The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
59
“Then why do you come to me?” the Don asked politely. “How have I deserved your 
generosity?” 
Sollozzo’s dark face remained impassive. “I need two million dollars cash,” he said. 
“Equally important, I need a man who has powerful friends in the important places. 
Some of my couriers will be caught over the years. That is inevitable. They will all have 
clean records, that I promise. So it will be logical for judges to give light sentences. I 
need a friend who can guarantee that when my people get in trouble they won’t spend 
more than a year or two in jail. Then they won’t talk. But if they get ten and twenty years, 
who knows? In this world there are many weak individuals. They may talk, they may 
jeopardize more important people. Legal protection is a must. I hear, Don Corleone, that 
you have as many judges in your pocket as a bootblack has pieces of silver.” 
Don Corleone didn’t bother to acknowledge the compliment. “What percentage for my 
family?” he asked. 
Sollozzo’s eyes gleamed. “Fifty percent.” He paused and then said in a voice that was 
almost a caress, “In the first year your share would be three or four million dollars. Then 
it would go up.” 
Don Corleone said, “And what is the percentage of the Tattaglia family?” 
For the first time Sollozzo seemed to be nervous. “They will receive something from my 
share. I need some help in the operations.” 
“So,” Don Corleone said, “I receive fifty percent merely for finance and legal protection. I 
have no worries about operations, is that what you tell me?” 
Sollozzo nodded. “If you think two million dollars in cash is ‘merely finance,’ I 
congratulate you, Don Corleone.” 
The Don said quietly, “I consented to see you out of my respect for the Tattaglias and 
because I’ve heard you are a serious man to be treated also with respect. I must say no 
to you but I must give you my reasons. The profits in your business are huge but so are 
the risks. Your operation, if I were part of it, could damage my other interests. It’s true I 
have many, many friends in politics, but they would not be so friendly if my business 
were narcotics instead of gambling. They think gambling is something like liquor, a 
harmless vice, and they think narcotics a dirty business. No, don’t protest. I’m telling you 
their thoughts, not mine. How a man makes his living is not my concern. And what I am 
telling you is that this business of yours is too risky. All the members of my family have 
lived well the last ten years, without danger, without harm. I can’t endanger them or their 

---