The Other Brooklyn: Joey Toranetti Trilogy (4 page)

16

J
ohn
told my father about the two detectives and when Joey gave his name they asked
if he was your son. My father said, “Did Joey tell them?”

“Yes” said John.

My father said, “That’s good so that means I know
them enough to work things out if need be.”

My father said to me, “How are you doing Joey?”

I said, “Okay.”

"Did you
get a good look at the guy who did the shooting?”

I said,
“Yes.”

“Did he get a
good look at you when he shot at you?”

“I think so.”

“Look
everything is going to be okay. Arthur is checking who the shooter was and who
the person in the car was. Once we find out we can then take action against the
shooter.”

At that time
the phone rang at the terminal. John answered the phone, “Hello,—Oh hi Arthur
this is John,—yes Tony is here,—okay hold on.”

“Yes Arthur
did you find out anything? What?—Do we know who set it up?—Okay, thank you.—Yes
Joey is okay, thank you.”

My father
looked at me and John and said, “The person in the car was Carlos Barone’s
nephew, Gino Barone.”

I asked my father,
“Who is Carlos Barone?”

He said, “He
is very high up in the South Brooklyn Family. Gino was a real loud mouth and
always causing trouble with everyone. We do not know who hired the shooter or
who he is yet. This could be a personal hit.”

“Joey lets go
home and then we will figure out what to do.”

“Okay, but
what about my car?”

“Leave it
here and we will come back tomorrow to get it.” John said, “I will bring it to
you tomorrow.”

My father
said, “Okay, thanks John. Oh and John watch yourself when you leave tonight,
this guy may still be in the area.”

“I will Tony,
thank you.”

17

At Home

W
hen
we arrived at the house my father said, “I think it would be wise if you didn’t
start work on Monday.”

“Why, I
asked.”

“If this
person actually saw you he will be at the terminal watching for you. If he sees
you he will follow you and get rid of a witness, meaning you.”

“If I don’t
go to work then I am showing that guy that I am scared and I will lose any
respect for myself and I won’t be able to go anywhere. If you have a couple of
your friends follow me and he does try anything you will know who he is and
catch him.”

“That’s
taking a big chance Joey.”

“I know, but
how else will we be able to catch him. No one is admitting they know who hired
him to shoot Gino Barone.”

“Okay, I will
call Arthur and see what he has found out. In the meantime I want you to think
about this and I really mean think like an adult not a hotheaded kid.”

“Okay Dad.”

At about this
time my Uncle Tommy showed up. When he came in the house he said, “Are you
doing okay Joey?”

“Yes Uncle
Tommy. I am okay. Do you know who may have hired the shooter yet?”

“Not yet. Is
your dad here?”

“Yes in his
office calling Arthur.”

Tommy went
into the office and closed the door. He was in there for about an hour when my
father and Tommy came out. They were both looking at me and my father said come
into the office with us. I walked into the office and they told me to sit down.
I did.

My father
said, “Joey what you want me to do is to take a chance that this person may be
able to shoot you. I am not comfortable with that. Uncle Tommy said that he
wants to be at the terminal on Monday to see that you get a friend of his to
ride with you. He also wants you to bring this with you. My father pulled out a
gun. We are going to the range today and get you accustomed to shooting it.
This is for protection. Uncle Tommy’s friend will be armed also. This is the
only way I will allow you to go to work on Monday. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

At that time
the doorbell rang and my father opened the door, it was Detective Williams and
Detective Meyers. “Hi Antonio.”

“Hello
detectives.”

“Can we come
in? We have some more questions about last night.” The detectives looked at me and
said, “Are you sure you didn’t see or hear anything last night?”

My father
said, “Why don’t you and Detective Meyers come into my office and we can talk
there.”

My mother, in
the meantime, wanted to know what was going on. My father looked at me and shook
his head to signal yes. I told her everything that had happened last night and
she had an absolute fit. I was having a hard time trying to calm her down when
my father came out and told her everything is going to be okay. She finally
calmed down and went into the kitchen.

In my
father’s office everyone sat down and my father told the detectives he had told
me to say he didn’t see or hear anything until he was able to find out more
about the incident. My father told me to come into the office and tell the
detectives what I saw. I did. I also said that the shooter shot at me but
missed because I ducked behind a tractor as soon as he pointed his gun. The
bullet hit the tractor.

