Good or Evil - A Very Fine Line

By Nicholas Polimeni

Good or Evil- A Very Fine Line is a true story that spans the lives of a group of young men in a social club and how they are intertwined with the dealings of a "safe house". Although the story is true, the character's names and places have been changed. Because of their family connections back in Italy, a young couple find themselves as keepers of a "safe house" for fugitives or businessmen trying to change their identity. While in the same town, a group of young men form a social club. The deeds of these young men are good, but their means are not. They made money by running a lottery numbers program. They were able to provide financial assistance to the needy and to their club. In adulthood, some of them follow a not so legal path and their deeds become evil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662425066

Book preview

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Good or Evil - A Very Fine Line

Nicholas Polimeni

Copyright © 2020 Nicholas Polimeni

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-6624-2505-9 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-2506-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter I

This story takes place in a small city located in northern New Jersey. It will inform the readers of a SAFE HOUSE that existed there for the better part of thirty years. This facility came into existence not by plan but by an unusual situation that had occurred in Sicily and resulted in the need of having a person have a new identity.

The guests that used the safe house required new identities. Some were criminals, some were unscrupulous businessmen or politicians, and others just wanted to get away from their families. The safe house was run by Don Giovanni and his wife, Godmother Rosalie. Neither partner had any idea that this, their home, would be used in that manner by friends of Don Giovanni’s father, a Capo in Sicily.

In this city lived fifteen teenagers who performed good deeds for elderly or infirmed. They performed acts such as cutting lawns and trimming trees, bushes, and flower beds. They washed windows, and in the winter, they shoveled walks and driveways. These young men earned money by organizing games of chance and gambling on sports such as baseball games in spring and summer and college football games in the fall and winter. The cost for playing these games started out at five cents per wager and increased gradually to ten cents, then to twenty-five, and finally to one dollar a bet years down the road.

These fifteen high school students were regarded with high esteem by all the citizens because of their altruism displayed by each one. They never asked for money from anyone they aided and would not accept any money if it were offered.

Godmother Rosalie met these teenagers when they shoveled the stairs leading to her house and the sidewalk. She offered them hot chocolate and was impressed by them. She suggested they give themselves a name. She complimented them on their socialness, suggesting they call themselves the Social Club. She learned that all but one of them had been together since they were five and six years old. She was told by one of them that some other high schoolers wanted to do as they were doing by joining them. The godmother advised they restrict the membership for at least two or three years, quoting the sentence Too many hands spoil the soup. She opined, The larger the group, the greater the disagreements. Don’t spoil what you are doing because it has excellent potential.

These teenagers were respected throughout the town by the clergy, the adults, and their peers. They had respect for each other, which was displayed in their meetings when discussing the games of chance or knowledge of any family needing help. Three members were honor students, four were considered as tradesmen, and the others were considered as laborers by the high school administration.

The members never belittled each other, always praising each other for excellent ideas and suggestions. Above all, they all had great senses of humor, thoroughly enjoying the witticism that was present at their meetings.

The Social Club members were the best of friends since they were in kindergarten. They lived in the same section of town and visited each other’s houses. They studied together and helped each other with their homework. The only member who was deficient academically is Moose Musso, who was handed to them in eighth grade. He could not read or do mathematics. Moose was somehow or other a legal American, though he was born in Italy and came to the United States with an elderly couple. He was at first placed in a sixth-grade class, where he was made fun of on a daily basis. Being the largest student in the class, he started bullying the smaller students. The principal had lost his patience with Moose and asked the Social Club members to take him under their wings and test the club member’s altruistic endeavors. Moose behaved much better with the older students and finally started to learn the English language slowly but surely.

This is a true-to-life, authentic story on how these young men flourished beyond and above any expectations. Every person in this story is and was alive, successful as a group and individually. They all were Roman Catholics, some more religious than others, with mutual respect for the clergy and the adults in their town. The names of the members will not be revealed authentically to prevent any living family members from embarrassment. The author will use pseudonyms for each person. The author many years ago was told by both godmothers to write the story as he witnessed it. Though not a member of the Social Club, the author was younger than the members and was considered an ancillary, a subordinate who was a trusted friend.

