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Email feedback can be sent to trager2275@gmail.com. © 2015 by Eric Trager.
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CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
"...Wow!" the TV newsman continued, "There appears to be a large discrepancy in the Fourth Ward between the number of votes for City Council... We had 1,019 votes for School Board, and we've got 1,457 for City Council. Now, as everyone knows, the votes never match up a hundred percent. Some people vote in one race, and not in another, but this is a difference of about 40% folks! I don't ever remember anything like that...
"OK, well, with that said, let's put the totals on the board. It looks like Hernandez takes the Fourth Ward tonight with 894 votes. Wyman is in second with 417, and we'll put the others on the board right now."
"What the fuck!" Sean exclaimed. "Brad, I thought you said we were fine in the Fourth Ward!"
"Sean," Ginny cut in. "Don't blame Brad. I can tell ya exactly what went on here, and I was expecting it. It's got nothing to do with Brad, or with you."
"Well, will someone clue me in, please?" Sean said, testily.
"It's the oldest trick in the book, Sean," Ginny continued. "It works this way: if you're gonna steal votes, you don't steal the other guy's votes. You steal your own. I'm guessing that at least 300 for sure, and probably closer to 400 votes in the Fourth are fraudulent. That's why all those people showed up late. You can bet your ass most of them were same-day registrations, too. And down there, who knows if they're even all citizens, or not? Or if they were brought up from Rockford or Beloit... Or whatever... Wouldn't be the first time... Just relax..."
"OK, but what can we do about it?"
"Nothing," George said. "At least for now."
"George is right," Ginny said. "Besides, look at the numbers! Even cheating by three- or four- hundred votes, Hernandez only got 61% of the votes in a Ward he should have carried with 75% without cheating. Factor out the vote fraud and he might have still beat you, but he didn't even get 50%. Like I said, he should have done a LOT better than that. He fucking shot his wad and he blew it. You're not even 500 votes behind as it is, and there's like 27 more Wards to count. I'm not worried about it; his vote will fall off just about everywhere else to just about half nuthin'."
"How can you be so sure?" Sean asked, still not convinced.
"He hasn't lived in town that long. Maybe two years, three years at the most. Came from Milwaukee. He's part of the Voces De La Frontera. They're an offshoot of a Mexican Fascist/Communist organization. Really more of a gangster type thing. That Commie crap might hold water in Milwaukee or Chicago ghettos, but not around here. His performance in the Fourth is as good as it's gonna get for him tonight. Even with cheating. He's done! Just take a deep breath!"
"OK, but after the evenings over, I intend to get answers about this."
"Settle down, son," Joe said. "It'll be OK, and the rest of it we can talk about in the morning."
"Fine..." Sean said, looking somewhat downcast.
"We've got two more Wards reporting in," the newsman said. "Results are in from the Eighth and Seventeenth Wards."
"Just like I told them to do," Ginny chuckled.
"In the Eighth Ward down near Edison Middle School on the South Side, in the School Board race with 1,262 votes cast, Churchill is the winner with 831 votes. In the City Council race with 1,307 votes cast, it's Wyman with 719.
In the East Side Seventeenth Ward, the old Hawthorne Park neighborhood, the results are as follows: for School Board out of 1,661 votes cast, Churchill continues to steamroll his opponents with 1,146 votes, and for Council with 1,692 votes cast Wyman wins the Seventeenth with 1,147 votes."
"So, with three Wards in, it's looking to shape up like Churchill in a rout for the School Board, and Wyman leading the pack in the City Council race..."
"Sean," Ginny started in again, "Look at the vote total from the 17th! Folks on the East Side are turning out, and that's where you're gonna run strongest being from the East Side yourself. The 17th is a better result all the way around than I expected."
"I guess you're right," Sean said. "Still, I don't like cheaters..."
The election returns continued to roll in as the evening went by. There were no more surprises.
At the end, with a total of 32,568 votes cast, Andy won his race with 20,501 votes, or 63% of the vote. In Sean's City Council election there were 33,647 votes cast of which Sean garnered 19,178 for 57%.
Andy crushed his field. Sean could fairly boast that he did the same as the second-place finisher ended up with just over 7,000 votes which equated to 21%.
"Boys, I'm proud of you!" Ginny said. "Andy, you completely embarrassed your opponents, and Sean, 57% would be a landslide in a two-way race, never mind a five-way race. You got your mandate. By a big margin. And you got it fair and square."
