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

Chapter 43 Even the military couldn't stop it.

Over the next two days, Downey tried every possible means to record all the intelligence information, and then quickly arranged to meet with his superior.

Inside the hotel.

After reviewing the intelligence, the superiors were left speechless with shock.

Did Mad use the coffins of fallen soldiers to smuggle drugs?

What brilliant little genius came up with this crazy idea?!
Holy crap, this is allowed?
No wonder customs officials don't check; who would be so crazy as to touch a coffin? Would they be desecrating the soldiers who died in battle?

"Are you sure this is all true?" the superior asked sternly. "If this involves the military, they will absolutely not admit to these things! They will do everything they can to cover it up!"

“I’m not sure.” Downey shook his head. “The authenticity of this intelligence is still debatable, but you can find a way to verify whether what’s written in it is true.”

"Where did you get this information? How did the Bonano family come to have so much intelligence?"

"Uh"

Downey's expression was strange. "I don't know the specifics either. I was taken on a mission, and only after it was over did I find out that they were supposed to be following Pigeon Luca to raid a drug den and steal drugs from a French gang. This intelligence was found in that hideout."

"etc."

The superior's mind was buzzing, and he didn't react for a while. He rubbed his temples and asked, "You mean, Pigeon Luca led you to raid the drug den?"

"Although it's hard to believe, he seems to genuinely not want anyone to traffic drugs on his turf."

Downey muttered, "I spent a few days in the Bronx, and the residents there really respect him. Some even treat him like a godfather. Pigeon is really maintaining peace in Little Italy, just a bit violently."

Superior: "."

Damn peace ambassador!
Silently putting away the intelligence, the superiors planned to ask other trusted people. Since it involved the military, they had to be careful.

Towards the end of the conversation, the superior brought up the previous matter again, "We've already transferred Brian to New York. In the past two years, he's built up quite a reputation in the Los Angeles underworld. However, the Los Angeles Mafia families are too far from the committee's center. New York is the Mafia's stronghold. I'll arrange for him to work with you then?"

At the heart of the National Mafia Council are the five great families of New York.

In the United States, there are twenty or thirty Mafia families, and families in other places are all subject to the committee.

For example, in nearby Philadelphia and Atlantic City, the Mafia families are under the control of the Gambino family—one of the five major families in New York.

The Philadelphia Mafia, in turn, influenced some Mafia families further north.

In other words, the capital of the United States is Washington, D.C.; and the headquarters of the American Mafia is New York.

“I can’t vouch for anyone right now!” Downey still refused. “I’m just a partner myself. How could I possibly vouch for someone else at a time like this? Do you want me to die even faster?”

"We can only turn to you; you're the only undercover agent who's infiltrated the Mafia."

"."

Downey is going numb. Don't look at me like that, as if I'm your only one. Give the undercover agent some breathing room.

He immediately thought of Pigeon and advised, "I suggest you send Brian to Little Italy to infiltrate Pigeon Luca. That guy owns a club and is currently recruiting employees. It shouldn't be too difficult for him to get in as an employee."

"Don't even think about jumping straight into the Mafia, that's impossible. It took me years to become a partner! Do you know how hard it is to gain the trust of those Mafia members?"

"It's Luca the pigeon again. How could he even get into that club?"

“His club is hiring. You could have Brian apply for a driver position. Isn’t he a great driver? Get him into the club first, then slowly gain Pigeon’s trust and infiltrate him little by little.”

"Ok."

The superior looked puzzled. "I'll think about it."

He remembered that Denham, that overly honest bastard, was still investigating Jordan Balfour and had been getting close to Luca the Pigeon during this time.

The superior added, "How about you do me a favor and introduce Brian to the pigeon club?"

Downey: "."

Is that even possible? Even Pigeon wouldn't let me participate in criminal activities! It's because I'm too inexperienced and not trustworthy enough!

I'm only fit to be a bystander and let people out for a stroll!

Ultimately, Downey convinced his superiors to cause him trouble, and Brian was free to go wherever he wanted. After the conversation ended, he sneaked out of the restaurant.

A car that had been parked on the side of the road for a long time slowly rolled down its window, revealing Luca's face.

Watching Downey's departing figure, Luca smiled and said, "It's a good thing you didn't meet on the rooftop."

SSR Club, top-floor office.

"The intelligence has now been passed on to both the Bonanno family and the FBI."

Luca stood in front of a whiteboard covered with photos and pasted Downy's picture on it. "The FBI agents on Downy's line are all people who get things done and are very capable. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to deal such a heavy blow to the Bonanno family."

"The Bonano family has been squeezed out of the market by Frank and their drug business is almost bankrupt. They are the people who, besides Richie, most want Frank to disappear."

Luca's gaze swept across the entire whiteboard, which, apart from Downey, was covered with character cards: Dominic, the second boss; Marigio; the White Tiger; and other key figures from the family.

In addition, there are FBI agents Downey and Denham.
Police officers David, Richie, and Truber
There are also characters from other criminal families or forces, such as Old Left and Black Sonny.

In the very center of the blackboard is Frank Lucas, representing the drug kingpin.

Frank's rare card is directly or indirectly connected to everyone, even Jordan—Jordan is addicted to Blue Magic, and his company frequently supplies drugs to Frank's drug cartel.

If Frank is moved, all the cards on the blackboard will be affected.

