During the height of the 2003 Iraqi war, Captain John Russo, a Marine helicopter pilot, risks his life to save the crew of a downed helicopter. He is severely wounded and receives the Silver Star and the Purple Heart award. Subsequently his injury causes him to be discharged from the United States Marine Corps.
Upon returning home to New York City, his mother, who had been ill, dies. His heartbroken father Luca decides to return to the land of his birth: Sicily. John, temporarily puts aside his employment, and marriage to Lisa Pappas, and accompanies his father to the seaside town of Licata, Sicily. Johns original intention was to remain only two weeks. But the events that followed ties John to this ancient land for several years.
Here in Sicily John finds Justina Merati, the pharmacist daughter of the local Mafia capo. A marriage takes place and a clash occurs between John and his father in law. John is set up by the father in law to smuggle counterfeit money into the USA. John is arrested and sentenced to three years in a US medium security prison. During this time, Justina gives birth to John Luca Rizzo. A series of events take place that cause much misery and heartbreak for John Rizzo.
Upon returning to Licata, he becomes vengeful and seeks retribution for the sins that were committed against him and his family. He seeks out the Mafia members involved and a series of violent events occur. The success he achieves is unmatched in bringing down several notorious heroin traffickers and contract killers.
This action-packed novella will keep you on the edge of your seat reading it. Through the action and misery, a true love story evolves.
About the Author
Tony is a former U.S. Marine and a retired NYPD Detective Sergeant who subsequently served ten years with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He served in Miami, New York, and while attached to the American Embassy in Miami and Rome, Italy, he served as DEAs CIA liaison and liaised with various intelligence agencies from Europe and the Middle East. Tony has been declared an expert in International drug trafficking and organized crime by the N.Y. State Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court in Miami and the German (Bavaria) Supreme Court. Tony has a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice (Core concentration - counter terrorism strategies). In 1991, Tony attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Tony has served as an Adjunct professor at St. Josephs University in Philadelphia, where he taught an undergraduate course in the discipline of terrorism. Currently, Tony is teaching at Palm Beach State College. The college is located in Lake Worth, Florida, where he teaches courses in Forensic Accounting, Organized Crime Investigations, Arabic/Muslim Culture, The Psychology of a Suicide Bomber, and a course that focuses on terrorist investigations and intelligence collection techniques. In 2004, the student body voted him adjunct professor of the year. In addition, Tony is a certified Florida Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Instructor and has taught at the Connecticut State Police Academy in Meriden, Connecticut. His first book, written with Howard Hellman, THE ORCHID MEMORANDUM, published in 2004, has received a five-star rating from readers.
