Inside the Humidor

By Lydia M. Kordalewski

Lydia M. Kordalewski cigar fantasy traces the tragedies and triumphs of four generations coming from the Canary Islands and settling in Cuba in the late 1800s and controlling the cigar dynasty. Choosing not to join the revolution in Cuba, Julio Sharkey flees to Miami with his family and grandfathers humidor via the Dominican Republic to find the American dream. Settling in Florida, Julio builds his cigar dynasty so his sons can have a successful future. But when the oldest son, Victor grows up, he gains his own power and through his greed slips into the dangerous world of drugs leading him into committing murder, rape, dealing with crooked cops and eventually destroying the entire Sharkey dynasty. The second son, Cole, an attorney and Cigar Bar owner lives by the rule of family comes first over everything, remains the good son and stays loyal to his family. And the younger son, Winston, confused throughout his life, changes his lifestyles several times only to find out someone had been hiding a family secret. The reader will find that the Sharkey family lives in a secret underworld of power, lust, greed, betrayal and deception.But at the end, the author casts a special light of love Inside the humidor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 2, 2008
• ISBN: 9781469120645

Lydia M. Kordalewski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lydia Maria Kordalewski started writing at an early age. She has written numerous articles for the Polish American Journal, Polish News, Jewish StarTimes and other publications. She has traveled extensively abroad and now resides in Miami.

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Copyright © 2008 by Lydia M. Kordalewski.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2008903301

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

47649.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

The Sharkey Tree

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Dedicated to my greatest parents

With emotional love

Zygmunt and Maria Kordalewski

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all my friends who remain friends and gave me their support and inspiration while writing this book,

Richard Polanco, Frank Hernadi, Alma Bond, Alfred Treppeda,

Victor Medina, David Shaw, Pat Franklin,

Renea Jackson & Ruth Acevedo

To all the people who don’t know me, but whose stories inspired me

to write this book:

Joe Matthews, Tom Hunker, Cole Hauser, Steven Bauer.

And singers, Jose Jose for his romanticism music, Juan Luis Guerra for his electrifying music and Eric Clapton for his realistic music.

All to which inspires an author to write and create from their music

&

Special thanks to all at the Cigar Smokers for the aroma they create

in their own little world

Preface

The passion of smoking a cigar came from the 15th Century and remains pretty much alive in present day Miami. Cigar smoking has become the good life. It is a symbol of success and individualism.

It’s stylish and affordably luxurious.

Everyone has smoked a good cigar in their lifetime including Presidents from the United States and Cuba. The Prime Minister of England and the Governor of California have smoked a few and even the local Police Chiefs.

Cigarettes are on a downward trend and cigars are exploding.

Cigar bars remain alive in Miami and maybe some of the characters

in this book do also.

So sit back and take a puff. Remember you are holding distinction

in your hand.

The Sharkey Tree

JULIO & MIRANDA SHARKEY

COSTAS   Twins   RICARDO

(Married)      (Wedlock)

Rosa Arias

(No children)

(Married)

Evelin Sanchez      MAXIM FIDEL

(Son)      (Married)

      Leticia

JULIO   (Remarried)   (son)

(Married)   Lydia   GUSTAVO

Martha Castillo   (daughter)   (Never married)

(Had three sons)   VALENTINA

VICTOR

(Married)

Gina

(No children)

COLE

(Married)

Linda Walsh

MATTHEW, JR (adopted son)

JULIO COSTAS, JR

WINSTON

(Never married)

Chapter One

Cuba to Miami

(1800-1979)

Don Julio and Miranda Sharkey were tobacco growers who came from the Canary Islands and settled in Cuba in spring of the late 1800’s. They were in their mid 30’s. Don Julio’s parents had perished in a hurricane, so he and his wife Miranda decided to head southwest to Cuba to start a new life. The country was going through some turbulent times as Cuba was gaining independence from Spain by a complex of three large wars. Slavery abolishment had also ended. The Sharkey’s invested in tobacco fields in the famous region of Pinar Del Rio between the mountains and the coast. It was a typical village with farms, sugar and tobacco fields. It was called the Garden of Cuba. The tobacco fields were perfect for growing tobacco. There was always adequate rainfall, to give him the richest soil. They hired 25 laborers who helped them work from dawn to dusk. They started planting in April and by the next year, the leaves had harvested. Everything was done by hand. Don Julio even built their home on wooden stilts in the middle of the tobacco fields.

