Dropping Out of the Mob

The source for this story was Bill Jameson, a former army intelligence officer who had also served a stint on the New York City police force before becoming a private investigator in Florida.

Jameson said that the racketeer--we'll call him Jerry Nichols--had been one of the criminal kingpins in Florida and had run the parts of the state under his control with an iron hand. Then, strangely, the gangster seemed to drop out of sight. When Jameson next discovered him, he was in a legitimate business and was preaching the word of God on the side.

Stunned, the private detective pressed his old nemesis for details, and Nichols was delighted to tell him the remarkable story of his conversion.

"My twelve-year-old daughter, Jackie, got hit by a car walking home from school," Nichols began. "She was rushed to the hospital with her skull badly crushed. My wife, Brenda, and I were sweating it out in the waiting room, when this young doc comes out.

"I told the medic to drop the suspense and cut to the chase. My coarse, blunt manner had its usual irritating effect and he just came out and said that he and the other doctors could offer us no hope for Jackie's recovery."

Nichols's wife went to pieces.

"I had one of my boys drive her home, and I gave him the number of one of Brenda's friends," Nichols said. "I told him to call the lady and ask her to come and sit with Brenda while I stayed at the hospital."

Nichols sat by his daughter's bedside for the rest of the day and all through the night. The gangster did not leave the hospital until the sun was coming up. He was walking toward his car across the deserted parking lot, when an angel appeared.

The tough racketeer dropped to his knees. "I know that I'm just a wise guy. I am not worthy to ask anything of you. But please, oh, please, do something to help my daughter. Jackie is young. Don't take her away before she's had a chance to live." The angel stood before him, silent, expressionless.

"So that's it." Nichols nodded soberly, believing that he had suddenly received some insight into the angel's master plan. "You want me, don't you? You want my life in exchange for my kid's. Okay, you've got it. Take me. Now. This minute. I don't care. I'll do whatever you say to save my baby."

Almost immediately, the angel vanished.

Uncertain of exactly what had transpired, Nichols walked slowly to his car and sat in the driver's seat for several minutes before he regained enough composure to drive home.

Continued on page 2: You want me to quit the mob?! »