This novella is being written about this small town located in the southeast corner of Cliffville County. The townspeople consisted of Italians, Germans, Polish, Irish, Greeks, French, a small group of Jewish families, and Afro Americans, who referred to themselves as Negroes. There was extremely minimal prejudice in this community; the majority of the citizens were working class. The majority of the people worked in the textile or garment industries. Most of them worked in these plants, except for a handful of truck drivers. Some women worked as seamstresses in the garment factories, and both men and women had to be members of the proper union.

The town had three Roman Catholic churches, one Methodist church, one Protestant church, and one that referred to them as the Negro Baptist Church. There were four confectionaries, two meat markets, five fruit and vegetable stores, two pharmacies, and a funeral parlor. There were also six taverns or gin mills as they were called. The most popular tavern in town was Taggie’s, which had a large upstairs and was used as a brothel, a house of ill repute, and was popularly known as Taggie’s Cat House. The proprietor was the most innovative businessperson in town. He sponsored shuffleboard, dart, and billiard tournaments with cash prizes to the winners. Once a month, he promoted these tournaments to raise money for recreation programs for children.

The members of the Social Club were brothers Carl and Frank Artolino, Ted Atolla, Ray Camusco, John Ferraro, Tuddy LaFrone, Tony Masca, Adonis Mastrangelo, Moose Musso, Carmen Napoli, Willie Paparozzi, Frank Raimondo, Carl and Louis Stargento, and Pasqualle Pat Stasi. Their motto was One for all, all for one. The Artolino brothers were my uncles on my mother’s side. John Ferraro is my uncle on my father’s side.

You will be introduced to the people in this story as I remember them. Many of them will share various importance at different times throughout this novelette. As a matter of being courteous, I will start with the eldest.

Don Bruno Giovani and his wife, Rosalie, came to the United States in the early 1900s. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, and she in Catania, Sicily. Their parents were very good friends, each being godparents to each other’s children. There existed a mandate between both families that Bruno and Rosalie become betrothed when Rosalie completed her sixteenth year of age.

Both parents insisted that these two children be taught by an American tutor to learn American English. Bruno was four years older than Rosalie and was becoming proficient in learning this new language. He sent her letters in English to help her learn as quickly as possible. At first, she answered in Italian, and he would send the letters back to her.

Rosalie was very much in love with Bruno and was happy to become his wife. That was incentive enough to master the American English. They were married in a cathedral in Sicily and spent their honeymoon touring major cities in Italy.

Returning home, they discovered both parents had procured passports for them to go to America. They were given names to contact when they arrived there. They were taken aback by this action but were told America would be a safer place to live than in Europe. Bruno’s father had business contacts throughout Europe and knew that those that could afford to leave Europe were leaving as quickly as possible.

Bruno’s father was the capo, the boss of the largest crime family in Sicily. Bruno and Rosalie knew of his father’s reputation and wondered if that was why they were being sent to America. Bruno assured Rosalie that he knew nothing of any plans his father had for him.

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was not very romantic, with both getting seasick at different times. There were days when neither went to eat. During one of these unpleasant days, Bruno stated that he had to get another shirt from the luggage under the bed. He dragged it from under the bed and noticed a message in Italian spanning the two handles. It was a note from his mother, telling him to look at the jacketa Negro, the black jacket. They opened the trunk and found the jacket, but he couldn’t find anything significant. Rosalie took the jacket from him and started feeling the fabric, squeezing the collar, the pockets, and the bottom lining. She asked if he had his cuticle scissors available, and he handed it to her. Rosalie snipped away at the back fold of the collar. She pulled out what was to become their new currency in their new country. The bottom seam had more money and directions on the name of the family that would pick them up at Ellis Island. What they didn’t know at this time was that the people at the island, those in authority, were paid handsomely to help them go through the indoctrination without delay. They spoke English so well; they were treated as though they were Americans coming back home.

The driver of the Buick sedan brought them to a small town in northern New Jersey, where they met the Stargentos. The Stargentos were old friends of Rosalie’s parents. Owners of a furniture store, they offered Bruno and Rosalie a place to stay until they found a place of their own.

The next day, Mr. Stargento took Bruno to the Savings and Loan Bank, which had rooms for rent or houses for sale. The agent showed him small apartments and large