“Alleged witnesses,” Gerald says smoothly. “Many of whom have criminal records themselves and may be motivated to lie.”
“We also have financial records showing Mr. Volkov funneling money through shell corporations. Import manifests documenting illegal weapons shipments. Bank transfers to known criminals. A paper trail going back fifteen years.” Sullivan leans forward. “We don’t need witnesses, Mr. Rothstein. We have enough physical evidence to convict without a single person testifying.”
“Then why are we here?” I ask. “Why not just arrest me and proceed to trial?”
“Because there are complications.” The assistant US attorney speaks up for the first time. Young, but his voice is steady. “Your legitimate businesses employ over five thousand people in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, not to mention those in New York and Chicago. Your hotels generate over two billion dollars annually in revenue. Your real estate developments have revitalized entire neighborhoods. Your tech investments have brought hundreds of high-paying jobs to the region.”
“You’re saying I’m too valuable to prosecute?”
“We’re saying that destroying you completely would have significant economic consequences for the city.” Sullivan takes over again. “If we seize all your assets, shut down your businesses, thousands of people lose their jobs. The tax revenue disappears. The economic impact would be devastating.”
Gerald senses an opening. “My client has been a model corporate citizen. His businesses are entirely legitimate, properly licensed, and fully compliant with all regulations. Whatever personal activities he may have engaged in during a moment of extreme duress?—”
“A moment?” Sullivan’s eyebrow raises. “Three days of systematic murder is not a moment, Mr. Rothstein.”
“My client’s pregnant wife was kidnapped by a known organized crime family. Held captive for days. Forced into premature labor in an abandoned warehouse. He did what any husband and father would do—he rescued his family.”
“By burning down half the city.”
“By eliminating a threat to his family’s safety.” Gerald pulls out his own folder. “The Kozlov family has a documented history of violence. Viktor Kozlov kidnapped and tortured Mr. Volkov’s son five years ago. Dmitri Kozlov orchestrated the kidnapping of Mrs. Volkov with the explicit intent of murdering her and her unborn child. My client’s actions, while perhaps extreme, were taken in defense of his family.”
“Defense of family doesn’t cover executing over fifty people.”
“It does when those people were actively participating in or enabling a kidnapping and attempted murder.” Gerald slidesa document across the table. “We’re prepared to argue self-defense and defense of others. We have expert witnesses. Trauma psychologists who will testify about the extreme emotional distress Mr. Volkov was under. We’ll drag this trial out for two years, and we’ll make it very public. By the time we’re done, Mr. Volkov will look like a devoted husband and father who did what he had to do to save his family.”
Sullivan stares at the document but doesn’t pick it up. “You think you can win this case?”
“I think we can create enough reasonable doubt to hang a jury. And I think the publicity surrounding the trial will be very bad for the FBI. The story won’t be about a criminal who murdered fifty-three people. It’ll be about a father who saved his pregnant wife from a kidnapping.” Gerald leans back. “Is that really the headline you want?”
The room is silent for a long moment.
Then Sullivan speaks. “There is another option.”
“I’m listening.”
“We offer Mr. Volkov a deal. He pleads guilty to federal racketeering charges. One count. He agrees to cooperate with ongoing investigations into other organized crime families—provide intelligence, testify when necessary, help us dismantle criminal operations throughout the southwest.”
“In exchange for?”
“Two years in federal prison. Minimum security facility. His family receives full immunity from prosecution. His legitimate businesses remain operational under his son’s management. His assets are not seized.”
“Two years?” I say. “For fifty-three murders?”
“For one count of racketeering. Everything else disappears if you cooperate.” Sullivan taps the folder. “The alternative is we proceed with prosecution on all counts. You spend the rest of your life in prison. Your family is investigated. Your businesses are destroyed. Your son grows up visiting his father in a maximum-security facility.”
Gerald leans close and whispers in my ear. “It’s a good deal, Ledger. Better than I expected. Take it.”
Two years. For saving my family. For doing what any father would do.
“What kind of cooperation?” I ask.
“Intelligence on rival families. Information about criminal operations. Testimony in cases where your involvement won’t be made public.” Sullivan pulls out another document. “We’re particularly interested in the Moretti family in Chicago. The Volkov operations in New York and Moscow. Distribution networks throughout the southwest.”
“You want me to betray the families I’ve worked with for twenty years.”
“We want you to help us dismantle organized crime in this country. In exchange, you get a very light sentence and your family stays safe.”
“And if I refuse?”