"That reminds me..." Sean said, looking up. "Did you run those two candidates who dropped out as straw men?"
"I did not. Not to say I haven't resorted to that a time, or two in the past if I thought it was necessary, but I didn't run them as straw men."
"Then how come they dropped out? I mean, they weren't running a poll I'm pretty sure... We're the only ones who had a poll. The Gazette said they cited poll numbers. How could they have known?"
"I said I didn't run them as straw men. I never said I didn't show them the poll numbers. I know both of those people. It was a matter of a couple phone calls. But straw men? No. I didn't even suggest that they drop out. They did that on their own."
"Really?" Sean said, arching an eyebrow.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Ginny laughed. "Don't ever forget, my dear, it's not how much power you actually have, it's how much power other people THINK you have. I explained the numbers to them, and they made the decision. Now, you need to consider if you think you owe them both a small favor sometime. Maybe grease the skids for City approval on something they want to do or get the Assessor to give them a small break on their property assessment if they make an improvement, something like that, just a onesie is all it'd need to be. That's how the game's played, and trust me, people remember small favors. Oh, and I was right about Hernandez, too. Not only didn't he get a seat on the Council tonight, he finished next to last."
With Ginny's words, Sean recalled how he'd spend a small amount of money every year to give his lawn customers a perennial plant in their yard that would look pretty every Spring and Summer. Ginny's right, he thought.
"Good advice. Anyway, that Hernandez guy played dirty pool. I still intend to get to the bottom of that that..."
"You should. Organizations like that, and people like him fester. Oh, they might look benign enough for a few years to begin with saying they're all about helping underprivileged people and all that horseshit, but they're liars. They couldn't give two shits less about the folks they say they wanna help, and then before you know it you've got a real problem. They don't play by the rules. They're only out for themselves. And even though I didn't do it this time, just so you know setting up a straw man might just be borderline in some people's opinion, but it's not against the law. It's just politics. And it's absolutely not the same thing as vote fraud which IS against the law. In the end, it's the people that have to be smart enough to vote, but only those people who should be voting. Hernandez cheated from where we both sit, but we can't prove it. Yet."
"Like I said, I'll get to the bottom of it," Sean said.
"I'd at least try to if I were you," Ginny replied. "But if you find out he did cheat, then we need to talk about what's the right way to handle it. Now, we're done here for the night. I want to meet with both of you about who you'll be dealing with on the School Board, and the Council. I know everything there is to know about all of `em. They're not bad people, mostly. Some of them owe me from over the years, but you're you and not me. And they'll know that. You need to know who you're going to have to cut deals with and who you can push around like a shopping cart. And you will need to know that stuff if you're gonna be effective. We'll meet Saturday morning. You won't be sworn in until next week anyway, so that's fine."
"Sounds good to me!" Andy said, staying in the background as he knew Sean needed to be assured of his victory.
"Let's all have a drink!" Ginny said. "Brad! Behind the bar, my boy! Make the drinks and serve the beers just like Old Ginny showed ya!"
"OK," Brad deadpanned.
"Look, Sean and Andy," Ginny said, "one thing you need to know as well is that in this campaign you got right out in the open with a lot of shit that some people mighta thought they could use against you in the future. That's gone now. They can't use that you're gay. They can't use that you're married. They can't use that Sean got raped. They can't use that at your age you have two kids. They can't use that you obviously have money. Those things are all gone. You need to know that in politics, taking care of that shit all at once, and stomping your opponents is like running the table in pool and taking all of the other guy's money. It's priceless."
TWO DAYS LATER
Sean and Andy trooped to Ginny's house to have their preliminary meeting with her. Both of them would be sworn in at the next meetings of the School Board and the City Council.
"Guys, this shouldn't take too long," Ginny opened, pouring herself a Glenfiddich and handing the boys both a 16-ounce PBR.
"Now, Andy, we'll start with you because it's simpler. You'll be sworn in. Then they'll take a vote as to who the Officers of the new Board should be. That'll be President, Vice-President and Secretary. Let the Presidency stay where it is for this term. You'll want to be the Secretary. That's the person who records the votes and reports the votes. It's also the person who schedules the business of the Board. Once that's done, then the first meeting is usually for members to table any business they'd like to see taken up by the Board. I'd strongly suggest that you enter the financial audit you've got into the record, and recommend that the Board order a new audit, and a full audit to be completed within 90 days. You might get some resistance on that. Now, let's suppose there is resistance. What do you do?"
