More faces paled.
Jerry turned to look at us. "Joe, would you put these pictures up?"
Joe set his computer on the closest table and inserted the flash stick. He connected a cable to the computer and then to the large screen on the wall. A moment later, the pictures we'd seen in his conference room appeared.
"Detective Burnett discovered this flash stick with these pictures during the course of another investigation. He did not turn them over to evidence. Instead, he created an unsanctioned task force, found you rookies at the academy, and planned a raid that could have gotten a lot of people killed."
Jerry glanced at the camera on the wall. "Mr. Delvecchio, could you bring them in, please?"
I expected Vinnie and Carlos. I did not expect Lany to walk in with their six kids and Marcus. I shot Sal a quick look. The man's jaw was so tight I was afraid he was going to break something.
"This is Mr. Lancaster Delvecchio. He is the husband of Lieutenant Salvador Delvecchio, commander of SWAT Team One. These are their six children. For those who don't read the social page, Lany is also my nephew."
Jerry jabbed his finger out at several of the officers. "You're all lucky those kids were at the zoo with their grandparents when you attacked their home. Just whose idea was it to use a rocket-propelled grenade on the house? Since when do police officers use those?"
No one said a word, but several of the officers looked uncomfortable.
"When one of you idiots decided it would be a good idea to use it and take out the dining room, not only was Lieutenant Delvecchio's entire team in that room but so were his husband, a member of the FBI's Cyber Crimes Division, a family friend, the district attorney, and me."
Jerry clasped his hands together and leaned on the podium. "You see, gentlemen, we were on a sanctioned task force to find out who was trying to kill a local doctor. It was a task force that I approved personally, with the backing of the district attorney and the FBI."
Jerry nodded to Joe, and pictures of the destruction began to flash across the screen. One of the girls gasped. I didn't know which one it was until I saw Bella reach for Sal. Once he picked her up, she buried her face in his neck. Sal started whispering to her too low for me to hear, but he was rubbing little circles in her back, so I was pretty sure he was reassuring his daughter.
One of the braver officers raised his hand.
"Yes, Officer Branch?"
"Sir, I understand what you're telling us, but Detective Burnett showed us those pictures. I know who those men are, sir. If the lieutenant is associating with known mobsters—"
Jerry waved to the IAB guy, who stepped forward. "While the police bureau does not approve of the lieutenant's association with Carlos Gambino or Vincent Castellano, he is breaking no laws. Lieutenant Delvecchio has been upfront with every contact he's had with Mr. Gambino and Mr. Castellano."
I seriously doubted that. There was no way Sal would have told IAB about Vinnie's involvement in his life. He wouldn't betray Vinnie that way, and he certainly wouldn't do anything that would put his twin daughters in jeopardy.
Jerry waved to the camera. "Gentlemen, can you please join us?"
He waited until Vinnie and Carlos walked into the room before proceeding. "When Mr. Gambino heard of a new faction trying to move drugs into the city, he informed us. Now, that may seem self-serving on his part, and it probably is, except for one small thing. The Gambino Family does not deal in drugs. They never have. No drug activity has ever been attributed to him."
Carlos grunted. I wasn't sure if that was an acceptance of Jerry's words or a protest. It was unusual for a mob family not to deal in drugs, and I wasn't quite sure why he didn't. I wasn't going to ask.
I wasn't even going to ask what he was into.
That was above my pay grade.
"What you need to remember is that, sometimes, a picture does not give the whole story." Jerry picked up a clicker and flashed through several pictures until he came to where Sal was standing on the front steps of the estate talking to Burke and Vinnie.
"A few years ago, my nephew was kidnapped by a child slavery ring. They were using him to keep Lieutenant Delvecchio from investigating them. Mr. Castellano, along with Officer Miles Burke, who was a supervisory special agent for the FBI at the time, was assisting the lieutenant in locating his husband. They were able to not only rescue my nephew but several other children, break up the slavery ring, and stop a mob war." Jerry waved his hand toward Lany, Sal, and the kids. "A couple of those kids stand right there."
Jerry flicked to another screen. "In this picture, my nephew was again kidnapped, this time by a drug dealer who was selling sex slaves. He put Lancaster up for auction. Mr. Castellano, in his capacity as head of his family at the time, purchased my nephew, freeing him and several other young men who were to be sold. This was done under the supervision of the FBI."
He flicked to the next picture. "Several months ago, a woman took a bounty out on my nephew's head and hired the new head of the Castellano Crime Syndicate to kill him. He was shot in his kitchen during that really bad snowstorm we had last winter. He barely survived. Not only did Mr. Castellano and Mr. Gambino help us get him back but they helped us eliminate a man who was on the verge of starting a mob war between Chicago, New York, and Detroit."
Jerry set the clicker down and then leaned his arms on the podium again, clasping his hands together. "While I don't agree with the lives these men have lived, they have never been convicted of anything. That's not to say if I did find evidence, I wouldn't put them behind bars, because I would. In a heartbeat. If you break the law, you have to pay for your crimes.
"I don't know who took these pictures or why. I do know that the moment Detective Burnett recognized Lieutenant Delvecchio, he was duty bound to turn his findings over to IAB and let them investigate. They would have learned the truth about what was going on. Instead, Detective Burnett decided to use the Delvecchio family and SWAT Team One to earn a promotion."
Jerry walked around the edge of the podium so he faced the officers head-on. "What I hope you take away from this is that not everything you see is the truth. You need to investigate, question, and use common sense. Police officers serve our fair city. They do not use others as stepping stones to get ahead."
Jerry glanced over his shoulder to Sal. "Do you have anything to add, Lieutenant?"
