Английский язык с Крестным Отцом
Шрифт:
he ran an extremely efficient organization and he was not known ever to have fainted at
the sight of blood, despite his sensitive features. He ruled with an iron hand in a velvet
political glove.
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www.franklang.ru
113
The representatives of the Five Families of New York were the last to arrive and Tom
Hagen was struck by how much more imposing, impressive, these five men were than
the out-of-towners, the hicks. For one thing, the five New York Dons were in the old
Sicilian tradition, they were "men with a belly" meaning, figuratively, power and courage;
and literally, physical flesh, as if the two went together, as indeed they seem to have
done in Sicily. The five New York Dons were stout, corpulent men with massive leonine
heads, features on a large scale, fleshy imperial noses, thick mouths, heavy folded
cheeks. They were not too well tailored or barbered; they had the look of no-nonsense
busy men without vanity.
There was Anthony Stracci, who controlled the New Jersey area and the shipping on
the West Side docks of Manhattan. He ran the gambling in Jersey and was very strong
with the Democratic political machine. He had a fleet of freight hauling trucks that made
him a fortune primarily because his trucks could travel with a heavy overload and not be
stopped and fined by highway weight inspecton. These trucks helped ruin the highways
and then his road-building firm, with lucrative state contracts, repaired the damage
wrought. It was the kind of operation that would warm any man's heart, business of itself
creating more business. Stracci, too, was old-fashioned and never dealt in prostitution,
but because his business was on the waterfront it was impossible for him not to be
involved in the drug-smuggling traffic. Of the five New York Families opposing the
Corleones his was the least powerful but the most well disposed.
The Family that controlled upper New York State, that arranged smuggling of Italian
immigrants from Canada, all upstate (северная
veto power on state licensing of racing tracks, was headed by Ottilio Cuneo. This was a
completely disarming man with the face of a jolly round peasant baker, whose legitimate
activity was one of the big milk companies. Cuneo was one of those men who loved
children and carried a pocket full of sweets in the hopes of being able to pleasure one of
his many grandchildren or the small offspring (отпрыск) of his associates. He wore a
round fedora with the brim turned down all the way round like a woman's sun hat, which
broadened his already moon-shaped face into the very mask of joviality. He was one of
the few Dons who had never been arrested and whose true activities had never even
been suspected. So much so that he had served on civic committees and had been
voted as "Businessman of the Year for the State of New York" by the Chamber of
Commerce.
The closest ally to the Tattaglia Family was Don Emilio Barzini. He had some of the
gambling in Brooklyn and some in Queens. He had some prostitution. He had strong-
Мультиязыковой
114
arm. He completely controlled Staten Island. He had some of the sports betting in the
Bronx and Westchester. He was in narcotics. He had close ties to Cleveland and the
West Coast and he was one of the few men shrewd enough to be interested in Las
Vegas and Reno, the open cities of Nevada. He also had interests in Miami Beach and
Cuba. After the Corleone Family, his was perhaps the strongest in New York and
therefore in the country. His influence reached even to Sicily. His hand was in every
unlawful pie. He was even rumored (о нем даже ходили слухи; rumor [‘ru:m] – слух,
молва) to have a toehold (точка опоры /напр. для ноги, когда взбираешься на гору/,
зацепка; toe – палец ноги) in Wall Street. He had supported the Tattaglia Family with
money and influence since the start of the war. It was his ambition to supplant
(вытеснить, занять чье-то место [s’pl:nt]) Don Corleone as the most powerful and
respected Mafia leader in the country and to take over part of the Corleone empire. He
was a man much like Don Corleone, but more modern, more sophisticated, more
businesslike. He could never be called an old Moustache Pete and he had the
confidence of the newer, younger, brasher (brashy – щетинистый, шероховатый)
leaders on their way up. He was a man of great personal force in a cold way, with none
of Don Corleone's warmth and he was perhaps at this moment the most "respected"
man in the group.
The last to arrive was Don Phillip Tattaglia, the head of the TattagIia Family that had
directly challenged the Corleone power by supporting Sollozzo, and had so nearly
succeeded. And yet curiously enough he was held in a slight contempt by the others.
For one thing, it was known that he had allowed himself to be dominated by Sollozzo,
had in fact been led by the nose by that fine Turkish hand. He was held responsible for