City on Fire (Danny Ryan, #1)

by Don Winslow

But mostly they tell the story about Jacky and Rocky Ferraro. Pasco had put out a ban on selling or using heroin because it brought down so much heat from the feds. Rocky Ferraro, one of Jacky’s crew, ignored it on both counts, first selling to the moolies in South Providence and then starting to use his own product. It was a problem, and Jacky said he’d take care of it. He and one of his guys picked Rocky up one night to go to a Reds hockey game, except they never made it there. Jacky pulled over, then pulled his gun, stuck it in Rocky’s mouth, and pulled the trigger several times. What made the story extraordinary was that Rocky was Jacky’s half brother. Which made the next Thanksgiving dinner, well, awkward. And also apparently really offended both the judge and the jury when—six years later—Jacky’s guy flipped and put him in the jackpot for the murder. “He embarrassed the family,” Jacky said at his sentencing hearing. “So you killed your own brother,” the judge said. “Half brother,” Jacky said. “What, maybe I should have only half killed him?” The judge maxed him out. Even then Jacky had a chance to save himself. The feds offered him the complete package—immunity, the program, the whole nine yards—to go rat on Pasco Ferri, but Jacky told them they could line up and suck his dick. So now a series of punks perform that service for him as he resides in the North Wing of the old stone house, plays cards, and cooks pasta for the guys on Sundays.