At the heart of this story is a brother’s love that was misconstrued, abused, and finally destroyed through deception, with avarice intertwined. Brothers, Lorenzo and Antonio Bonsignore, were third-generation Sicilians, born to Marko and Isabella post the Great Depression and raised in the Italian Quarters of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Their elder sister, Maria, was their nanny as both parents were working to earn a decent living for the family. Living wasn’t easy, and they learned valuable lessons on the gang-infested streets. Out of respect for their father and love for their mother, they refrained from joining any of the gangs but enjoyed the protection of their Uncle Vinnie, a well-connected Mafioso hitman. Before we continue with our story, let us fast-forward to a time when they had grown up. The reason for this interlude is to establish that the names Beauty and the Beast were given to two motor vehicles that one brother owned. Beauty was a white Chevy Bellaire with white-walled tires, and the Beast, a red Chevrolet Impala with a 351 cubic inch V8 engine. Now, back to our story as it unfolds in chronological order.

It’s now the 1950s. As a boisterous teenager, Lorenzo, after completing school, became a driver for the state truckers’ meat industry division. Two years later, Antonio found employment as a bookkeeper with the Chevrolet Motor Company. As a result of their different working environments, they adopted different sets of friends and only spent time together at the dinner table. Upon receiving his first paycheque, Lorenzo asked for a meeting with his parents. His father, always direct to the point, asked him, “What is this meeting called for?” He responded by replying, “Mom, Dad, I plan to split my money received three ways. One-third for the home as boarding and lodging. One-third for me to use for my transport, clothing, and entertainment, plus the final third I would like to open a bank account and save towards one day starting my own business.” There was total silence at first, which made him worry, thinking his request was going to be rejected. His father had mentioned time and time again to him and his brother that once they started earning a living, they needed to give them 50 percent of it towards the home and for their upkeep. His mom responded first, “Marko, the boy has a good head on his shoulders. It’s a good idea. He’s thinking of securing his future. I, for one, agree. Do you?” At which point his dad agreed. He went into town that weekend and opened a banking account with the Chicago Branch of The National Bank of America. When his brother started working, their parents tried to encourage Antonio to apply the same principle. He agreed, but secretly, his bank balance never grew as his money was for the high life he was living. Their sister, Maria, had started as a student nurse and applied the 50/50 rule with her earnings.

For the brothers, weekends were taken up with partying with their respective friends at different venues. Some time later, the brothers and their friends attended the same dance function at the President Hotel. That fateful night saw the brothers for the first time at loggerheads with one another. They both became interested in the same girl. She was a beautiful redhead with green eyes and a classical Greek goddess profile. They both found out later that her name was Clotilde, of Irish Catholic descent and an only child. They had both picked her up for a dance, and she rightfully assumed, or rather noticed, that they were brothers, six feet tall and athletically built with broad shoulders, but there the similarities ended. Antonio, the younger brother, was handsome with a chiselled face, a thin moustache, and a constant half-smile, half-sneer on his face. He was a ladies’ man with a honey-coated tongue and always won the hearts of the opposite sex. This day, he tried trading on his charm, but for reasons that defied nature, she chose rather to be swept off her feet by the older brother, who was a quiet, easy-going, dependable type, handsome also, but not to quite Antonio’s standard. His anger at his loss was fanned into blazing flames of dislike by the taunts of his friends. Post the dance, Lorenzo hailed a taxi and made sure that Clotilde got home safely. Antonio refused his friends’ invitation to go down to the local pub but instead walked the four miles back home, hoping that this would quell his anger. Yes, somehow it did, and he had a shower and went straight to bed, where he fell into a fitful sleep.

The next day, a Sunday, both brothers could barely exchange morning greetings as they sat down with the family for the bacon and eggs breakfast prepared by their sister. This did not go unnoticed by the parents and their sister. Nobody asked why, and they did not offer any explanation. Thus, for the first time in ages, breakfast was celebrated in a quiet, “who died” atmosphere. The brothers got up simultaneously and went to their rooms to prepare for morning mass at Saint Anne’s Catholic Church. Church attendance did not help the situation, and it was only during the week that the family finally got the story: brothers at war over a girl who had the face that launched a thousand dislikes.

