Chapter 140 - "Gold Rabbit" (2) (Note: Gonzalo's Story. A total filler for my quota. Y'all can skip if you want.)

Gonzalo hurriedly hid the two bodies in the shrubs and grabbed the mobsters' car and drove quickly to a safehouse where he hid his getaway money. While he was ready to give up half of his businesses, Gonzalo did his best to scr.a.p.e every dollar to the last cent for himself before he handed the businesses over.

Such decision, while dangerous had Anselmo and his men found out, saved Gonzalo the resources to flee.

"I am leaving New York. I was almost whacked tonight. May we see each other again." Gonzalo left last-minute letters to his most trusted people; his thief friends. 

- A few days later -

[[[1500 DEAD IN HAWAII. CONGRESS VOTES FOR WAR]]

Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese.  The US Government started their recruitment immediately. Gonzalo grabbed this chance to leave America 

1945 

Gonzalo, 25, after four years of service is now a staff sergeant of the US Army's 77th Infantry Division and commands 10 soldiers.

Since April, 180,000 soldiers led by the 77th Infantry, has been in battle against Japanese forces to take over the island of Okinawa for its strategic importance. Witnessing the death of thousands of soldiers, Gonzalo and his squad were at the limits of their physical and mental health. 

August arrived and something changed.

"We've won, boys." Gonzalo, his units, and thousands of other soldiers celebrated at the general's announcement. "*CHEERS*" 

The Americans dropped two nuclear bombs on August 6 and 9 in the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, respectively. The aftermath of the cities and the threat of another nuclear attack forced the Japanese generals and ultimately, the emperor to surrender. 

"You boys go home. Your family misses you. On behalf of the people of the United States of America, I thank you all for your service."

A month later, Gonzalo was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, an honor only second to the Medal of Honor in prestige. Even though he joined the army to get away from the Opizzi Family, Gonzalo went home gaining much more. He established friendship with the other soldiers and in their company, finally found the sense of family that he has always been looking for.

Gonzalo did not go home to New York and instead went to Las Vegas to start a new life and get a degree in the University of Nevada.

1949 

Four years after the war, America has quickly moved on, and so has Gonzalo. He met a woman, got married, and is now with child named Sylvio. His life in Nevada has been very peaceful. However, a few things still nagged him. 

While the average American still feel sentiments about the war, they are living their lives as if the war never happened and would only honor the soldiers that fought when reminded. 

Looking at the privileged people especially the students who did not value the war efforts of the soldiers, while Gonzalo is still haunted by the memories of his friends that fell on the shores of Okinawa, Gonzalo could not help but feel at a loss and wondered what he ever fought for. 

With his indignation and realization that he is not the only veteran who has not healed yet from the war, Gonzalo decided to start his own crime organization to help the soldiers he served with. With his $400,000 savings from working for the Opizzi family that he never touched and inflated after the war, it did not take Gonzalo a long time to look for his brothers at arms and recruit them.

1950 

"Tell the boys that if someone look at them funny, break their legs." Gonzalo ordered one of his men. 

A few months after establishing his crime syndicate, Gonzalo realized found himself undermanned. Despite the almost 100 veterans he hired; it was not enough for his plans. 

He then turned to hiring African Americans which was met with criticisms from his men. Nevada and many other states still have racial segregation that even public water fountains and rest rooms are separated between whites and "colored" ones. 

Gonzalo however, after reminding his men that they have served with African American soldiers and that they are no less patriotic and no less heroic than the white ones. That the "colored ones", despite suffering for hundreds of years on the hands of their fellow Americans, still chose to fight for America.

Gonzalo's words made his men feel very embarrassed and despite their small remaining hesitation for letting the "colored ones" in, they all agreed to give Gonzalo's plan a chance.

1957

Seven years after establishing his Coniglio Syndicate, Gonzalo has become a powerful man in Las Vegas. While his crime syndicate is small in number compared to its Jewish and Italian counterparts in Las Vegas, it is just as wealthy if not more so. He also is starting to have an influence in California as he has a secret alliance with Landopil, the Teungebian - American crime syndicate active in the state. The alliance was made easier as he has served with an important member of Landopil during his time in World War 2.

When it comes to financing, Coniglio Syndicate has many sources from both legal and illegal businesses. The legal businesses include two casinos that Gonzalo bought cheap after their previous owners went bust, shares seized by Gonzalo from small businesses that cannot pay their debts, and car dealersh.i.p.s. 

The illegal businesses on the other hand, deal with smuggling goods that would have been taxed highly had they entered America through legitimate routes. The syndicate also deal with manufacturing, transporting, and selling illicit drugs. 

