America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 517 The Idol of the New York Gangsters

Roosevelt's office in the police department is not large, and it looks very messy.

There are all kinds of files piled up on the desk, not only that, even the chairs are full, and there are quite a few on the floor.

And Roosevelt himself was among those files.

"Business is very busy." Chen Jianqiu stepped into the office door.

He had to pay attention to his feet, otherwise he would leave a footprint on the file on the ground if he was not careful.

Roosevelt raised his head, saw that it was Chen Jianqiu, and hurriedly packed a chair out.

Then, he moved out of his own chair and sat down face to face with Chen Jianqiu.

"The law and order in New York is a mess now. Robbery, stealing, drunkenness, and murder happen every day."

While talking, Roosevelt found that he was still holding a case file in his hand, so he threw the case file back on the table.

Chen Jianqiu originally wanted to say, isn't Lower Manhattan in New York always this messy?

He had already obtained a detailed city portrait of New York from Holiday.

The hell downtown is a prototype of "Gotham City", full of gangs and "talented".

"Your predecessor was much more relaxed than you. His philosophy was: manage the security in the upper city well, and then let the civilians in the lower city fend for themselves." Chen Jianqiu said as he sat on the back of his chair.

Similarly, for the former sheriff, Chen Jianqiu may be more familiar than Roosevelt.

The border detective agency can gain a firm foothold in New York, and Holliday has worked hard on the former sheriff.

However, after Roosevelt took office, Chen Jianqiu, who knew him well, made Holiday change his way of doing things.

"He can do this, but I can't." Roosevelt stared at Chen Jianqiu and said firmly, "In my eyes, the job of the police is to maintain order in the city, and it has nothing to do with the area, whether it's a rich area or a slum. , should be within my jurisdiction."

"Why, do you need outsourced services? Then you can just go to Holiday." Chen Jianqiu said to Roosevelt with a smile, "But as far as I know, they are still better at solving cases than maintaining law and order."

After all, the way the Border Detective Agency handles things is not very suitable for maintaining law and order.

This has something to do with Holiday, the leader of the New York bureau.

When he was in the West, he has always been relatively dark.

Together with Chen Jianqiu, this man successfully turned a sheriff of a small western town into a wanted gangster.

"Last week, I killed a sheriff." Roosevelt's voice dropped suddenly. "He died in his own home, electrocuted in the shower."

"The electric wire of the electric light broke, and the exposed end fell into the bathtub." He said, "There is no trace left at the scene, and the murderer has not been caught until now."

Chen Jianqiu touched his chin.

This method is quite the essence of the people in the Border Detective Agency, and they pay attention to adapting measures to local conditions.

"Did he offend anyone?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"I sent him to seal down the bar in the downtown area, because it violated the rule that you can't sell alcohol on Sunday." Roosevelt took a deep breath, "He is a person with strong execution ability. Although the police rank is not high, he is very Responsible, he did a great job."

"I killed him." He sighed, and looked at Chen Jianqiu at the same time, "If it were you, the gangster over there would probably have no one alive."

"But you are not me." Chen Jianqiu understood very well, "Isn't there an investigation?"

"The investigation report is very sloppy, saying it was an accidental death, but this is hard to accept." Roosevelt took out a few thin sheets of paper from the file on the table, and handed them to Chen Jianqiu.

After Chen Jianqiu hastily scanned the report, his eyes stopped on the name of the person who issued the report: Mitchell Walker

"Have you checked this person?" Chen Jianqiu asked, pointing to the name, "This kind of report is obviously perfunctory and cannot be explained at all."

"That's what I want to say." Roosevelt leaned forward, "He may not be the only one in the police station who has connections with those gangsters. As far as I know, they have been collecting money from gangsters."

"I could find a reason to replace them all, and then change a group of people. But this is too much noise, and I can't find anyone who is trustworthy and capable."

"So, I want you to check it out for me."

Chen Jianqiu didn't speak.

In fact, he wanted to tell Roosevelt that almost every policeman under his command took dirty money.

This is the unwritten rule of New York and even the entire American police circle, from east to west, from south to north.

It's true in New York, it's true in San Francisco; it's true in Boston, it's true in Philadelphia.

"I can't sit back and watch corruption destroy the foundation of this city, nor can I watch this largest city in the United States become notorious because of these people." Roosevelt said bitterly.

His fists clenched.

"So, I'm hoping to start with this case and at least do something for the city."

