Anderson was busy covering the Bundist rallies in Yorkville when he was suddenly called into a meeting in the New York Director’s office. Marvin Tucker head of counter intelligence was in attendance from Washington headquarters so it had to be serious. The top brass liked the discreet way Anderson had handled the Barbieri incident and. J. Edgar Hoover wanted to increase his responsibilities. Tucker got out of his chair and extended his hand with a smile;
“Anderson, good to see you again. How are you faring with those Kraut lovers on 86th Street?”
“It’s a pretty straight forward assignment, Sir. We have them under control.”
“Well the reason I’m here is to give you two pieces of news. The first is a pleasure and I know it will be for you as well. Mr. Hoover has approved your promotion to the rank of Special Agent in Charge for Political Surveillance in New York City. It’s a big job, Anderson. Congratulations!” they shook hands vigorously and Tucker went on – “The second point is strictly operational: with your new assignment you’ll be involved in the return of your old acquaintance. Count Vittorio Barbieri is coming back as Consul General of the Kingdom of Italy, this time in New York City rather than measly old Newark, New Jersey. Clearly this is a big promotion for him. Since you have studied the man thoroughly in the past the Director wants to be sure that you will handle the case personally.”
Anderson was stunned by the unexpected promotion and excited about tracking his old foe Barbieri once again.
“I guess the embassy in Washington must have sent in some paperwork on Barbieri for his new accreditation?”
Tucker smiled at Anderson’s eagerness;
“I have it with me, the man arrives tomorrow by ship and apparently he’s still unmarried.”
The arrival turned into a grand affair with Maria Nicolosi in attendance surrounded by a group of reporters and well wishers from the pro-Fascist section of the Italian community. The mayor’s office dispatched a minor city official to do the honors since Fiorello La Guardia was openly snubbing all Axis diplomats.
For the next three days Anderson followed Barbieri around town without any attempt to conceal the fact, he wanted the consul general to know that his movements were of great interest to the FBI. Then he posted a permanent surveillance team outside the consulate that was also the residence on Park Avenue. Three eight hour shifts were reporting in daily and taps were placed on all the consulate’s phones while the walls were also full of listening devices including the kitchens and bathrooms. In spite of this extraordinary effort the first few days yielded practically no interesting information and the new consul general was clearly aware of all the attention being lavished upon him. Barbieri was now playing the role of the neutral diplomat to perfection and wouldn’t be caught off guard. He also enthusiastically resumed his mostly physical relations with the widow Nicolosi and those were dutifully recorded by the various devices that had been installed. Soon hundreds of hours of lovemaking sounds and lewd pillow talk were being transcribed by the FBI much to Anderson’s annoyance. He suspected that the cynical Barbieri was putting on a special performance for the benefit of his official listeners.