American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 91 Dog bites dog

The time for the public rally is drawing ever closer.

Meanwhile, Luca has already begun to cultivate relationships with the truck drivers' union, spending his days hanging out with Marigio, Fitz, and a bunch of Mafia bosses.

For example, the heads of the Gambino and Genovese families.

They are also frequently invited to the club, each receiving a lifetime membership card for free access – an essential service.

Thanks to his generous spending and the aura of trust he commanded, Luca quickly became acquainted with many gangsters.

That day, Fitz brought several of his close Mafia bosses to Luca's club.

When they got off the bus, the group of older men were still furious and indignant. But after entering the room, they felt much better and their murderous intent subsided.

"Pigeon, the environment of your club is really nice! It's more comfortable here than at home. The smell here is so refreshing. Did you spray some fragrance?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man with brown glasses named Tony Pro, the head of the Genovese family and the president of the 560 Truck Drivers Union!

It's still a rare card.

[Character Card: Tony Pro (Anthony Provenzano)]

[Pro: C]

[Source: The Irishman]

[Skill: Labor Extortion]

[Bond: Follow]

Pro held a high position within the Genovese family. Although he was just a minor figure, he rose to become the president of the trucking union, controlling union power in several cities in New Jersey and making a considerable amount of money for the family through the union.

He wields considerable power!

Even Fitz, the puppet chairman, had to treat him with utmost respect.

In the original storyline, it was he who orchestrated the murder of his former partner, Jimmy Hoffa—the former president of the truck drivers' union.
It created a shocking disappearance scandal that reverberated throughout the United States.

Pro is a ruthless man who murdered countless rivals before finally securing the position of chairman.

Other competitors are still trying to win over voters and gain the support of the working class to take power, but little do they know that the more they do so, the more the public feels that they are too "dangerous" and the more they want to get rid of them.

There are no good guys in the Mafia.

At that moment, Pro was fiddling with the Silver Queen on the table. In response to his teasing, Luca laughed and said, "You're not the first person to ask me this question. I recommended a few aromatherapy products commonly used in clubs, but after they took them home, they found that they didn't have much effect. In the end, they thought about it and came to their own conclusions."

"Oh? What conclusion?"

"They all believe that it was because I was sitting in the club that they felt at ease. With the peace ambassador by their side, they didn't have to worry about trouble coming their way, because I would step in and help them solve their problems."

"Hahaha!"

Several mafia bosses and Fitz couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Luca the Pigeon! Haha! I've heard that nickname of yours for ages."

"When I first heard the nickname 'Peace Ambassador,' I thought it was some newcomer who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I never imagined it was the Butcher."

"I have to say, I feel really safe here. Is there some kind of strange psychological suggestion at play?"

The conversation then turned to Luca, from his glorious past as a butcher who helped the Lucchese family kill countless enemies, to his recent role as a protector after sheathing his sword.

Everyone had a good impression of Luca, but a few drug dealers subconsciously felt fear, wondering if the Butcher's infamous reputation was still too frightening after all these years.

Then the conversation turned to business matters, specifically the truck drivers' union. Pro, who had been somewhat annoyed before arriving, grumbled and changed the subject:
"Fakal Gallo! That madman! I've never seen anyone so mentally unstable!"

Pro took a deep drag on his cigar, the Silver Queen's purifying power unable to suppress his inner rage. "How long has this guy been out of prison? My truck has been robbed several times already. He thinks he's being careful? Don't think I don't know it was him!"

Others echoed this sentiment, hurling insults at Joe Gallo, calling him a madman.

Joe Gallo – nicknamed “Crazy Joe”.

He's notoriously crazy.

Luca was slightly taken aback; this was something he didn't know. "He stole the union's truck?"

Pro nodded vigorously. "That guy has gone completely mad since he got out of prison. He steals and smashes everything! Colombo doesn't give him any face, so he even robbed his own family's cake shop and the clothing factory in Colombo."

Luca: "."

Damn, this is insane! Colombo is Gallo's big boss, and this is the first time Luca has ever seen someone steal his business.

Why didn't Colombo just kill Gallo outright? Did they have to wait until Gallo shot him during a public rally?

Another older brother shook his head and said, "When Gallo was in prison, he made friends with a lot of black gangs. Now he has a large group of black thugs and hitmen under his command. Those blacks are just as crazy as him, like a pack of black bears, they pounce on whatever is sweet!"

The older men looked at each other, none of them wanting to provoke that vengeful madman.

The main reason is that Gallo holds a very high position in the Mafia!
He and Colombo were once on the same level, or even he was of a higher status than Colombo.

The Colombo family was originally called the Profasi family. Gallo launched a rebellion, failed, and was imprisoned. When he was released, he found that the family name had been changed.

That shameless bastard Colombo seized the spoils of his failed rebellion, took over the family business, and even changed the family name. How could Gallo possibly accept that?

Gallo has always been at odds with Colombo, and his defiance of the big boss as a gang leader is something all five families know.

But Gallo was, after all, a "veteran" of the Mafia, with a powerful faction within the Colombo family, and he was insane, so no one dared to provoke him easily.

As Luca listened to everyone talking about these past events, he inexplicably thought of his own family—Lucchese. Could he perhaps change his name to Greco someday?

The Greco family, isn't that a much better name than the Luches family?

"Pigeon!"

