Blood Bond
Love and Hatred Surface in a Brutal Test of Family Ties
by
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The afternoon was bright and sunny, a welcome interlude after days of April rains. The white walls of the Royal Room, Clayton Heights Medical Center’s finest accommodation, glistened as warm rays streamed through the open window. Sitting next to Nicky’s bed, my face splashed with tears, it seemed so ironic. This final day of my brother’s life was bathed in light, in the golden warmth absent during the long years he spent caged in a dank cell at the Oritan Penitentiary. Actually, Nicky’s entire life had been filled with darkness from his teen years on. Racketeering, pimping, even killing and finally his reward, life imprisonment. I listened to the crackling sounds as Nicky struggled to breathe through the phlegm that filled his throat. By now the sounds were almost imperceptible, muffled by the walls of his oxygen tent. Watching as he continued to fade, I knew the moment was near. No longer could I postpone the dread task. It was mine, mine alone, to carry out. The last and hardest of the many favors my brother had ever asked. His final words from the day before pounded in my head. It had been so hard for him to speak. His voice would fade, and he was forced to rest and catch his breath. "Nino, it’s the biggest favor I ever asked. . . . Please, Nino . . . .please . You have to do it for me. I don’t want to . . . go on living. Wrecking . . . wrecking everybody else’s life." He sighed and closed his eyes for a minute or so. "Nino, I’m gonna be in an oxygen tent by tomorrow . . . they told me so...I’m gone, Nino, finished. You gotta help me go faster . . . please . . . please. If you really love your brother . . . " His breathing was strained and sporadic. "Sh, what I’m asking you . . . " His voice fell away. A moment later, with great effort, he tried unsuccessfully to sit up. "This takes real love . . . Love me Nino. Love your brother. Pull the plug," he gasped as his eyes closed and he fell asleep. Lost in the trauma of that awful moment, I agonized over the grave responsibility Nicky had imposed on me, although in my heart I knew I could never reject my brother’s dying wish. I left the room in a desperate effort to clear my head, and search for the courage to fulfill the most difficult request Nicky ever made of me. Walking down the hall, I passed Celia, Nicky’s primary nurse. "Is he still asleep, Mr. Cienza?" I nodded my head, too distracted to respond as I walked on. Celia called after me, "It’s best, sir. And soon he’ll fall asleep for good. He’ll find his peace at last."
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About the Book
Two brothers, Nino and Nicholas Cienza, eight years apart in age and light years apart in lifestyle, struggle throughout their lives to maintain a relationship despite their differences. Nino, the older of the pair, becomes an attorney after years of struggling to meet tuition payments. Nicky, the only other male in this blue-collar immigrant family, turns to racketeering at a very young age. The disparity in their chosen careers leads to continuous conflict, yet they somehow manage to remain closely linked through court cases, prison terms, female relationships, political campaigns and even gun battles until Nicky’s illness and subsequent death. The story opens in a deteriorating industrial city in New Jersey whose economic base has fallen prey to the promise of tax inducements and cheap labor in the Cotton Belt. As jobs disappeared, so did many of the Old World customs and traditions that had been the glue holding the immigrant community of mill workers together. The tale of the Cienza brothers unfolds against the background of these changing socio-economic conditions. The story then winds through Washington, Manhattan and Victoria City (pseudonym for Atlantic City) as the brothers cross paths repeatedly, often with dire consequences.
About the Author
PAUL ALONGI, SR A graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall Law School, Paul Alongi has been a practicing attorney, a professional saxophonist and an executive in the insurance industry. His efforts as a volunteer are legendary. He is a former National President of UNICO, and has been knighted by the Italian government. CHARLES JACOBS A graduate of Columbia College and the Graduate School of Journalism, Charles Jacobs has served as Publisher of major daily newspaper groups on both coasts and as Editor-in-Chief of a million circulation lifestyle magazine. He is an award-winning freelance writer and editor of an international travel web site. His work has appeared in publications from the Los Angeles Times on the West Coast to the New York Times in the East.