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

Chapter 185 The Houses of Parliament
Inside the office, William looked at the uninvited guest with a mixture of curiosity and doubt in his eyes.

He had heard of the man, but not through his own channels; he learned about him from his brother: a New York mob boss, businessman, and union branch president.

The reason for meeting here was, of course, to discuss serious matters. The other party had scheduled the meeting to talk about "investment promotion"—William is currently a member of the Senate Finance Committee and also an assistant to the Senate Majority Leader.

Williams didn't quite believe the other party had any ulterior motives in discussing these things in a legislative body like the Senate; he was sure they had something else going on.

“Mr. Bulger,” Luca greeted him with a warm smile and shook hands, then sat down in the chair opposite the desk.

William, adopting a purely businesslike attitude, chatted with Luca for a while before finally asking, "Mr. Greco, are you interested in investing in a business in South Boston?"

The South Side of Boston is Williams' district.

Luca wouldn't point out the details or raise the other party's expectations too high from the start. Instead, he mentioned his plan to open a chain of gas stations here, and in his capacity as president of the truck drivers' union, he mentioned the freight safety regulations in Boston.

“My truck drivers have recently run into some trouble in Boston. Freight regulations are so strict that they can’t deliver their goods on time.”

Luca went on and on explaining, finally saying, "I hope the parliament can pay more attention to the livelihoods of low-income truck drivers. When you're pushing for zoned school bus services for students of color, why can't you devote more attention to truck drivers?"

The "school bus incident" was a bizarre move by the Boston Senate and courts. In short, it was a forced implementation of inter-district school bus services in an attempt to eliminate racial segregation in schools, but it was met with strong resistance from the Irish-American white community in South Boston, while the Black community was very supportive.

Damn, we finally got to stand up and be on equal footing with white people, how can we not support it?

This has resulted in widespread violent clashes between Black and white people, particularly concentrated in schools, where campus violence has more than tripled, with thousands of racially motivated incidents occurring. The situation is far from over, and school buses are still frequently attacked.

This is just a microcosm of the gang warfare in the South. While the three major gangs were causing trouble, many other forces were also active, and black communities in Boston frequently clashed with white communities.

Some of the bills that the bigwigs at the top came up with on a whim, when implemented at the local level, ultimately led to street gang warfare. Luca didn't know what was going on behind the scenes, but he knew that the current chaos in the South District was definitely not a situation the bigwigs wanted to continue to see.

It's gotten too serious. If it involves large-scale deaths and schools, the situation will escalate.

William was in a bad mood when these messy things were brought up. He had already asked his brother to end the Southern District conflict as soon as possible and calm things down, otherwise, the public's voices would be heard, and many of the more than one hundred members of Parliament on both floors had the right to impeach him.

Since the South District is William's hometown and his constituency, he has a lot of people backing him.

The Detroit riots are still fresh in our minds; the council members there were reshuffled after that incident.

Luca added quietly, "Besides, with the current situation in the South, it's very difficult for us businessmen to do business. I don't want to see my truck being robbed here."

William: "."

That word was really sensitive. He'd heard that the source of the disaster in Detroit was apparently a damn tanker truck.

William slowly leaned back in his chair, looking at Luca with a hint of curiosity. "If you want to protect your business, you should go to the police, go to law enforcement."

We are the legislative branch.

"Of course I will look for it."

Luca leaned forward and whispered, "The police are also keen to promote and witness peace in South Boston, and I'd be happy to be the mediator. But the parties involved are currently suspicious of each other and lack trust. To achieve a peaceful resolution, Mr. Bulger, what are your thoughts? Perhaps you could persuade your brother to back down?"

William's gaze sharpened slightly; he was beginning to understand what was going on. Those in the know in Boston were well aware of his relationship and identity with his brother. Some needed White Hair's dark power, while others were using it to undermine him and the majority party.

Looking at Luca, Williams probed for his true intentions, "I don't know what James (White Hair) is doing."

Luca spread his hands: "The South District is in such chaos right now, dozens or even hundreds of people have died, but your brother and his Killing Gang are still standing strong, and I heard he's almost become the leader of the Killing Gang. Looks like he's doing pretty well."

William smiled. If the other party were the FBI or a police officer, he would definitely suspect that they were trying to extract information about his brother from him. He had encountered this kind of thing too many times; people often tried to trip him up.

But Luca is a mafia boss.

“Oh, it seems you know very well,” William said calmly. “His affairs have nothing to do with me, and I have no right to interfere.”

Luca didn't try to persuade him, but instead analyzed the current situation in Boston: "The FBI is investigating the North Side Mafia, and the Angelo family has teamed up with the Russians to start a gas station business in the North Side. Your committee must have noticed these things as well. And that was originally my business! Some people are breaking the rules and sneaking onto my table like rats, taking my cheese."

“I have no say in what happens in the North District.” William seemed determined not to interfere, quietly watching Luca’s performance. “If the other party is competing in the market through legitimate business means, then you should think about what you have done wrong; if the other party has violated the rules, you should go to the police and the FBI.”

"And your brother seems to have some connections with the North Side Mafia. They're even trying to get involved in the casino and vending machine business right under the FBI's nose. The Angelo family can't sit still anymore; your brother is taking a huge risk."

