New York Chief of Detectives (34 page)

Bryan Flannery was grinning as he sat down in front of the big glass desk. He leaned back in the expensive leather chair and then spoke with a chuckle in his voice. “Chief, you have gone from pulling rabbits out of a hat, to pulling them out of the walls. I’d like to congratulate you, my friend.”

“I should be the one handing out the congratulations. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and was just too tired and frustrated to get up.”

“I have one question for you, Chief. Why did you key the radio and hold it down instead of just calling us?”

“Mr. Moneybags was throwing all those offers out there about millions of dollars. I would say that was a pretty good indication of guilt.”

“I heard it, but why not just call us in to arrest him from the beginning?”

“The ‘George’ tact channel is recorded, and I wanted to catch every bit of it. We may have to get the lab to enhance it, but it is quite incriminating.”

“Wow, I never thought of that. That’s brilliant. Does he know?”

“I’m certain he does not. In fact I’m sure he and his million-dollar lawyers will insist he is innocent. They’ll try to suppress everything we have in this case. I hope this will make a difference.”

“I suspect it will help, Chief. A blind man will be able to see through any alibi or defense he tries to come up with.”

Bryan had the Crime Scene Unit come back and photograph the passageway. It was a very narrow staircase that emptied out into a hall maintenance closet on the thirty-eighth floor. It was locked from the outside and Harrison couldn’t get out. Pat wondered if Joey DeCarlo had intentionally locked Harrison inside, but he couldn’t think of a reason why. There was also an exit on the thirty-ninth floor, but it would’ve been crawling with cops. Pat wanted to make sure that they weren’t missing something.

“Is the thirty-ninth floor still secured, Bryan?”

“No, Chief, we locked that up a couple of hours ago.”

“Then I have a question. If Harrison was trying to escape, why would he come back up here when he could have snuck out the thirty-ninth floor?”

“Good question. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that he came back to his office for a reason. He wanted or needed to get something. There’s not much in here of any significance, even in his desk.”

“That’s true, Chief, but now most executives keep their information in a computer file so there are not a lot of paper files.”

“I really don’t think he was coming after files. Let’s get ESU back up here. I want to tear the place apart. He had a secret passageway right out of the movies. Maybe there are more secrets here.”

“I guess it’s worth a try.”

CHAPTER 73

Saturday, April 17-Day 16

Kings Building- 645 Park Avenue

Borough of Manhattan, New York

2100 Hours

By
2100 hours, a full ESU team was there, along with some detectives from the Safe and Loft squad. Pat explained the passageway and that he suspected there might be other hidden compartments or safes in the office. The office was largely paneled in mirrored glass. The ESU guys started tapping around to see if any of the walls sounded different. They had no success. The room was so clean that they couldn’t look for dust disruptions that might reveal a secret hiding place. They were just before busting the place up, when one of the safe and loft detectives spoke.

“Okay, I might have something here. Behind this plant is an RF antenna. It’s an antenna for some type of wireless device.”

They began to trace the wire and saw it was going to a nearby wall.

“There has to be something that transmits to this antenna.”

Everyone concentrated on the desk. The pictures on the wall had already been removed, and they found nothing. There was large, a modern, chrome and glass clock on the wall behind Harrison’s desk, and Pat closely inspected it. He saw a small black button on the bottom of the clock that looked out of place. He pressed it, and the glass on the opposite wall began to move, revealing a bank vault-type door with a touch code pad on it.

“I think we found what he was going for.”

Bryan was still smiling.

“Good call, Chief. Now what do we do?”

One of the Safe and Loft detectives spoke up. “I know a guy that puts these things in. I’ll bet he can open it. If not, ESU has plenty of cutting torches.”

Pat responded. “Give him a call!”   

Bryan offered to stay at the scene. Pat agreed, and decided it was time to make some notifications. He was surprised that he had not received any calls. Pat and Dickie were driving back to One PP. Pat pulled his cell phone out and saw that it was dark. Obviously, it had a dead battery.

Pat plugged in his power cord and saw he had several messages. The first one was from the commissioner.

“Patty, this is Longstreet. My driver just told me that you had lost Harrison. Please call me ASAP. I can’t believe this!”

The next call was from Angie Wilson.

“Hi Boss. The commissioner is really looking for you, and you’re not answering your phone. I think you better call him.”

The third call was another call from Longstreet.

“Patty, the mayor is back in town, and he is all over us for losing Harrison. He needs some information!”

Pat decided to let Dickie go home. He would just call the commissioner when he got home. Dickie dropped Pat off, and he went inside. He loosened his tie, went into his study, and dialed the commissioner.

“Longstreet.”

“It’s Pat O’Connor.”

“Where in the hell have you been, Patty? The mayor is all over my ass.”

“Arresting Donald Harrison.”

“You got him?”

“I did.”

“I guess I should’ve known. The mayor is freaking out and obviously is still trying to find some way to blame us for all of this.”

“Well, that’s just great. I appreciate the atta-boys!”

“He wants to do a press conference at 1000 in the morning, Patty.”

“I’ll be in at 7:30 and can fill everyone in.”

“Good job, Patty.”

“Thanks, Commissioner.”

CHAPTER 74

Saturday, April 18-Day 17

New York City Hall

Borough of Manhattan, New York

0730 Hours

Pat
briefed the mayor along with Commissioner Longstreet and Chief Abernathy. The mayor was stunned by Donald Harrison’s involvement, but never apologized to Pat or the commissioner about his handling of the case. A press conference was scheduled for 1000 hours. The mayor insisted that the press conference be held at City Hall, because the media room was much bigger than the one at One PP.

