Tony Calamusa - The Fixer

By Donald DeStefano

Tony Calamusa, The Fixer, is a fictional story based on real events taking place in the 1950s through the 1980s. Raised by his mother in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the Bronx, Tony lacks discipline and guidance, constantly getting into trouble with his close friends. He joins the US Marine Corps and excels, gaining the attention of the b

• Language: English
• Publisher: On the Write Path Publishing
• Release date: Aug 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822901407

Donald DeStefano

Donald DeStefano grew up in the Bronx, New York. He joined the US Marine Corps, graduating Parris Island in 1963. Donald attended Bronx and Queensboro Community College. In 1964, he was employed as a buyer for a flavor and fragrance company. He started his current business ,International Oils and Concentrates, Inc. in 1983, and received three patents from the USA, Mexico and Brazil in 1996. Donald enjoys international travel, and loves animals, especially dogs and horses. He has four children and nine grandchildren, and resides with his wife in Vernon, New Jersey.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Growing Up in the Bronx

I

t was 1933 in the Bronx when Frank Calamusa met Rose Amrhein, a beautiful German girl with light brown hair and brown eyes. They were both 20 years old, and you could say it was love at first sight. They dated for a year, and were married in a simple civil ceremony in Manhattan, New York. The couple rented an apartment in Bayonne, New Jersey, and opened a dry-cleaning business. At the time, the country was in the middle of a depression which started in 1929, but they were young and wanted to start a business.

The store struggled, and four years later closed. They took an apartment in the Bronx on 180th Street and Webster Avenue. The neighborhood was mostly made up of a mixture of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and Germany. Frank got a job driving a taxi cab, and Rose worked in a bakery. In September, 1942, their first child, Tony, was born. Two years later, Gloria was birthed, and two years after that, Rita was born.

In 1943, Rose’s mother died of lung cancer at the age of 40, never having smoked a cigarette in her entire life. Rose had one younger brother named Walt, and Dorothy, a younger sister. Frank came from a large family of three sisters and one brother. When possible, he enjoyed having lunch every other Sunday with his siblings. Frank always made the spaghetti sauce. He used a family recipe, passed down from his mother and father who immigrated from Naples, Italy.

Family was very important to Frank, and he was the oldest of the children. When he was twelve years old, his brother Ralph, his three sisters Rose, Josephine, and Regina, and Frank found themselves in a Catholic orphanage. Frank’s father was seeing the wife of a mafia member who found out about the affair. A short time later, Frank’s dad was found at the bottom of a staircase. The death was ruled an accident, but everyone knew what happened. Frank’s mother later remarried, but was physically and mentally abused by her new husband. She eventually died of malnutrition, trying to keep the family fed.

Frank was always grateful to the Catholic orphanage, and for the excellent care given to the Calamusa children.

Frank’s brother, Ralph, never married. His sister, Regina, married an Irishman named O’Brien. Josephine married Lopez, a Spaniard, and the oldest sister, Rose, married an Italian named Onifredo.

Frank’s wife, Rose, learned about the death of her husband’s father at one of the many Sunday family dinners. Frank was always looked up to as the head of the family. He was the one responsible for getting his brother and sisters out of the orphanage. He worked three jobs to provide the necessary financial security needed to have his siblings released into his care.

While working at a commercial laundry establishment in the Bronx, Frank received a blow to the head from a metal pipe, which left him unconscious for twenty minutes. He sued the company, and received a cash settlement from workers’ compensation. It was a short time later that Rose began to notice a difference in Frank.

Rose, with the help of her brother, Walt, convinced Frank to enter a private mental facility. When he was released six months later, he was no better than when he went in. Rose was not sure whether the changes she saw in Frank were the result of the accident at the commercial laundry establishment, the pressures of marriage and fatherhood, or possibly from his childhood experiences at the orphanage.

After moving to the Bronx, Frank had difficulty interacting with employers and passengers while a taxi driver. At the age of six, Tony witnessed firsthand the abuse his mother received when Frank violently pushed her to the floor in the kitchen. He kicked her so hard, she had back pain for the rest of her life.

Rose knew he was upset to see so much violence. That night, she told Tony a story about little lights in your heart. She explained that we were born with millions of lights shining in our hearts, showing us the way. One lights up, when we feel love; one dies, when love moves away. After seeing his mother subjected to that violence by his father, Tony went to bed, knowing it was getting dark in his heart.

Frank eventually was removed from the household by the police for assault, and a judge remanded him to Bronx State Mental Institution. He spent most of the next 16 years, in and out of mental institutions. Tony and his two sisters were raised by Rose who worked various jobs.

Selling Avon products was something she could devote time to while her children were in school. Avon delivered a large box of perfumes and cosmetics to the apartment every two weeks. Tony remembered his mother and sisters making a game out of sorting the products into bags. She would call out a product name, and Tony, Gloria, and Rita would see who could locate the product first. It was a way to keep the family occupied and help her at the same time.

