Chapter 14 - The Trial Of A King
Marco’s arrest did not end the war.
It exposed it.
For six months, New York watched the most extraordinary federal prosecution in decades.
Senators.
Police officers.
Bankers.
Mafia captains.
Charity administrators.
The Crown reached everywhere.
Salvatore testified.
The courtroom was packed.
Reporters called him a crime king turning against his own blood.
Marco sat across the room smiling.
When prosecutors asked why Salvatore cooperated, he looked toward Leo.
“My son.”
Marco’s attorney attacked immediately.
“Mr. Moretti, are we supposed to believe you discovered morality at fifty-two?”
Salvatore answered calmly.
“No.”
Laughter moved through the courtroom.
The attorney frowned.
“Then explain.”
“I discovered responsibility.”
That answer appeared in newspapers nationwide.
Leo attended only one day.
He hated the cameras.
Outside the courthouse, someone shouted, “How does it feel knowing your father is a criminal?”
Leo stopped.
Salvatore expected him to hide.
Instead, Leo turned.
“It feels like knowing he’s trying to be better.”
The clip went viral.
Not because it was polished.
Because it wasn’t.
Public opinion shifted slightly.
Salvatore remained responsible for his past.
But the government confirmed many of the worst recent crimes had been committed by Marco’s hidden network without Salvatore’s knowledge.
The legitimate Moretti companies survived.
Several criminal enterprises were dissolved.
Salvatore relinquished control of others.
Then came sentencing negotiations.
Rebecca Shaw met him privately.
“If you plead to conspiracy and financial offenses, we recommend five years.”
Leo heard later.
Five years.
He locked himself in his room.
Salvatore sat outside the door.
“Leo.”
Silence.
“Open the door.”
“No.”
“Fine.”
Salvatore sat on the floor.
An hour passed.
Finally Leo opened it.
His face was wet.
“You promised.”
“I promised to return.”
“Five years is forever.”
“No.”
“It is when you’re eleven!”
Salvatore had no defense.
Leo shoved his chest.
“You just got here!”
Salvatore let him.
Again.
Again.
Then Leo collapsed against him.
Salvatore held him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I hate your old life.”
“So do I.”
“I hate Marco.”
“I know.”
“I hate that Mama died.”
“I know.”
Leo cried until he had no strength left.
Two weeks later, something unexpected happened.
Barrett requested a meeting with prosecutors.
He had survived the kidnapping and secretly surrendered.
He offered new testimony.
Evidence proving Salvatore had attempted years earlier to shut down several operations Marco had later restarted behind his back.
The government reduced its recommendation.
Eighteen months.
Still painful.
May you like
But survivable.
Then on the morning of sentencing, Marco escaped federal custody.
