The Other Brooklyn: Joey Toranetti Trilogy Read online

  The Hitman

  Life in Brooklyn

  Bob Ieva

  DocUmeant Publishing

  244 5th Avenue, Suite G200

  NY, NY 10001

  Phone: 6462334366

  http://www.DocUmeantPublishing.com

  ©2015 Bob Ieva All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without the prior permission of the copyright holder, except as provided by USA copyright law.

  Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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  DocUmeant Designs

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  Dedication

  To Linda, for her belief and support in my endeavor.

  Thank you to Philip Marks for all your work in editing this book.

  Contents

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: The Beginning

  CHAPTER 2: The Aftermath

  CHAPTER 3: The Meeting

  CHAPTER 4: Larry’s Friend Pete

  CHAPTER 5: First Day of High School

  CHAPTER 6: Dean’s Office

  CHAPTER 7: In Class

  CHAPTER 8: Antonio & Luke

  CHAPTER 9: Brooklyn

  CHAPTER 10: My Father

  CHAPTER 11: Getting a Job

  CHAPTER 12: Uncle Tommy

  CHAPTER 13: Saturday Morning

  CHAPTER 14: Driving

  CHAPTER 15: My Father

  CHAPTER 16: Arthur, My Father

  CHAPTER 17: At Home

  CHAPTER 18: Uncle Tommy

  CHAPTER 19: The Job

  CHAPTER 20: At Home

  CHAPTER 21: Work

  CHAPTER 22: At Home Again

  CHAPTER 23: Arthur

  CHAPTER 24: Date Night

  CHAPTER 25: Time Moves On

  CHAPTER 26: The Real Deal

  CHAPTER 27: Looking for Larry & Pete

  CHAPTER 28: Police Station

  CHAPTER 29: Home

  CHAPTER 30: The District Attorney

  CHAPTER 31: Meeting with Mr. Barone

  The Beginning

  It all started in 1952. My name is Joseph Toranetti. I was 13 years old, very short and husky, brown eyes and jet black hair. Being very head strong, I was not afraid of anything or anyone. My brother, Rocco, was slightly taller than I was, very thin, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was 11 years old.

  One day he came home from school crying. I asked what was wrong. He said, “Some kids took my books.”

  I said, “Do you know who they were?”

  “They were in your grade.”

  “Will you know them if they are there?”

  He said, “Yes.” My mother told me to help him get his books back. My mother was a small person with blue eyes and blond hair. She was always afraid of what people thought—that made her very nervous.

  The school was only two blocks from our house in Brooklyn so we got there pretty fast. When we arrived there were five kids playing in the school yard. Rocco pointed at the two kids who took his books. I noticed that one kid was taller than I was, his name was Larry Campoella. The other was about my size, his name was Pete. I didn’t know his last name.

  I asked very nicely, “Did you take my brothers books?”

  The taller kid, Larry, said, “Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?”

  “Well I would like them back please.”

  Larry said, “No,” and laughed. I turned my back on him. Then I turned back as fast as I could, hit Larry as hard as I could and he went down like a ton of bricks. His buddy, Pete came running over to help and I kicked him in the groin so hard that he went down screaming like a little girl.

  I grabbed Larry by his shirt, pulled him up and asked him again where the books were. He said, “They are in the bushes in back of the school.”

  I said, “Let’s get them.”

  Larry started to cry and said, “Okay.” He went into the bushes picked up the books and handed them to me.

  I said, “Thank you!” Then I helped him out of the bushes and when he was on the sidewalk I told him, “If you or your friends ever bother my brother again you will never see another daylight.”

  The Aftermath

  The next day I arrived at school and was told by a friend of mine that he heard that I beat up the school bully. I said, “Well he had it coming.” I was then told by my teacher that the principal wanted to see me. I went down to the Principal’s Office and saw Larry, Peter, and a man I didn’t know sitting there. This man was big and had a way about him that I did not like. He had a short sleeve shirt on and I could see a tattoo that looked like the head of a horse with a frame around the horseshoe around its neck. I was introduced to him by the principal.

  “Joey this is Luke, Larry’s father. He wants to know why you hit his son so hard and kicked his friend in the groin.”

  I asked, “Didn’t he tell you?” Luke answered, “No.”

  I said, “I believe that he is the one to tell you what happened.”

  Luke said to me, “I know your dad and I will be summoning him to come to my office. I can tell you this, he will not like it. You see your father knows who I am and he will be very upset with you after we talk. Now tell me why you hit him.”

  So I said, “Again, I am not going to tell you why I hit your son or his friend, they need to do that and I need to go to class.” So I left the office and went to my class.

  I knew I was in big trouble with my father since the people he knows are really tough and they control the neighborhood.

