“I heard Al Lattanzi tell the mayor he would do anything he asked”
– The Blue Suit talking with Josh Resnek
By JOSH RESNEK with THE BLUE SUIT
When I picked up the Blue Suit at the end of Abbott Avenue Tuesday afternoon he appeared totally out of sorts.
“What’s wrong? Did Carlo sit on you? Did he threaten you with a scissors? Did he promise retaliation against you because you speak with me?” I asked.
The Blue Suit slumped in the passenger seat of my red Honda Fit as we drove into Woodlawn Cemetery. I parked in the older part of the cemetery, near to the Gerrish monument. That was a big time Chelsea family back in the 1840’s. In fact, the Gerrish Family owned and built a building that still stands in Chelsea Square where Abraham Lincoln spoke in 1848.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” the Blue Suit complained. “What’s wrong, buddy?” I asked.
“Carlo caught me taking cash out of the safe in his bedroom.” “That’s not good, is it?” I asked the Blue Suit.
“It is very bad. Carlo’s been screaming and venting about the city council taking away the $40,000 a year longevity payment he’s been receiving. And now this, finding me with a c-note that came from the safe.”
“How did he know it was his c-note?” I asked.
“It was the only money in the safe,” the Blue Suit added.
“How did he find out it was you who took the c-note?”
“Carlo checked out the surveillance camera video.”
“You’re kidding me. He’s got video surveillance of you inside the house?” I asked.
“Yeah. It was put in when he built the house. That guy that sits in the basement of city hall – I think his name is Dorgan – I believe he put it in for Carlo. He was there all the time when the house was being built.”
“Wow. That’s news to me.”
I went on with my line of questioning as we sat in Woodlawn Cemetery. It is a beautiful cemetery. Everything was grey and white – a veritable sea of gray and white.
“So what did Carlo do when he caught you?”
“He tore the c-note out of my hand. He was really angry. He said he was going to cut me into pieces. He shouted at me. His face turned red. I saw him grab a scissors. I ran into the closet. He chased me. He pulled open the door and he said: “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
“Carlo called Al Lattanzi. He asked Lattanzi what he should do. Lattanzi told Carlo he would do anything he asked. When Carlo was done with that call, I was freaked out.”
“What happened then?” I asked.
“Carlo threatened me with retaliation for talking with you. He said he was going to cut off my sleeves and pants below the knee. He said he was going to cut all my shirts and slice my ties – and then I really got scared.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“He said he was going to take all the cut up pieces and bring them to Lattanzi’s hardware store on Main Street, and that Lattanzi was going to sell me as rags – selling every piece of me as a rag!”
“Is that all?” I asked.
“No,” the Blue Suit replied.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was frantic. I needed a lawyer. I called City Solicitor Colleen Mejia.”
“Are you crazy?” I asked the Blue Suit.
“No,” he repeated.
“Did you get a hold of her?” I asked.
“Yes. But she was busy. Her secretary said she was speaking to Chief Justice John Roberts. Something about the longevity thing. Finally, she got off the phone.”
“Why didn’t you call Keith Slattery or Matt Lattanzi. What are you bothering me for?” Mejia complained to me, the Blue Suit said.”
“When she calmed down, she asked me what I wanted.”
“I need help,” I pleaded with her. “Get Carlo to put down the scissors and get Lattanzi to back down from selling me to his customers as rags. Mejia said she felt sorry for me. She said she’d try to help me.”
“What exactly did she do?” I asked the Blue Suit.
“She gave me Eric Demas’s number. That’s Mejia for you. Always willing to help and to do the right thing.”
“Did you call Demas?” I asked.
“Of course I did. I was frantic.”
“What did he tell you to do?”
“Demas…well…he told me to get lost.”
“Yeah. That sounds like him,” I added.
Sitting inside Woodlawn Cemetery we were able to see the back of the mayor’s house.
Suddenly, the mayor appeared. He was walking his dog.
What do you think the dog did?
Did the mayor scoop it up?
No.
‘Let’s get out of here,” the Blue Suit said to me.
We left Woodlawn Cemetery and we went down to the DPW yard. The Blue Suit said maybe Jerry could help out.
At the DPW the Blue Suit ran into a few of the employees. He asked where Jerry is.
“He’s never here after 9:00a.m. He comes in every day. Shouts out orders and then he leaves not to be seen for the rest of the day,” one of the DPW guys told the Blue Suit.
“Is that possible?” I asked the Blue Suit.
“I’m afraid it is,” he replied to me.
“Maybe you should just tell the mayor you’re sorry,” I suggested to him.
The Blue Suit looked at me in amazement.
“There’s no such thing as saying you’re sorry to Carlo. There is only retaliation. I just have to pray I can stay out of his sight long enough for him to get himself together again. Losing that $40,000 a year is killing him inside,” the Blue Suit said.
“I just have a horrible feeling I’m going to end up as rags in Lattanzi’s hardware store.”