[UNFREEZE and DISSOLVE TO: HENRY - AS A CHILD looking out his bedroom window.]
[TITLE - EAST NEW YORK: BROOKLYN. 1955.]
HENRY *V.O.*: To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States.
[EXT. CABSTAND - NIGHT]
[HENRY'S POV - A GRIMY ONE-STORY CABSTAND with faded "Pitkin Avenue Cabs" sign above the door. Its after midnight. WE SEE A HALF-DOZEN, immaculately-dressed]
[HOODS wearing diamond pinky rings and silk shirts, lounging around the cabstand talking and sipping coffee.
HENRY *V.O.*: Even before I first wandered into the cabstand for an after-school job, I knew I wanted to be a part of them. It was there I belonged.
[HENRY'S POV]
[WE SEE a Cadillac pull up to the cabstand. WEE SEE the car rise slightly when TWO huge, dapper HOODS get out.]
[On HOOD #1 WE SEE large diamond pinky ring on a sausage- thick finger.]
[On HOOD #2 WE SEE a broken-nosed hood's tie hanging loosely across his monogrammed shirt like a silk bandolier.]
HENRY *V.O.*: To me it meant being somebody in a neighborhood full of nobodies.
[On the sidewalk WE SEE the TWO HOODS who just got out of the car hug and playfully shove TUDDY VARIO, the sloppily-dressed, solidly-built HOOD who runs the cabstand.]
HENRY *V.O.*: They weren't like anyone else. They did whatever they wanted. They'd double-park in front of the hydrant and nobody ever gave them a ticket. In the summer when they played cards all night, nobody ever called the cops.
[WE SEE TODDY laughingly try to push them away.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Tuddy Vario ran the cabstand and a pizzeria and a few other places for his brother, Paul, who was the boss over everybody in the neighborhood.
[WE SEE a laughing HOOD #1 slyly slip behind TUDDY and grab him around the neck, while HOOD #2 starts feigning punches to TODDY's ample midsection.]
[Suddenly TODDY VARIO and HOODS see that PAUL VARIO, the boss, is standing in the cabstand's doorway. VARIO is a large man, standing six-feet tall and weighing over 240 pounds. He appears even larger.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Paulie might have moved slow, but it was only because he didn't have to move for anybody.
[TODDY and HOODS immediately stop horsing around.]
[TITLES CONTINUE.]
[CHILD'S BEDROOM - MORNING]
[CARMELLA HILL, HENRY'S mother, shoves his books under his arm and pushes him into the hallway. WE SEE. HENRY'S TWO BROTHERS putting on their jackets and picking up their books and almost tripping over another brother's, MICHAEL, wheelchair. WE CATCH A GLIMPSE OF TWO SISTERS eating breakfast.]
[WE SEE HENRY'S construction worker FATHER sipping coffee in kitchen before going to work.]
HENRY *V.O.*: At first, my parents loved that I found a job across the street. My father, who was Irish, was sent to work at the age of eleven, and he liked that I got myself a job. He always said American kids were spoiled lazy.
CARMELLA *to the brood*: Come on. Come on. You'll all be late.
HENRY *V.O.*: And my mother was happy after she found out that the Varios came from the same part of Sicily as she did. To my mother, it was the answer to her prayers.
[WE SEE HENRY'S MOTHER shove him out the door with his school books.]
[EXT. STREET SIDE OF DOOR - DAY]
[CARMELLA, in doorway, watches HENRY go down the block toward school. When HENRY turns the corner, along with]
[OTHER school-bound' YOUNGSTERS, WE SEE he suddenly stops. The OTHER SCHOOLCHILDREN keep walking. HENRY carefully sticks his head around the corner. His MOTHER is no longer there.]
[WE SEE HENRY race across the street toward the cabstand.]
HENRY *V.O.*: I was the luckiest kid in the world.
[EXT. CABSTAND - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY leap into the air to catch a set of car keys.]
HENRY *V.O.*: I could go anywhere.
