The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
253
Chapter 21 
But it was to be nearly another year before Don Corleone could arrange for his son 
Michael to be smuggled back into the United States. During that time the whole Family 
racked their brains for suitable schemes. Even Carlo Rizzi was listened to now that he 
was living in the mall with Connie. (During that time they had a second child, a boy.) But 
none of the schemes met with the Don’s approval. 
Finally it was the Bocchicchio Family who through a misfortune of its own solved the 
problem. There was one Bocchicchio, a young cousin of no more than twenty-five years 
of age, named Felix, who was born in America and with more brains than anyone in the 
clan had ever had before. He had refused to be drawn into the Family garbage hauling 
business and married a nice American girl of English stock to further his split from the 
clan. He went to school at night, to become a lawyer, and worked during the day as a 
civil service post office clerk. During that time he had three children but his wife was a 
prudent manager and they lived on his salary until he got his law degree. 
Now Felix Bocchicchio, like many young men, thought that having struggled to complete 
his education and master the tools of his profession, his virtue would automatically be 
rewarded and he would earn a decent living. This proved not to be the case. Still proud, 
he refused all help from his clan. But a lawyer friend of his, a young man well connected 
and with a budding career in a big law firm, talked Felix into doing him a little favor. It 
was very complicated, seemingly legal, and had to do with a bankruptcy fraud. It was a 
million-to-one shot against its being found out. Felix Bocchicchio took the chance. Since 
the fraud involved using the legal skills he had learned in a university, it seemed not so 
reprehensible, and, in an odd way, not even criminal. 
To make a foolish story short, the fraud was discovered. The lawyer friend refused to 
help Felix in any manner, refused to even answer his telephone calls. The two principals 
in the fraud, shrewd middle-aged businessmen who furiously blamed Felix 
Bocchicchio’s legal clumsiness for the plan going awry, pleaded guilty and cooperated 
with the state, naming Felix Bocchicchio as the ringleader of the fraud and claiming he 
had used threats of violence to control their business and force them to cooperate with 
him in his fraudulent schemes. Testimony was given that linked Felix with uncles and 
cousins in the Bocchiochio clan who had criminal records for strong-arm, and this 
evidence was damning. The two businessmen got off with suspended sentences. Felix 
Bocchiochio was given a sentence of one to five years and served three of them. The 
clan did not ask help from any of the Families or Don Corleone because Felix had 

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