Free The Other Brooklyn: Joey Toranetti Trilogy by Bob Ieva

The Beginning
    I t
all started in 1952. My name is Joseph Toranetti. I was 13 years old, very
short and husky, brown eyes and jet black hair. Being very head strong, I was
not afraid of anything or anyone. My brother, Rocco, was slightly taller than I
was, very thin, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was 11 years old.
    One day he came home from school crying. I asked what was
wrong. He said, “Some kids took my books.”
    I said, “Do you know who they were?”
    “They were in your grade.”
    “Will you know them if they are there?”
    He said, “Yes.” My mother told me to help him get his
books back. My mother was a small person with blue eyes and blond hair. She was
always afraid of what people thought—that made her very nervous.
    The school was only two blocks from our house in Brooklyn
so we got there pretty fast. When we arrived there were five kids playing in
the school yard. Rocco pointed at the two kids who took his books. I noticed
that one kid was taller than I was, his name was Larry Campoella. The other was
about my size, his name was Pete. I didn’t know his last name.
    I asked very nicely, “Did you take my brothers books?”
    The taller kid, Larry, said, “Yeah, and what are you going
to do about it?”
    “Well I would like them back please.”
    Larry said, “No,” and laughed. I turned my back on him.
Then I turned back as fast as I could, hit Larry as hard as I could and he went
down like a ton of bricks. His buddy, Pete came running over to help and I
kicked him in the groin so hard that he went down screaming like a little girl.
    I grabbed Larry by his shirt, pulled him up and asked him
again where the books were. He said, “They are in the bushes in back of the
school.”
    I said, “Let’s get them.”
    Larry started to cry and said, “Okay.” He went into the
bushes picked up the books and handed them to me.
    I said, “Thank you!” Then I helped him out of the bushes
and when he was on the sidewalk I told him, “If you or your friends ever bother
my brother again you will never see another daylight.”

The Aftermath
    T he
next day I arrived at school and was told by a friend of mine that he heard
that I beat up the school bully. I said, “Well he had it coming.” I was then
told by my teacher that the principal wanted to see me. I went down to the
Principal’s Office and saw Larry, Peter, and a man I didn’t know sitting there.
This man was big and had a way about him that I did not like. He had a short
sleeve shirt on and I could see a tattoo that looked like the head of a horse
with a frame around the horseshoe around its neck. I was introduced to him by
the principal.
    “Joey this is Luke, Larry’s father. He wants to know why
you hit his son so hard and kicked his friend in the groin.”
    I asked, “Didn’t he tell you?” Luke answered, “No.”
    I said, “I believe that he is the one to tell you what
happened.”
    Luke said to me, “I know your dad and I will be summoning
him to come to my office. I can tell you this, he will not like it. You see
your father knows who I am and he will be very upset with you after we talk.
Now tell me why you hit him.”
    So I said, “Again, I am not going to tell you why I hit
your son or his friend, they need to do that and I need to go to class.” So I
left the office and went to my class.
    I knew I was in big trouble with my father since the
people he knows are really tough and they control the neighborhood.
    After school I waited for my brother and we went straight
home. I told my mother, Rosa, what had happened and she got all upset. She told
me, “I just wanted you to get his books back. I didn’t say to beat anyone up.
Now your father is going to be in a lot of trouble with Luke Campoella. He runs
this area.”
    That night my father, Antonio Toranetti , came
home and my mother told him what had happened. My father wasn’t very tall but
he was very strong. He said to me, “Why did you hit Luke’s son and his