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

Chapter 167 Luca's Methods

At this dismemberment-like spoils-dividing meeting, Fitz was undoubtedly the most excited person. Without Hoffa, and with the support of Luca and others, he could steadily continue to sit in the position of union president.

He promised to open backdoors for everyone's families and that no one would obstruct their loan programs anymore.

Let's all make money together!

Fitz made money, the various families made money, the insurance companies managing the fund and the leaders of the various branches also made money, but the workers' fund lost money. Most of the Mafia used this money for investments and loan sharking, which were entirely their own businesses and had nothing to do with the truck drivers, who could not profit from it.

Moreover, these loans always seem to "malfunction" for various legitimate and compliant reasons, leading to problems with the union fund.

You can't expect these Mafia members to have much business acumen and make money every time they invest. They were able to build Las Vegas not because they had exceptional investment acumen, but simply because gambling was legal there. Originally, everyone just wanted to build a casino and hotel to launder money, but it got out of control and turned into a gambling city.

Even now, Las Vegas is still helping people launder money.

When it comes to investment, many people have turned their attention to Luca's seemingly thriving business. His gasoline business has even expanded to Detroit. Who knows how much money this guy makes in a week?

Some people want to collaborate with Luca, some want to invest in him, and others want to get investment advice from him.
Luca's words immediately excited everyone: "Are you all interested in Detroit's post-disaster reconstruction project? If so, you can invest money and bid together. We can get some engineering projects from the Detroit government, and we can all work together to rebuild Detroit."

Building Detroit?
The crowd chuckled. The blacks wrecked the city, and now the mafia is here to fix it, huh?
Fat Tony laughed heartily: "Luca, I'm growing to love your humor more and more! Yes, that's right! We, the Mafia, must shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding Detroit! Rebuilding the Motor City is the Mafia's duty!"

Everyone laughed.

The most absurd joke of the day has come.

At the same time, everyone's opinion of Luca rose a notch. This kid really wants to take advantage of everyone, causing a riot and then trying to profit from the "war."

But making money is a good thing, and working with Luca is really comfortable!

Everyone chatted amicably, and the atmosphere was much more harmonious than when Hofa had stirred up the conflict.

Luca leaned back on the sofa, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the faces of these people, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He knew the fate of most people present like the back of his hand. For example, Fitz would die of lung cancer in the future, Fat Tony would die of prostate cancer, and Russell would die of a stroke and paralysis in prison. Luca couldn't change birth, aging, sickness, and death, nor could he change disease. Few of the old men were in good health, so Luca could only offer a friendly reminder to take care of their health and go to the hospital for checkups often.

What he could change was that Russell and the others would no longer be sent to prison by the federal authorities because of Hoffa's death, and would no longer have to sit in prison wheelchairs basking in the limited sunlight.

Luca closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.

I was born in the last glorious era of the Mafia, and the top Mafia leaders of this era were all old men. The Detroit Mafia was only forced to "retire" by black people, but their "aging" situation was not an exception, but a common phenomenon in major families across the United States.

These old men either died from assassination, from disease, or were collectively imprisoned by the federal government.
Can I continue to build on my success?

Looking at the group of smiling old men, Luca raised his champagne glass and toasted them.

After the meeting, Russell Bufalino spoke with Luca privately.

“Luca, you’ve impressed me. I thought Frank would be the one to fire the shot last. He was in a difficult position and might not be able to bring himself to do it. Now he’s watched Hoffa die in front of him without stopping him, which is a sad thing.”

Russell, that little old man, spoke slowly and gently, even when ordering his men to kill someone, he spoke as if he were chatting about everyday matters.

His emotional control is remarkably stable, a complete opposite of Hoffa's.

Luca's gaze drifted to the distant hall, where Frank was talking to his daughter, Peggy. The little girl was a bit agitated upon learning of Hofa's death, and seemed to be shifting the blame onto her father once again.

“It takes different kinds of courage to understand something and to accept something. As his friend, I hope he can get over it as soon as possible.” Luca’s gaze was deep.

So what if he moves on? It's still a scar, one that can't be ignored. But compared to the original storyline where Frank personally blew Hoffa's head off, this situation at least gives Frank more confidence to face his daughter—"I didn't kill Hoffa."

Moreover, Hoffa's remains were preserved, not thrown into the incinerator and disappeared without a trace, and were able to be buried in his hometown of Detroit.

When the topic turned to funerals, Russell asked, "After the aftermath of the Detroit riots subsides, Zerelli and Hoffa's families will hold a funeral for him. I will attend. Will you go, Luca?"

“I’m the branch president of the union, of course I’ll go,” Luca stated, clarifying his identity.

Russell nodded, then suddenly reminded Luca, "Luca, as a partner, I feel it's necessary to remind you that you did a great job this time, diverting the Federation's attention, but it may also attract some other unnecessary attention. Racial conflict is a very sensitive topic in the Federation, and we should not touch this kind of weapon lightly."

This was a kind reminder from an elder, and Luca took it to heart. In fact, if he hadn't known the original plot of the Detroit riots, Luca wouldn't have planned to do this, until he discovered that he could achieve all his goals with minimal cost through riots.

If Luca hadn't intervened, the riots in Detroit wouldn't have started so quickly, and he couldn't predict exactly when they would erupt.

But it was bound to erupt; it was the collective will of the Black mob, the pent-up anger that had been building up for decades or even centuries.

He detonated it prematurely.

“Luca, think of Colombo.”

