The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
357
Albert Neri was the only one surprised when he was brought up on departmental 
charges for using excessive force. He was suspended and criminal charges were 
brought against him. He was indicted for manslaughter, convicted and sentenced to 
from one to ten years in prison. By this time he was so filled with a baffled rage and 
hatred of all society that he didn’t give a damn. That they dared to judge him a criminal! 
That they dared to send him to prison for killing an animal like that pimp-nigger! That 
they didn’t give a damn for the woman and little girl who had been carved up, disfigured 
for life, and still in the hospital. 
He did not fear prison. He felt that because of his having been a policeman and 
especially because of the nature of the offense, he would be well taken care of. Several 
of his buddy officers had already assured him they would speak to friends. Only his 
wife’s father, a shrewd old-style Italian who owned a fish market in the Bronx, realized 
that a man like Albert Neri had little chance of surviving a year in prison. One of his 
fellow inmates might kill him; if not, he was almost certain to kill one of them. Out of guilt 
that his daughter had deserted a fine husband for some womanly foolishness, Neri’s 
father-in-law used his contacts with the Corleone Family (he paid protection money to 
one of its representatives and supplied the Corleone itself with the finest fish available, 
as a gift), he petitioned for their intercession. 
The Corleone Family knew about Albert Neri. He was something of a legend as a 
legitimately tough cop; he had made a certain reputation as a man not to be held lightly, 
as a man who could inspire fear out of his own person regardless of the uniform and the 
sanctioned gun he wore. The Corleone Family was always interested in such man.. The 
fact that he was a policeman did not mean too much. Many young men started down a 
false path to their true destiny. Time and fortune usually set them aright. 
It was Pete Clemenza, with his fine nose for good personnel, who brought the Neri affair 
to Tom Hagen’s attention. Hagen studied the copy of the official police dossier and 
listened to Clemenza. He said, “Maybe we have another Luca Brasi here.” 
Clemenza nodded his head vigorously. Though he was very fat, his face had none of 
the usual stout man’s benignity. “My thinking exactly. Mike should look into this himself.” 
And so it was that before Albert Neri was transferred from the temporary jail to what 
would have been his permanent residence upstate, he was informed that the judge had 
reconsidered his case on the basis of new information and affidavits submitted by high 
police officials. His sentence was suspended and he was released. 

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