In 1871, after a hard pregnancy, Miranda gave birth to twin boys named Costas and Ricardo. There were severe complications. After Ricardo was born, Miranda died minutes later from severe hemorrhaging. Don Julio would not remarry and would commit himself to raising both boys alone. Although there was a small school in Pinar Del Rio, Don Julio decided to keep them at home to work in the fields. By the age of seven, both boys knew how to grow tobacco, hunt and shoot. The three of them worked hard together to produce the best tobacco in Cuba. They bought mules and oxen for the fields. Business was good and Don Julio became a wealthy man in a short time. He registered his cigar calling it the Sharkey Cigar. He had the premier tobacco farm in Cuba. He even purchased a small tobacco plantation in the Dominican Republic as an investment. When the twins reached their 21st birthdays, Don Julio gave them both their own tobacco fields. He sent Ricardo to the Dominican Republic to run his smaller tobacco fields. They needed looking after because no one was really in charge and he needed someone to revitalize the fields. They weren’t producing good tobacco. Costas was Don Julio’s favorite and was kept behind to help him manage the fields in Pinar Del Rio. Costas was a hard worker like his father and they were very proud of producing high quality cigars with the finest cigar leafs. Cigar smoking had become so popular in Europe, they were even asked by the Prime Minister of England to make cigars for special occasions. Eventually all the notables in Europe were asking for Sharkey cigars. They became the worlds finest.

In the spring of 1902, Costas married Rosa Arias, a tobacco roller on his farm that he had known for years. Don Julio was very proud of him and threw a large wedding party inviting all the villagers in Pinar Del Rio. Ricardo did not attend. He resented his father for favoring Costas and sending him to the Dominican Republic. As a wedding present to Costas, Don Julio gave his son the entire Sharkey tobacco fields. He also gave them a beautiful ornate humidor that he hand carved with Sharkey family crest designs on all four sides as well as the lid. The humidor had a beautiful patina and a key. There was an accessory drawer for cutters and small items. It would become the family heirloom throughout the years. Don Julio wanted Costas to pass it on to his children and to make sure his grandchildren would continue the family dynasty. One day while Don Julio was making the finishing touches on the humidor, a fortuneteller passed through the village and told him if his humidor were ever to be broken, it would put a curse on the Sharkey family. So he made sure Costas knew to store it in a safe place. From that day on, Costas became the exclusive producer of Sharkey cigars to the Spanish royalty. It was also the day that Cuba became independent and Tomas Canario was elected President. The United States had ended their military occupation.

Don Julio was aging and he inherited a nagging cough that would not go away. He spent most of his time in bed. He had farmer’s lung. Farmer’s lung was a disease that was brought on from exposure to working on tobacco fields. He refused to be treated by a doctor and wanted Rosa to attend to him. He finally passed away from pneumonia and was buried near his tobacco fields. Costas was heart broken. Not only did his father pass away, but Rosa could not give him any children. She had a cyst on her ovaries when she was young, and that prevented her not to bear children in the future. But he stayed with her until she died in 1930 at the age of 50 of ovarian cancer. He loved her deeply. Cuba was repeatedly changing and had a new President, but he didn’t last for long as he was eventually deposed. A number of Cuban action groups, including Politicos, staged a series of uprisings throughout the Country. During this time, Costas who was already an aging 60 year old met a younger woman in her 20’s named Evelin Sanchez. She was a short, petite mulatto woman who also worked on his tobacco fields since the age of 14. He admired her for her hard work and would invite her to his ranch house every night for dinner. He desperately wanted to have a child and made an agreement with her. She quit working on the farm and nine months later she bore him a son. Costas named him Julio after his father. After the birth, Costas threw the biggest party in Pinar Del Rio and invited Cuban dignitaries from Havana. He gave out thousands of cigars. Business was good and he was very content. He had an heir. Cuba still produced the best cigars and was the only country hand rolling, while other countries including the United States were using machines.

