Swimming to Catalina (Stone Barrington 4)
Page 146
“Yes.”
“Then what transpired?”
“Mr. Ippolito said that he had a use for me, and that if I did as he asked I would become rich beyond my wildest dreams. He said he had business plans that would increase the value of my Albacore stock by a factor of fifty, perhaps a hundred, and that if I served him well, I would be allowed to buy more stock at favorable prices. He also offered me a salary of two hundred thousand dollars a year in cash, tax free, and said that I could continue to collect my salary at Centurion.”
“Did you accept his proposal?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What work did you do for Mr. Ippolito?”
“I searched the employee files at Centurion and made a list of all stockholders and gave it to Mr. Sturmack. I transported large sums of cash from a Mr. Martin Barone to the offices of Albacore, which are on the floor below Mr. Ippolito’s office in the Safe Harbor building. I did many other routine jobs for Mr. Ippolito, including the disciplining of a loan shark who reported to Mr. Barone.”
“What was his name?”
“Ralph DiOrio.”
“How did you discipline him?”
“I beat him into unconsciousness with a black-jack.”
“Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to commit any other violent crimes?”
“Yes, he ordered me to arrange three murders.”
“Did you do so?”
“Yes.”
“Who were the victims?”
“The first was Mr. Stone Barrington, who I now realize escaped death.”
“And who carried out the attempt on Mr. Barrington’s life?”
“Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”
“Did Mr. Ippolito subsequently learn that Mr. Barrington had escaped death?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Who were the other two murder victims?”
“Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”
“Why were they murdered?”
“They had been arrested on other charges, and Mr. Ippolito was concerned that they might connect him to Mr. Barrington’s death.”
“Who carried out these two murders?”
“Thomas Cosenza and Joseph Zito.”
“How were they murdered?”
“On Mr. Ippolito’s specific instructions, they were shot in the head and dumped into the Pacific Ocean with weights attached.”
Rick wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to O’Hara. “I show you a name; is this a name you recognize?”