In the meantime, Lorenzo had paid a visit to Clotilde’s home to meet her family. Looking at him, her mother could see why her daughter was so starry-eyed. Her dad took a little longer to convince and only received him warmly into their lives a month later. Thus, the relationship grew, and it came as no surprise to both families when Lorenzo proposed, she accepted, and both families worked together in the preparation of the wedding arrangements, sharing the costs incurred. Maria was the Maid of Honour, and Antonio agreed to be one of the three Best Men for the wedding procession. The other two best men were Lorenzo’s best friends, Dino and David, and the three bridesmaids consisted of Clotilde’s cousin, Mandy, and two of her friends, Jacque and Maude. Prior to them tying the knot, Clotilde spoke to Lorenzo about something that was bothering her. He could see the concern plus a bit of fear on her beautiful face and asked her to please tell him what ailed her. Speaking slowly at first, and as she gained confidence, she finally expressed her concern. “Antonio told me my father requested that we consider getting married with an anti-nuptial agreement.” Immediately, he stopped her and said, “No, we are in love, and that type of arrangement is not considered good.” She insisted he hear her out and continued, “This request is merely a safeguard for us both. In the event, and God forbid it should happen, your intended business suddenly goes into decline and the banks foreclose, we could end up losing all we have built up and accrued. This is what happened not so long ago with one of his golfing buddies. Besides losing the business, they were stripped of their two properties, the contents, and the cars they owned. They were left penniless.” Reflecting on the story she had just told him, he reconsidered and finally agreed to it. Her face lit up with a smile, and cupping his face in her hands, she gave him a full kiss on the lips. The wedding was a wonderful, joyous occasion with only one unhappy face in the picture: Antonio was unable to bring a smile to his face.

Lorenzo and his wife set up home in an apartment that his uncle had arranged, and life for the newlyweds was blissful and charming. A year post-wedding, Lorenzo approached the bank and presented his business plan. By now, he had a considerable amount of money, but insufficient for the business start-up. With assistance from the bank, he planned to open his own butcher shop. He had built up a rapport with the abattoirs during his trucking days and was assured that they would be prepared to supply him directly in his endeavour. Even though this practice was frowned upon by the trucking union, two things gave him favourable passage. Firstly, he was well-liked by both his bosses and his peers, but also behind the scenes, when his uncle got wind of his plans, he pulled strings to ensure that there were no problems. Again, with his uncle’s help, which he requested directly, a butcher shop premises was found within the community. It would be the third butcher shop in the district, but because of the large community established, it would not really put a dent in their business. People cannot live without food, and meat is part of what is termed a staple diet, so demand was met by supply, and in his case, he got and supplied top-grade meat to his clients. It did not take long for his butcher shop to be established. To add to his success, his uncle’s Mafia friends also bought from his shop. The business success demanded more and more of his time, and life at home started changing. This change was caused by two factors: the time he spent tending his business and the discovery that, because of his low sperm count, they would never have children of their own. Like every woman, Clotilde wanted children of her own. The business is now thriving, and money is flowing in through the doors via his clientele. He opted to bring happiness back into their marriage. This he planned by purchasing vehicles for the two of them. He had already placed the orders in for the white Chevrolet Bellaire for her and the red Chevrolet Impala for him, delivery due in a week. Upon delivery, seeing the two motor cars together, it immediately passed through his mind to name them Beauty and the Beast. At first, this new toy did cheer his wife up, but soon that thrill also diminished.

His sister, Maria, now a qualified nurse, was courted by one of the doctors, Casey Maine, doing locum work at the hospital where she now worked. This romance flourished, and it wasn’t long before she, too, got married. Casey got a call from a hospital in another part of the city and was offered a doctor’s position on their staff. This resulted in both of them resigning and taking up work in that hospital.