If other people said these words, Chen Jianqiu would still be a little bit disapproving.

He has seen too many people who speak righteously on the surface, but are struggling behind the scenes, or start to be ambitious, but eventually succumb to reality.

But Theodore Roosevelt was not like that.

Without this kind of ambition and a will that is firmer than ordinary people, his head would not be eligible to be engraved on Capitol Hill with Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.

"Okay, leave it to me."

Chen Jianqiu stood up.

He took the investigative report with him.

After leaving the gate of the police station, Chen Jianqiu walked directly towards No. 34 Bell Street.

The address is now famous throughout New York.

The Frontier Detective Agency is located here.

It has completely replaced the down-and-out Pinkerton Detective Agency and has become a law enforcement force that cannot be ignored in the city.

Many cases that the police cannot solve, they will take action.

However, compared with the police, they don't pay much attention to procedural justice in the way they treat suspects.

The police station is not far from the detective agency.

After walking through two blocks, Chen Jianqiu arrived at the destination very quickly.

The snow at the door has been swept away, but the two stone lions are still majestic.

After Chen Jianqiu looked up at the signboard, he stepped into the door.

The guard on duty at the gate put on a thick winter uniform and was in a daze.

When he saw Chen Jianqiu in a coat, he was stunned for a moment.

Chen Jianqiu would come over on weekdays, but usually someone would notify him, but today no one told him that the boss would show up!

"What? I'm not welcome?" Chen Jianqiu took off his hat and glanced at him.

As fast as he could, the doorman picked up the handset of the telephone hanging on the wall behind him.

"Boss, the boss is here!"

Before the doorman finished his call, Chen Jianqiu had already walked up the stairs and arrived at the door of Holledi's office.

To his surprise, Holiday's office was as cluttered as Roosevelt's.

It is also full of tables and chairs, and at the same time, the floor is covered with no place to stay.

Huo Ledi didn't know when he put on his glasses, and was holding a pen to draw on the case file. When he saw Chen Jianqiu coming, he immediately put down the pen in his hand and stood up.

Chen Jianqiu walked around the pile of files on the ground and came to Huo Ledi's desk.

"Has there been more cases in the past two days?" He looked down at the case files.

"Yes, most of them are kidnapped." Holiday said, "I just fished out the son of a German businessman last week, and took out a small gangster."

Chen Jianqiu nodded.

"Can you still aim with glasses on?" He glanced at Holiday's glasses and joked.

Holiday took off his pince-nez and put it in his breast pocket: "It's okay, I don't have to do it myself most of the time now."

"Even if you really want to pick up a gun, it's not a big problem." He pointed to the position of his heart with his finger, "You also know that at our level, the gun is not relying on the eyes, but here."

Chen Jianqiu did not refute Huo Ledi's idealist remarks, but handed him the case file in his hand.

"I just came from Sheriff Roosevelt, do you know about this case?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

Holiday put on his glasses again.

"We only know about this matter, but we don't know the details, but their police station will definitely not be able to find out by themselves." The "doctor" shook his head slightly, "The police station has long been rotten, this The report was either perfunctory, or it was a deliberate cover-up at the behest."

"Well, I thought so too." Chen Jianqiu took back the report, "So, Roosevelt wants to entrust us to handle this case."

"Their police station still has the funds to take on the case now." Holiday laughed abruptly.

"Huh?" Chen Jianqiu was a little confused.

"The New York City government is about to go bankrupt, according to our information." Holiday motioned for his boss to follow him.

He took Chen Jianqiu all the way down the stairs to the basement.

The hallway in the basement was brightly lit.

The two walked to a thick steel gate.

Holiday took a key from his coat pocket, inserted it into the keyhole on the door, and turned it several times; then he took another key from his trousers pocket, and inserted it into another keyhole .

The door was opened.

The two walked in.

"The secret intelligence room of the detective agency." Holiday turned on the light on the wall with his hands.

This is a big room, and there are rows of cabinets more than two meters high compactly placed inside.

Each cabinet was labeled with letters of unknown meaning.

"Many ulterior secrets in New York City are hidden here." Holiday and Chen Jianqiu shuttled through the rows of cabinets together, "Including but not limited to internal government documents, property records of congressmen, many unofficial organizations list of members"

Chen Jianqiu looked up and down the cabinets.

"You always carry your keys with you?" he asked suddenly.

"No, one is on me, and the other is with the clerk. I just got it this morning." Holiday replied.