  After school I waited for my brother and we went straight home. I told my mother, Rosa, what had happened and she got all upset. She told me, “I just wanted you to get his books back. I didn’t say to beat anyone up. Now your father is going to be in a lot of trouble with Luke Campoella. He runs this area.”

  That night my father, Antonio Toranetti, came home and my mother told him what had happened. My father wasn’t very tall but he was very strong. He said to me, “Why did you hit Luke’s son and his son’s friend?”

  After I told him there was a long pause, then he said, “I will handle this before he even calls me. His son had no right to bother your brother but you should have used more control and tried to negotiate getting your brothers books back.”

  I said, “I asked nicely, very nicely, for the books and he said no and he just laughed at me. I said please give me back his books and he laughed again, so I hit him.”

  The next thing I knew my father was on the phone saying to the person on the other end, “Set up a meeting with Luke Campoella for tomorrow morning we have something to discuss, also call Arthur and tell him.” I did not hear what the person on the other side of the phone said but my father said, “Tell him it is important and we will straighten this situation out, thank you.”

  The Meeting

  My father was up early as always. He was reading his paper and drinking his coffee when I came into the kitchen. I said, “Good morning” and he said, “I decided that you are coming with me to this meeting.”

  I said, “Why?”

  He said, “Because, I want Mr. Campoella to see that my son tells me everything, good or bad. And besides, Mr. Campoella was told by someone else to bring his son to the meeting. The meeting is in one hour so eat and get ready.”

  The meeting was at Lucky’s Social Club about six blocks from our home. This is where a lot of the neighborhood men hung out.

  We arrived
10 minutes early. There were about five or six men outside and they all said hello to my father. I was never in this club so I was a little nervous. My father said to me, “Are you nervous?”

  I said, “Yes.”

  This is when he told me, “Try not to show you are nervous, be polite, not rude, and give a firm handshake to anyone I introduce you to, okay?”

  I said, “Okay.”

  At this time this older man came out from a back room and said to my father, “Hi Tony.”

  My father said, “Hi Arthur.” Arthur was probably six feet tall and had real big arms. My father introduced me to him as Mr. Antonella.

  Mr. Antonella put out his hand and said “It is nice to meet you Joey,” and we shook hands. He then said, “I see we have a situation here with Luke Campoella’s son and you. I heard that you refused to tell Mr. Campoella why you hit his son.”

  I said nervously, “I think that his son should be the one to tell his father. I tell my father everything even if I was wrong.”

  Mr. Antonella said, “That shows a lot of respect to your father. That is a good thing.” He then said to my father, “Shall we go into my office? Luke and his son are in there.”

  We went through a door into the back of the club where there was a large table and big chairs around the table. Arthur said, “Please sit down and we will discuss the issue at hand. Let us start from the beginning. Luke you can start.”

  Luke stood up and said to Arthur “Joey came to the school and beat up my son Larry for no apparent reason.”

  Arthur said, “Thank you.” He then said to my father, “Tony what do you have to say?”

  My father said, “There was a real good reason and as my son Joey told Mr. Campoella, he should asked his son what happened. If his son does not tell him the whole story then we are at an impasse.”

  Arthur said to Luke, “Has your son told you what happened?”

  Luke said, “Joey just came to the school and beat him up.”

  Then my father said to Arthur, “If Luke’s son is too afraid to tell his father what really happened then he has no respect for his father.”

  Arthur looked at Luke’s son and said, “Larry what happened?” Larry started to sweat and twitch. He looked at his father and saw that his father was getting red in the face.

  Larry said very nervously, “I took his brother’s books away from him.”

  His father said, “Why?”

  Larry said, “I thought it would be funny to see how scared he would be.”

  Luke said, “How old was this boy?”

  “I don’t know; he looked younger than Joey.”

  Luke looked at Joey and asked, “How old is your brother?”

  Joey said, “Eleven years old.”

  Luke’s face got real red and he stared at his son and said to Joey and his father, “I am very sorry for this situation. I will take care of my son when we get home.” Luke said to Joey and his son, “I would like to see the two of you be friends and shake hands; and again, I am very sorry for all this.”

  Joey went over to Larry and they shook hands. Luke went over to Tony and said, “We should be friends too.” They shook hands.

  Arthur said, “Great everyone is friends now, so go home and enjoy the rest of the day.”

  The next day Larry came over to our house and apologized to my brother and my mother. He told my brother if he ever needed help please call him and he will be there.

  Larry’s Friend Pete

  Peter was about 5ꞌ 1" and pretty well built. He lived in the same area of Brooklyn that Larry lived and Larry was his best friend. Pete’s father, Will, was a bus driver for the city and stayed pretty much by himself. Will didn’t hang out at the social club, but knew some of the people that did by sight only. Will was very upset about his son being kicked in the groin and wanted to go after the person who did this to his son. Will does not know the details of the situation and his son wouldn’t tell him.