[EXT. CABSTAND PARKING LOT - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY, who can hardly see over the dashboard, jockeying a MOBSTER'S Caddy around the cabstand parking lot. WE SEE OTHER KIDS, HENRY'S age, watching HENRY, in awe, from behind a fence.]
HENRY *V.O.*: I could do anything.
[INT. CABSTAND BACKROOM - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY watching TWO UNIFORMED COPS laughing with TODDY and SOME HOODS while stuffing whisky bottles under their tunics.]
HENRY: I knew everybody and everybody
knew me.
[EXT. SIDEWALK OUTSIDE CABSTAND - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY trying to sip hot espresso coffee just like the BIG GUYS, except WE SEE HENRY grimace because the coffee is too hot and far too bitter.]
HENRY *V.O.*: But it wasn't too long before my parents changed their minds. For them, the cabstand was supposed to be a part-tie job, but for me, it was full-time.
CUT TO: INT. REAR OF CABSTAND
[TODDY is folding and placing long sheets with policy bets into a brown paper bag. In the BG, WE SEE HOODS going through boxes of stolen orange and blue cardigan sweaters. HENRY waits at TUDDY'S side until TODDY finishes making a notation on a slip of paper. TODDY holds the paper bag in his hands and]
TODDY *to Henry, with a smile*: Okay.
[EXT. CABSTAND]
[WE SEE HENRY running out the cabstand door carrying the paper bag. He runs past HALF A DOZEN HOODS, lounging outside on wooden chairs, wearing orange and blue sweaters.]
HENRY: People like my father could never understand, but I was a part of something. I belonged. I was treated like a grown-up. Every day I was learning to score.
[INT. KITCHEN - HENRY'S HOUSE]
FATHER *in mock concern*: Did you study hard in school today? Did you learn a lot? Huh?
[HENRY is silent and begins backing away.]
FATHER: I can't hear you, you little liar. *waving the letter* I got this from the school. They say you haven't been there in months.
[HENRY tries to dart past his FATHER, but he cannot escape. HENRY gets a blow on the back of his head. HENRY'S MOTHER starts to interfere, but is pushed back.]
FATHER *beating Henry, but glaring at Carmella*: Little lying bastard.
[CARMELLA screams. HENRY doubles up. HENRY'S FATHER keeps pounding away.]
[CLOSE ON HENRY'S FACE]
[FREEZE IN ACTION ON HENRY'S FATHER'S FACE]
HENRY *V.O.*: My father was always pissed off. He was pissed that he had to work so hard. He was pissed that he made such lousy money. Be was pissed that there were seven of us living in a tiny house. But after a while, he was mostly pissed that I hung around the cabstand. He said they were bums and that I was a bum. He said I was going to get into trouble. I used to say I was only running errands after school, but he knew better. He knew what went on at the cabstand and, every once in a while, usually after he got his load on, I had to take a beating. But by then, I didn't care. No matter how many beatings I took, I wouldn't listen to what he said. I don't think I even heard him. The way I saw it, everybody has to take a beating some time.
[UNFREEZE and continue the beating.]
CUT TO: HENRY'S SWOLLEN AND BEATEN FACE
[INT. CABSTAND BACKROOM]
TODDY: What happened to you?
HENRY: I can't make any more deliveries.
TODDY: Whadda you mean, you can't make any more deliveries? You're going to fuck up everything?
HENRY: My father got a letter from the school. He said the next time he'll kill me.
CUT TO: INT. AUTOMOBILE
[THREE HOODS and HENRY in parked car outside the post office.]
HOOD #1 *pointing to one postman*: Is that the one?
HENRY: NO.
HOOD »2 *pointing at another*: Him?
HENRY: No. *pause* There. That's him. That's the guy.
[HOOD #1 and HOOD #2 get out of the car and grab the stunned MAILMAN. He loses his hat and spills some mail as they shove him into the car's rear seat.]
[INT. A NEIGHBORHOOD PIZZERIA]
[TODDY VARIO is standing in front of a pizza oven. HENRY watches the HOODS shove the MAILMAN against the side of the oven. WE SEE PAUL VARIO in the BG.]