When Frank was institutionalized in 1948, Rose told the children that their father went into the National Guard, and later was killed in the war. In 1952, when Tony was 10 years old, attending PS. 115 (Elizabeth Barret Browing) elementary school, he was called to the principal’s office. His dad had gotten permission to take him out of school for the day when he showed up with proof that he was his father. Tony was in shock, but recognized his dad immediately. Frank spoke to Tony on the way to his apartment on Webster Avenue, then left.

Rose told Tony the truth about his father, and that she was only trying to protect the family. Mental illness had a stigma attached to it, and she didn’t want the children dealing with the shame of a family member with a mental illness. A hard working women totally devoted to her children, Tony and his sisters always remembered what their mother told them. If you can’t get what you love, you have to learn to love the things you get. If you can’t be what you want, you learn to love the things you’re not. If you can’t get what you need, you learn to need the things that stop you from dreaming.

Tony grew up without the influence of a male in the home, and as a result, he naturally lacked discipline.

Rose was upset to learn that Frank had escaped by breaking out of the Bronx State Mental Institution. She knew he would immediately reconnect with the family. He tried to contact Gloria, visiting the school yard across the street from PS 115. When Frank approached Gloria and told her he was her father, she got scared and ran away.

Later that week, Tony’s youngest sister, Rita, was leaving PS 115 at 3:00 p.m. with her friend, Diana. Frank confronted them, and told Rita he was her father. Rita, like Gloria and Tony, had been told her father died in WWII. She went with Frank into a candy store when he suggested they have a soda and talk. When Rita and Frank went into the store, Diana ran home and told her mother what had happened. Diana’s mother telephoned Rose, who quickly called the police and went to the candy store. A short time later, the police arrived and arrested Frank for breaking out of the mental hospital. Rita thanked her friend, Diana, and her mother for calling Rose. Rita never saw Frank again. Frank was back in the Bronx State Mental Institution.

In 1956, when Tony was 14 years old, his mother decided to spend the summer at a resort in Liberty, New York, about 60 miles north of New York City. She wanted to give the family a vacation in the mountains where it was much cooler and a lot safer than the Bronx.

In August, the owner of the resort picked up the four of them, and their dog, Trigger. They had two rooms in the main building as the bungalow units were too expensive to rent. Rose had already secured a job as a waitress in a local restaurant. She waited tables for breakfast and lunch, and was back at the resort by 4:00 p.m. The main house offered a kitchen, which was shared by everyone staying in that building.

After one week, Tony found himself attracted to a beautiful, young girl named Barbara. Because she was 16 years old, Barbara was asked by some of the residents to babysit while they went out for the evening, usually returning by 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. Barbara asked Tony if he would like to keep her company while she was babysitting. He said yes, and she told him to come to the bungalow at 9:30 p.m.

When Tony knocked on the door, Barbara let him into the living room. The two children were already asleep. Barbara wore a tight sweater which showed off her large breasts. While they were watching TV, Barbara put her arm around Tony and started running her hand through his long hair. It wasn’t long before they were fooling around with Tony on top of her. She was thrusting and grinding her crotch into his groin. Tony unhooked her bra, slipped it off, and started caressing and kissing her breasts. That was as far as Tony went. He had not been with a woman sexually yet, and was not sure what to do next. He was afraid she would think he was going too far in such a short period of time. She became impatient, put her bra on, and went into the kitchen to get something to eat.

The next night was movie night. A film was offered, and a projection crew of two guys set up the room and showed the movie. After the lights went out, Tony saw Barbara get up and go to the back and talk to one of the two men. He was about 20 years old. Tony saw her kissing him in the rear of the room. That was the last time Barbara and Tony made out. At that point, he realized, when a woman is ready, you only get one chance to prove yourself. She must have wanted more from Tony, which he was afraid and too young to provide. It was something Tony would regret for a long time.

At the end of the month, as the family was packing to leave for the Bronx, Tony’s mother told him that his dog, Trigger, would not be coming with them. The owner of the resort was going to keep the dog up there. Trigger would be much happier than being in a small apartment in the Bronx. She told Tony he could come and see the dog whenever he wanted. He never saw Trigger again. Tony sat in the back seat of the car and cried all the way home. He knew his mother had planned to leave the dog at the resort long before they left the Bronx. She was right, there was no one home to keep Trigger company during the day. Tony was not sure whether he was crying about losing the dog, or the missed sexual opportunity with Barbara.

Tony remembered the struggles his mother went through day after day to financially care for the family. He recalled meeting his grandfather who had remarried after Tony’s grandmother passed away. Tony never met his grandmother. He thought his grandfather’s new wife was very mean.

Tony remembered going with his mother and two sisters when he was 15 years old for lunch at his grandfather’s home in the Throgs Neck area of the Bronx. He recalled seeing his mother cry only once. It was when she asked her father if he could lend or give her $200 to buy food for the family. Tony watched his grandfather looking at his wife who shook her head, indicating the answer was no.

Tony’s mom then asked if he could lend her $100. She got the same response. He said he could not afford to do that, even though both were working. She asked if he could spare $50, and he shook his head no. Tony saw the tears streaming down his mother’s face. He was about to bite into his hamburger when his mom told her father to call a taxi to take them home. They all waited outside until the taxi arrived. Tears continued to stream down his mother’s face. Tony and his two sisters never had a bite to eat at their grandfather’s house. Tony and his sisters never saw their grandparents again.