Russell continued, “He formed the Italian Civil Rights Alliance, and the banner he raised was to advocate for the rights of Italians who are oppressed in society. In the end, he suffered a backlash. It’s not just because he was too high-profile and flamboyant, but also because he shouldn’t have incited racial hatred among Italians to satisfy his own interests. We are also Italians. If we let him continue to cause trouble, we will eventually be affected as well.”

Russell looked at Luca with admiration, yet also with scrutiny. This outstanding young man's methods were sometimes too extreme, seemingly stemming from the violent behavior of the "Butcher," and many of those influences still lingered in him.

Luca's expression was somewhat surprised. "Russell, I remember you supported Colombo, and you even attended his conference."

He even wore the badge of the Civil Rights Union.

Russell sighed, thinking to himself that after forming an alliance with Colombo, he hadn't expected them to hold two conferences in two consecutive years, nor had he anticipated the intense reaction from the other families—they all seemed eager to tear Colombo apart. Colombo's accusations against the media, claiming that the use of terms like "Maffia" to insult Italians, making it seem like every Italian was a gangster, were clearly a blatant attempt to cover up their wrongdoing. Colombo himself was a Mafia boss, and yet he was accusing the media? Was he rewriting the director's script?
Are they afraid that the attention they've attracted isn't enough?
“I support someone speaking up for Italians, but it doesn’t seem like that person should be Colombo, or anyone within our Mafia,” Russell laughed. “I’m someone who knows when to back down, and I’m willing to listen to everyone’s opinions. What I want is the same as yours: to make money peacefully.”

Luca gained a deeper understanding of Russell; there was a reason why this little old man lived to die of natural causes.

"Thank you for your advice." Luca was sincerely grateful. At least someone was willing and had the courage to point out his shortcomings and mistakes and offer some suggestions. His own brothers rarely gave him any directional guidance or advice; they were either too cowardly or too brainless. Uncle Marigio was no exception.

Previously, only Gambino had helped Luca understand some things. The old man gave him some useful advice on their first meeting, which was even more effective than skills.

There are still many things we can learn from these long-lived elders.

Russell felt a sense of relief when he saw that Luca had listened to him, unlike Hoffa, who was stubborn and refused to listen.

Perhaps in the future, the rise and fall of the Bufalino family will depend on the help of this young man after his death.

I should now do them more favors.

[Bond: Friends]

The bond has reached the level of superficial friendship.

[Libra Executioner Unlocked]

Russell: SR

[Libra Execution: Your execution orders, whether carried out personally or by your subordinates, have a 20% increased success rate; your subordinates' combat effectiveness is increased by 20% and their exposure probability is reduced by 30% when carrying out execution orders.]

[Learning Requirements: Affinity level of Friends or higher; Requires 80 Skill Fragments]

[Blood Pact Investment: When training subordinates, the efficiency of subordinate loyalty training is increased by 40%, and the motivation to betray is reduced, with the probability of betrayal decreasing by 30%;]

[Learning Requirements: Bond level must be close friend or higher; 100 skill fragments required]

[Godfather: Your deterrent effect on all criminals increases by 10% to 60% (based on the criminal's status and the degree of ties between you);]
Trust rating for all members of the American Mafia (official/peripheral) +30%;

When bribing/forming alliances/infiltrating local governments and officials, the success rate is forcibly increased by 30%; when facing political storms (such as a presidential assassination attempt), the family's chance of avoiding danger is increased by 30%.

The Godfather's Promise is Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold: The probability of repaying favors you make when befriending others is forcibly increased by 30%.

[Learning Requirements: Be a top mafia boss; have a bond level of partner or higher; require 300 skill fragments]

After reviewing Russell's skills, Luca didn't hesitate to spend 80 fragments to learn the first skill.

[“Libra Execution” has been added]

[Remaining Skill Fragments: 430]

Now that I'm the referee, I'm not incapable of issuing execution orders to execute some insignificant people, without even having to bring it up for discussion in the committee.

This skill can increase the success rate of executions. Frank helped Russell kill his whole life, and he never failed to kill Hoffa, nor was he ever caught. He really has some skills.

Luca also wanted the second skill, which increased the loyalty of his subordinates—Frank could execute his own friends, which showed just how loyal he was.

The third skill, without a doubt, is something Luca desperately needs.

As expected of a rare Godfather-level card in the Mafia, it's hard to find an SR card like this except for Russell.

The Bufalino family and Russell, he's safe with Luca.

Future collaborations in Atlantic City will require further building of a strong emotional bond with Russell.

In the following period, the aftermath of the Detroit riots, which had been the focus of attention across the United States, gradually subsided, and the riots in some nearby cities were also dealt with.

From the beginning of Philippe's violent law enforcement to the end of the Black Lives Matter riots, the stereotype of "Black people = crime" has undoubtedly been deeply etched into the minds of everyone around the world.

As the one who instigated this, Luca doesn't want to comment. Time will tell when some great director makes a movie about it or when it's written into history by scholars.

What he needs to do now is to support Bobby in ruling the East Side of Detroit's gangs, and incidentally open his own gas stations in Detroit.

Gas stations are legitimate businesses; it's the gasoline wholesale companies above them that are illegitimate.

Secondly, they joined forces with the Detroit Mafia to secure some "disaster reconstruction" projects from the government. This was a big business; with hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding, the Mafia would definitely want to skim some profits off it.

Luca doesn't want to use his own money to repair the gas station; he wants federal money instead.

Only in this way can we achieve a win-win situation.

Time quickly passed and it was already late October.

Hofa's funeral is about to take place.

(End of this chapter)