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THE ONLY DISAGREEMENT RICHARDSON and McMurphy had on Wednesday was whether she should call police headquarters and let Gerry Quinn know about her story before it appeared in the Herald the next morning.

“It’s your scoop, Jenna,” he said. “You worked it out on your own and you’ve got no obligation to tell Quinn about it ahead of time. We don’t know if he might just decide to take some action before the papers hit the newsstands tomorrow. He may want it to look like his detectives were thinking along the same lines.”

But she insisted. She felt she had the chance to interview the Tarantinos only because Quinn interceded for her. That’s what got her the start she needed on the story. Quinn asked her to keep him informed. Jenna wanted to keep her side of the bargain, and when she finally reached him, was glad she did.

“I hope ya on to something,” Quinn said, after listening to her new theory of the case. “It’s certainly another way of looking at it. But even if ya wrong, it may shake something else outta the trees. Good luck, kid, and thanks for letting me know aheada time.”

* * *

Richardson’s story was featured on the left side of the Herald ’s front page and ran under the headline, “WAS CARDELLA GUNMAN’S TARGET?”

“Six weeks ago, an unknown assassin entered Chi-Chi’s Bar & Grille in downtown Providence, hurried to the rear of the establishment and brutally murdered both Al Niro, a part-time bookmaker, and Richie Cardella, a Republican candidate for governor of Rhode Island (who succumbed to his massive wounds nine days later). Since then, the attention of the police and everyone else interested in the case has been focused on what reason anyone had for wanting Niro dead.

This line of inquiry was based on the fact that the killer was heard to say the words, ‘We warned you’ to Niro before shooting him. The assumption followed that Cardella became a victim because he was standing almost directly across from Niro’s booth, answering a telephone call, and probably saw the gunman’s face.

Investigation by both the Providence and State Police departments turned up evidence that Niro ran his gambling operation out of Chi-Chi’s for approximately four years, taking wagers during the football season. Similar bookmaking operations, all on a small scale like Niro’s, were found to exist in a number of downtown and area bars and restaurants. None of the other individuals involved in accepting bets in this manner have received threats aimed at persuading them to cease their activities. There is no evidence that Niro was actually threatened in such a way.

For this reason, the police now appear to be convinced that the Family which presides over big time gambling in Rhode Island from its headquarters on Federal Hill, led by Salvatore Tarantino, was not involved in the slayings that occurred.

Yet it has become clear that Al Niro had no other enemies who wanted him out of the way. Contrary to rumors that surfaced early, Niro was never involved in drugs in any way, shape or form. He owed no gambling debts himself and was not invested in any other kind of criminal activity taking place in the City.

Weeks of intensive investigation revealed only that Niro worked at his lawn maintenance/snow removal business on a regular basis during the day and supplemented his income marginally by taking small bets on football games at night from July through January.

That being the case, how do we explain the horrible events of that Monday evening at Chi-Chi’s?

This reporter thinks we must begin to look at what happened with the premise that Richie Cardella was the prime target for the killer, and that it was Al Niro who suffered the loss of his life simply for being where he was.

While police can find no provocation for the murder of Niro, there is at least one possible motive for eliminating Cardella and taking him out of the race for governor: namely, that he was a strong proponent of State-sponsored casino gaming parlors, to be located throughout Rhode Island.

Cardella declared on numerous occasions during the primary campaign that if elected, he would support such legislation and fight for its enactment.

His position on the issue was diametrically opposed to that of Doug Fiore, against whom he was running to secure the Republican nomination for governor in the general election.

At the point that Cardella was gunned down, one week before the primary balloting, he was running five points ahead of Fiore in the polls and looked to be a winner in the election.

Who would profit by Cardella’s death? This reporter is unable to point a finger at anyone or any group at this time because there is no evidence available yet to rely upon. But clearly, the interests of those who do not want to see the State become involved with casino gambling were dramatically served by Cardella’s tragic removal from the gubernatorial campaign.

Was the Tarantino family involved? Did the order for Cardella’s death come from Federal Hill?

It must be pointed out that the Family has not been charged with a single homicide in our State since Salvatore Tarantino took control of the operation on the death of Anthony Buscatelli in 1969.

The people of Rhode Island should also be aware that the Tarantinos have taken the Family completely out of many criminal activities in which its members were involved during the Buscatelli regime.

But as this reporter detailed four days ago, there was a strong friendship between Sandy Tarantino and Doug Fiore during their years together at Princeton University and Columbia Law School. Fiore and a spokesman for the Tarantino family have denied any close relationship since that time, but a different look at Cardella’s death may prompt further investigation.

The scenario as I see it is this: someone decided to kill Cardella once it became clear that he would defeat Fiore. A professional hit man was kept on call to get to Cardella in an unguarded moment and in a situation offering a planned getaway.

Chi-Chi’s was considered a prime spot at which to perform the act because Cardella frequented it regularly and there was an escape route through the back door and down an alleyway.

The person responsible for the crime knew the layout at Chi-Chi’s and was also aware that Al Niro always occupied the booth closest to the back door. When Cardella was seen entering Chi-Chi’s on Monday evening, the operation was put into effect. A car was sent to the alley behind the bar and the hit man was brought to the scene. He was familiar with both Cardella’s and Niro’s appearance, either from having known one or both of them or from having been shown pictures of them earlier.

The killer was told that Cardella would be at the phone in the rear of the restaurant, but was instructed to shoot Niro first, saying the words, ‘We warned you’ just before doing so.

Someone (from outside the bar, apparently) dialed the number of the pay phone at Chi-Chi’s and asked for Cardella. At the right moment the assassin entered the bar and did the rest. The words he spoke were deliberately intended to manipulate the police and defeat the investigation.

This reporter is confident that the police will continue to explore all possible avenues in attempting to solve these murders, including, it is hoped, the one set forth in this space.”