At the age of 16, Tony insisted that his mother take him up to the mental hospital to visit his father. On that visit, Frank told Rose and Tony to make sure they signed the visitor’s register. Frank felt that the hospital only treated people who had visitors since there weren’t enough doctors to take care of all the patients. Most of the residents were given drugs to calm them down. Medications like Valium and Librium, manufactured by Hoffman-LaRoche, made that pharmaceutical company, many billions of dollars.

Frank broke out again when Tony was 16. He rented an apartment in the Bronx, and invited Tony to have lunch with him. It was during this meal that Tony realized his father suffered from paranoia and delusional feelings of grandeur.

Tony told Frank not to contact him or his family. He did not want his father back in an institution, especially after he saw the conditions the patients were subjected to. They were heavily drugged and sedated. Tony felt most of the residents were much worse than his father. It was the last time he saw him, until he and his mother had to identify his body at the morgue in New York City. Autopsies are performed when a person dies alone to rule out any foul play. The next day, Tony and his mother had to go to the Bronx to empty Frank’s apartment.

One day, when Tony came home from school, he found his mother talking to a woman from the Department of Health and Human Services. She was asking a lot of personal questions, such as the family income and personal assets. Rose had no trouble answering them. She had no assets, no savings, no life insurance, no autos or fur coats.

Tony realized his mother was applying for family assistance. Because her salary was so low, the family qualified for food stamps and a small monthly sum to help pay the rent. The program was called Aid to Dependent Children.

In 1955, when Tony was 13 years old, he had three close friends. Gene O’Sullivan and Danny Sullivan, who were not related to each other, and Bunkey. On the weekends, they would all pool together 25 cents, and buy one movie ticket for Tony to get into the Metro movie theater. Tony would pay for a ticket, and then once in the movie theater, he would open an emergency exit door and let the other three into the theater.

The movie was usually two feature length films and two short serial segments. Cowboy serials of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix and Hopalong Cassidy, plus news reals of the day. They always brought their own candy which they stole from local candy stores, and Pepsi Cola, taken from the Pepsi plant located on 178th Street and Webster Avenue. They viewed full length movies, like Tarzan and the Apes with Johnny Weisemuller, Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, both staring James Dean.

James Dean died in a car crash at 24 years old, and everyone was in shock at the news of his death. Tony read in a news article, The death of Hollywood actor, James Dean, occurred on September 30, 1955, near Cholame, California. Dean had previously competed in several auto racing events and was traveling to a sports racing competition when his car crashed at the junction of California State Route 46 and California State Route 41. Tony remembered James Dean saying in an interview that you should dream as if you will live forever and live as if you will die tomorrow. He lived his life, just like that.

Tony was not very interested in, and did not consider an education important. After the visit by the social worker, Tony decided he was going to make something of himself. He did not want to be in the position his mother found herself in.

In 1958, when Tony was 15 years old, the electric trolleys on Webster Avenue were replaced. The cobblestone streets and metal tracks were ripped up and paved with black top. Buses were better for Tony and his friends because they could ride them for free. They would hang on the outside of the bus which took them from Fordham to Treamont Avenue. When the driver saw them hanging on the outside, he would stop the bus, get out, and go to the rear, only to see the boys were no longer there. When he got back in the driver’s seat and closed the bus doors, the boys would jump back on and continue their ride. It was their way of getting around the Bronx without paying.

One day, Tony asked his two friends if they wanted to take the express bus to Fordham Road. They looked at Tony and asked, What do you mean? They told him there was no express bus. Tony said if they waited for a bus that Ralph (the fat bus driver) drove, they would not have to worry about Ralph getting off the bus. Like Ralph, the bus driver on The Honeymooners TV program played by Jackie Gleason, the driver was too fat and lazy to get off the bus and chase them. To Tony, this represented an express bus.

When Tony was 15, he attended junior high school. He now had some new close friends: Pete Pierson, Johnny Lacy, Jerry Leonard, Mike Silverman, and John O’Brien. John was Tony’s cousin who moved to the Bronx after his father committed suicide. John’s dad threw a pot of boiling water in his wife’s face. She wound up in the hospital with 3rd degree burns. The next day, he went to his favorite bar and died after he swallowed cyanide capsules.

Pete Pierson had one brother who was older than him and went into a Catholic seminary, studying to become a priest. His other brother was about four years younger. Pete, the middle sibling, was one of Tony’s four close friends, all attending Creston Junior High School on 180th Street and Creston Avenue.

Tony, his four new friends, and cousin, John, did everything together. They swam in Crotona pool, and became excellent pool players at the local pool halls. They all smoked pot in the school yards at night, and were able to get into local comedy clubs, even though they were underage. They liked to play touch football and stick ball, on the side streets. They all played cards for nickels and dimes in the basement of Pete’s mother’s apartment. No one had any money, but everyone had a good time.