"I remind the rest of the Board that we just had an election, and that I won with more than 60% of the vote on the School District's finances being the central plank of my platform. I remind them that the people demanded it," Andy replied.
"Exactly," Ginny said. "That'll make a good start."
"I'd like to also suggest that we move up the timetable for selecting a new Superintendent. The current one has demonstrated her incompetence as a CEO, and the sooner we can get someone competent in there, the better."
"Couldn't hurt, you're right," Ginny said. "Now, Sean, yours is going to be a little more involved."
"Shoot."
"OK, Sean, here's the deal. I've heard scuttlebutt that you're to be offered the Presidency of the City Council..."
"Not taking it," Sean said matter-of-factly.
"OK, so you tell Old Ginny why not..."
"I've read the City Charter. The only job the President of the Council has is to make sure the Council, not any other part of the City Government, is run according to the rules of the City Charter, and of the State of Wisconsin..."
"Go on."
"The Vice-President of the Council is the one that controls all the business and agendas and presides at Council meetings. Now, I read back through some Council history, and it looks to me like the Presidency's always gone to the person who's been on the Council the longest. I'm not gonna rock that boat, but I'd like to be the Vice-President of the Council. I'd need three other votes if anyone stands against me. I'm not sure after this election anyone would do that."
"I wouldn't plan on that," Ginny said.
"How come?"
"Bennett's gonna want it. He's one of my oldest pains-in-the-ass in this town. More is gonna come out on him as time goes by, but it's not important now. He's gonna want the Vice- Presidency as sure as I'm sitting here. Don't worry, though, I'll take care of it. You'll have your other three votes."
"Good, now there's something else I noticed, too..." Sean said.
"What's that?"
"Well, it appears that according to the City Charter, as amended in 1923 when the City went from Mayor-Council to Council-Manager government, the City Manager is to serve at the pleasure of the Council, and that the policy agenda of the City is to be set by the Council. From what I've been able to gather, the current City Manager thinks it's the other way around. I understand that he prepares an agenda for Council meetings, and then at the meetings that's the agenda they talk about. I'm going to put a stop to that. And not only that, why is the City Manager, who is unelected, at Council Meetings anyway unless he's invited? I'm going to put a stop to that, too. The Charter clearly intended that the Council form policy and the manager carry it out. Personally, I think it's a ridiculous form of government and that there ought to be an elected Mayor, but I can't bite that off all at once..."
"No, not right away," Ginny agreed. "You hit every nail right on the head, though, I'll tell ya that much, Sean. I've never liked this City Manager. He got hired when I was one seat down on the Council in terms of my people and didn't have a majority. So, he's there at least for a while yet anyway..."
"Well, I want my Downtown Redevelopment Commission set up. I want the ordinance authorizing it passed quickly. That's the first thing on my agenda. So, I want it on the floor for debate, and I don't want extra people there while I'm doing it. Least of all people who aren't responsible to the voters."
"So, what's your plan then?"
"At the first meeting, I intend to be elected Vice-President of the Council. Once that's done, I'm gonna table a motion immediately that the Council agenda shall be prepared by the Vice- President with input from other Council members only, and that the City Manager shall not attend Council meetings unless invited. Like I said, I want that done quickly. I just won a five- or seven-way election depending on how you count it with more than half the vote and I feel I have a right and a duty to act on that."
"That's the way you put it to the rest of the Council then, because you're a hundred percent right. You've both done your homework."
"We had another idea, too," Andy said.
"What's that, sweetie?"
"Well, we've been asked for an interview by The Gazette after the first meetings we attend. We've agreed to that."
"I see..." Ginny answered. "Look, I think in that instance it's fine, but I wouldn't grant them an interview every time they want one, and especially not when there's something controversial going on. You might consider the social media..."
"Neither one of us do Twitter, or Facebook," Andy said.
"I just can't get into it," Sean said. "Every fucking idiot in the world is on there spouting off about everything that they know nothing about. And then if you say something that's not quite right they're all over you like stink on crap and it turns into a dumpster fire. I don't think we're gonna do that..."
"Well, I can understand that, but how do you intend to reach out to people to keep yourself out there, and fresh?"
"We'll figure that part out as we go," Andy said. "For now, I think it's important just that we go into these first meetings with concrete stuff to do, and it looks like we've got that."
