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These are custom-minted mission or commander coins issued in recognition and appreciation of excellence. These are from the Cheyenne Mountain NORAD facility and may be similar to those awarded to the Air Force personnel in Chapter 1 of The Reluctant Spy.  
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Frank Moretti has a gunshot wound to his thigh, courtesy of his cousin AJ Rizzo, who believes that he is the rightful heir to his father Anthony Rizzo's syndicate. Frank would gladly walk away, but his uncle Anthony has made it clear he will have Frank killed should he try. Will Naomi, his new female bodyguard, be able to protect him from the Rizzos? Will Frank finally gain control of his destiny? His world will be turned upside down. One thing is certain; his life will never be the same.  If you are a fan of the Godfather movies, you will recall how the third movie followed Michael Corleone as he tried to legitimize his criminal empire. How he attempted to move each of his children into a legitimate business. Why did this happen and what happened to the children?
Background: Organized crime existed in many cities for decades and was called by many names: Mobsters, Mafia and the Family. In the 60’s their world started to change. The Justice Department under Robert Kennedy made its first moves starting with the corrupt labor unions. Convictions against organized crime figures rose by 800 percent during Kennedy’s term as Attorney General. Then in 1970 law enforcement got a new powerful tool. The RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) is a federal law designed to combat organized crime in the United States. It allows prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. It also enabled the US Attorney to try syndicate leaders for crimes they ordered others to commit. The smartest members adapted. Some moved locations. Some used their funds to purchase legitimacy. Their descendants became well-educated men and women who still control segments of the US economy. In turn, they exercise control of politicians and the judicial system. White collar crimes mixed with old school persuasion and even murder are all part of a strategic plan to win the war that is business. The players are smart and sophisticated. They do whatever it takes to gain a competitive advantage. It usually comes down to bribing or buying influence. Some people need persuading. Loose ends need to be eliminated. Market share is vital. It is worth billions. What would you do? Both the Anthony Rizzo & Frank Moretti Series documents one family’s journey from the sixties until today. A TIMELY REVENGE - chronologically, the saga starts here. Set in Chicago, Anthony Rizzo is taught the finer points of doing business as part of the mob. His father Bruno is a loan shark who moves with his Boss to Miami. Anthony becomes legit and stays in Chicago. His father taught him strategy. “It is not smart to respond in anger. It is better to evaluate and plan. Consider the options, consider the consequences - there are always consequences.” This is a story of the transition and how Anthony bridged both worlds to become wealthy beyond his father’s dreams.
Author Fiona Quinn has a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt, is a certified archery instructor and shoots her Springfield 9mm in bulls eye fashion. When she asked if she could interview me for her ThrillWriting blog, how could I say no! If you are interested in reading about crimes, thrillers and applied psychology please visit her blog at http://thrillwriting.blogspot.com My interview concerns Using Technology in Your Plot. http://thrillwriting.blogspot.com/p/interviews.html 
I’ve always loved Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather.” Then I asked myself. “What happened to them?” What if the children of mobsters like Michael Corleone actually went into legitimate business. What if one of them became a Venture Capitalist? That was the inspiration for “The Start-up” and the next book under development.
In “The Start-up,” Anthony Rizzo is a highly successful VC who wants to take advantage of the shift from desktop PCs to the iPhone, iPad and other mobile smart devices. He takes his nephew and godson Frank Moretti under his wing and teaches him how to quickly grow a start-up and sell it for $8billion. Just as Michael Corleone could not avoid his roots, so Anthony Rizzo cannot help but to be ruthless in all that he does. If you liked John Grisham’s “The Firm” and or Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather,” you may enjoy “The Start-up.” What is more thrilling to you; reading about how a knife was thrust through a gullet, or discovering how to make $8 billion tax-free?
There are many books about the variations of murder, solving them and the resulting trials. I always longed to read about the world of high tech. Technology is disruptive, variables change daily and fortunes are waiting. For the last thirty-five years, I was always on my way to visit another client or business partner. Each visit meant sitting in airports and airplanes. I found a good novel always made the trip a little shorter. I would search in vain for a good tech crime thriller. Instead, I found enjoyment in the Legal thrillers by John Grisham, Medical by Robin Cook and Sci-Fi Tech by Michael Crichton. I also erased the hours with novels by Ken Follett, Lee Child, Dan Brown, Frederick Forsythe, Jack Higgins and Daniel Silva among others. I have always lived with the notion that if one cannot find what they are searching for, they should consider creating it. In the fast paced world of technology, change is a constant and the potential for crimes is just another business option. I believe that good tech crime fiction should be more than “who done it.” It should tackle big issues. My first novel is The Start-up. It will follow a startup from the initial VC pitch, to achieving growth and then staging itself to be sold for $8 billion. It also follows an FBI investigation into possible fraud. The setting is the switch from PCs to mobile devices. The Start-up questions venture capital, the dilemma’s facing directors of fading tech firms and the eternal conundrum of choosing between love and money. I hope you enjoy reading about the possibilities of tech crime as much as I enjoy writing it. |
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April 2017
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