company's continental U.S. operations with several VPs doing the majority of his leg work.
The board's vice president was Sal Venuti. His role in the company's affairs seemed superficially vague to the other board members and the public. Bonni, Simon and a few insiders were fully aware of Mr. Venuti’s valuable role.
Amerastar avoided paying a substantial ‘street tax' with Venuti on the board. Sal (The Chair) Venuti’s appointment to the board was highly recommended by Chicago's Capo di capi, Frank (Mad Frank) Credidio. Credidio was in charge of the mob’s western migration. Mad Frank worked with the East Coast’s Patriarca family moving into established corporate operations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and now San Francisco.
Giardina's family was connected to the mob through her father and grandfather. Her grandfather bootlegged his way through the roaring 20’s. He worked his way up to mid-management in New England’s Maranzano crime family.
Her father had continued a long distance relationship with the crime family when they moved to Vermont. He help them move dope from Canada to the east coast markets.
Bonni had seen him meet with ‘family’ members during her high school years. One of his last familial acts was to introduce Bonni to members of the New York’s Patriarca family. His fatherly advice to her was stay connected and your street problems will disappear. She only surmised what that meant until Mad Frank contacted her after she married.
Senator Giardina recommended Sal’s appointment to Amerastar’s board. Her husband Simon Wooster was hesitant but swallowed his wife’s orders without argument.
Thomas Rider, the board's secretary, manages the company's Asian-Pacific division. This division included Hawaii, South Pacific, Asia and Australia. The Motorhead factory was located in American Samoa. And it had become Thomas Rider’s main concern since the fire.
Tina Donnacado and Bonni were friends from college. Bonni insisted that Tina be appointed to Amerastar’s board. The Senator's mixed sexual appetite craved for a myriad of possibilities.
Tina had a crush on Bonni during college. As both girls stood in line to declare majors during the sophomore year, Bonni noticed Tina's subtle advances. They studied together for several months. Then one night Tina put her hand on Bonni’s leg. As her hand crept up her thigh, Bonni became excited and curious all at once.
They spent one night together. Awkward but stimulated were Bonni’s memories of the night. Tina portrayed the night as invigorating. She commented to Bonni that she felt like she had been kissed for the very first time. From then on they were the flirting buds with benefits. Bonni used Tina whenever she had the itch. Tina moved on to multiple relationships. She accepted Bonni’s one nighters’ with mixed feelings.
Others in attendance were Raphael Bauer, VP of the European division; Jefferson Wayne Wooster, Bonni’s brother-in-law; Chase Freeze, VP of Asian-Pacific division; David Fowee, Gina Romano, Frank Jackson and Neil Perkins, the head of Amerastar’s security.
The Amerastar’s outlook, profits and stability had been uncertain until Bonni was elected to the U.S. Senate. With the combination of her favorable legislative enactments, underworld connections and swarming lobbyists support, Amerastar became a model corporate structure throughout the international corporate community.
Senator Bonni Giardina had never taken her husband’s surname for situations just as this. Inside this board room she was the king and queen rolled into one person. Amerastar’s success lay squarely on her shoulders. Her arrogance showed but it didn’t matter, except to Simon and Sal.
The major item on the agenda for this board meeting was the acquisition of the Praxiteles Group. The Praxiteles Group was comprised of food and beverage related subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has a presence on every continent and would be a major statement for Amerastar’s entry into the industries food sector.
After reading the minutes of the last board meetings, Thomas Rider, briefly summarize Praxiteles Group’s counter offer. While Brothers looked around the table, he noticed Senator Giardina thumbing through several files. His distraction eased into asking "Tom, what are your committee's recommendations?"
Rider responded, "Our investigation was quite revealing. Praxiteles’s management has a strong presence in the White House. Without that presence, they would not have survived this current recession.”
Brother's asked Bonni. “What are the details?" He knew that Bonni was the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
She looked up from the file and proclaimed, "Simply stated Praxiteles Group was deemed too big to fail. Because the group expedites food supplies to third world nations, the government felt obligated to give them a guaranteed loan of $190B. After all, we can print more money whenever we want."
Her reader's digest version of Praxiteles government bailout left out several insider facts. Many of the Senate committee's members, including Bonni, received generous donations from Praxiteles political action team. In addition, they were given use of Praxiteles corporate management perks. These included the use of a fleet of Lear Jets and vacation villas across in the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and South America.
Brothers looked at Tina and nodded. Tina acknowledged the glance and said, "Our projections show that Praxiteles management has exhausted all reliable avenues of credit. The government was their last hope. Should we decide to acquire them, major costs cutting measures would be necessary to turn this flying pig around.”
With that, the board members chuckled. They knew well what she was talking about.
Amerastar had a reputation for turning around 'flying pigs'. They could spot a management team that had raped a corporation's financial structure. Corporate bonuses, management perks and salaries in the top one percent of the industry left little operating capital.
Amerastar had a transition team lead by Tina Donnacado. Bonni guessed that Tina’s overt enthusiasm, emotional void and harsh dealings stemmed from sexual frustrations. Bonni could care less as long as Tina got the job done. She would reward her with a sleep over after the company’s transformation.
Tina's team would rearrange their acquisition's priorities. Their personnel cuts were merciless. They would streamline the supply chains and cut inventory to the bare minimums. Within 6 months an entirely new atmosphere would engulf the flying pig.
Brother's nodded his approval. He asked Tina to present specific cost cutting measures and projections to him in one week. With that he adjourned the general meeting.
The board room was cleared. After a short break the essential board members went into closed session.
Chapter 9 Now What Kitiona?
Kitiona thought living in Chinatown would conceal her presence in the City. But, it didn’t. She was on the run, again, and she didn't like fearing for her life.
She'd recognized the two men that chased her into Original Joe's. Eight months earlier the same two ex-military types had cornered her near the site of the fire. She narrowly escaped their terminal intentions.
One of the two men asked her for directions. The other circled behind her. He grabbed her with a bear hug from behind. He threw her to the ground. As the two were about to stab her, one man said she should have left well enough alone. "Wasn't the insurance money enough for you?" he questioned.
Just then a series of growls and barks approached from behind them. They both turned