Hearing Luca's words, William instinctively felt a pang of worry. He and his brother had a good relationship, contrary to the public's perception of them being estranged. "And I," Luca smiled, "can bring peace to the South. Neither the Angelo family nor the Russians matter to me. The war in the South has reached a point where a ceasefire is necessary, Mr. Bulger. Do you want a stable and prosperous South, or a chaotic one? Even for your brother's sake, and for the support of the South's voters, you should know what the best choice is."

William gave a forced smile: "This is the business you wanted to discuss with me today?"

“Why not give it a try?” Luca said. “We all need friends, whether it’s your brother or you. Nobody gets ahead on their own, right, Senator? If you still have doubts, I can talk to your leader, but you probably won’t get a second chance like this.”

William's smile gradually faded. Although he was currently very close to the majority party leader, he was, after all, just an assistant, and an assistant who didn't want to become the leader wasn't a good assistant.

Thinking of the South District's "bread and butter," William asked, "Can you end the gang warfare in the South District?"

"I can even help you resolve the school bus incident."

Luca said with a smile, "Only if you and your brother are willing to be friends with me."

At this point, Luca pulled out a guild leader's business card from his pocket and pushed it across the desk. "To show my sincerity, I'm willing to donate some money to your committee in the name of the truck drivers' union to support your financial work. I hope that when the House of Representatives pushes through the freight regulation bill next time, the truck drivers here will have more benefits."

The donation was definitely public funds donated to the Boston Democratic Party. This is not bribery; it is a legitimate and compliant political donation.

As for the specific amount of money to be donated, that depends on the sincerity of the two Bulger brothers.

It's impossible to get something for free.

The two chatted for a long time before Luca got up and left.

William looked away and picked up the business card on the table—a Mafia boss, the head of an external labor union, who also controlled hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gas station business. This power was quite formidable; at least in Boston, a northeastern city, he would definitely be the object of many people's struggle.

But why did the other party choose me?
The older brother's influence is definitely involved; both he and Luca are underworld figures.

[Bond: Follow]

Outside the parliament building.

Luca got into the car, leaned back in the back seat, closed his eyes to rest, and carefully reviewed the relevant powerful figures in the Massachusetts Senate in his mind—these politicians who frequently appeared in local news and gave public speeches. Their public identities were not difficult to find, but Luca had no idea what dirty tricks they had been up to behind the scenes.

However, this is not a big problem. If William can become chairman in the future, he must have been secretly accumulating his power over the years. Whether it is the political scandals of his opponents or his own "halo scepter", William will definitely work with his white-haired brother to prepare these things in advance and then prepare for the right time to launch a struggle to take the position.

If you don't engage in power struggles, how can you rise to a lowly position?

Lying down will only get you attacked, and there's no neutral option; the only option is to abstain.

Gangs fight using violence and profit, and the Senate's methods aren't much more ethical. Besides suppressing opponents, they also need to learn to deceive the public, cultivate relationships with the media, control the mouthpiece of public opinion, gild their image, and smear others.
If Luca remembers correctly, William became President of the Senate within a few years of the White Hair's rise to power, but Luca has now brought forward the timing of the Southern District conflict and the White Hair's rise significantly.
“Old Pigeon, where to now?” Brian asked, driving the car.

"Go to Dongshan to help them take over their territory."

In the evening, the Bulger family held a family dinner. The two brothers sat together with their wives and children, and ate with their mother.

Afterwards, William talked to his brother about Luca.

"Mediate the war?" White Hair asked, puzzled. "It's not going to stop anytime soon. Everyone's bloodthirsty and it won't end until a winner is decided."

William pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you have any connection with the Angelo family?"

"Did the pigeon tell you this too?"

"He knows far more than we imagine."

"This guy," the white-haired man frowned. He should have kept his dealings with the Angelo family a secret, so how did Luca know?
As an ultimate double agent, White Hair repeatedly jumps between various forces, forming alliances and betraying or cooperating with them, quickly striking down opponents and developing his own power.

His plan was to let the fighting in the South District escalate to the end, then join forces with the Angelo family to mediate, while simultaneously striking down the high-ranking members of the Winter Mountain Gang, thus helping him rise to power and unify the South District.

Now that the Killing and Mullin gangs are on the verge of collapse and it's time for them to reap the rewards, Luca jumps in to interfere in the fight. Didn't that guy say he only does business and doesn't get involved in gang infighting?
“The Angelo family and Luca are rivals; we can only choose one!” William said in a deep voice. “Backed by Luca, there is an alliance of several major New York families; their power is far greater than that of the Angelo family. We must make a choice!”

White Hair's expression was unpredictable. To be honest, it was precisely because Luca was too strong that he didn't want to cooperate with such a person. Their statuses were completely unequal, and he wouldn't gain any advantage. His ambitions couldn't be realized in front of Luca.
He asked, "What exactly are Luca's plans?"

“Unify all the Irish gangs in the South!” William said. “But he doesn’t want a bloody war, he wants a merger! Then all your gangs will be merged into one alliance! Luca promised me that he would help you rise to the top within the alliance and become the leader.”

(End of this chapter)