He walked to a cabinet marked "Fn", counted the layers of grids silently, then opened the third column, a drawer on the second floor, and took out a document from it and handed it to Chen Jianqiu .

By the light of the incandescent lamp, Chen Jianqiu began to read the document.

This is a copy of the New York City government's internal budget report, with a big "confidential" written at the bottom.

It can be seen from the report that New York City's financial situation has long been beyond its means, and the debt level has naturally climbed to an outrageous level. .

Behind this report is a copy of a loan document from the city government to Morgan Bank.

The city government borrowed more than $200 million, otherwise the municipal debt would not be able to be paid.

If this money is not borrowed, the New York City government will be on the verge of bankruptcy, all municipal services will be stagnant, the police will not be paid, and the city will become completely disordered.

"Is it because of the financial crisis?" Chen Jianqiu asked.

"I'm afraid it's not just that." Holiday glanced at the other drawers, "Since the Tammany Society re-emerged, only they can tell where the money of the New York City government has gone."

"Well, you can send a copy of the Tammany Association documents to my residence later." Chen Jianqiu returned the documents in his hand to Holiday, "Let's discuss the Roosevelt case first."

The two walked out of the confidential data room.

Holiday turned and re-locked the door.

Chen Jianqiu took out his gold pocket watch and checked the time, it was almost noon.

"Do you have lunch arrangements?" Chen Jianqiu turned his head and asked Huo Ledi who was locking the door.

"Not yet, everyone is usually very busy and usually not at the headquarters, and those who stay at the headquarters usually eat some bread, cheese or sandwiches to deal with it, and then go home to eat something good with their families at night." Holiday straightened up.

"Let's go, let's go to a restaurant outside to eat and chat while eating."

New York is still busy after the snow.

The carriage passed by in a hurry, and the bells collided and made a "jingle bell" sound, reminding the passing pedestrians to avoid.

The snow on the road was simply cleared, but it was so simple that the melted snow mixed with the dirt on the road, making the road muddy.

Pedestrians passing by should be very careful, otherwise, they will be splashed with mud by the passing carriage.

Chen Jianqiu and Holiday crossed the road, and finally found a restaurant named "Papa Donny" at the corner of the street.

Two people walked in, each ordered a steak, and one ordered a glass of wine.

"Who runs the bars under investigation?" Chen Jianqiu asked while cutting the steak, "I mean, in whose sphere of influence?"

"Five o'clock help."

Holliday replied. ,

"A small Italian gang, but the people inside are very mixed, including Italians, Irish, Jews and Eastern Europeans. The main activities are in lower Manhattan, Harlem and Brooklyn."

Regarding the information about this gang, Holiday said it like a few treasures.

He has long been familiar with these things.

"The founder was an Italian-American named Paolo Vaccarelli, but he died during the merger. The current leader is John Torrio, a very ambitious and capable guy. Five Under his leadership, the Dian Gang has become the largest gang in Lower New York."

"But this guy is kind of crazy, and" Holiday suddenly stopped talking.

"And what?" Chen Jianqiu stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth.

"This person told others that his idol is you. He didn't know where he learned about some things about you in New Mexico. He decided to follow you and become an underground legend in New York!"

When Chen Jianqiu heard this, he almost choked on the beef in his mouth.

He quickly took a sip of red wine.

"Nonsense, when did I build a gang? What kind of underground legend, who is spreading it?" Chen Jianqiu picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Maybe it's with Scott, I don't know about the rest." Holiday looked at Chen Jianqiu.

Yeah, you haven't seen a gang, but you have to do a lot of things, and it's not wrong for a gang leader who is a new immigrant to regard you as an idol.

"Let's start with that police officer named Mitchell Walker and this John Torrio."

Chen Jianqiu stood up and made a decision.

Mitchell Walker is not a rookie police officer, on the contrary, he can be said to be an old fritters.

Before Roosevelt became the New York Police Commissioner, he had already served in the police department.

At first, he was just a patrol policeman in charge of the lower urban area, also known as the "film policeman". However, due to his long working time and rich experience, many investigations of cases were also entrusted to him.

Like the police officers in other New York police departments, a large part of Walker's income also comes from the "tribute" of the people below, so he naturally has an unclear relationship with the gangsters in his jurisdiction.

Although Roosevelt did not say anything on the surface in that report, he knew that this thing would definitely not be able to fool Roosevelt.

But he also has something to hide.

After careful consideration, Walker decided to have a chat with John Torrio.

(End of this chapter)