Louie was devastated. Chaim was not just a partner and friend, he was the father Louie never had and he knew his life was about to change forever.
Two days after Chaim’s funeral, while having breakfast at the Honey Dew, he was approached by a stranger who told him that Johnny Corelli wanted to see him. Corelli represented the New York crime syndicate which controlled most of the illicit activities in Montreal. Gambling included. Corelli was the boss and no one took bets without kicking back to him. No one. Chaim included. Louie knew that the request for a meeting wasn’t really optional. It was an order. There was no choice. The next morning, he went to Corelli’s office at the Bonfire Restaurant and was met by two bulky, no-neck guys whose heads seemed to rest directly on their shoulders. After a less-than-gentle search he was led to a door at the back. Before he could knock, he heard a raspy voice inside say “come”. There was Joseph Corelli seated behind a massive wooden desk. Corelli was an imposing figure with greying temples and a nose misshapen by too many punches. He had once been a golden gloves boxer and Louie immediately felt intimidated.
“So,” Corelli said. “You’re Chaim’s assistant?”
“Yes,” Louis answered hesitantly.
“Chaim was a good man who always followed the rules.Do you think that you could take his place?”
“I can do everything he did,” answered Louie trying to appear confident.
“You have one chance to show me,” said Corelli. “One chance. Mess up and you’re done. One more thing, sixty percent of the profit comes to me.”
Louie knew that Chaim had only kicked back 40%, but thought it better not to question Corelli. A wise decision.
As if reading Louie’s mind, Corelli continued. “For Chaim it was less. But you’re not Chaim.”
Louie was aware that this was no time to negotiate. Corelli stood up to signal that the meeting was over and didn’t bother to extend his hand.
It turned out to be the beginning of an extremely profitable relationship. For both of them. Louie was a good company man, always following Corelli’s directives and in time the percentage back to Corelli was reduced to 50%. Not what Chaim had paid but good enough for Louie. His customers were happy and of course he still used his pencil to help out those bettors in trouble. The income enabled Louie and his family to live quite comfortably. His sons graduated from McGill University in accounting. Not surprising as Louie did have a head for figures. Occasionally he would think of Label and wonder what might have been. He had no regrets.
Louie died in 1971 of natural causes. He was buried with his yellow pencil, behind his right ear.