Antonio, now the only one left at home with his parents, filled with rage and contempt for his brother, who had not only married the one woman he truly wanted but was also now a successful businessman. He lived his life in a destructive manner. He lived the life of a playboy. He was seen with different women every other day, and it looked like he had an endless supply of them. To augment his salary for supporting his pleasure-based lifestyle of wine, women, and song, he started to gamble and soon found himself owing “Jack the Ripper,” the loan shark, a king’s ransom. Even though the brothers had drifted apart, Lorenzo, through his parents, got wind of Antonio’s indebtedness, visited the loan shark, and settled the debt in full. Initially, there was a small amount of gratitude, but this act of kindness added more fuel to the hatred Antonio had inside of him. Antonio’s womanizing, fast gambling lifestyle did not sit well with their parents. But him being a grown man now, they could only try and advise him. One thing they would not permit was for him to bring these girls home and to sleep with them under their roof. It was not long before he moved out into a one-bedroom apartment in the downtown area. Out of respect and love for them, he did not become a stranger but visited them quite regularly. It was on one of these visits, a Saturday, that he ran into his sister-in-law at his parents’ home. She visited unaccompanied by her husband, who spent his time immersed in his butcher shop. She explained that she visited her parents regularly, but on this occasion felt she needed to visit her mother-in-law as well. While talking in his parents’ living room, he noticed the sadness and emptiness in her eyes, which she was unable to mask. He walked her to her car when she was leaving and could not resist telling her that her beauty far exceeded that of Beaut,y the motor car. She smiled at his compliment, something she rarely received from her husband, who distanced himself from her now willingly. As she patted him on his left upper arm in gratitude, he lifted his right hand and covered her hand with his. She did not pull away immediately, and this response was taken note of by him, causing him to blurt out, “Do you mind me taking you for lunch one of these days when I’m free from work duties?” Caught in the moment, she just nodded her head in agreement. As they dropped their hands, she could not help noticing how dashingly handsome her brother-in-law was and started to speak. “I very much spend my days either at home in my own company or going out with a group of girlfriends, who were also married singles, women married like me, having husbands married to their jobs. When should we meet?” Desire for this woman overrode all sense of propriety and decency, and even though she was his brother’s wife, he replied, “Next week, Tuesday at noon. Let us meet at the pub on Route 66 on the corner of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue. It is rarely frequented by any of our family members and friends. We can enjoy a quiet, undisturbed lunch there.” She left, and he went back inside to take his leave of his parents. For her, Tuesday could not come quickly enough. Like a little schoolgirl, she was excited about the prospect of going to meet her brother-in-law. She knew full well the implicating result of that meeting, but her emotional and physical needs took over and dictated her actions.

Tuesday arrived, and it took all of her willpower to stop the excitement from showing, knowing such a change in attitude could make her husband suspicious. He took a sip of his coffee and enquired nonchalantly as to what plans she had for the day. Her response was, “Nothing unusual. I might be meeting with some friends today for lunch.” With that, he left. She spent the morning doing her normal household chores, and as the dining room wall clock registered ten o’clock, she moved to her bedroom, where she started her preparation for her escapade. She took out the black cocktail dress and black high-heeled shoes she planned to wear and went into the en-suite to shower. She came out, got dressed, brushed her hair, and packed her handbag. Because her car was well-known, she phoned for a taxi to take her to her destination. Jumping into the taxi, she gave the driver directions for her appointment. As she got out, she paid him and requested that he be back at three that afternoon to return her to her home. Taking the cash, he agreed and drove off. As she stepped into the dimly lit establishment, she saw Antonio coming towards her to take her to the end booth that he had reserved for them. It had a semi-circle bench seat covered in green leather on the far corner and two matching seats at the outer end. They slipped into the bench seat and exchanged some pleasantries. The wine steward came around to take their drinks order. They agreed on a semi-sweet dry white wine and ordered a bottle of what the steward recommended. After a half a glass of wine each, they requested the waiter come take their meal orders. He settled for a tomahawk steak, and she asked for a freshly fried fish with potato chips and a green salad. Waiting for their meals to arrive, they continued with some small talk. Antonio had already settled his line of action in his mind. This would not be like his normal conquest but rather the crowning conquest of his life. No straightforward actions, but a set of actions that must first put her at ease. Then, to win her confidence and just to treat her like a queen. His new plan was to ensure she was on the hook before reeling her in as having been caught, hook, line, and sinker.

