How a True Boss Was Born

It was the early 70s, and there was a gangster in New York. Not really a gangster, but a businessman and a family man. They called this man King. They did not call him King because he was the king of his hood; nor was he the king of anything but his household with the birth-given name King. He was into small time gangster crime like hand-to-hand drug sales. King was a local street dealer- mostly nickel and diming at the time, he’d occasionally get his hands on small amounts of cocaine and resell it as quickly as possible. He did what he could taking his supply to the clubs, streets, and doorsteps of addicts.

He was no one big, and his life was pretty ordinary. Then one night at a club, he met a young lady by the name of Isis. She was a Latin and the sweetest girl he’d ever met. She was just beautiful. She stood about 5’7 and had gorgeous flowing black hair and hazel eyes. She was slim with perfect breasts and a perfect butt, and had Brazilian lips. With the skin tone of Halle Berry, and a stunning smile, she took King‘s breath away. She was an aspiring model and had been trying for years to get into the modeling industry. She had to make a living somehow, so she ventured into the night life and worked as a stripper. She worked mostly parties, and was a hot young lady that had a thing for real black gangsters at the time. King and Isis fell in love at first sight, or at least that’s how it felt at the time. They decided to be exclusive right away; though they both had many opportunities to be with other people. They spent every second they could together for eight months. Everyone knew them as a couple. In the middle of their ninth month together, they went to the courthouse and got married, surrounded only by a few of their closest friends and family. One short year later, in 1978, they had a baby boy and named him Jerome. They were in love with each other and their new son and couldn’t have been happier.

When King had his son, Jerome, his life changed. He figured out that he needed to make a decision to work harder in his life. He wanted his son to have a better childhood and life than he had, and he was willing to do anything to make that happen. He only knew of one way to make a lot of money fast. He began to work harder than ever to come up in the ranks of street crime. He spent all of his time making more and better connections and proving to everyone on the streets that he was very good at what he did. He made it his personal mission to sell faster than everyone else. Once he had proven himself on his streets, he teamed up with other local dealers. He began to partner with dealers in other cities. This meant he had to split his profits, but he could sell what he had much faster. Selling faster meant getting his new supply for a lower price. Soon his lower prices allowed him to sell his product cheaper and acquire more customers very quickly. Business was booming!

King had figured out how to move up very quickly in the world of street crime. He kept a very small group of associates and was very careful. He wasn’t really a violent man at that time, but realized that to truly prove himself to the drug bosses, he had to show them he was serious. He figured out that violence was a necessary part of being successful in the business. When someone double-crossed him, he would have to go to the extreme to have that person harmed, so that everyone knew not to mess with him. When someone stole from him, it was up to him to make sure there was direct retaliation. He had to protect his reputation and recover his loses. He had to make sure he got revenge, and most importantly, he had to make sure that everyone knew he was the one in charge. Unfortunately, this sometimes meant having these users killed to show that he was no punk in the streets. Of course, he always had an associate do the dirty work for him, but in the beginning, this violence bothered King a little. As he became more and more powerful and the cash started really rolling in, he got used to it. After all, he was just protecting his family and his livelihood.

In the early 1980’s, King made the transition from doing hand to hand sales to becoming a major marijuana distributor. He had gone from selling nickel bags at an average of about 100 grams a week to selling about 100 lbs a week in less than two years. Just as his career as a dealer began to skyrocket, tension at home started building. Isis was busy raising Jerome and still working. King was bringing home more and more money every week, and she knew he was dealing, but she didn’t realize the extent of his activities. She started to notice that they had to be very careful when they were out together. Her friends and family started to talk also. King was getting quite a reputation. She worried about his safety and the safety of herself and her son.

The business is what split their happy little family apart. The stress for King grew as he had to start watching his back and worrying about his family non-stop. Other dealers were jealous of his rapid success, and there was always someone looking to rob him. Soon the threats started coming against him and his family. As the pressure grew, King became more angry and violent. He wanted the best for his family and was willing to do whatever it took to get it. Isis noticed he was changing and they were starting to drift apart. She spent most of her time alone with Jerome, instructed by King not to go out because it wasn’t safe.