At precisely 1000 hours, His Honor the Mayor, Police Commissioner Robert Longstreet, and Pat walked to the podium in the large room. The room was packed with reporters and cameramen, and media lights were brightly lighting the stage. The mayor positioned himself at the podium first.

“As mayor of the City of New York, I am proud of the hard work of New York City’s ‘finest.’ Our police department, under the leadership of Commissioner Robert Longstreet and the command of Chief Abernathy and Chief of Detectives O’Connor, has done a magnificent job investigating the loss of a New York City Detective and brought this investigation to a swift conclusion. This has been a difficult investigation, and once again the NYPD has proven that it is the finest police organization in the world. I now turn this over to Police Commissioner Robert Longstreet.”

Longstreet approached the podium and looked at the large crowd. He hesitated for a few seconds and then spoke. “Criminal investigations can be quite complex. They place demands on a police organization that can often be overwhelming. This is greatly increased when the victim is also a New York City Police Officer. In this case, our detectives followed the evidence until it led them to the identity of the suspects involved. This culminated in an arrest yesterday, but the investigation is continuing. At this time, I will turn the press conference over to the person most responsible for the excellence demonstrated in this investigation, our Chief of Detectives, Patrick O’Connor.”

As Pat walked to the podium, the back door of the press room opened and all the task force members led by Captain Bryan Flannery entered. Each of them had their shields displayed around their neck or on their breast pocket. Following them was Maggie Parker, who was proudly displaying her U. S. Secret Service Badge. FBI ASAC, Mike Wilson walked in behind Maggie also displaying his gold FBI badge. He was followed by the U. S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York and the Special Agents in Charge of the ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also with their federal badges displayed. Pat’s heart was deeply touched, and he felt a lump in his throat as he began to speak.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Seventeen days ago, Detective Second Grade Anthony P. Rodriguez came to work at the Organized Crime Control Bureau of the NYPD. During the course of his duties, he responded to the Blue Goose Cantina, located at #3 Queensland Court in Corona, Queens. He was investigating criminal activity and was brutally murdered on the scene without provocation.  His body was removed from the scene and later dumped in a vacant lot near a
transit overpass in Corona, Queens. In the subsequent investigation, a task force of NYPD Detectives was assembled under the command of Captain Bryan Flannery and assigned to my office. These task force members are here today, and I would like for them to stand.”

The task force members, including Mike Logan and Rosa Sanchez (now on administrative assignments due to their involvement in shootings) all stood.

“These are the men and women who have truly completed this investigation, and I salute them for their professionalism, dedication, and meticulous attention to detail. I also recognize our federal partners who are here. It is with great pride that we’ve established these meaningful partnerships. I thank them for their assistance in this investigation.”

Pat could see that Maggie’s eyes had welled up with tears.

“Through our investigation into the death of Detective Rodriguez, we were able not only to determine where he was killed, but we also developed several suspects through physical evidence. These suspects have been identified as the following: Donald Harrison, President and CEO of DHA International, Joseph (AKA ‘Joey’) DeCarlo, a licensed bodyguard, Salvatore Cortez, a convicted felon, and Hector Garcia, a Mexican national.

             
The suspect, Salvador Cortez, was found murdered at his apartment in Queens yesterday morning. Joey DeCarlo was killed by NYPD personnel after firing a handgun at officers attempting to arrest him. This occurred at the Kings Building, located at 645 Park Avenue, where the offices of DHA International are located.

Donald Harrison was arrested at DHA International and has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Tony Rodriguez and conspiracy to commit murder of Curtis Gee, Salvatore Cortez and Hector Garcia.

It is believed that Detective Rodriguez was brutally murdered by Hector Garcia in the presence of Donald Harrison, Joey DeCarlo and Salvator Cortez. It is believed that DeCarlo conspired with Harrison to kill Salvatore Cortez and Hector Garcia. Garcia was killed and burned in a car near Queens College

More charges are likely. Harrison is being held at Riker’s Island without bond. I know you have a lot of questions, but I want to point out that this investigation is still ongoing.  I won’t be able to answer your questions now without risking a compromise of our ability to determine the facts of this case. I thank you in advance for your patience, and I promise that more information will be released when it becomes available.”

Pat started to walk away and spotted Caroline Rodriguez seated near the back, quietly wiping her tears with a tissue. Pat remained at the podium and made his final comments.

“Finally, I appeal to you and the citizens of this great city. Tony Rodriguez made the supreme sacrifice for this city, fulfilling his oath of office as a New York City Police Detective. I ask that you keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. God bless the memory of this fine detective, and God bless the NYPD!”  

CHAPTER 75

Two Weeks Later-May 2-Day-31

Steamboat Cafe

Borough of Manhattan, New York

1900 Hours

Pat
had looked forward to dinner at the Steamboat Cafe. Maggie had agreed to pick up Caroline Rodriguez, who was joining them, It was early, and the band hadn’t started. Pat walked in the door as the band started playing an old tune he liked called “Runnin’ Wild.” There was a big sign on the bandstand “Happy Birthday, Chief O’Connor.” Pat’s birthday was the following day. He looked around the room and saw most of the task force members with their wives, husbands or significant others. Even Commissioner Longstreet and Chief Abernathy were there, with their wives. Everyone stood up and started clapping. He was overwhelmed. He saw Maggie at a table with Caroline Rodriguez. As he started walking toward them, Warren Downing and the band started playing “Happy Birthday.” Pat stopped and then went to Maggie’s table. In addition to Caroline, Bryan Flannery and his wife were seated at the same table. Pat hugged everyone and sat down at the table while the band resumed playing. He turned to Maggie.