Pro suddenly looked at the pigeon. "You said you're good at resolving trouble, that you value peace, right? Why don't you go talk to Gallo? As long as you can convince him to stop stealing our business, you can name your terms. We need peace right now. Gallo keeps causing trouble, and no one can do business in peace." Luca said tactfully, "I only joined the Mafia when Gallo was in jail. I haven't had much contact with him in all this time. When he goes crazy, he'll even steal from his own family."

An older man joked, "Pigeon, you were just saying you were a peace ambassador."

Pro set a condition: "I know you want to do business with the unions. Your tanker trucks will have free access from New York to New Jersey, and Philadelphia will be open to you. I can guarantee that."

He certainly has that ability, Fitz said with a smile, "Pigeon, cooperation is the only way to achieve a win-win situation."

"I think you're afraid of bullets." Luca thought for a moment and said, "I can try first."

Pro laughed and said, "Pigeon, I believe in your abilities. Compared to 'pigeon,' I'm more impressed by your nickname 'Butcher.' You have plenty of ways to persuade Gallo, right?"

Luca extended his hand to shake Pro's, "Wait for my good news."

You'll have plenty of opportunities to witness my butcher-like methods in the future.

[Bond: Follow]

[Pro: C]

[Labor extortion: Your deterrent effect on truck driver union members +10%; Money laundering through truck driver unions, conversion rate of illicit funds +10%]

[Learning Requirements: Affinity level of Friends or higher; Requires 40 Skill Fragments]

Luca escorted the group of older men out of the club and watched their car drive away.

Luca didn't directly suggest joining the union or becoming its president just now, because that's unrealistic.

Fitz might consider it, but Pro would definitely not agree.

He killed all of Pro's rivals and then declared himself chairman in front of Pro.
Then Luca will have to be prepared to face the threat from Pro at any time, and it's estimated that the bond level of this rare card will be difficult to raise.

This little skill is still somewhat useful.

In the car, far from the club.

Pro and Fitz sat in the back row, preparing to go play golf together.

This was a shared interest between the two, and it also made it convenient to discuss some shady business deals on the court.

"Have you figured out how Pigeons' gasoline business works?" Pro asked Fitz. "Selling gasoline alone doesn't make much profit, so it's not worth the trouble for them to go to such lengths to expand their business. Besides, their gasoline prices are generally lower than the market price. How the hell are they going to make money?"

Fitz shook his head: "It's not clear yet, all I know is that they're cooperating with the Russians."

Since the federal government hasn't started collecting taxes yet, everything is still legal and compliant. Even price wars are within the businesses' rights. Only when taxes are collected will all the shady practices be exposed.

No matter how Pro thought about it, the other party's gasoline business was legitimate. He had also thought about tax evasion, but he never expected that the other party was not evading taxes, but rather taking all of it in one go, leaving not a single penny for the federal government.

Increasingly curious, Pro snorted, "Keep a close eye on them and see what tricks they're up to. If the opportunity arises, we'll get involved too. We've got the truck drivers in control; without tanker trucks to transport oil, how will they make money? If that peace ambassador wants to make a living, he'll have to follow our orders!"

"Want to do business in New Jersey? All the territory and business he and Magligio have built up will be ours!"

Fitz said okay, then asked, "What about the pigeons and Gallo?"

“I never expected Pigeon to succeed. What can two violent lunatics possibly talk about? Gallo can’t be persuaded by anyone! Let them fight like dogs. It would be better if they were both dead. Then we’ll take over Pigeon’s business.”

For some reason, Pro felt that as soon as he stepped out of the club, all the hidden murderous intent and greed in his mind popped up.

"That's strange," he thought to himself. "Could it be that the peace ambassador really has some kind of psychological effect?"

Back to the top-floor office.

Not long after Luca sat down, Lyon arrived at the place.

Lyon revealed the intelligence he had gathered: "Frank has been killing people in New York recently, but they are all people unrelated to the five great families."

Luca nodded thoughtfully.

Although Frank is the union president, his core identity is still that of a painter. What business is he in New York for besides murder?
Most of the tasks were assigned to the Bufalino family.

Luca didn't intend to get involved. He was thinking of taking a roundabout approach to build a bond with Frank by having his daughters, Buffalo and Hoffa, do the same thing and have a good relationship with Frank's daughters.

Moreover, Hofa and Frank's daughter have an excessively close relationship. Frank's daughter regards Hofa as her most beloved and respected elder, and even as her emotional support, an unconventional "father".

Frank later assassinated Hoffa, which led to a complete break between father and daughter.

Luca is sometimes quite annoyed. Does the rarity of these rare cards necessarily mean that the family is more disharmonious?

“Keep an eye on him,” Luca instructed. “If he gets into any trouble, you can help him out—I mean, with the assassination missions.”

Lyon nodded; this was something he excelled at.

Before leaving, Luca asked, "By the way, I heard from Brian that he's going to introduce you to a girlfriend, you..."

"I have something to do, I'll be going now." With that, Leon quickly slipped out of the room.

"."

Luca muttered, "Could it be that Brian's introduction was unreliable?"

Shaking his head, Luca decided to put the thought aside for the time being. He stood up, went to the blackboard, picked up a picture of Joe Gallo, and pasted it on.

"Crazy Joe, he wants to become the big boss, huh?"

Just how crazy is someone nicknamed "crazy"?

Luca soon found out.

The next day, Luca received a phone call from Abram.

Joe Gallo, that madman, stole Russian oil!
(End of this chapter)