The two lovebirds (one actually a bird of prey) finished their meals, having held hands and just some chit-chat, got up, and exited the establishment. He went to his vehicle, and she to the point where her taxi was waiting to take her home. The excitement of her naughty adventure left her in a state of rapturous happiness, which she had to bring into check before Lorenzo arrived back home. Her unusual glint of joy was not lost on him, but he thought it better to keep quiet than to ask about it. Clotilde and Antonio soon developed this into a weekly arrangement with some slight changes: different days and different, out-of-the-way establishments. They did take their affair to the next level when, on the fourth meeting, he picked her up at the arranged dinner but instead whisked her off to his apartment, where they spent the whole afternoon locked in each other’s arms. They kissed, got undressed, and practically sprang into bed. All track of time was lost, and she sprang into action, gathered her clothes, and ducked into the en-suite to make herself presentable once again, all the time thinking of what lie to conjure up that would satisfy her husband. Arriving home just as the sun was setting, she tried sneaking in, but her husband had arrived before her, having left work earlier than usual. Give the lady her due, she was resourceful, and before he could question her, she blurted out, “We were celebrating one of the girls, Jaclyn’s birthday today, and we all got carried away partying.” He accepted this without any further need for apology or explanation.

As is the case in all such underhanded, nefarious actions, they can only remain a secret for so long. Several things happened. Firstly, Fang, so named because one of his right side canines was long, had spied them on two occasions and recognized them as his boss Vinnie’s family, and reported it to him. Vinnie asked Fang not to mention this to anyone, and in the next few days, he gathered information that supported what he had been told. He was disappointed, disheartened, and disembowelled (figuratively speaking) as it tore at him from all sides. This is his flesh and blood family. Compounding the issue was that Antonio was his favourite, and no right-minded brother should perform such a dastardly deed. Very much aware that something like this would tear the family apart, cause pain and stress immeasurable, and ruin lives and homes, Vinnie approached Antonio and Clotilde at their next soiree to talk about this. Antonio was past the point of caring about anybody but himself. Clotilde, more fearful, knowing the distress it would cause her parents, listened to Vinnie’s advice about ending their unlawful relationship, as he called it. Vinnie, satisfied that she at least listened to reason, left, hoping that that was the end of it. He had underestimated his nephew’s persuasive ability, and it did not take long for Clotilde to be coerced into their extramarital partnership.

Now the lovebirds were more cautious and made more elaborate plans to meet. Each using their trusted best friends to act as intermediaries, they carried on with their deed, but now with a new dimension added. They now planned to have the perfect murder executed, thereby ridding themselves of the “problem,” Lorenzo, Antonio’s brother, and her cuckold husband. Unbeknownst to the plotters, Vinnie, through the Mafia network, had gotten wind of their new cozy type setup and had the homes and hotels they regularly visited wiretapped. This activity of Vinnie’s went on unnoticed and paid off handsomely when one of their conversations at a hotel was picked up, loud and clear. With arrangements from hotel management, they tended to use the same room constantly. She liked the view from that particular bedroom, and Vinnie, while his crew was busy bugging the room, could not help but enjoy the view it had of the distant mountain range. From that same hotel room, two weeks later, the conversation to have Lorenzo murdered was picked up, loud and clear. Their plot was to be a simple one, which they even set down in numeric order of execution.

Step 1. Clotilde was to convince her husband to take her for a weekend up to a mountain lodge they loved visiting during their years of now-forgotten happiness. This would have been easy under normal circumstances, but things were now different, and it took some doing. He eventually agreed, thus putting the plan into action.

