Honor Thy Father Part 21

"Yes," Torrillo said.

"Was it true?"

"Yes."

Krieger began to read again, quoting Sergeant O'Neil as saying, " 'Well, you don't want to pay.' And you are saying, 'Well, if I can pay I will.' And the sergeant saying to you, '...if you pay them what you are doing is reb.u.t.ting your original statement. Like I say I am not particularly interested in that end of it.' "

Krieger asked Torrillo: "Do you recall that?"

"Yes."

After Krieger completed his cross-examination, Leonard Sandler stood to ask Torrillo additional questions, concentrating on a discussion that Torrillo had had with another detective, named Doherty.

DOHERTY: Don, let me interrupt you a minute. Now you said that they sort of bullied you into giving them the card, right?TORRILLO: Right.DOHERTY: Now why were you so willing to give them the card. Why didn't you just tell them that you didn't want to get involved in that business?TORRILLO: Well, I told them that. You know what I mean? But he had a nice way about him, you know, and I was reading about what was going on, and he [Perrone] says look this is important now, don't worry, we'll give you the money, you know, as soon as he [Bonanno] comes back, it's only two separate tickets, right, so as soon as he comes back we'll give you the money and we'll-I'll give you the card back and everything will be all right, that's the way they, you know they told me to do and he says, don't worry, he says, look, we might be a little short of cash now but we're going to get money from something or other and I'll give you back the money. He says, I don't want to hurt you in any way; so he conned me, but then I was-it's easy for me to go and do something and get them out of the way, you know what I mean, or anything like that you know it's always the easy way out. It's stupid, you know, but...

Sandler stopped reading, and asked Torrillo: "The 'he' in this answer-was that Mr. Perrone?"

"Mr. Sandier, to be perfectly honest with you," Torrillo replied, "I got lost."

"I am reading your your answer, Mr. Torrillo," Sandler said. answer, Mr. Torrillo," Sandler said.

"Oh," Torrillo said, "could you pick out..."

"Didn't I make that clear?" Sandler asked.

"I think," Phillips said, "the witness should be permitted to look at the answer."

"Fine," Sandler said, "I agree with you. I think Mr. Phillips made a very good point." After handing Torrillo a copy of the transcript and pointing to the place where the long quotation appeared, Sandler asked Torrillo who the "he" was in the statement "he had a nice way about him."

"Perrone," Torrillo answered, after handing the transcript back to Sandier.

"And did Mr. Perrone have a nice way about him?" Sandler asked.

"In a derogatory sense, yes," Torrillo replied.

"I am sorry?" Sandler said, surprised. "Oh, you were being sarcastic when you said that?"

"Yes," Torrillo said.

"And the transcript does not reflect that, does it?" Sandler asked.

"Exactly," said Torrillo, in a voice suddenly sharp and aggressive, revealing an att.i.tude that Torrillo had until now concealed from the jury.

28.

ON THE FOLLOWING MORNING, SANDLER CALLED HIS client Peter Notaro to the stand. Notaro, heavily built, thick-armed, with a workman's rugged features but soft brown eyes and thinning gray hair, sat straight-spined in the chair. His dark suit, white s.h.i.+rt, and tie seemed almost too tightly drawn around his thick neck and broad shoulders, and he was so soft-spoken as he began to testify that the judge and Sandler both urged him to speak more forcefully-he could not be heard in the courtroom, they said, and it was apparent by the manner in which the spectators leaned forward that they wanted to hear what he had to say. It was not often that a man identified in the press as a Mafia soldier, a don's bodyguard, appeared in court to testify. The spectators wanted to hear every word; and from the way that Sandler began his examination, he too seemed interested, for whatever reason, in doc.u.menting Notaro's biographical background in the courtroom record. client Peter Notaro to the stand. Notaro, heavily built, thick-armed, with a workman's rugged features but soft brown eyes and thinning gray hair, sat straight-spined in the chair. His dark suit, white s.h.i.+rt, and tie seemed almost too tightly drawn around his thick neck and broad shoulders, and he was so soft-spoken as he began to testify that the judge and Sandler both urged him to speak more forcefully-he could not be heard in the courtroom, they said, and it was apparent by the manner in which the spectators leaned forward that they wanted to hear what he had to say. It was not often that a man identified in the press as a Mafia soldier, a don's bodyguard, appeared in court to testify. The spectators wanted to hear every word; and from the way that Sandler began his examination, he too seemed interested, for whatever reason, in doc.u.menting Notaro's biographical background in the courtroom record.

"How old are you?" Sandler began.

"Fifty-six."

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

"When were you married?"

"1948."

"And where do you live with your wife?"

"Tucson, Arizona."

"You have a child?"

"Yes."

"And is that a girl or a boy?"

"Girl."

"How old is she?"

"Eighteen."

"Does she go to college?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"State University."

"In Arizona?"

"That's right."

"Does your wife work for a living?"

"Yes, she does."

"How does she work for a living?"

"Waitress work."

"And has she worked for a living all of her life?"

"Yes, she has."

"Where were you born, Mr. Notaro?"

"New York City."

"Where in New York City?"

"The Lower East Side."

"And where did you go to school in New York City?"

"P.S. 114 on the East Side."

"How far did you get in school?"

"Eighth grade."

"What did you do when you left school?"

"I went to work for my father."

"What kind of work did he do?"

"Wholesale and retail produce."

"How long did you work for your father?"

"About three, four years."

"Did you then do something else?"

"Yes."

Walter Phillips, who had been displaying signs of impatience for several seconds, finally stood and said, "Your Honor, I am going to object at this time. I think we ought to get to the point here rather than going through the entire life..."

"Overruled," Judge Mansfield said. "This is just background."

Sandler continued, "What did you then do?"

"I bought a truck off my father."

"How much did you pay for it?"

"One hundred dollars."

"Thereafter, were you in the trucking business for a number of years?"

"Yes, I was."

"How long?"

"Thirty-seven years."

"And is that your own business?"

"That's right, yes."

"And what did you do yourself in connection with your business?"

"I drove a truck."

"Did there come a time when you had more than one truck?"

"Yes, there was."

"What was the most you ever had?"

"Six."

"And do you recall about when you had six trucks?"

"Oh, around 1950, '51."

"Did there come a time when your business began to recede, contract?"

"Yes."

"Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"About when was that?"

"Oh, about '60, '61. The year of '60 or '61."

"Did there come a time when the business was reduced to two trucks?"

"Yes, there was."

"Do you recall when that was?"

"That's around '62, the year of '62."

"And thereafter, did it require less of your time?"