Mob Blog: The Player, March11, 2014
Mob Blog: The Player, March 11, 2014
[dcs_p]A few years back when my oldest son, Tony, got married, he proudly announced that he was going to remain faithful to his wife. Tells me he’s not going to be a player like his old man. Yeah okay, I said. Tony was always his mother’s favorite, and she might have influenced him, but after seven years, two kids, and a wife who can barely zip up her blue jeans, he’s suddenly a player.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Before we go any further with this, let me just say that Tony is a great son. A man couldn’t ask for better, but sometimes I wonder if he’s my kid. I mean, he’s got it all–looks, money, personality. He could really be a player–get any girl he wants. But what does he do? He gets involved with a Craigslist escort–paying for it when he could get better for free. When I asked him to explain his reasoning, he said he didn’t want a “personal involvement”. Well, he got one alright. A couple weeks after playing hanky panky with the hooker, he gets a FedEx at the office. You guessed it: A dozen compromising photos along with a request for ten thousand dollars.[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Too embarrassed to come to me, Tony goes to Victor. He says, “You know I have to go to your old man with this.”[/dcs_p][dcs_p]
Tony does know, and he’s not happy about it. But I’m the one who has to hire someone to track down this girl and her loser boyfriend, and then, after determining that it is a low-level operation, I send Victor and one of my old NOPD contacts to pay a little house call. They put an end to the blackmailing business, but their services cost more than ten grand. A sheepish Tony offers to pay, and I give him a hug and say, “Forget about it. What are fathers for?”[/dcs_p][dcs_p] Patricia Bellomo is the author of the “Louie Morelli” series. Her books include Louie Morelli’s Mistress, Stella di Mare, and Louie Morelli’s Daughter. Books available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and on all e-readers. The Player is written in the voice of her main character, Louie Morelli.