Step 2. Antonio had, through his own network, managed to convince three unsavoury characters from out of town, at the princely sum of sixty thousand dollars (twenty thousand each), to perform the necessary murder. They were well-chosen as they were noted for acting outside the law and outside of Mafia tentacles’ reach. They were Billy, who liked to be known as Billy the Kid; Jack Crumb, a crumb of a man in name and stature; and Kurt, Kurt who, you might ask? But his reply would be just Kurt. They were given half the proceeds upfront and were to make their own arrangements to get to the lodge over the planned weekend. It was a lodge regularly rented out to guests, be they families, business partners, or, as in this case, lovers. They were supplied with all the necessary information.

Step 3. This part of the plan must be executed in a manner that would be seen as a robbery gone wrong, and with no visible trail whatsoever to be even remotely viewed as a murder plot. Due to the many unsolved mysteries experienced by the American public, just one more death could be filed as accidental. Their instructions were to break in, kill the husband, injure the wife, not severely, and steal some of their precious belongings and disappear into the underground system. By prior arrangement, the remainder of the funds were to be transferred into an account that they were to close the minute they extracted the money.

Step 4. It was to be quite simple. Once the dust had settled, the autopsy report was filed, and all of Clotilde’s affairs (transfer of the business title deeds, home, cars, and bank balances to her) were completed, they would announce their engagement. Antonio felt at this point he would get the girl, the business, and the riches that his dearly beloved departed brother had amassed.

Step 5. This was not part of their plot; rather, it was an addendum put in by none other than our dear Uncle Vinnie. Vinnie’s version would be one of poetic justice and restoration of true order within the family circle. Without alerting Lorenzo as to his danger, he had three of his top boys enter unseen into the lodge minutes before the real crooks were to arrive. Their instruction was to allow things to develop as far as their entry, accost Clotilde downstairs in the living room, allow her to recognize her fellow conspirators and have them knock her out so that she would have no recollection beyond that point. They would incapacitate the three by injecting them with quick-acting tranquillizers and open the door to let him in. The new plan was executed, and Vinnie woke up his nephew, telling him not to be alarmed. “Uncle Vinnie! What are you doing here?” Uncle Vinnie then went about enlightening him about what had taken place and asked him to play along, as his business there was not fully concluded. The planned attack was staged. A lifelike dummy of a man similar in stature to Lorenzo that was acquired from the local theatre props ensemble had its face disfigured, was dressed in Lorenzo’s pyjamas, and its throat was slit by a professional make-up artist, plus a mixture closely resembling blood was splattered all over the bed to complete the scene of a heinous murder. The three would-be killers were given another injection, which revived them but in a very confused state. Waking up in the room and seeing the mutilated body with blood oozing everywhere, thinking they had carried out their crime, they departed quickly from the scene. Clotilde woke up some time later feeling groggy, her hand going immediately to the painful spot on her head. Feeling the lump, she remembered being knocked out, and in a state of panic, she ascended up the stairs to the bedroom, where the sight that met her was far too gross for her to do any further inspection, mentally recording that that was her murdered husband on the bed. She immediately dialled 911, the emergency channel, and between genuine screams for help, she was shouting through the line, “My husband has been murdered.” After a number of back-and-forth questions and answers, a police unit was dispatched to investigate. Once again, we see the powers that the Mafia and their types of organizations wield. The calls were relayed from the cabin to a police department controlled by the mob, plus the police unit dispatched had been arranged with strict instructions to cordon off the crime scene, allow no one entry, and call for the appointed coroner, who was on standby. Clotilde, in the meantime, was taken home by another police-detailed unit also arranged. That day, word got out that Lorenzo Bonsignore, Vinnie’s nephew, had been murdered upstate at a mountain lodge. Vinnie could hardly contain himself as he watched his brother, sister-in-law, and his niece, Maria, in their painful sufferings. He knew Lorenzo had been taken to a safe place to be hidden for the next little while, allowing his plotting to be fully performed. Strangely, it was noted that Antonio did put in an appearance to sympathize with his family, but excused himself and left after a few minutes. Most people present, knowing the ill blood between the siblings, put it down to just that, the bitterness he held towards Lorenzo. Not long after he left, Clotilde and her parents arrived to extend their condolences also. Vinnie, to ensure that the charade continued without any problems, offered to go and identify the body at the morgue. His brother, having heard of the disfigurement and damage inflicted, agreed, knowing that to see his son thus would just create another wound in his now fragile emotional state. Lorenzo’s mother initially tried to protest, stating she wanted to be there, but this time, Maria and her husband, having been shown secretly photographs taken at the scene, persuaded her not to. The following day, funeral arrangements were made. The coffin with the body would be taken to the church, where the requiem mass would be offered by the Priest. Again, it would be a closed-casket service. From the church, a small group of family and friends would accompany the hearse to the crematorium, where the cremation ceremony would take place before concluding the whole service. Uncle Vinnie, in true Mafioso fashion, insisted on paying for all the expenses that would be incurred.

