PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION REPORT
FILE#: 884–239A
INVESTIGATING DETECTIVES: E.D. Vance, T. Fox
DATE: 3/5/89
VICTIM’S NAME: Peter Michael Genovese
VICTIM’S ADDRESS: 2349 Chestnut Hill Drive, Brookline
VICTIM’S AGE: 42
MARITAL STATUS: Single
CRIMINAL RECORD, IF ANY: See attached sheets
INVESTIGATING POLICE OFFICERS: T. Radinsky, D. Barker
DATE/TIME OF INITIAL CALL: March 5, 12:13 a.m.
REPORT DETAILS: Call received on 911 re: hit and run, Atlantic Avenue, S. of Beach. Officers Radinsky and Barker arrived at scene approximately 12:20 a.m. Victim discovered against curbside power line pole; constables confirmed apparent instantaneous death from multiple injuries suffered a) by collision with unknown automobile; b) by secondary impact with power line pole.
Standard procedures followed re: measurement of point of impact from body, location of body, etc. (See attached H&R traffic report #3896509.)
Also automotive parts collected at scene (see above report).
Initial case conducted as standard H&R until approx. 3 p.m. 3/5/89 when unidentified witness called from telephone booth (confirmed via trace: Washington & Winter Streets). Witness reported details of collision with above victim (see attached witness report).
INTERVIEWS (LIST ON REVERSE IF NECESSARY):
NONE: [X]
AUTOPSY REPORT: Attached [X]
Not attached [ ] Why not?
CURRENT STATUS: N.M./N.S.
McGuire poured another inch of brandy in his coffee mug, stretched his legs in front of him, and looked out the apartment window at the floodlight towers of Fenway Park three blocks away.
“N.M./N.S.” No Motive/No Suspects. Fat Eddie Vance had written it under “Current Status” before transferring the Genovese case to the grey files.
McGuire smiled coldly. Silky Pete Genovese had been the most ruthless loan shark in the city, which provided all the motive needed for someone to run him down at midnight on a lonely street near the dockside warehouses. When news of Silky Pete’s death spread through the city, drinks were hoisted and prayers of thanks were offered by hundreds of men who could now afford to miss a payment without the risk of having their kneecaps shattered.
McGuire sipped his coffee and brandy before turning to the traffic report in the Genovese grey file.
PERSONAL INJURY/DEATH TRAFFIC REPORT
REPORT#: 89–3871
DATE: 3/5/89
LOCATION: Atlantic Avenue & Beach Street
TIME OF ACCIDENT: 12:00 a.m. (approx.)
INJURIES TO (PROVIDE ALL DETAILS):
VICTIM NAME/EXTENT OF INJURY
1. P.M. Genovese/Death
2.
3.
4.
HOSPITAL(S): MORGUE
INVESTIGATING OFFICER REPORT: Call received on 911, approximately 12:13 a.m. re: H&R, Atlantic Avenue, reported by pizza delivery driver (name, address, statement on attached sheet). Officers arrived approx. 12:20 a.m., discovered victim against power line pole #335-A located 14 feet south of Beach Street. Secured area, called for Medical Examiner, identified collision point as 52 feet south of Beach Street, 3 feet from east curb. Collected following debris:
1 headlight rim
Various headlight glass shards
1 parking light lens
1 chrome strip, approx. 2 1/2 feet long
Debris was subsequently confirmed as consistent with standard equipment on 1988 Buick Le Sabre, Embassy Blue colour.
PRELIMINARY FINDING: Victim was struck at curbside by abovedescribed vehicle (first impact); victim struck power line pole (second impact). Driver of car unknown. Vehicular homicide suspected.
INCIDENTAL INFORMATION: Victim was identified through papers on person; victim was well-known to rackets squad with extensive record of charges and prosecutions. Victim was in possession of $2,380 cash. Victim’s vehicle (1987 Mercedes Benz sedan, plate #920AFP) was parked at curb opposite location of first impact.
Not much cash for Silky Pete to be carrying on a Saturday night, McGuire mused. But why was he out of his car, alone, on an abandoned street at midnight? He flipped ahead to the medical examiner’s report.
AUTOPSY REPORT—HOMICIDE
REPORT#: 818–633–A
MEDICAL EXAMINER: M. Doitch
DATE: 3/6/89
VICTIM: Peter Michael Genovese
DETAILS & DESCRIPTION: Victim is male Caucasian between 40 and 45 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches in height, weight 190 pounds, in apparent good health prior to incident in question. Distinguishing marks include scar approximately 8 inches long on anterior of upper left arm.
Victim has been dead approximately 34 hours (it is now 10:04 a.m. March 6). Massive contusions and fractures to left anterior of thorax, especially infrascapular and axillary areas, resulting in ruptures to major organs. Similar injuries to general skull area including severe shattering of maxilla and right temporal regions resulting in extensive fractures and substantial loss of brain tissue.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Massive trauma
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS: Victim suffered thorax injuries in collision with automobile; skull injuries were suffered through impact with heavy fixed metal object 10 to 12 inches in diameter, i.e. power line pole.
RECOMMENDATIONS: None.
McGuire tossed the report aside and reached for his coffee mug, draining the contents in one long swallow before leaning back in his chair and pondering everything he had learned.
