Chapter 146: The Narrative
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Whoosh!
Just as Luciano was speaking, the stands around the Polo Grounds suddenly erupted in cheers. The New York Yankees' legendary star Babe Ruth had just hit a home run.
"What a hit!"
Turning his head to glance at the baseball field, Luciano took a drag from his cigar. A smile touched his downturned eyes as he turned and nodded to his bodyguard behind him.
Just a few minutes later.
The home run baseball hit out of the park by Babe Ruth appeared in Luciano's hand.
"Convey my regards to Mr. Jacob Ruppert. Tell him I'd like to invite Babe Ruth to dinner and have him sign this baseball."
Luciano toyed with the baseball for a moment before casually handing it to his bodyguard behind him, giving his instructions.
Jacob Ruppert was the current owner of the New York Yankees and one of the many notable figures Luciano had dealings with. The two had even shared drinks and cheerful conversation at the same party before.
After handling this small matter, Luciano finally turned his gaze back to Colin.
Across from him, Colin met his gaze with an equally calm expression.
The abilities he had upgraded during this time gave him the confidence to escape from most dangerous situations unscathed, including this meeting with Luciano.
Seeing Colin's composed and unruffled expression, Luciano's downturned eyes couldn't help but twitch. He settled back into his original seat and said slowly, "Frankly, Mr. Collin Roper, I didn't originally intend to invite you over in such an 'offensive' manner."
"I have always been very supportive of a newspaper like The Messenger Newspaper, which dares to expose the truths of society. It is precisely because of your existence that New York City becomes a better place, with less corruption and fewer problems with public safety."
Considering the true identity of Luciano, the man who had just said those words, Colin found the scene inexplicably ironic.
A man known as the 'father of modern organized crime in America' was discussing New York's public safety to his face.
Perhaps this was a mark of Luciano's brilliance. Who could have imagined that this well-dressed, middle-aged man who moved in high society was, behind the scenes, the godfather of crime in New York City?
"However, there may be some misunderstandings in all of this..."
After affirming Colin's actions in exposing the mayor's bribery scandal in The Messenger Newspaper, Luciano changed his tone, a clear note of regret entering his voice. "Perhaps, Mr. Collin Roper, you were merely fulfilling your duty as a member of the media when you exposed the New York mayor's scandal. But it is evident that certain unscrupulous parties, or political factions, have taken advantage of it. They have turned it into a weapon for mutual attacks, a means to eliminate their rivals..."
After this brief preamble, Luciano finally revealed the purpose of his visit.
*No, you're wrong. I never report the news because of some ethereal sense of justice.*
"What do you mean?"
Though he replied silently in his heart, on the surface, Colin maintained a puzzled expression and asked the question.
"Tammany Hall..."
Taking a drag from his cigar, Luciano slowly uttered a name that was not at all unfamiliar to Colin.
"Tammany Hall has always been dedicated to improving New York's municipal administration and has achieved considerable results. The Manhattan Bridge and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are both structures completed under the strong leadership of the Hall. And besides building up New York, Tammany Hall has not forgotten its investment in charity. During the Great Depression, the Hall spared no effort to help orphans suffering from unemployment or poverty. Through relief aid, it has already helped over ten thousand people in dire straits get through the most difficult days of the Great Depression."
In Luciano's telling, Tammany Hall seemed to be a charitable organization actively promoting the development of the New York City Government and dedicated to aiding the poor.
However, from what Colin had learned from LaGuardia, the situation was completely different from what Luciano described.
While Tammany Hall had indeed made contributions to New York's civic projects, Luciano had intentionally or unintentionally ignored the fact that the organization had frantically amassed wealth by rigging government contracts, inflating costs, and taking kickbacks.
Not to mention distant examples, let's take the Manhattan Bridge that LaGuardia cited.
After Tammany Hall took over its construction, work began in 1909 and wasn't fully completed until 1923, taking a total of 14 years. During this period, the Hall spent $60,000 to bribe the New York Council, securing more than half of the bridge company's private shares.
Because only private shareholders had voting rights on the company's board, no matter how much money the governments of New York and Brooklyn invested, the project and its expenses remained firmly in the hands of Tammany Hall.
Another famous example involving Tammany Hall was the New York Courthouse, approved for construction in 1858. Its budget skyrocketed from an initial $250,000 to $1 million the following year. After its completion, an estimate by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment in 1914 placed the total cost between $11 million and $12 million—nearly twice what America paid to purchase Alaska from Russia during the same period.
While it's impossible to calculate the exact amount of money skimmed, a few documented bills offer a glimpse: a plasterer was paid $133,187 for two days of work, which would be equivalent to nearly $2 million in later years; the courthouse had little woodwork, yet the project paid a "carpenter" $360,751 for one month's work, which would amount to a staggering $5 million.
And this was just the tip of the iceberg for Tammany Hall.
"...And it is a group like Tammany Hall that, because of its association with the New York City Government, has been labeled a political rival by the Republican Party, which is now using the content of Mr. Collin Roper's reports to viciously slander the Hall."
Unaware that Colin's understanding of Tammany Hall far exceeded his own imagination, Luciano spoke with a look of righteous indignation in the stands of the Polo Grounds.
"If the facts are as you say, Mr. Luciano, then it was indeed my oversight."
Taking in Luciano's performance, Colin nodded and said with a solemn expression.
"But from what I know, Tammany Hall has always been quite controversial. The New York Times, in particular, reported many years ago on evidence of the Hall's chairman and his accomplices brazenly embezzling public funds."
"As you say, Mr. Collin Roper, Tammany Hall does indeed have a terrible past. The previous chairman, William M. Tweed, led the Hall down the wrong path due to his own greed. But that is all in the past. Since the William M. Tweed incident, Tammany Hall has undergone internal reforms, striving to reverse its past negative image."
Luciano seemed prepared for Colin's query. He looked down, took a drag from his cigar, and then offered his explanation.
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