Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

Henry acknowledges that most of his associates accept killing as part of their normal routine. He recalls Tommy DeSimone's feelings of pride when he takes young Frankie Burke on his first hit. Jimmy Burke, Frankie's father, has beaten Frankie for many years hoping to toughen up the timid boy. Jimmy is exultant when Jimmy kills his first man. Henry explains that the killings are necessary because so many wiseguys break the rules. Johnny Mazzolla, the man who used to take Henry out to cash counterfeit twenties, has a son who insists on robbing local bookies despite being warned away. Out of respect for Johnny, the kid is shot through the heart so that the family can have an open casket funeral. Jimmy Burke even kills his best friend, Remo, because Remo tells the cops about one of Jimmy's cigarette shipments in...