"You do. Now, there's just one last thing before we're done. You both need spokesman. Not to insulate yourselves, but someone to answer phones, maybe email, and to listen to constituents' concerns and pass them on. I'd suggest you both hire Brad to do that."
"We were gonna," Andy said. "He did a great job for Sean, and he doesn't say anything that could come back later to haunt people. Hell, he hardly says anything at all! He knows when to basically say nothing committal to the press. We think he's just got a knack for it. Plus, he spends a lot of time with the twins and they really love him. He just needs a little polish is all..."
"Maybe just a little, but not too much," Ginny said. "That's his whole charm, that rough-hewn honesty. It's been a lot of years since I've seen someone who can tell you to fuck off and make you feel like the bad guy," Ginny laughed. "He's a diamond in the rough."
"Very rough," Sean laughed.
"You guys haven't fucked him, have you? Or the other way around?" Ginny asked.
"GINNY!" Andy exclaimed.
"Fine, but I hadda ask..." Ginny said. "Just don't think that I don't know what goes on is all..."
"We have no intention to think that," Sean laughed.
"There is one other person we want to talk to about helping us that way," Andy said.
"Who?" Ginny asked.
"Tory Trager. He's a friend of..."
"I know who the kid is," Ginny said. "I know Tory and Johnnie get it on once in a while, too..."
Sean gasped.
"Sean, dearest heart, did you forget that I know everything that goes on in this town if I want to know about it? I've told you that many times..."
"OK" Sean shrugged, palms up.
"Not to worry. I know what I know... I know all about his asshole of a father and what he put his mother through. I tried, but I couldn't get through to him, and he has a position that I couldn't touch. You'll wanna watch out for that guy, Tom Trager. He's a snake. He wanted out of that marriage even before he found out his oldest son was gay. His dad and grandfather hated Al and his dad. I've kept my eye on that asshole for a lotta years, and so should you. And his sons, too."
"Eric and Tory are OK," Sean said. "They're kinda pills at first, but I think their dad leaving made them not wanna be like their dad. For now, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides, Eric's away at school from what I understand. I think J.R. can handle Tory..."
"No doubt," Ginny said with a wink.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Ginny looked at the monitor built into her desk phone and saw that it was George Dickson. She pressed the button to buzz George in.
"Hey, guys!" George said as he entered the room. "I need a few minutes, but it's no big whoop..."
"What's up, George?" Andy asked.
"Well, it's more to do with Sean than you, but let's just get down to it. Peg's due home any minute, and, well, you know..."
"Sure we do!" Sean laughed. "Anyway, whada we got?"
"Well, this goes back to last year, but it's got to do with John Berrifield, Sr."
"Christ, I'd forgotten all about that..." Sean said. "What about him?"
"Well, he's out of treatment now, he's been arraigned, and he's got a Court date in a couple of months."
"What about Mrs. Berrifield?" Andy asked.
"She's still in Mendota State. From what I've been told, she was diagnosed as a Schizophrenic and she won't be released in the foreseeable future, if ever. Anyway, John Berrifield is going to stand trial. He's been charged with attempted murder."
"OK, well, Tim got shot, I didn't..." Sean said.
"That's right," George continued, "but the investigation revealed that you are the one he was after, Sean. I expect that you will be called as a witness as to why his son had it in for you."
"I really don't want to relive that..." Sean said with an eyeroll.
"I bet you don't. I would expect that your time on the stand would be rather short. I wouldn't expect much in the way of cross-examination. Your father will have to testify as well. Tim, too. And Andy. And that Mark Braden character."
"How do we keep this out of the press?" Sean asked. "I just won an election, and now I'm going to be a witness in an attempted murder trial? And because it happened here, the trial will be on Rock County?"
"I've taken care of that," George said.
"Whadya mean..."
"I suggested to the Defense Attorney that Berrifield might not receive a fair trial in Rock County because of your stature in the community. He made a motion for a change of venue."
"So if they moved it, where would it be?" Sean asked.
"Well, it's a balance between what's far enough away to produce a Jury acceptable to the Defense versus what's not so far away that it's a hardship for Attorneys and witnesses. Ordinarily, I'd have suggested Dane County, but I'm not gonna suggest that given what went on with the Madison press and the football team. And we don't want a really Conservative area, either. See, Madison's about as Liberal as anywhere outside of Berkeley, California and a Madison Jury wouldn't be sympathetic to some redneck taking a shot at a faggot' but the Madison press just might play it up to play gotcha' with you, and their press is local to us. Now, a Conservative Jury might not see it that way once they find out the guy's son is dead. You just never know..."