"A single move can have far-reaching consequences. By providing so much intelligence on Frank, I've saved the authorities a significant amount of time. Once the Federation receives the intelligence, they'll quickly verify it. The drug war can skip the initial exploratory phase and jump straight into the heat of battle. Frank will be caught completely off guard." "The Bonanno family will also be involved in underhanded tactics against Frank!"

"Besides the Federation, the Bonanno family is the one that most wants Frank to fall!"

“These two guys have the same goal.” Luca picked up his pen and drew a line between Carma Galant and Richie.

"The sooner your two families join forces, the sooner Frank will fall!"

In the original storyline, Luca remembers that after Frank was arrested, he did not confess immediately and refused to cooperate.

What truly broke the camel's back was that Richie received support from the Bonanno family—the police and the Mafia joined forces to completely dismantle Frank's drug empire.

Frank dealt a heavy blow to the Bonano family's business, and they wanted to eliminate Frank as a competitor. Richie wanted to arrest Frank and also wanted to bring down the drug-dealing cops in the police department, who he considered more despicable than the drug dealers.

The two parties, who shared a common goal, naturally came together.

Although somewhat absurd, the Bonanno family did indeed make an indelible contribution to Frank's downfall.

This is also one of the reasons why Luca sought out Old Zuo and Black Sonny, among others.

Luca thought to himself that if he were in the Bonano family, things would go much more smoothly. With the family supporting him, he could easily win over Richie and make things difficult for Frank.

Unfortunately, he became Frank's ally in the Lucchese family, which meant that he had to do things secretly behind the back of the second boss, even if he wanted to help the police.

But it's not a big problem. Although there are some deviations in the faction, he can choose the right trend of the times, follow the version, get some rewards, and farm some bonds. How comfortable is that?

We need to figure out who's the strongest in this version!

The second boss should cool off quickly!
New Jersey.

The intelligence, whose authenticity was uncertain, eventually reached Rich Roberts and others through the federal prosecutor and Rich's superior.

After studying the intelligence, expressions of shock appeared on everyone's faces.

This intelligence report was far more detailed than what the police were currently investigating; it even detailed how Frank and his girlfriend met.

"Where did this intelligence come from?"

"I can't tell you too much, it involves the FBI's mission, and even I'm not entirely clear on it."

Seeing Richie's shocked expression, the superior recalled his own surprise when he first saw this intelligence. He explained:
"After I looked at it, I found that it was all information about Frank. This information might be useful to us, which is why I brought it here."

Are there any witnesses to corroborate this?

Richie asked, "This intelligence has no confirmed source and is difficult to verify. Without witness testimony, it cannot be used as evidence in court to indict Frank."

This thing certainly cannot be used as direct evidence, no matter how detailed it is written.

The key question is: who wrote it!

Anyone can make up a story; anyone with hands can write one. Wouldn't that mean there's evidence flying everywhere?

The superior shook his head: "It can't be used directly as evidence, but it can provide us with some investigative ideas and directions, provided that what it says is true."

"It gave me so much inspiration! I have to verify it no matter what!"

Looking at the contents of the letter, Richie muttered, "Using US military planes to smuggle drugs from Vietnam? Who the hell came up with this idea? It's unbelievable."

The superior also wore a wry smile, saying that if the US military were involved, the case would become extremely complicated.

He was sent by Washington to combat drug crime in New York, not to target the U.S. military.

The deeper the investigation goes, the more troublesome the things that will be uncovered will become.

But he's not afraid of the US military!
Then we'll see whose backing is stronger!

Richie and his colleagues began preliminary verification.

"Laboratory analysis shows that the purity of Blue Magic is consistent with that of the Asian version."

Holding the test report, Richie excitedly addressed the crowd, "We all know that those Italians usually trade with Europeans or Turks! But Blue Magic is an Asian product. Now it seems they really didn't come from the Mafia; Frank is the real mastermind!"

"Is Frank the biggest drug lord behind New York?" a policeman asked rhetorically.

"How is that possible?" Someone's expression was even more shocked. "Blue Magic's products are all over the area where the three states meet, from Chinatown to the Black neighborhoods, all the way to Washington Heights! Princeton, Newark, and other places are all filled with Blue Magic!"

"No one has ever dominated such a large market before, not even the Mafia. Now you're telling me that Frank, a black man, has accomplished what the Italians couldn't do in 100 years?"

"This is incredible!"

"And then there's the military using planes to smuggle drugs. Do you know how serious that is? The military will absolutely never admit to being involved in drug trafficking!"

“I’ll handle the military!” the superior raised his voice. “But I need evidence! Do you think we can just rely on our own words and dubious stories? The higher-ups won’t approve a search warrant.”

He stared at Richie. "I need more detailed evidence and witnesses! You need to produce these things before I can apply for a search warrant!"

Richie nodded vigorously: "I'll go investigate right away!"

The superiors offered their support: "I've said it before, Washington is serious this time! As long as you have detailed evidence, even if it's military aircraft, we can search them thoroughly!"

This drug war orchestrated by Washington is extremely serious, and even the military cannot stop it!

　Brian, in the original movie, was a Los Angeles cop who cooperated with the FBI's undercover operation to take down Dom; in the fourth sequel, he joined the FBI, so I'll just set him as an FBI agent here; I won't explain it in the main text, I'll just paste it in the author's notes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)