Swimming to Catalina (Stone Barrington 4)
Page 147
“Yes.”
“For the purposes of this interview, you will refer to this person as Mr. X.”
“All right.”
“Did anyone ask you to do anything with regard to Mr. X?”
“Yes. Mr. Ippolito instructed me to have the wife of Mr. X kidnapped and held until I received further instructions from him.”
“Did you do so?”
“Yes.”
“Who conducted the kidnapping?”
“Vincent Mancuso and Manolo Lobianco.”
“Where was she taken?”
“She was moved daily from one location to another.”
“Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to contact Mr. X to arrange the return of his wife?”
“No, I believe others did that.”
“Do you know who?”
“Other employees of Mr. Ippolito. I don’t know their names.”
“Did Mr. Ippolito ask you to do anything else with regard to the kidnapping of Mrs. X?”
“When Mr.
Regenstein asked me to help in the recovery of Mrs. X, I told Mr. Ippolito. He instructed me to pretend to help Mr. X, but to report all communications to him or Mr. Sturmack.”
“Was Mr. Sturmack involved in the kidnapping?”
“He was aware of it.”
“What was the purpose of the kidnapping?”
“To persuade Mr. X to sell to Albacore his stock in Centurion Studios. Mr. X is a large stockholder.”
“Was there any other purpose?”
“I believe Mr. Ippolito wanted Mr. X to participate in other of his business activities, but I am not familiar with those.”
“I ask you again, Mr. O’Hara, have you given this interview without duress, and with only the seeking of immunity from prosecution as your motive?”
“Yes.”
Rick switched off the recorder. “All right, that’s enough for now. I’m going to get you a promise of immunity from the feds, then allow them to question you in a lot more detail about Ippolito’s, Sturmack’s, and Barone’s business affairs.”
“I’ll have a lot more to say,” O’Hara said.
“Good.” Rick picked up the phone on the man’s desk and dialed a number. “This is Rick Grant; I’m arresting a man who has given me a statement implicating a number of other people in serious crimes. I want a secure hotel room arranged for him now, where he can be interviewed in greater depth. Yes, I’ll hold.” He covered the phone. “I’m going to move Billy now, then we can talk again to Cable and Rubens.” He went back to the phone. “Good. Send an unmarked car and two detectives to the Centurion Studios security department now to pick up my man. His name is William O’Hara. Yes, the same. Got all that? Good.” He hung up.
Less than ten minutes passed before the two detectives arrived.