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

Chapter 38 Who is the undercover?
Faced with the strange looks from the crowd, David quickly explained, "I'm quite familiar with him, but it's not what you think. I'm not involved in Mafia crimes. I just have a personal relationship with him. He helped me before."

The others all looked skeptical.

Are you that familiar with the Mafia?
Everyone in the world knows that the Mafia won't deal with the cops unless absolutely necessary.

"Dude, this joke isn't funny at all. How could the Mafia be friends with the police? At most, they'll pay you to shut up and keep you out of trouble. Expect them to help you? That's impossible."

"The Mafia has a rule of silence. These Italians will not testify in court, nor will they betray any family secrets."

"Believe the Mafia will help the police? You might as well believe that black people won't steal."

The meeting room erupted in cheerful laughter, and even the superior couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Mills, what did he do for you? Did he find ten dollars on the street and give it to you? Hahaha!"

David: "He helped the New York Police Department solve the Seven Deadly Sins murder case. Yes, he deserves a lot of credit for solving that case."

Everyone: "???"

Even Richie was taken aback. "He helped you solve the Seven Deadly Sins case?"

The superior's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Mills, did you secretly take some of the drugs we seized and use them? Are you out of your mind? Are you talking about that Seven Deadly Sins case where a female celebrity died?"

David Bear shrugged. "Besides this, are there any other cases called the Seven Deadly Sins?"

"A generous crab treat! The Mafia helping the police solve a case?" a narcotics officer said. "Is today April Fool's Day?"

David: "He also helped with the Times Square case. You guys haven't forgotten, have you? He's the helpful citizen who was on TV."

Everyone: "."

Everyone looked like they'd seen a ghost.

The Mafia is actually quite enthusiastic? Did they go to the Far East for a legal education course?
Richie helped explain, "I've met Greco a few times, and to be honest, I have a pretty good impression of him. He's helped me before; he even helped David and me get that money back. Yeah, he gives me a friendly and trustworthy feeling."

Pfft! Everyone was about to burst out laughing! You're a police officer, what kind of nonsense is it to trust the Mafia?

With a tentative attitude, Richie asked David, "Can he really help us? Neither the sniper case nor the Seven Deadly Sins case has anything to do with the Lucchese family, but this time it's different. It involves his own family. Will he break the law of silence to help us?"

"Try it."

David shrugged. "Don't forget his nickname, Luca the Pigeon. He loves defending peace. Eliminating drug dealers and eradicating drugs, isn't that defending the peace of New York?"

If it's surreal that Black people have dominated the New York drug market, achieving what Italians couldn't do in 100 years, then the idea of ​​the Mafia becoming concerned citizens to help the police fight drugs and catch drug lords is even more absurd.

David and Richie, one after the other, told the others about Old Pigeon's "magical achievements" based on their own understanding and impressions, creating an extremely contradictory image in everyone's minds.

One group member remarked:

"You know what? Before this, I thought the story of Richie finding a million dollars and turning it in was ridiculous enough, but I never expected there to be something even more ridiculous."

Everyone agreed.

Richie almost lost his temper. Could we please stop talking about returning lost property?

David's superior stared at him strangely. "Then this task is assigned to you. Go find Pigeon and see if you can get him to stand up and act as our witness, accusing the Lucchese family of drug trafficking!"

David nodded: "I'll try my best."

The following afternoon, at a coffee shop in New Jersey.

David met with Luca with high hopes, but the final result was very disappointing—Luca refused, not only refusing to appear in court as a witness, but also refusing to be an undercover agent or informant.

"Old Pigeon, I thought you were willing to help me."

At the store entrance, before parting ways, David sighed, "We're still friends, right?"

“If it were anything else, I would definitely help you, but betraying the family.” Luca shook his head. “I’m sorry, there’s no room for negotiation. I can’t testify in court to accuse the family, nor can I go undercover.”

David, I hope you can understand me. The consequences of betraying the family are very serious. The Lucchese family will kill my entire family, and they won't even spare Matilda. This is not the outcome you want, is it?

Matilda, that lovely little girl. David's mind flashed with Matilda's smiling face, and he was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, his face turning utterly helpless.

He could understand Luca's decision, but! They were just one step away; Luca's accusations could have made this drug bust countless times smoother!
David gave Luca a deep look, and finally let out a helpless sigh.

The conversation ended in failure, and the two parted ways at the door.

Back at the base, Richie and the other members were somewhat disappointed to learn that he had returned empty-handed.

A policeman nearby grumbled, "I knew it. Luca's title of peace ambassador is a fabrication. How could there really be a mafia member who loves peace?"