"OK, so then where do we move the trial to?"
"Well, I'd like to do it in Milwaukee County. See, any other County is either too close, or too Conservative. Kenosha County was out because you're both from there. Racine is too hard to get to. Milwaukee is so big and has so much crime that this trial will most likely get lost in the shuffle there. They deal with murders. Attempted murder for them is like `it must be Tuesday.' And it's far enough away."
"My name's gonna come out anyway..." Sean said.
"Doubt it," George said. "There won't be any TV there. There isn't a news station TV crew in every Court Room. That Court House is huge. Besides, if necessary I can argue to the Judge that you were a minor when it happened, and while you agree to testify in open Court with the Jury present, that you agree to do so with your testimony and any other testimony referencing you to be sealed. I have Wisconsin Supreme Court precedent for arguing that."
"I guess if I'm called, I'll hafta go..." Sean said, obviously not pleased.
"Yes, you will. All of you. You should bear in mind, though, that the trial might very well still be here in Rock County."
"That's fine. The story was all over the news at the time anyway..."
"Yes, but not with your name on it, and not with what went on in Kenosha..."
"That...is true..." Sean said. Andy nodded in agreement.
"I'm telling you, Sean and Andy, that in this instance you should like to defuse any publicity from this in case the trial is in Rock, or Dane County."
"When do you think the trial will be?" Andy asked.
"I'd say sometime this Summer," George answered. "Berrifield doesn't have any more legal protection to delay trial, he's always had a Defense Attorney, and the DA is ready to go. All that's to be done is hold the preliminary hearing and schedule the trial. It's open-and-shut. The trial itself won't last longer than two, or maybe three days I shouldn't think."
"What if Braden needs a Lawyer?" Sean asked.
"I've already talked to Ed Steele. If you remember, he was Bill Kennedy's Attorney. I know what you must think, but Ed and I are old professional colleagues from way back. It's fine."
"Tell Steele I'll take care of Braden's bill," Sean said.
"I agree," Andy said. "What happened in Kenosha is old history. We just don't want any screw- ups. We want Berrifield behind bars. Have Steele tell Braden he's doing the legal work pro- bono. He doesn't need to know who's paying his bill. At least not yet."
"Who's Berrifield's Attorney?" Sean asked.
"Shapiro from Milwaukee. Same guy that represented Braden," George replied.
"Good," Sean said, "we already know Shapiro's a loser. I remember when he tried to get me when I was on the stand. I was like, not today, dude..."
The next Thursday evening, Andy and Sean both had their first Board and Council meetings. Both were sworn in and took their seats for the election of officers. Andy asked for the Board Secretary position and was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Sean had a harder time. His name was moved and seconded for Council President.
Sean spoke up, "I withdraw my name from consideration for Council President. By long tradition the Presidency has gone to the senior councilman. I am among the most junior. I'd like my name to go forward for the Vice-presidency."
"You'll have a contest on your hands, then," an man looking to be in his early 50's spoke up. His name was Al Bennett just as Ginny had predicted. Sean knew from Ginny's tutorials that he wasn't one of her guys. He was one of Tom Trager's guys.
"That's fine," Sean said. "I'd like to remind the Council that in a five-way race, I was just elected with 57% of the vote. Almost three-fifths of the people in this city ratified my platform and they had the opportunity to vote for four other people. Councilor Bennett, if I remember right, you were re-elected to the Council two years ago in a four-way race and you didn't finish in first place. You were number two, and you got less than 30% of the vote. That's half what I got. I have an absolute mandate from the voters to get my program through. You can make no such claim."
Sean heard gasps from some of the other Councilors.
"Very well... Is my name going forward for the Vice-presidency?" Sean asked with a smile.
"I place Sean Wyman's name into nomination for the Vice-presidency of the Council," the old Council President announced.
"I second it," said Sean's runner-up in the recent election.
"Do we have any other nominations?" the President asked.
None was forthcoming.
"As many who are in favor of Sean Wyman being elected Council Vice-president say aye!"
Voices were heard. Sean noticed it was everyone except for Al Bennett.
"As many who are opposed say no."
Bennett said no.
"I think the ayes have it. The ayes have it," The President said. "Sean Wyman is for this term the Vice-president of the Janesville City Council. Let's finish up with the election of the Secretary, and then we shall adjourn until next week's meeting."