  Pete talked to Larry about getting even with Joey. Larry told him, “I overheard my father say to his friend that it is better to wait a while before you do anything because it can come back at you. So, hang on Pete there will be a time and a place one day that we will get even with Joey. Just not now because my father is still very upset with me and he will know that it was us.”

  Pete said, “Okay I will wait for you to tell me when.”

  Larry said, “Good.”

  At the school Larry and Pete pretended that they were over the situation with Joey and acknowledged Joey as a friend.

  First Day of High School

  I had no problems in the school for a long time, everything was real smooth. I graduated and the next term and would start in Lafayette High School.

  I went away with my mother, father, and brother to upstate New York for a vacation in the country. It was really beautiful. There were cows we helped milk in the mornings and pigs that we helped feed. The food they served was plentiful and really good. I really enjoyed the time we had up there.

  When we came home it was time to get ready for school to start. We went shopping for school clothes and books and other items. Rocco was still in the school by our house. Lafayette High School was near Coney Island so I had to take a school bus.

  The morning that school started I went to the bus stop and waited with a few other kids including Larry and Pete. They said “Hello” and I nodded my head. When we got to the school we went into the yard to wait to enter the building. Larry said “Hi Joey” and as I turned to say hello I was jumped from behind by someone. This person hit me about two times before I knew what happened. I went backwards but did not go down. I tackled this guy and as we went to the ground. I was hit with something hard.

  The next thing I saw was a teacher pulling me up. I was brought to the office and was read the riot act from the dean. Dean Summers was like a principal in my other school. Mr. Summers said, “I will not tolerate fighting in my school. Now, tell me why you were fighting.”

  I said, “I was jumped from behind.”

  That is not what Mr. Peterson said, “He said that you tackled the other boy.”

  I said, “Where is the other boy?”

  The dean said, “He is in class where you should be. I will let this go this time but don’t let me see you again for something like this.”

  I walked out of the office and went to my first period class. I entered the class and recognized the other guy. He was sitting next to Larry and Pete and they were laughing and looking at me. I tried to hold my temper, but it didn’t work. I dove on top of the guy who hit me and punched him in the middle of his neck. He fell backwards and was having, a very hard time breathing. I turned around to Larry and Pete and told them they would regret this day.

  Of course I was brought back to the dean’s office within 20 minutes after I had left his office. My teacher, Mr. O’Connor, told the dean what had happened and the dean was really upset. He said, “Thank you” to Mr. O’Connor and said he could go back to his class.

  The dean said to me, “I want your father up here tomorrow morning and you are suspended for the day. Now go home and calm down.”

  I said to the dean, “You should have brought the other guy into this office in the first place so do not judge me you asshole.” I walked out.

  I walked home—about six miles, all the time worrying about my father. He was going to be really upset with me for fighting on the very first day of school. My mother asked, “What are you doing home?” I told her what happened and she started to cry. She said, “Your father is going to have a fit.” I showed her the welt on my head and she started to cry again. She asked, “What did he hit you with?”

  I said, “I don’t know. All I know is that my head still hurts.” My mother calmed down and told me to go lie down and rest.

  She called my father and he came right away. When he got in the house he yelled out, “JOEY GET IN HERE!!” I came in and he said, “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you fighting on the very first day of school?�
�� I told him what happened and he was really mad. I told him that the dean wanted to see him in the morning and please let me work this out with Larry and Pete. He said “Why, so you could beat the hell out of them?”

  I said, “I won’t lay a hand on them. They must be afraid of me otherwise they would have jumped me themselves. I am just going to smile at them and let them wonder when they will get it.”

  My father said, “Where do you get these ideas from?”

  I said, “I hear you talking to your friends and I remember. Oh, I also called the Dean an asshole.”

  Guess my mother heard me and said “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and walked away.

  My father laughed and said “I will come to the school with you to see the dean and you will not be suspended. This will not go on your school record, okay?” I said, “Thank you Dad, and went back to my room to rest my head.”

  Dean’s Office

  My father and I arrived at the school at 7:30 a.m. to see Dean Summers. Since I knew where the office was my father followed me. When we arrived at the office my father told me to not say a word unless he told me to. I said okay. We opened the door to the office and my father said to the receptionist, “I am Antonio Toranetti and I am here to see Dean Summers.”

  The receptionist replied, “Mr. Toranetti he is expecting you. I will let him know that you are here.” She went into the Dean’s office and came back about three minutes later. She said, “Dean Summers will see you now.”

  We went into the office and my father and the Dean shook hands. My father said to the Dean, “My son tells me that he was attacked yesterday by someone and hit in the back of the head with something very hard. He also said that he was the only one brought to this office and reprimanded by you. Please explain why only Joey and not the other boy.”

  The dean then said, “I was told by a witness that your son started the fight. One of our teachers pulled him up and brought him to this office.”