Chapter Two - The Caruso Crime Family
FBI Headquarters: Missing Persons Division - 12 Hours Missing
F.B.I. Special Agents Danny Taylor, Samantha Spade, and Martin Fitzgerald peered through the glass window of Jack Malone's office at the woman sitting there, nervously shifting in her seat. The little boy seated next to her was playing with some toy cars that Vivian had found for him while his mother cooed at the baby girl sleeping in her arms. Though her tone was gentle, her fear was burning in her eyes.
Danny shook his head and said, "They look like any other family."
"They are." Samantha stated, watching the scene with interest. "A family whose father is a major player in the Caruso crime family."
"And missing." Martin stated dryly . "Don't forget missing."
Danny glanced over to where Agent Jack Malone was talking quietly with Agent Vivian Johnson. "Are we really going to take this seriously?" He asked, shaking his head again and letting out a low whistle. "Eddie Caruso. Why would his wife bother to report him missing? She has to know what he does for a living and that..."
"Which is why Jack is taking this seriously." Samantha interrupted him, still intrigued with the family scene playing out in Jack's office. "She knows what a dangerous world she lives in. What kind of world she has brought her children into. She deals with it everyday. But look at her. She's really scared. And for a woman who lives her life under the gun to be afraid, something's gotta be up."
"But what I don't understand is why she came to us." Martin joined in. "When a mob hit man goes missing, the Feds usually aren't your first stop. This seems to be the kind of thing they would want to take care of within the family, right?"
"Unless it is the family you are afraid of." Danny stated, looking again at Theresa Caruso through the glass but this time seeing her much differently. Suddenly Danny realized that this beautiful, young mother with the soft voice and gentle touch had to be made out of steel. By simply sitting in this office, she was risking her very way of life.
"We have to make completely sure that Joey and Anthony Caruso never find out that we are investigating this." Samantha said, a determined look in her eyes. "If they do, Eddie and Theresa Caruso are as good as dead."
"If he's not already." Danny said. Then eyeing Sam suspiciously and playfully, he asked, "How is it, exactly, that you seem to know so much about the Caruso crime family?"
Sam smiled coyly at both Danny and Martin. "A girl's gotta have her secrets."
"And yours involves organized crime?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrow and looking over at Martin. This time, it was Martin's turn to shake his head.
"I dabble." Sam said lightly. Then, for Martin's benefit, she added, "And I dated an agent in the Criminal Division. He was part of the team investigating the Caruso family's ties to the Mayor. And he liked to brag."
"The Caruso crime family has ties to the mayor of New York?" Martin asked, ignoring her not so playful jab at his ego by talking about one of her ex-boyfriends.
"Anthony, Joey and Eddie Caruso run their business with a strong hand and without much resistance from law enforcement. Why do you think that is?" Sam asked, knowing they already knew the answer to that question. The Caruso boys were the heads of a local labor union that contributed substantial donations the current mayor's re-election campaign. The fact that the union was not much more than a front for organized crime never seemed to be discussed that much by anyone outside of the F.B.I.
"So, Joey and Eddie are Anthony Caruso's sons?" Danny asked, intrigued.
Sam shook her head and answered, "Joey is Anthony's son. Eddie's father was Paul Caruso, Anthony's brother. Everyone called him Big Pauly. Paul and Anthony learned the business as youngsters and, like good fathers, passed their knowledge down to their sons. The two elder Caruso brothers built the largest organization on the entire East Coast. Those whose organizations were against them, had a tough fight on their hands if they wanted to take over Paul and Tony's territory. They've left terrible death and destruction in their wake as they climbed through the ranks of the family business. Always in danger, the two had a difficult time keeping their families safe from the threats of rivaling families. But that didn't stop them from bringing those families into the fold. Eddie learned the business aspect of the family's organization and seemed to remove himself from the violence end of it. Joey, by default, is the muscle."
"So Eddie Caruso is really just a big teddy bear with a mean old man and a business degree?" Danny asked with his usual sarcasm in his voice.
"Hardly." Sam replied. "Big Pauly was the enforcer of his day. He did business the violent way. Bloodshed was a daily occurrence for Eddie and his family and I'm sure he learned at an early age to be hard and never back down from anyone."
"Was?" Martin asked.
"Big Pauly Caruso died in prison about 17 years ago. Big Pauly was the family fall guy. He routinely went to prison on minor charges that the Feds could muster up to keep his family's true crimes from being uncovered. Most inmates knew who he was and left him alone, but he did make a few enemies. And one of them killed him during breakfast one morning." Sam shook her head and said, "After his father's death, Eddie really stepped up and took his place in the family."
"How old was he? Ten?" Danny wanted to know.
"Apparently, Eddie has been on our radar since he was 16."
Danny shook his head again and muttered, "Not old enough to vote or buy beer, but apparently 16 is a good age to start killing people." He looked back at the little boy innocently playing with trucks on the floor of Jack's office. The legacy of violence he had been born into turned Danny's stomach. He knew they had to do something.
Jack and Vivian waved the rest of the group over to where they stood. When Martin, Danny and Samantha joined them, Jack said, "Obviously we all know how delicate this situation is. And how dangerous. But I think we may have found an avenue to start with."
Vivian continued, quietly, "Eddie Caruso has a sister. Angie Sullivan. She is a pediatrician at New York Hospital."
"And why do we believe that it is safer to talk to this Caruso than any of the others?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrow skeptically.
"Because she cut off ties to her family sixteen years ago. And hasn't looked back since." Jack answered, matter of factly.
"So what makes you think she'll talk to us?"
"Her father's dead. Her mother's dead. She wants nothing to do with her uncles or cousins on her father's side. Eddie is the only living member of her immediate family that is left. Her cousin, Mike Sullivan, is a detective with the NYPD. I just got off the phone with him and he says that Eddie and Angie were very close before Angie left the fold." Jack looked around at his team and continued, "So, we play on her sense of family and see what happens. It's all we've got."
Danny shrugged and pulled on his jacket, saying, "Then, let's give it a shot."