TODDY *pointing to Henry*: You know this kid?
MAILMAN *barely able to speak*: Yes.
TUDDY: You know where he lives?
[MAILMAN nods.]
TODDY: You deliver mail to his house?
[MAILMAN nods again.]
TODDY: From now on, any letters to the kid from his school come directly here. Do you understand? One more letter from the school to the kid's house and ...
[TODDY looks at PAUL VARIO, who nods, and the HOODS pull down the door or the pizza oven and shove the MAILMAN up close.]
TODDY:... you're going in the oven head-first.
[FREEZE ON MAILMAN'S face, smeared against the hot stove.]
RENKY *V.O.*: That was it. No more letters from truant officers. No more letters from school. In fact, no more letters from anybody. How could I go back to school after that and pledge allegiance to the flag and sit through good government bullshit.
[EXT. MOB SOCIAL CLUB - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY entering a mob social club, nodding to a friendly COP lounging outside, past WISEGUYS in sleeveless underwear sunning themselves in front of the club. WE SEE A COUPLE OF MENACING HOODS smile and nod hello at HENRY.]
[REAR YARD OF SOCIAL CLUB]
[HOODS are cooking sausages and peppers on grill. There are bottles of homemade wine and keg of beer.]
[WE SEE PAUL VAHIO holding court while eating a sausage sandwich. There are HOODS standing around him at a respectful distance. Only TODDY approaches him with ease.]
[WE SEE A HOOD talk to TODDY. WE SEE TODDY relay the message to PAUL. WE SEE PAUL say something to TODDY, who nods back to the HOOD and then motions to HENRY to come over. WE SEE TODDY bend down a little and whisper in HENRY's ear.]
[DOLLY IN ON PAUL's face.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Hundreds of guys depended on Paulie and he got a piece of everything they made. It was tribute, just like the old country, except they were doing it in America. All they got from Paulie was protection from other guys looking to rip them off. That's what it's all about. That's what the FBI can never understand -- that what Paulie and the organization does is offer protection for people who can't go to the cops. They're like the police department for wiseguys.
[EXT. USED CAR LOT - NIGHT]
[WE SEE TUDDY in his car, hand HENRY a hammer, some rags, - and a five-gallon can of gasoline.]
TODDY *driving away*: I'll be up at the corner.
[WE SEE HENRY break the windows of about six cars parked facing the sidewalk.]
HENRY *V.O.*: People locked at me differently. They knew I was with somebody.
[HE SEE HENRY shove the gas-soaked rags through the broken car windows. HENRY looks up the block where TODDY has parked. HE SEE TODDY *from HENRY'S LOT* look around and nod. HENRY immediately begins tossing lighted matchbooks through the smashed car windows.]
HENRY *V.O.*: I didn't have to wait on line at the bakery on Sunday morning anymore for fresh bread. The owner knew who I was with, and he'd come from around the counter, no matter how many people were waiting. I was taken care of first.
[Suddenly the night explodes in orange brightness. WE SEE HENRY begin to run toward TUDDY"s car as the cars he has ignited begin to explode behind him.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Our neighbors didn't park in our driveway anymore, even though we didn't have a car. At thirteen, I was making more money than most of the grownups in the neighborhood. I had more money than I could spend. I had it all.
[FREEZE ON HENRY'S a silhouette against the darkness like a man in hell.]
HENRY *V.O.*: One day some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home for her. It was out of respect.
CUT TO: EXT. HENRY'S HOUSE - DAY
[HENRY'S MOTHER opens door of house, bright daylight.]
[MOTHER'S POV]
[She sees grey lizard shoes, grey pinstriped trousers, grey silk shirt, Billy Eckstein collar, yellow silk tie, and double-breasted jacket. She looks up and sees HENRY'S smiling face.]
MOTHER *aghast*: My God! You look like a gangster.
CUT TO: SCREAMING MAN Running toward the pizzeria, holding his hand.
[EXT.: PIZZERIA - DAY]
[WE SEE HENRY standing near front of store.]
