The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
358
Albert Neri was no fool and his father-in-law no shrinking violet. Neri learned what had 
happened and paid his debt to his father-in-law by agreeing to get a divorce from Rita. 
Then he made a trip out to Long Beach to thank his benefactor. Arrangements had been 
made beforehand, of course. Michael received him in his library. 
Neri stated his thanks in formal tones and was surprised and gratified by the warmth 
with which Michael received his thanks. 
“Hell, I couldn’t let them do that to a fellow Sicilian,” Michael said. “They should have 
given you a goddamn medal. But those damn politicians don’t give a shit about anything 
except pressure groups. Listen, I would never have stepped into the picture if I hadn’t 
checked everything out and saw what a raw deal you got. One of my people talked to 
your sister and she told us how you were always worried about her and her kid, how you 
straightened the kid out, kept him from going bad. Your father-in-law says you’re the 
finest fellow in the world. That’s rare.” Tactfully Michael did not mention anything about 
Neri’s wife having left him. 
They chatted for a while. Neri had always been a taciturn man, but he found himself 
opening up to Michael Corleone. Michael was only about five years his senior, but Neri 
spoke to him as if he were much older, older enough to be his father. 
Finally Michael said, “There’s no sense getting you out of jail and then just leaving you 
high and dry. I can arrange some work for you. I have interests out in Las Vegas, with 
your experience you could be a hotel security man. Or if there’s some little business 
you’d like to go into, I can put a word in with the banks to advance you a loan for 
capital.” 
Neri was overcome with grateful embarrassment. He proudly refused and then added, “I 
have to stay under the jurisdiction of the court anyway with the suspended sentence.” 
Michael said briskly, “That’s all crap detail, I can fix that. Forget about that supervision 
and just so the banks won’t get choosy I’ll have your yellow sheet pulled.” 
The yellow sheet was a police record of criminal offenses committed by any individual. It 
was usually submitted to a judge when he was considering what sentence to give a 
convicted criminal. Neri had been long enough on the police force to know that many 
hoodlums going up for sentencing had been treated leniently by the judge because a 
clean yellow sheet had been submitted by the bribed Police Records Department. So he 
was not too surprised that Michael Corleone could do such a thing; he was, however, 
surprised that such trouble would be taken on his account. 

---