Something Else (5)

Chapter FIVE – Frankie Meets Dominic

Blackjack is a little enclave set between Florissant and Spanish Lake, two suburbs of St. Louis in north county. Frankie’s grandma on his father’s side lived there in a ramshackle house down a dirt road behind the only gas station in the small town. Antonia Tedesco was a first-generation Italian immigrant who came over from the Calabria with her husband Angelo, just before the second world war. They settled in the city of St. Louis initially but moved to the suburbs where Angelo found work doing what he had done in Italy, working as a mechanic.

Now at almost eighty years old and a widow, she lived a modest life in the old house, visited only by her only grandson once a week. He would bring her groceries, Pall Mall cigarettes, and two bottles of Chianti. Her eyesight and hearing were both failing, and the visits were about the only thing that kept her going.

Frankie was a good grandson, taking on the responsibility that his father Guido had held before Dad went to prison for receiving stolen goods, car theft and gun possession. At sixty-two years old with another six years left on his ten-year sentence Frankie wasn’t sure that Dad would see the light of freedom before he died. Dad had lung cancer.

Behind Antonia’s house was a garage that was never used for anything but storage. Frankie’s Dad had used it for storage too many times. Storage for all sorts of stolen property over the years, unbeknownst to his mother who always turned a blind eye to anything shady done by her favorite son.

The police cleared out a good portion of the property after a search warrant was issued allowing them to build a case. Guido pled guilty in order to spare his mother from going to jail since she was the owner of record on the property. The cops got the DA to keep Mrs. Tedesco out of it.

Frankie had volunteered to sort out the rest of the old unwanted junk that had accumulated over the years and Antonia was all too happy to have him around and let him help. But Frankie followed in Dad’s footsteps. Neither one was made to hold down a steady job. Guido never really tried to follow the straight and narrow but after he went to jail son Frankie at least decided to try.

It was hard for him to focus. His mother had been told that he was “hyperactive” which was common in young boys at the time. There was drug he could take but she didn’t believe in taking drugs and besides, they couldn’t afford it.

At sixteen he got a part-time job at a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant across the street from the high school. He just couldn’t get there in time for his 5:00 pm start time three nights per week. He lasted a month and they let him go but he wasn’t deterred. He walked down the street to the movie theater and was hired to clean up, empty the trash and do odd jobs. They were less strict about arriving for work on time and he lasted a few months longer until he got caught taking a case of Milk Duds out the back door.

At eighteen he graduated from high school though his grade point average was barely high enough to get the diploma. His mother suggested that he go into the Army, and he actually went down to the recruiting office and spoke to a Staff Sergeant. Without skills they only offered Airborne Infantry.  But the Viet Nam war was raging. He saw it, along with all the anti-war protests, every night on the evening news. He said, “Not me, man. No fucking way!”

Boosting stereos and CB radios from unsuspecting car owners was easy money. It was especially easy to steal them because so many were installed under the dashboard. With a screwdriver and a pocketknife, you could be in and out in less than two minutes. And there was a ready market with some of his old high school buddies and their friends and acquaintances.

When you put your hot goods on the street you make lots of friends. Who doesn’t want a good deal on gently used electronics? Within six months of his graduation Frankie was approached by an Italian guy named Dominic who was accompanied by two tough looking sidekicks.

Dominic found out that Frankie hung around at the bowling alley and surprised Frankie who was at the pinball machine. One of the goons with Dominic pulled the plug on the machine just as Frankie was shooting his last ball on a game he was close to winning.

“What the fuck?” Frankie yelled as he turned to see a short but sturdy man with dark hair and a slightly bent nose staring at him with a big smile.

“Are you Frankie Tedesco?” the man asked.

“Who wants to know?” Frankie said showing false bravado.

“Let me ask you again. Are you Frankie Tedesco?”

“’Yeah. Who are you?”

“I’m your new partner.”

“I don’t need no partner.”

“I say your do. You are gettin’ quite a reputation out here in the burbs. People are talkin. ‘For hot electronics see Frankie Tedesco.’”

“So, what. I’m makin’ a buck here and there. I ain’t hurtin’ nobody. What’s it to you?”

“Well, here’s the deal, sport. I can help you make a lot more money. You can expand your little business with my help, and we can both reap the benefits. I can be your goombah.”

“And what’s your take?”

“I get half of everything.”

“How is that fair?”

“I feed you the information on the jobs and you get it done. I provide you with the names of people who will buy the goods from you, so you don’t have to sell them on the street. I have a cop on the payroll out here too, so he can keep you from getting’ pinched. Your turf is North County, everything north of 270 and south of the Missouri River, from Hazelwood to Spanish Lake. You’re gonna triple your money within a month. Quadruple it in two months.”

Frankie was skeptical and it showed on his face. “Who are you?”

“I’m Dominic, your new partner.”

“Ok. I guess we can work together. Let’s see how it goes.”

“No, no. You need to understand. You are in or you are out. And if you are out, you will be way out. You will be out of business and unable to do business…physically, I mean.”

“All right. I’m in.”

Dominic offered his hand and Frankie extended his. The deal was done.