Once finished, the President reminded the other Councilors of the time of the next meeting, and that anyone having business to be considered should have it submitted to the Vice- president by Tuesday in order that it be put on the order papers.
Eyeing Sean the whole time was the City Manager. He knew the new Council Vice-president, unlike most of his predecessors over the 18 years he'd been City Manager, would not be a pushover. Little did he know.
Once home, Andy and Sean were fairly accosted by John. "How'd it go? How'd it go?" John asked, arms waving.
"Well, Squirt," Sean said, "I think I did OK. I'm the VP of the Council just like I wanted."
"And I'm Secretary which on the School Board is the same thing."
"OK, so you guys are important now... You think I'm ever gonna be important?"
"Bambino," Andy said, "You're important to us. And you're important to Kathleen."
"Yeah, but I meant am I ever gonna be an important person, you know, like you guys..."
"You will," Sean said. "I think your role might be a little different, and maybe suit you better, but you will be as important as you wanna be." Sean said.
"I wanna, well... I wanna tell ya something else...," John said, looking down and one foot pawing the floor.
Sean and Andy just looked at each other.
"What is it, Squirt?" Sean said.
"Well, I um... I uh...."
"You channeling Dix again?" Andy laughed.
"Fuck you!" John glared. "I got somethin' really important to tell you guys..."
Sean nodded.
"But I didn't even tell dad yet, so you can't tell. You promise?"
"We promise," Andy said.
"I mean you gotta REALLY fuckin' promise..."
"We really fuckin' promise," Sean said with an eyeroll.
"Yeah, we do," Andy echoed.
"Well, I, um, I... OK! I fuckin' asked Kathleen to marry me!" John rattled out, when done looking as if he might pass out.
"What'd she say?" Sean asked.
"Sh... She... Um... SHE SAID YES!"
"We won't tell dad," Sean said. "You do that on your own when you're ready. I'm happy for you. You two are perfect for each other."
Andy grabbed John and hugged him. "Wow! I am like SOOOOOO HAPPY for you guys! When?"
"Well, we're only Juniors, and we're not 18 yet, so we figure next year after we graduate..."
"Where you gonna get married?" Sean asked.
"The Kennedys are members of Saint Mary's, where Dix got married. So, we're gonna be married there."
"That reminds me, And... We gotta go talk to Father Taylor over at Saint John Vianney soon..."
"Yeah, yeah we do..."
"So, um, Bambino," Sean said, "What does Tory Trager think?"
"It's fine. Kath and me made an agreement that we could have side affairs if we want."
"Huh?" Andy asked.
"Yeah. We're gonna use the Dix rule."
"What the hell does Dix have to do with this?" Sean asked, slightly confused.
"You don't know the Dix rule?"
"Huh-uh..." Andy said.
"The rule is that people who can't manage their affairs don't deserve to have them. So, Kath and me agreed to manage our affairs."
"That's it?" Andy asked.
"Yeah. And we plan to have six kids."
"Six?!" Sean said incredulously.
"Yeah. I mean at least six..."
"Whelp," Sean said, "it's gonna be an Irish-Mexican family, so yeah, a lot of kids..." Sean then smirked.
"Does Rose know yet?" Andy asked.
"Yeah, she does. After Kath said yes, we went to her house and I asked Rose's blessing."
"And..." Sean said.
"She was really happy!" John beamed. "Guys, this is like the best day of my life! Don't give me shit about being too young. You weren't any older than we are, ya know..."
"You know he's right, Brown Eyes," Sean said. "We're happy for ya, Squirt. And we won't tell dad..."
"Thanks," John said. "You guys are the best! You gave me a chance... I never thought I'd have a good life to look forward to... Well, now I do! You'll see!"
"We never doubted you, little bro," Andy said.
TWO DAYS LATER
Andy and Sean walked up to the door of the Rectory. Sean rang the bell. After a moment, or two, Father Taylor answered.
"Good evening, guys. Won't you come in?"
Following Father Taylor to his spacious office, they all took a seat.
"I was expecting you to ask for a meeting for a little while now," Father Taylor began. "Just so we're all up to speed here, Mrs. Miller gave me instructions some time ago for what we need to cover when the time came. If you'll excuse me, I'll go retrieve the materials."
Father Taylor returned with huge, ole leather-bound ledger books. Four of them.
"I'll open these if need be," the Father continued.
"Go on..." Sean said not wanting to give away that while he had some idea of what the ledgers were, he was also lacking important information.