Coniglio Syndicate's drug operations however is different from the other mobs who were all focused on cocaine and narcotics. Gonzalo decided his organization not to deal with narcotics, opioids, and other deadly drugs. This decision led to his syndicate designing good systems that made them almost monopolize safe recreational substances like Mary Jane, LSD (acid), and "magic" mushrooms in the Nevada and its neighboring states. 

The Coniglio has also become powerful despite its young age. Coniglio members grew and multiplied. Many of them being decorated soldiers of the war, some have easily infiltrated in various branches of the state and national law enforcement agencies. 

His people in the coast guard ensured that Coniglio's smuggling activities in the coast of Northern California is minimally surveilled. His people in the police would supply the syndicate with police escorts and sabotaging powers to his surveilled rivals' criminal activity. His people at the Bureau of Land Management informed Gonzalo's syndicate the best lands they can afford to reserve for their legitimate businesses. 

This year, his few, idle, but valuable spies inside the FBI finally reported something unexpected that Gonzalo wants to make sure to exploit. 

100 of the most prominent members of various Italian-American mobs, or Cosa Nostra for short,  are gathering at Erie City in Pennsylvania for a meeting hosted by Anselmo Opizzi. The meeting has very little to do with Anselmo and is about the division of assets by the recently murdered Don Edgar Cordone among the people who were invited to attend. 

Gonzalo however does not care about what the meeting is about but cares more about the people attending. 

Half of the 50 or so bosses attending caught his eyes as they are prominent mobsters in Nevada, California, and those who are based in Cuba. The Cuban based mobsters especially interested him as they are a problem with Gonzalo's Mary Jane trade. This prompted Gonzalo to cook up a plan to abduct these mob figures while they are traveling to Erie. 

A few days before the Erie meeting, Gonzalo and a hundred-fifty of his men, all being veteran soldiers from World War 2, Vietnam War, and the Korean War, made their way to the routes the attending mobsters will take. After a few skirmishes, shootouts, and more than 10 lightly wounded, the Coniglio managed to capture the mobsters. 

With some more money, Gonzalo hired guns from smaller syndicates to impersonate Italian mobster identities and incite fighting among the territories of the captured mobsters. After a few more days of fighting among the captured mobsters' territories, it became easier for Gonzalo's syndicate to take over. 

With the help of his men from law enforcement, Gonzalo's power in his newly captured territories became solidified. 

Gonzalo and his syndicate, being more hidden and more layered in their activities are very mysterious to other crime syndicates. That mystery also protected their identities from being exposed after the bold and public abduction of the 30 of the biggest figures of Italian-American organized crime.

1960 

Delfina, Gonzalo's second child was born. Sylvio, at a tender age of 15, joined Gonzalo's syndicate with resolve. 

Regarding Gonzalo, he has become even more powerful. He has however become too powerful that it made it difficult to keep his appearance and his organization anonymous. The Jewish, Italian, and Russian mobs of Nevada took a joint effort in uncovering Gonzalo and the Coniglio. 

After a few deadly attacks from the enemy mobs that Gonzalo almost did not survive from, Gonzalo was forced to lay low. It also broke his heart that two of his fellow war veterans were killed helping him get away. 

Gonzalo then ceased the rest of Coniglio's illegal operations except for his drug activities that the Italian and Jewish mobs did not connect to the Coniglio. He moved his drug operation and focused on establishing farms and factories of Mary Jane, magic mushrooms, and LSD in northern California. This move helped Gonzalo and his organization to disappear from the radar of the Jewish, Italian, and Russian mobs. 

1972

The Coniglio Family laid low for 12 years. During this time, his men dubbed him as the 'Golden Rabbit'. His men first dubbed Gonzalo as 'The Rabbit' based on his surname, Coniglio, coming from the Latin word 'Cuniculus' meaning 'rabbit'.

What earned Gonzalo the 'Golden Rabbit' title however, was just like a rabbit that digs burrows to nest its kittens, Gonzalo grew the organization and its wealth, undetected by rival crime organizations, while laying low. Gonzalo achieved this by expanding to legal businesses through legal means.   

Gonzalo's syndicate now legally operates 3 casinos, two three-star hotels, a huge real estate business owning, a construction company, and a hospital, making Coniglio a half-a-billion dollar enterprise.

Gonzalo also protects his legal businesses by his private paramilitary force, his ever-increasing spies in law enforcement, and a platoon of lawyers his organization raised. 

In addition to his home-grown talents, Gonzalo also made a secret organization consisting of corrupt cops, cops with bad records, and politicians. 

With enough money and resources, Gonzalo started his revenge for his two blood brothers. 

Nevada's Russian mob who was responsible for his friends' deaths, was the first on Gonzalos' list. He used his spies in NVPD and FBI to initiate a raid on the illegal operations of the Russian mob. After the sudden arrest of the important members of the Russian mob, they become weak enough that it became easy for Gonzalo to take over their territories and exiled the families of the Russian mob bosses out of Nevada.