King wasn’t perfect, and he was living the life of a dealer. There were many other women. He was pretty sure Isis knew about them, and he felt a little guilty, but it was all part of doing business. Some of them were really just into him, but he learned over time that most of them were gold diggers, using him for a good time and his money. He had his share of good times with them, but was always very careful to protect his own family and business.

Isis was getting restless and becoming very unhappy. It seemed what little time they now had together, they spent fighting. They got into it pretty badly one night. She was crying and screaming about him being gone so much, about their lives being threatened, about the other women, and about him not even really knowing Jerome. She wasn’t happy anymore and threatened to leave him. He had never laid a finger on her before, but he lost his temper and threw her against the wall, sending pictures shattering to the ground and waking up Jerome. He went to her and grabbed her by the throat, just like he’d done to many thugs on the street, and told her that if she ever left him, he’d kill her. Then he realized what he was doing to this women he truly loved and stopped himself. He picked her up and hugged her, telling her how sorry he was. He told her that he had to finish up some important business, and then things were going to be different. He would go straight and find some other way to be successful. Isis tried to believe him as he gave her a kiss and headed out the door and he tried to convince himself that it was possible to turn his life around.

When he left that night, little did he know that he was heading out into a major trap. He sold to an undercover officer, and his business and life came to a screeching halt.

King was sentenced to three to seven years in jail. Isis was left behind to care for their son, deal with all the fallout from his dealings, and to try to make ends meet. She visited him all the time for awhile, but then the visits started to slow down. She was sad and lonely, and just plain tired of the life she was living. In her mind, she gave up on King, and set her sights on finding a new man. She had always had a man, and she was desperate to find a new one. She didn’t know how to be alone. So it happened. She met a Latino man by the name of Richard Hernandez. Richard was a construction manager who made a descent living and had enough money left over each month to put into savings.

Isis’ relationship with Richard didn’t start like her relationship with King had. It wasn’t love at first sight. There really wasn’t much passion at all, but he was a good man. It was obvious to her that he cared for her very much. He also loved Jerome instantly. The two hit it off right away, and he began acting like a real father to her son within a couple of weeks. Richard treated her right and they did regular things together. “Regular” things were exactly what Isis was not used to.

With King, she always had to watch his back and her own. There were areas of the city they couldn’t even go to for fear of being robbed or shot. There were clubs she couldn’t go to with her friends because of King’s reputation. Whenever she went anywhere with King, she had to walk in first and look around carefully to make sure there were no rival gangsters. She had been living her life for him and in fear. She was starting to wonder if she really had gotten anything in return.

So, Isis started to get used to this new man and the regular things they did together. He took her to movies, to the mall, and out for dinner at nice restaurants. She didn’t have to worry about being careful or threatened. She didn’t have to watch his back or wonder if she’d make it home to her son at night. She fell in love with Richard and this new life.

In 1982, Isis gave birth to a second son and named him Eddie. Richard was a happy new father. He wasn’t a gangster, and he took good care of the family. Isis was finally truly happy and secure. She had a man who loved her and two beautiful sons. She and her family were no longer in danger, and her love for King was quickly fading away. Her old life with King was becoming only a distant memory.

Meanwhile, King was sitting in jail, wondering why his girl never came to see him anymore, and how his son was doing. He wrote her letter after letter, but never got a response. He spent most of his time imagining her with other men, letting his rage take over his body and mind. He started to fill with anger and hate, and thought of ways he’d kill any man who had been with his woman once he got out.
A year later in Chicago, another couple was deeply in love. Their names were Binky and Angel, and they had three beautiful children. Their youngest was named JR. and was born in 1981. JR immediately showed signs of being a great athlete someday. He was very athletic and loved anything having to do with sports. Erin was the oldest. She was born in 1972 and was Binky’s daughter with another woman. Angel loved her as if she was her own daughter, though, and was a great mother to her. Necie was born in 1979 and was clearly the defiant child, but she always made them laugh. They were very happy and wanted to have one more child to complete their family.

On December 28, 1983, their wish came true – the couple had a son. The baby was a nice looking dark-skinned baby boy. Angel and Binky instantly fell in love with this sweet, dark, beautiful baby, and they named him Nectorio.

Binky had dibbled and dabbled in the streets back in the 60s with his brother.