"The bottom line is that when this Parish was established there was a need for another Parish in town. But there wasn't the money, and it wasn't even five years after Saint William's was established on the West Side. Being on the East Side, Saint Patrick's and Saint Mary's were against it. They feared losing parishioners. They guarded their turf. Anyway, as a result of that, the Diocese of Madison ruled against establishing the new Parish, but they were overruled by the Archbishop of Milwaukee."
"I see..." Andy said.
"OK," Father Taylor continued, "As a result of the Archdiocesan order to establish a new Parish together with the lack of money to do so, the Archbishop secretly looked for a party to step up and help with financing a new Parish. The Archbishop made an agreement with Angus Dickson. Do you both know who that is?"
"Yeah," Sean said, "That's Dix's, I mean Tim's, Great-grandfather.
"Correct. I'll give you the short version here. In return for purchasing the land, and financing the construction of some of the buildings, Angus Dickson extracted certain favors from the Archbishop. Several of those favors were liquidated over the years as agreed, but two of them remain to this day. The first is the note payable on building construction, and the lease of the land the Parish sits on, and the second favor was use of the Vatican Bank.
"The first favor left Angus in the position if being able to foreclose on and liquidate the Parish should the Church go back on its deal. The second favor, which is the important one, is that income from certain overseas corporations owned by Mrs. Miller now is passed through the Vatican Bank, then through this Parish in the form of untraceable bank transactions which reach Mrs. Miller's accounts at the Private Bank here is town which of course she owns by inheritance."
"Sounds simple enough so far," Andy said.
"From what I've heard of Angus Dickson," Father Taylor answered, "it's a typically elegant solution."
"What about taxes?" Sean asked.
"I was getting to that," Father Taylor answered.
"Go on..."
"At the point of origin of the income overseas, what little taxes there are, are paid as required. When that income is then sent through the Vatican Bank over here, there are no taxes as the Vatican Bank is a Sovereign Bank and not subject to that. Mrs. Miller receives her income as she requires. And she doesn't require as you might think. As far as her personal affairs go, I can only assume she pays her personal taxes according to the IRS because she's never had an issue with them. As far as I know..."
"Yes. As far as you know..." Sean noted out loud. He then noted to himself that Father Taylor would never be in a position to know this business. At all.
"It's income by untraceable cash, boys," Father Taylor said. "And that good fortune has been repaid manifold by Mrs. Miller's charitable works. Look, I'm not a babe in the woods, I know Mrs. Miller basically runs this town with a few exceptions, and I know that's ruffled some feathers over the years, but..."
"We know, Father," Andy said.
"Father, what is the advantage to your Parish by these arrangements?" Sean asked. "There must be an advantage, or you wouldn't have these books..."
"An astute question. Yes, the Parish has an interest here. It amounts to half-a-percent a year on the amount of money flowing through the Parish accounts. In a dollar amount, last year it came to about $700,000. It's a relatively small amount. And of course, being as it is, it is not tax deductible. It is merely a cost of doing business. We use it to help with the school and other things..."
"I'm sure you do, Father" Sean answered, nodding. "We'll need to know who else in the Church has knowledge of these things."
Father Taylor blanched at Sean's question much the same way as he blanched when Tim backed him into a corner about wedding arrangements, but this was on an altogether different level.
"Sean," Father Taylor answered, "Yes, I'm the Parish Priest here, but it's not that simple. Yes, I am an ordained Catholic Priest, but I am also a member of the Vatican Bank management. Not all that high up, mind you, but high enough to be doing what I am doing here. The Bishop of Madison and the Archbishop of Milwaukee are aware of my connection to the Bank, but not of the particulars. They have their own things to be concerned with, however I'm pretty sure the Bishop of Madison could make an educated guess, but as you know he is very old and will likely retire soon. The Archbishop in Milwaukee, well, he's gunning for a bigger job. They all do. Don't forget that the last Archbishop of Milwaukee is now the Cardinal Archbishop of New York.
"As long as the money this Parish's business arrangements generate contributes to the Diocese and the Archdiocese, no one in Madison or Milwaukee asks any questions. And that is as it should be. Plausible deniability and all that. Nothing illegal is being done here. It's been the job of the Dickson family over the years to see to that. The value that I provide is discretion."
"I know we're still in school," Andy said, "now in American History we've been studying significant presidencies of the 20th Century and I seem to recall that about 30 years ago President Reagan told the leader of the Soviet Union that his standard was `Trust but Verify.' I'm sure you'll expect us to do the same and go over all of this with George Dickson and probably Tim as well since in a few years his butt's gonna be parked where his dad's is now..."
