The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
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refused to ask their help and had to be taught a lesson: that mercy comes only from the 
Family, that the Family is more loyal and more to be trusted than society. 
In any case, Felix Bocchicchio was released from prison after serving three years, went 
home and kissed his wife and three children and lived peacefully for a year, and then 
showed that he was of the Bocchicchio clan after all. Without any attempt to conceal his 
guilt, he procured a weapon, a pistol, and shot his lawyer friend to death. He then 
searched out the two businessmen and calmly shot them both through the head as they 
came out of a luncheonette. He left the bodies lying in the street and went into the 
luncheonette and ordered a cup of coffee which he drank while he waited for the police 
to come and arrest him. 
His trial was swift and his judgment merciless. A member of the criminal underworld had 
cold bloodedly murdered state witnesses who had sent him to the prison he richly 
deserved. It was a flagrant flouting of society and for once the public, the press, the 
structure of society and even soft-headed and soft-hearted humanitarians were united in 
their desire to see Felix Bocchicchio in the electric chair. The governor of the state 
would no more grant him clemency than the officials of the pound spare a mad dog, 
which was the phrase of one of the governor’s closest political sides. The Bocchiochio 
clan of course would spend whatever money was needed for appeals to higher courts, 
they were proud of him now, but the conclusion was certain. After the legal folderol, 
which might take a little time, Felix Bocchicchio would die in the electric chair. 
It was Hagen who brought this case to the attention of the Don at the request of one of 
the Bocchiochios who hoped that something could be done for the young man. Don 
Codeone curtly refused. He was not a magician. People asked him the impossible. But 
the next day the Don called Hagen into his office and had him go over the case in the 
most intimate detail. When Hagen was finished, Don Corleone told him to summon the 
head of the Bocchicchio clan to the mall for a meeting. 
What happened next had the simplicity of genius. Don Corleone guaranteed to the head 
of the Bocchicchio clan that the wife and children of Felix Bocchicchio would be 
rewarded with a handsome pension. The money for this would be handed over to the 
Bocchicchio clan immediately. In turn, Felix must confess to the murder of Sollozzo and 
the police captain McCluskey. 
There were many details to be arranged. Felix Bocchicchio would have to confess 
convincingly, that is, he would have to know some of the true details to confess to. Also 

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