Vinnie had a team of his boys track the movements of the three would-be killers. Their espionage finally paid dividends a week after the incident, as they followed them into the bank where they planned to withdraw their ill-gotten gains, close the account, and march out as rich kids. They would go back to the downtown hotel where they had holed up and clear the room of their meagre belongings before moving to another old haunt of theirs. Their dream was short-lived. A knock on the door caused a bit of alarm amongst them, not knowing who it was or why this intrusion was. Billy got up from his seat, went to the door, and opened it slightly to get a glimpse of the person who had knocked. Unexpected and unable to react, all three were surprised by the door being shoved open and seeing and recognizing the five burly men, armed and dressed as police officers, now confronting them. They were relieved of the money, handcuffed, and taken out to two automobiles in the parking lot. Billy and three of the mobster policemen got into one vehicle, and the other two shoved Kurt and Crumb into the second vehicle. The three hoods, Billy, Kurt, and Crumb, had hoods placed over their heads as the vehicles sped off. Sometime later, they drove into a rundown building where the three were unceremoniously taken from the vehicles, hoods removed, and seated in chairs in front of a table where Vinnie was seated. The first thought in each of their minds was that they would be killed and their bodies disposed of in a manner that would seem that they had vanished from the planet. Their minds were running riot, having heard so many stories about Mafia Law and wondering what their termination would be like. Vinnie, looking at them one by one and locking his eyes with theirs, further creating fear, started by saying, “Gents, I’m well aware of the whole episode that you got involved in. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourselves. You’re not my prime target, but rather the two persons who enlisted your services in the first place. Two things are going to happen: firstly, I plan to record a full confession from the three of you. Next, you will be escorted down to the Chicago Police Station at 3510 South Michigan Avenue, where you will give your official confession to Sergeant Brody, known as the Black Irishman. As for the crime, it was all staged; you did not kill anyone.” Addressing his henchmen, Vinnie concluded the meeting, “Take them over to Sergeant Brody. I have already informed him; he is expecting delivery of these three.”

That very afternoon, Sergeant Brody issued arrest warrants for both Antonio and Clotilde. Once in police custody, as the saying goes, they sang like canaries. The local newspapers had a field day once the story got out. Antonio and Clotilde, though no crime was committed per se, were found guilty of murder by intent and sentenced individually to four years’ imprisonment. The three criminals were dealt with more leniently, and each received a two-year jail sentence. The Bonsignore family—Marko, Isabella, Maria, Uncle Vinnie, and Lorenzo, now back with the family—held a quiet celebratory dinner. Isabella said, “It is wonderful to have my son Lorenzo back from the dead, but sadly, because of his wickedness, my youngest son, Antonio, has been incarcerated. I hope and trust that his time in jail would cause him to reflect and possibly come out a better man for it.” Turning to Vinnie, she said, “Thanks for the way you handled this delicate matter. You are a wise and wonderful man. Never mind what others say about you, in my books, you are respected, trusted, and loved.”

Our story has not ended yet. What became of Beauty and the Beast, those two beautiful motor cars that once represented true love?

Lorenzo would not part with his beloved Beast, but as a present to his adoring older sister, Maria, he gave Beauty to her.