MAN *screaming*: I've been shot! Help! Help!
TUDDY *from rear of store, to Henry*: Close the door. Don't let him in.
[HENRY grabs a chair, takes it outside for the MAN to sit on and closes the pizzeria door.]
[The MAS collapses in the seat and HENRY immediately starts wrapping the MAN'S shredded and bleeding hand in his apron. The MAN is turning white and praying.]
HENRY *soothing the man*: It's okay. It's okay. They're getting an ambulance.
[WE SEE HENRY prop the MAN in his chair and race into the pizzeria for more aprons which he takes outside and wraps around the MAN'S bleeding hand, just as an ambulance pulls up.]
[WE SEE TODDY come up behind HENRY as the MAN is rushed away.]
HENRY *V.O.*: It was the first time I had ever seen anyone shot.
TODDY *angry*: You're some fucking jerk.
[WE SEE that HENRY is stunned.]
TODDY: I You wasted eight fucking aprons on that guy.
HENRY *V.O.*: I remember feeling bad about the guy. But I remember feeling that maybe Tuddy was right. I knew Pauline didn't want anybody dying in the building.
CUT TO: INT. CABSTAND - NIGHT
[HENRY is making a ham and cheese sandwich.]
[CAMERA TRACKING through room full of PEOPLE playing cards, through professional CARD DEALERS skittering cards across green felt tables, through BODYGUARDS watching the door, through TUDDY VARIO walking around the tables, through PAUL VARIO standing quietly on the side, through HENRY giving the sandwich to ONE of the PLAYERS.]
HENRY *V.O.*: It was a glorious time. Wiseguys were all over the place. It was before Apalachin and before Crazy Joey decided to take on a boss and start a war. It was when I met the world. It was when I first met Jimmy Burke.
[CAMERA COMES TO REST when JIMMY BROKE walks in the door.]
[CUT TO: HENRY Looking at JIMMY]
HENRY *V.O.*: He couldn't have been more than twenty-four or twenty-five at the time, but he was already a legend. He'd walk in the door and everybody who worked the room went wild. He'd give the doorman a hundred just for opening the door. He shoved hundreds in the pockets of the dealers and who ran the games. The bartender got a hundred just for keeping the ice cubes cold.
[HENRY sees VARIO give BURKE a hug around the shoulder. HENRY sees JIMMY handing money to the DOORMAN. HENRY watches PLAYERS timidly move their chairs slightly to make room for JIMMY. HENRY sees JIMMY pull out a wad of bills and sit down.]
JIMMY *to Henry, who is standing near the bar*: Hey, kid! Get me a seven and seven.
[WE SEE HENRY make the drink and bring it to JIMMY.]
[VARIO is standing next to JIMMY.]
VARIO *his arm around Henry's shoulder*: Henry. Say hello to Jimmy Burke.
[WE SEE JIMMY slip a $20 bill in Henry's shirt pocket.]
JIMMY *lifting his drink to Henry*: Keep 'em coming.
[FREEZE FRAME OH JIMMY.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Jimmy was one of the most feared guys in the city. He was first locked up at eleven and was doing hits for mob bosses when he was sixteen. Hits never bothered him. It was business. But what he really loved to do was steal. I mean, he actually enjoyed it. Jimmy was the kind of guy who rooted for the bad guys in the movies. He was one of the city's biggest hijackers. Clothes. Razor blades. Booze. Cigarettes. Shrimp and lobsters. Shrimp and lobsters were the best. They went fast.
[EXT. TRAILER TRUCK - NEAR IDLEWILD AIRPORT - NIGHT]
[The trailer truck is stopped at a light in a deserted area near JFK Airport. WE SEE the DRIVER being quietly led to a car where JIMMY BURKE is standing. WE SEE JIMMY routinely take the DRIVER'S wallet. There is absolutely no resistance.]
HENRY *V.O.*: And almost all of them were gimmie's.
CUT TO: CLOSE UP - WALLET
[WE SEE JIMMY put a $50 bill in the DRIVER'S wallet.]