"I would not expect less," Father Taylor said in assent.
"There is one other thing," Sean said.
"And that is?" Father Taylor asked.
"We're going to join your Parish."
"I would have suggested that," Father Taylor answered. "When can I sign you up for the Catechism?"
"The what?" Sean asked.
"Basically it's classes to introduce you into the Catholic faith."
"We won't be doing that, Father," Sean said.
"It's a requirement."
"Waive it," Andy said. "First of all, we don't have time for that, and second, with the amount of money that flows through this Parish courtesy of arrangements made about 80 years ago I don't see that it's necessary."
"Neither do I," Sean agreed. "So, are we in?"
"You should also know," Andy said, "we will be sending our sons to school here in just a few years and we will be donating the tuition vouchers that were gifted to them when they were born back to the school so that kids who are in need can maybe catch a break. I'm sure your religious instruction in the school is very good, and anything we think we might want to know, we'll ask our sons."
"Yes..." Father Taylor said. "Very well, here are the applications for membership. Just fill them out, and I'll have the Secretary stamp them as valid in the morning. I have to sign off that the Catechism was completed. Completion is to my discretion."
"By the way," Sean said, "Your school doesn't offer Kindergarten..."
"No, we are grades one through eight."
"Plan on offering Kindergarten in two years."
"We haven't the facilities."
"You will. At any rate, Father, I think we're finished for now." Sean said.
"As you wish. I'll see you at Sunday Mass."
"You drive a hard bargain, Father," Sean smirked.
"And...you don't..." Father Taylor laughed.
Once in the car, Andy looked at Sean. "So, whadya think about Father Taylor having those books?"
"I don't know," Sean replied, "I kinda thought about it a little bit and for now I say we let that sleeping dog lie. The Church has had them forever and it's been OK. The Father's our direct contact with the Vatican Bank, so that's good. I do think it would make sense to get Kevin Dickson up here ASAP so we can get him started. We need to know everything important that's in those books, and we're not trained to do it. Kevin is."
"I think Kevin just bought a condo in Chicago, though..."
"We can work that out. You remember when we looked at houses with Ginny and she showed us that one on Columbus Circle, the one I sad was too small?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, the house next door to it just came on the market. It's a foreclosure. I was thinking about buying it anyway to fix it up and flip it. I can do that anyway, and if we get Kevin up here, then we throw in the house as part of his package until he finds something that suits him. That's a really private street so it would be perfect for him..."
"I suppose..."
"I'll give Kevin a call tomorrow. Then when the next semester starts, he can help Brad with his Accounting coursework, too. I wanna get them both up to speed."
"I think that's a good idea. I guess I better get out my Craftsman architecture books so I can work on design for that Columbus Circle place..."
"Yeah. Ginny'll know what bank has it and we can probably buy it before it's listed with a Broker. Which reminds me..."
"Uh-oh... What now..."
"We're both gonna get Real Estate Broker's licenses."
"OK... Why..."
"Because I am gonna buy the Monterey Hotel, and when it's done, we will be the Brokers. And we'll finance the sales, too for people who buy with a mortgage."
"How do we get licensed?"
"It's easy. We take a few hours of class shit which can be done online, then we take a test. You get a Salesman's license and we sign on with a Broker, who would be Ginny, for a year, then we take another test and get Broker's licenses. That's it. In a year from now, I expect I'd have units at the Monterey ready to sell. Maybe not all of them, but some of them. I'm expecting the full conversion to take about 18 months."
"Yeah, that's what I figured... Now I'll have to get out my Art Deco books, too!" Andy laughed.
"Ginny knows who owns the building now. Once I get the eminent domain thing through the City Council I'll ask the guy for a meeting and let him know how this is gonna go. I don't wanna waste time going through that process, and he won't want to spend whatever he might make off a sale on Lawyer's fees. I'll just have to find out what his price is, and if it's not my price, then we go forward and have the City take it and he can take his chances. I don't think it'll come to that."
"No, I don't think so, either."
"OK, well, let's get home and see what our boys have been up to. Prolly driving Mrs. Cheadle nuts," Sean laughed.
"Didja ever wonder what they think?" Andy asked.
"All the time..." Sean smirked. "They always run to you first. I wonder what the reason for that is..."
END CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN