trying not to be rude, but he’s blocking my view, and I have to ask him to move. If this guy wants to be in my family, he’d better catch on quick. The Proposal, June 14, 2011[/dcs_p]