HENRY: They called him Jimmy the Gent. The drivers loved him. They used to tip him off about the really good loads. Of course, everybody
got a piece. And when the cops assigned a whole army to stop him, *pause* Jimmy made them partners.
CUT TO: EXT. CABSTAND PACKING LOT - DAY
[CLOSE UP - ROWS OF CIGARETTE CARTONS piled inside a large trailer truck.]
[JIMMY and TOMMY DESIMONE, a youngster about HENRY's age, are moving large cigarette cartons toward truck tailgate. While JIMMY is dressed like a truck driver, TOMMY is - very nattily dressed in a sharply-cut suit and highly buffed shoes.]
[JIMMY and TOMMY are loading the cartons into the arms of a WOMAN SCHOOL-CROSSING GUARD who is having difficulty carrying the load.]
JIMMY: Tommy. Help the lady.
[WE SEE TOMMY scramble down from the truck and help the SCHOOL-CROSSING GUARD to her own car where WE SEE she already bad a load of the cartons.]
[WE SEE HENRY standing near her car and watching.]
SCHOOL-CROSSING GUARD *driving off*: Thank you, sweetheart.
[CUT TO: JIMMY standing between TOMMY and HENRY.]
JIMMY *to Henry*: Say hello to Tommy. You'll do good together.
CUT TO: POLICE CAR pulling onto the sidewalk where HENRY, TOMMY and JIMMY are standing. The COPS recognize JIMMY.
COP #1: Anything good?
[HENRY watches JIMMY smile and toss a couple of cartons of cigarettes into their radio car.]
[The COPS wave and drive off.]
[EXT. FACTORY GATE - QUITTING TIME]
[WE SEE HENRY busily selling cartons to WORKERS. TOMMY is getting cartons out. of the trunk of a car parked nearby. HENRY is so busy he can hardly keep the money and cash straight. Instead of the neat roll we saw on JIMMY, HENRY's cash is a wrinkled mess. Some of it is rolled, some folded, some in different pockets. WE SEE HENRY approached by TWO CITY DETECTIVES.]
DETECTIVE #1: What do you think you're doing?
DETECTIVE #2: Where did you get these cigarettes? *offering them cartons* It's okay.
[DETECTIVE #l roughly grabs HENRY's arm. DETECTIVE #2 grabs HENRY's cigarette cartons. WE SEE HENRY pull his arm away and ONE of the DETECTIVES slaps him across the face.]
[WE SEE that TOMMY is about to say something, but runs away instead.]
[INT. CABSTAND - DAY]
[WE SEE TOMMY talking to TUDDY and ASSORTED HOODS at the cabstand.]
[INT. COURTROOM - "AR-1" *ARRAIGNMENT PART 1*]
[HENRY is waiting along with DOZENS OF HOOKERS, nodding JUNKIES, MUGGERS and SHOPLIFTERS. When HENRY'S case is called, WE PAN to a well-dressed MOB LAWYER. HENRY, who has never seen the LAWYER before, walks to the PROSECUTOR'S, rather than the DEFENDANT'S table. A COURT CLERK nods him over toward his own LAWYER. Without acknowledging HENRY, the LAWYER nods and smiles at
the JUDGE, who smiles and nods back.]
JUDGE: Councilor, proceed.
CUT TO: INT. COURTROOM - CENTER AISLE
[HENRY is walking out of the court. HENRY sees JIMMY BURKE smiling and waiting for him in the rear of the courtroom. JIMMY puts his arm around HENRY like a father, and tacks a one-hundred dollar bill into HENRY's chest pocket. They walk out into the court corridor in silence together and then, suddenly, HENRY sees PAUL VARIO, TOMMY, TUDDY, and the WHOLE CREW from the cabstand waiting for him. They start clapping and whistling and slapping his back and cheering. VARIO, TUDDY and BURKE embrace him. While bewildered COPS and LAWYERS watch!]
CHORDS OF HOODS: You broke your cherry! You broke your cherry!
[LAST FREEZE.]
