and so they see that this is how things are and they start to scratch around and do what seems smart they start to recognize one another notice other people who are following the same path who have the same problems the same anxieties the same aching desires powerful decisive desires and so they start to band together they unite their forces and once they get started they’re never going to stop they’re not going to be stopped by any obstacle for them becoming the boss of the entire region isn’t much they want more that is to say that Antonio Bardellino didn’t just happen to wind up in Santo Domingo by chance he wanted it he planned it he understood that that’s where the money is so that’s where the power is there’s money everywhere but he wants the real money the money with ten zeros after it so he starts to find his way in little by little but he understands that this is where he needs to go he’s not just interested in gaining respect he’s not only interested in living a better life like the people that he can see around him now he wants more than that he wants power he wants everything he can get he wants it all that’s how it is

VII THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD

the murder of Simeone marked the end of an era the end of a certain kind of clan that where I come from was still largely tied up with farming with the earth part and parcel with the control and ownership of the soil even if it also battened off illegal trafficking and other activities of various sorts and now what was developing was a new kind of clan much more aggressive and violent much more ravenous and determined because they realized that nowadays in order to make money it’s no longer enough to control the earth and the soil and get paid protection money la guardiania from peasants for guarding their crops nowadays the only way to make real money was to wade into the heavy games plunge headfirst into large scale criminal enterprises which at the time consisted primarily of smuggling contraband cigarettes and trafficking in drugs which was just beginning to flourish in that period as well as arms trafficking and contracts for public works and in any case in order to take control of these business opportunities it was fundamental to establish yourself as the one and only group with power and the way to make that happen was simple they had to crush and destroy the existing group

the murder of Simeone was also a symbolic act and above all it was a strong message intended for Cutolo and the Neapolitan clans that for years had controlled the trafficking of cigarettes and drugs as well as other activities the Bardellinos in practical terms by killing Simeone drew a line in the sand a boundary to exclude the Cutolo clan from the zones they controlled from their town and the other neighboring towns but they knew perfectly well that this alone would never be enough that if they wanted to establish their mastery of their own territory it wouldn’t be so that they could stop at that or rest on their laurels it had to be a first step in a campaign to establish iron control over a foundation from which to expand and if that was the plan then from that moment forward they would necessarily have to clash often and relentlessly with Cutolo and his allies in an incessant scorched earth gang war and if they really wanted to make the great leap forward so to speak and become the new center of gravity for power and wealth they would have to act immediately and radically they had to lunge down a path from which there could be no turning back a path that would lead them either to annihilate their rivals and scoop up all the winnings for themselves or else to utter ruin complete extermination they would vanish entirely and forever