Although Costas never married Evelin, they lived together like husband and wife. She no longer worked on the fields. She ran the household and watched over little Julio. Costas enjoyed watching his son grow up on the fields. It reminded him of when he was a young boy working with his father. Julio had already learned to roll cigars at the age of four. He was a very smart little boy. Costas knew that he would naturally succeed him one day in the business. And that time came in 1950, when Costas suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 81 and died. Julio was only 21. The same age his father was when his grandfather left him in charge of their fields. His mother Evelin, who was only 45, fell into a severe depression for the next four years and committed suicide by drinking rat poison. Julio found her in the kitchen. He buried her next to his father and grandparents on the tobacco fields. Julio was now the sole heir to the Sharkey tobacco fields and factories. He ran it successfully and continued his grandfather’s legacy. He was only 25, but he was the youngest tobacco factory owner in Cuba with the best cigars. He controlled 49% of all Havana cigar exports. The Sharkey Cigars were wrapped in a rich, natural leaf. They had complex notes of bittersweet fruit and orange peel and had a tangy finish resonating cocoa and spice. It was an elegant, refined, and balanced style of a cigar. It beat out all the other cigars in Cuba.

In 1952, Francisco Lopez returned from Florida and staged coups. He took over Cuba and became President. He created special programs to educate the peasants. He formed a large tourism bureau to attract tourists from all over the world. Construction of private high rises went up, public tunnels and roads were built. He made Havana the third most expensive dynamic city in the world. Havana was booming with hotels and casinos. Gambling became a multi-million dollar industry in Cuba. Abel Kurtz, an American Mafia boss ran every hotel in Havana. He was the center of Cuba’s gambling. Lopez invested in the gambling industry becoming partners with Kurtz. He would profit 30% from Kurtz’s clubs. Even his brother in law controlled 10,000 slot machines. Gambling was a good source of income in Cuba. He also turned Havana into an international drug port. Cuban officials were getting rich. But it was Lopez who ran everything. He told the Cuban people that he never mixed politics with gambling, but others knew better. The President of the United States formally recognized Lopez’s government, but the mafia was influencing Cuban gambling and this started to worry the American government.

Lots of Americans were flocking to Havana. Julio had bought himself a 1950 Packard so he could travel to Havana on the weekends. It was a four door dark green vehicle with a hard body. It was not that far from Pinar Del Rio. He would dress in a Guayabera and black slacks. Guayabera’s were made popular in 1948 when the President-Elect Sanchez wore one in public. Julio would dress in them daily. They were white and beige linen dress shirts. He was a very tall, dark and handsome man. He looked more like a male model with his chiseled cheeks, than a tobacco field worker. He would frequent the Domingo Club, which was owned by Kurtz. He met a lot of businessmen including an American named Sam Hemingway. Sam was a burly, married man in his fifties who spoke a little Spanish. He owned a hotel in Key West and was very wealthy. He would travel to Havana every weekend for gambling and relaxation. It was only a 45-minute plane ride from Key West. He would also spend time with the ladies of the night to satisfy his needs. He had an arrangement with his wife. Havana had the most prostitutes working in the casinos.

Julio and Sam became good friends. Sam was very impressed with young Julio. He introduced him to every hotel and casino owner in Havana. Julio was able to market his cigars to each hotel owner because of him. He signed contracts with all of them and hired 200 more factory workers to expedite faster business from Pinar Del Rio into Havana. People from around the whole world were buying Sharkey cigars in Havana, especially the Americans. Every hotel, restaurant and bar in Havana offered Sharkey cigars. He became wealthier in a short period of time. He doubled his profits by year’s end. On the weekends, Sam and Julio would gamble at the Palms, Keystone and the Alhambra. Julio’s favorite was the Palms Club. It was one of the most beautiful clubs in Havana. Thousands of people would flock there each night. It had legalized gambling that included everything from slot machines to roulette tables. Everyone was a high roller and everyone was smoking Sharkey cigars. It also had a huge nightclub lounge. Julio and Sam enjoyed the music. A local bandleader, Orlando Perez performed there nightly playing the mambo. It was a mixture of Cuban rhythms with an African sound. Lots of American singers would perform there on a nightly basis.

The Palms attracted lots of single women. But Julio was not attracted to them. He had his eye on one of the showgirls who performed there nightly. Her name was Martha Castillo. She was a svelte Latin lady that had a curvaceous body with broad hips. She had long black thick hair and beautiful green eyes. She was a good dancer as well as a singer. He fell in love with her at first sight. He brought her to his ranch in Pinar Del Rio on the weekdays and took her back to Havana on the weekends. They were married one year later. She quit her job and never performed again. They spent their