They didn’t do anything big, mostly they were just players. Angel wanted Binky to go straight when his 4th son was born, and he began to think about this a lot. He didn’t want to lose Angel; he really loved her. He also knew that his current lifestyle would only eventually lead him to divorce, and jail or prison. He was starting to watch some of his friends and family die, and he knew he didn’t want to be next. He had too much to live for. His oldest daughter, Erin, was becoming more and more aware of what was going on around her, and she was starting to ask questions. He wanted to be a good role model for her and for his other kids.

Binky decided that the only way to truly make a change would be to move his family to Los Angeles. There, he would be able to start over. He just knew it had to be safer there than in Chicago. He also thought there would be many more opportunities for him and for his family. Most importantly, he felt that moving would save his marriage. He convinced Angel that it was the right thing to do, and they made the move in 1987.

Binky got a job at the train station and some of Nectorio’s earliest memories are of that place. He remembers visiting the station for the first time and looking in awe at the huge fancy buildings. The trains roared past as he held tight to his dad’s hand, and they navigated through the massive crowds of people. He watched them all rushing around in suits and ties and dresses in a hurry to go somewhere, probably far away, he imagined. He would sit quietly and proudly in the corner sketching pictures on a notepad and watch his dad work. During his breaks, his dad would buy him a soda and a treat from the vending machine and tell him stories about all of the crazy people that came through that place every day. After that day, Nectorio thought his dad had the coolest job in the world, and decided that he wanted to do the same thing when he grew up. He wanted to be just like his dad.
Because Binky didn’t know anything about LA and the city gangs that ruled some of the streets there, he wasn’t too careful about where he chose to live. He unknowingly placed his family in a neighborhood that was in the middle of a gang war.

When Nectorio was five, he and his brother were playing in the family room, when they heard several loud blasts. Nectorio had never heard anything like it, so he instinctively got down on the floor. His brother, a few feet away, did the same as their mother came running down the stairs to see what was going on. His mother’s face instantly turned from anger to fear when she saw that the blasts had not come from them, but were coming from outside. In an instant, something came flying through the window and Nectorio squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds of his mother’s screams and his brother crying. Then suddenly, silence. When he opened his eyes, he looked around for his family. He could see his brother’s feet sticking out from behind a big black beanbag. Everything seemed to be in slow motion now, as he looked from the shattered window to the beanbag.

Their mother was crouched beside his brother rocking back and forth and sobbing. Nectorio spotted a hole in the side of the beanbag that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago. A bitter lump began growing in his throat, and he thought he might be sick. Trying not to panic, he searched the floor around his mother for his brother’s blood, holding his breath the whole time. Then his brother sat up. He could breathe again; his brother was okay. The beanbag had saved his life.

Nectorio’s mother was not the same after that day. Her eyes didn’t sparkle like they used to anymore, and she didn’t smile as often either. She didn’t allow the kids to go outside often, and she jumped anytime she heard an unfamiliar noise. She kept the blinds and curtains closed, and anytime a noise startled her, she would drop whatever she was holding or doing and yell for the kids to take cover. She was careful to stay low and away from the windows all the time. One day, Binky came home for an unusual extended lunch break, and found his beautiful wife crouched on the kitchen floor with a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly spread out in front of her on a towel. She looked up with fear when she heard the door open unexpectedly. She was making lunch for the kids the same way she did every day, but the sight broke his heart because he‘d never seen her do it. He vowed to do whatever he had to do to get his family out of that neighborhood as soon as he possibly could.

In order to be able to afford moving to a better area of the city, Binky had to work more. He took a part-time job driving bus. He regretted that he didn’t get to see the kids very often, but knew it would be worth it once they were living in a safer place. When he had rare time off from both the train station and his part time driving job, he helped out his brother at his salon, giving haircuts. Though he had to be exhausted when he was home, he always made time for his kids. Sometimes, when the street was quiet they’d go out and play catch or head down to the park for a family game of basketball. They’d meet Nectorio’s uncle and cousins and the ladies would sit in the shade and cheer for their boys. After some heavy competition, they’d have a picnic, enjoying the great food prepared by the girls and time spent together as a big happy family.

Binky’s focus was truly on his family now, and there were no other women or activities to distract him. The family was happy and at peace, and Nectorio, their fourth son, was well-adjusted and a happy young boy. None of them realized at that time that the happiness and peace would soon be shattered, and one more layer of Nectorio’s childhood innocence would be stripped away.