Silky Pete Genovese had been set up and run down by a Buick. Probably ducking as he ran for his car. Gets hit on the right side. So why wasn’t his arm injured? His arm would take the first impact. McGuire flipped back through the autopsy report again. No mention of an arm injury. Mel Doitch would have noted a detail like that.
He sat back in the chair again. Silky Pete’s arm wasn’t injured because it was raised, probably. With what? A gun? He’s running, crouching, arm raised. He had to have a gun.
McGuire scanned all the investigation reports in the Genovese grey file but found no evidence of a thorough search of the area. He pictured Atlantic Avenue near Beach at midnight: desolate, with vacant lots between the warehouses. Genovese gets thrown forty feet through the air, hits a light post. A weapon in his hand could have been flung a hundred feet.
SUPPLEMENTARY WITNESS REPORT
To be completed only when supplementary information on existing matters arrives from unanticipated third party source(s). All primary information MUST be entered on PRIMARY WITNESS REPORT, BPD Form #36–880B
CASE#: 884–239A
OTHER RELEVANT FILES: Autopsy Report 818–633–A
INVESTIGATING DETECTIVES: E. Vance, T. Fox
CIRCUMSTANCES: H&R resulting in death
WITNESS NAME: Unknown
REPORT (PLEASE BE CONCISE): Call received 2:56 p.m., March 5 on 911 line (tape #3–3–05–89) from pay phone location, Washington & Winter Streets. Male voice indicated he had witnessed incident from opposite side of Atlantic Avenue. No other information or circumstances provided. Witness reported victim had been shining flashlight in parked cars when a vehicle one block south pulled away from curb and approached victim at high speed with its lights turned off. Witness claims vehicle in question was dark in colour, no further details. No licence identification. Victim cursed loudly and began running across Atlantic Avenue but was unable to avoid speeding vehicle. Following impact, subject vehicle proceeded north on Atlantic and east on Summer Street. Witness ended report abruptly; trace and investigation of telephone booth were unproductive.
McGuire turned the form over to study the gruesome death-scene photographs for the first time. They showed several angles of a man’s body crumpled against a metal pole. Silky Pete had been Boston’s best-dressed loan shark, partial to alligator shoes and silk clothing. In the pictures on McGuire’s lap, portions of the silk shirt and suit not stained by blood glistened in the harsh light of the photographer’s flash.
So who did we check out? McGuire stroked his scar and searched for interview reports. It seemed every underworld figure in Boston had been visited by one of the detectives, although many were identified only by code words: “Herbie Two,” “Violet Kid,” “Little Sam.” All were street finks, contacts supported and jealously guarded by detectives the way diplomats run spies in hostile countries. Each claimed to know nothing about the death of Silky Pete Genovese. And no one expressed concern that his skull had been broken in a gutter, scattering his brains as though someone had spilled porridge from a cereal bowl.
So you go to the car, McGuire told himself. Where’s the trace report on 1988 Buicks, Embassy Blue?
The state vehicle registry listed eighty-six Buicks of that year, model and colour on the road as of March 5. All owners were traced and interviewed between March 7 and April 3. Owners’ names and addresses were listed on a separate sheet. McGuire counted them. He counted them again. They still totalled only eighty-three.
What the hell was this? He reached for the phone, dialed Berkeley Street and asked for Timmy Fox, who answered on the first ring. Fox, a tall wiry black who wore a constant grin without seeming to find anything amusing about life, was surprised at McGuire’s interest in the Genovese case.
“The hell you wasting your time on that piece of crap for?” he asked.
“Just reviewing things before they go back downstairs, that’s all,” McGuire replied.
“Best news of the year was Silky Pete making like a wounded duck, nesting in a streetlamp pole.”
“Yeah, I know. Look, Tim, the only thing that doesn’t fit is the car description you checked against all the registry files.”
“I didn’t check them. Whistles did.”
“Okay, but we got eighty-six from the registry and I count only eighty-three checked. What happened?”
“Accidents happened. Two of them, anyway. Let me think. I remember at least a couple had been totalled before somebody tried to turn Silky into a hood ornament. And seems to me one moved out of state.”
“To where?”
“Hell, I don’t know. He left before it happened, I think. Look, we didn’t have a plate on the car. It could have been from Florida for all we knew. We had to start and end somewhere so we made it state cars only. It wasn’t exactly the governor who was used as a manhole cover, right? So how far were we supposed to go?”
McGuire grunted into the receiver. “You remember anything about the two cars that were totalled?”
“Like I said, both of them happened before Silky got hit. Whistles checked them. I think they were down state somewhere.”
“Who verified the dates?”
“Investigating officers, I guess. You know the routine, Joe. Cops go in, say ‘You got a car, matches this description?’ Guy says ‘Yeah’ and the whistles look at it. Guy says ‘No, I smashed it up’ or ‘My kid totalled it,’ cops get the date.”
“And verify it with what?”
“Anybody. Registry, neighbours . . .”
“Accident reports?”
Fox paused. “Yeah, I guess. That’s another way.”
“Thanks, Timmy. How you getting on with Fat Eddie?”
“I’d like to get on him with a ball-peen hammer.”
After hanging up, McGuire tossed the Genovese file aside, counted another ten grey files to review, and went into his small kitchen for a coffee. Working alone wasn’t so bad, he decided. And he thought he knew a way to make it even better.