Detective
Williams asked, “Did you get a good look at him?”

“It was dark,
but he was white, about six feet tall, and he looked like he had a good build.”

“Could you
recognize him from a mug shot or a line- up?”

“I don’t
know.”

Detective
Williams said, to my father, “Do not do anything on your own.”

“Well, my son
is going to start work tomorrow and we think that the shooter may have had a
good look at him and will be on the lookout for him. Tommy said he would put
his body guard with him in the truck for safety reasons.”

Detective
Williams said, “What if I dressed as a truck driver and went along with your
son as a helper? I would feel better with this because I could have an unmarked
car follow us also. If the shooter does show up we are in a better position to
handle the situation. What do you think?”

My dad looked
at Tommy and they gave each other a look and they both said, “Okay.”

I was kind of
glad because I didn’t want to carry a gun since I don’t have a license and I
could go to jail.

Detective
Williams said, “Good. What time should I be there?”

“At 7:00
a.m.”

Tommy said,
“I will set everything up with the terminal manager.”

“Good, said
the detective. I will see you there at 7:00 a.m.”

18

Uncle Tommy

U
ncle
Tommy, his wife Julia, his daughter Maria, and Maria’s friend Joanna came over
for dinner that night.

Julia is
blond, blue eyes, with a stout build, and is very attentive to Uncle Tommy. She
listens to every word he says and does whatever he asks.

Maria is a
very beautiful young girl with blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, and will
someday steal someone’s heart. She is a junior in high school and very smart.
Maria said, “Joey this is my friend Joanna McDonald.”

Joanna is
about two years older than Maria. Very beautiful, light brown hair down to her
waist, beautiful hazel eyes, about five feet two inches, well-endowed and very
sexy. I was always afraid of girls and could never approach them. I would shake
and get tongue tied. This girl made me almost pass out trying to even say
hello. I knew inside that I had to get my courage up because I really wanted to
get to know her. But as usual I stumbled for words and just said, “Hi.”

She gave this
great big smile and said “Hi” back to me. I think I started to get real red in
the face because she laughed a little. I felt like a total fool.

As the night
went on my father and my uncle went into my father’s office to talk about the
next day. Maria came over to me, away from her mom and friend and said, “Joanna
thinks you are very nice and would like to get to know you. So, please get your
act together and speak to her.”

I said, “I
can’t I am too scared of making a fool of myself.”

Maria laughed
and said, “You’re not afraid of fighting the biggest person, telling someone
off, and being shot at, but you are afraid to talk to a beautiful girl. You are
nuts. Go over there and talk to her, I will protect you.” She laughed again.

I went over
to Joanna and smiled. I said “If I am acting like a fool I am sorry but I find
it very hard to speak to a beautiful woman.”

She said, “I
do not think you are acting like a fool because I too have a hard time talking to
a man.” We both looked at each other and laughed a little. We started to talk
about what we were going to do about jobs and she told me she was going to go
to college and wanted to be a teacher.

I told her “I
didn’t want to go to college I wanted to be a Teamster and drive trucks.”

She said,
“They make good money. Your uncle can probably help you get a job.”

“He has
gotten me a job I start tomorrow morning.”

As the night
went on we started to talk even more and just before they were leaving I asked
if she would like to go to a movie sometime.

She said,
“Yes, I would love to.”

I said
goodnight to everyone and told my father about Joanna. He said, “That’s great
just don’t talk about your situation at this time. She will not understand.
Okay?”

I said yes.
“Then I said goodnight Dad and Mom.”

19

The Job

I
arrived at Transamerica at 7:00 a.m. and saw Detective Williams outside the
terminal gate. I went over to him and said “Hello.”

He said, “Hello” back and said to call
him by his first name, Bill.

There were a
lot of guys hanging around and one of them said to us, “Hi I’m Gino.” We said
hi and introduced ourselves. Gino said, “The coffee truck will be here soon.
The coffee is okay but he has good breakfast sandwiches.”

John, the
steward, came over and said to Detective Williams, “What is your first name?”

“Bill.”

“Good. The
dispatcher will start giving out work around 7:30 a.m. You guys will be the
last ones called. Joey, do you remember how to drive the truck?”