"The Mafia is the Mafia. They're involved in drug trafficking themselves, how could they possibly testify for us?"

"We shouldn't place our hopes on the Mafia!"

Listening to everyone's complaints, David didn't argue. He considered Luca a friend, and after Luca explained his predicament, David didn't want to offer any more advice.

The superior finally said, "Give up, we'll investigate from other directions."

Ultimately, they didn't have high hopes for Luca, and the group quickly regrouped and began to explore other options.

"I can help, but I can't help like this."

On the way back to New York, Luca, sitting in the car, sighed helplessly. He could help, but not as openly as before.

This case involves family interests, unlike previous cases where the family was not involved. The family won't interfere with what he does or care how famous Luca becomes in the media, as long as he doesn't cause trouble for the family.

What's so special about Luca's fame?
The Colombo family, one of the five major families, is headed by the most high-profile boss among them. He is a true public figure, having founded the Italian-American Alliance and organized rallies of tens of thousands of people, creating an incredibly large-scale spectacle. He is a crime star in the eyes of the media.

But he never admitted to being a member of the Mafia in front of the camera, and even said that the Mafia organization did not exist at all.

He cannot betray his family!
In this drug war, Luca cannot openly stand with the police to crack down on drugs and target his own family, nor can he testify in court to accuse the Mafia.

Even being an undercover agent wouldn't work; he trusted David, but not the federal government. Becoming an undercover agent would be tantamount to handing over "handle" to the federal government, in case the information was leaked.
Betraying one's family is a serious crime and can result in execution.

Luca doesn't want to become the next "Henry".

He wanted to become the Godfather, so how could he openly betray his family?
If you're going to betray someone, do it secretly.

New York, Brooklyn.

Luca was passing through this area on his way back from New Jersey, and he walked past the entrance of a billiards club.

He looked at the club's sign and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

This is Bonanno family territory.

Luca also knew that there was an FBI mole in the Bonano family.

So things are very simple.

He Luca could not become a police informant, nor could he become a witness, but there were ready-made informants within the Mafia.

The only undercover agent to infiltrate the mafia—how could someone like that not have a character card?

One night three days later.

Outside a Japanese restaurant in New York.

A black Cadillac pulled up to the side of the road. Luca rolled down the window and looked at the familiar sign, which brought back fond memories of the days when he and Lyon had wreaked havoc here.

He then looked at a car in front of him, from which two men got out.

The younger-looking peripheral partner was an FBI undercover agent. The older man next to him, wearing brown glasses, was the official member who sponsored his membership; his nickname was "Old Left."

[Character Card Discovered: Donnie Blasco]

Downey: A

[Source: The Loyal and the Treacherous]

[Skills: Infiltrator; Jewelry Appraisal]

[Bond: Strangers]

[Character Card: Lefti Ruggiero]

[Lefty: B]

[Source: The Loyal and the Treacherous]

[Skill: Emotional Corruption]

[Bond: Follow]

Looking at this pair of loyal and treacherous people who were "as close as father and son," Luca revealed a warm smile.

Loyal, Old Left (Lefty); Traitor, Downey.

In the original storyline, the two developed a deep friendship over several years. Under Old Zuo's care, Downey even forgot his original responsibilities and almost mistook himself for a real Mafia.

Torn between duty and friendship, he was torn between two difficult choices and felt extremely conflicted. In the end, he gave Old Zuo hundreds of thousands of dollars to leave New York and never come back, trying to let a Mafia member escape with his own hands.

Old Zuo eventually guessed Downey's identity, but he was unwilling to face reality and chose to believe Downey in self-deception until the truth came out and he was executed by his family.

The matter has escalated too much; it must be dealt with.

Downey was too ruthless. During his undercover work, he collected a large amount of evidence of the Bonanno family's crimes and finally charged more than 200 members, including official members and peripheral partners, of whom more than 100 were convicted.

This made the Bonano family a laughingstock in New York, and Luca was absolutely laughing his head off.

Old Zuo, who guaranteed Downey's partnership in the family, was to take the blame for this. In the end, as was expected, on a peaceful night, Old Zuo left behind his belongings and went to his death alone, where he was silently eliminated by the family.

It's still a long way from when Downey will retire. Without several years and multiple involvements in criminal activities, he won't be able to gather that much evidence.

Old Zuo was still lively and energetic, having meals with his family members, and even "bumped into" the meddlesome peace ambassador.

Luca opened the car door and followed him into the restaurant.

"Although I can't go undercover, how can the fight against drug cartels be complete without me, a peace ambassador?"

(End of this chapter)