“Yes I
remember.”

“I was originally
going to let you go out with a driver to help you out, but I was told what is
happening with Bill this morning. All I can say is be very careful out there,
the both of you.”

“We will” I
responded.

“Great, I
will see you later.”

I received my
tractor number and my delivery instructions around 8:05 a.m. and was given
instructions on how to get to the location. I was given the telephone number to
call the dispatcher if there were any delays.

We went out
back and found the tractor that was assigned to me and I noticed it was the
same tractor with the bullet hole in the fender. I showed it to Bill and
started to laugh. If the shooter didn’t see me he would definitely recognize
the tractor he hit when he shot at me.

We hooked up
the tractor to the trailer and checked all the lights and started on our way. I
was a little nervous but once I started to move I relaxed and everything went
smoothly. I drove slowly so I wouldn’t make a mistake.

Everything
went well and by the end of the day we didn’t have any incidents. We did the
same thing for the next three days. On the fourth night, the detective said, “I
do not believe the shooter knows who you are so I believe everything is going
to be okay.”

I called my
father and told him “The detective believes that the shooter doesn’t know who I
am and that he doesn’t need to be with me anymore.”

My father
said, “What do you think Joey?”

“I am not
sure. What if he didn’t come after me because I had someone in the truck?”

“I think you are
right Joey. When you come home we will talk about it. I’ll see you then.”

“Okay.”

20

At Home

I
got home around 6:00 p.m. and saw my mom cooking dinner. It smelled real good.
I said, “Hi Mom, what’s for dinner that smells so good.”

She said,
“Chicken Parmigianino with Cavatelli pasta and steamed broccoli.” That sounds
great.

She said, “Go
get your father & brother and then wash up. We will be eating in five
minutes.”

“Okay will
do.” I yelled up to Rocco and went to my father's office and told him, “Mom wants
us to wash up because dinner will be ready in five minutes.”

He said,
“Okay. Joey, don’t say anything to your mom about what the detective said
okay.”

“Yes.”

“Good. We
will talk after dinner when your uncle gets here.”

“Okay Dad.”

After dinner
my brother Rocco asked if he could go to his friends and study for a test. My
father said, “Of course you can Rocco.” Then he turned to me and said, “Come
into the office and I will tell you what your uncle and I have decided.” I
followed my father into his office and closed the door.

“Joey, your
uncle and I have decided that you are most likely right about the person you
saw shoot Gino Barone. Your uncle and I will follow you about a block behind
you in two different cars. We will have walkie-talkies to communicate with each
other. We will take different routes and tell each other where you are. We feel
that this is the best way to handle the situation. If someone comes near your
truck and tries to get in I want you to use this baton and hit the person as
hard as you can. “Can you do that?”

“Yes, I can. But it will be awkward to reach
across the truck.”

“No one will try to get in while the truck is moving
so you will be able to defend yourself.”

“Okay. If he does try to get in while the truck is
moving I will turn the wheel hard in the opposite direction so he loses his
balance.”

“Good thinking Joey. Now remember once we see what
is happening, your uncle or I will be there immediately and take care of that
person.”

“Okay Dad.” I hope he shows up so we can end this
thing. I am starting to get real nervous not knowing what is going to happen
and when.

“I know son. Just hang in there.”

“Okay.”

When we finished talking I asked if I could use
the phone to call Joanna.

My father said, “Are you going to ask her out?”

I said, “No I just want to say hello.”

“Joey, I heard Maria say to you she likes you and
that you should get up the nerve to ask her out.”

“I know but I get all nervous when I try to ask
her.”

“Just come out and say, ‘Would you like to go to
the movies on Saturday night?’ I am amazed that you have a hard time with
girls.”

“Okay, I will ask her to go to the movies.”

I called Joanna and said “Hello.” Then I started
to trip over my words when I tried to ask her out.

She said, “Joey, are you trying to ask me out?”

I replied nervously, “Yes.”

“When and where would you like to take me?”

I said, “Saturday night to the movies.”

She said, “I would love to go with you. Now wasn’t
that easy?”

“Yes.” When we hung up I jumped in the air and
said yea!!

My father said, “I guess you asked her and she
said yes.”

“Yes, but with her help.” Then I said goodnight to
my father and mother and went to my room.