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I. You know that rock group you got booked into East St. Louis next Friday night, the Whatchamacallems? … Yeah, the Hot Jockers, that’s them. Well, the fire chief’s brother out there is a good buddy of mine, and it seems like their stadium has a capacity seating of seventy thou. And it looks like you’ve already sold ninety-five thousand tickets to that concert at fifteen bucks a pop.… Yeah, I know you gotta overbook for no-shows, Miltie, and who cares if a few hundred coked-out shvartzers have to sit in the aisles? … Yeah, I know all that.
    But listen, Miltie, this fire chief’s brother says the fire chief is real nervous. You’ve oversold by twenty-five thousand tickets! That’s a hell of a lot of no-shows. This fire chief’s brother says if the news got to the papers, the city council or whatever the hell it is would cancel the show and you’d have to fork back the entire gate. We’re talkin’ big bucks, Miltie. We’re talkin’ nearly a mil five, right? … Now wait a minute, Miltie, don’t fly off the handle. All I called for is to try to help you out. No need to make a federal case out of this. We’re just talkin’ fire laws, Miltie, and this fire chief’s brother says that for thirty big ones this fire chief will forget about the whole matter.… Yeah, I think I can get him down to twenty-five. You happy with that figure? … Okay, you Fed Ex the cash to me tonight, and I’ll take care of the whole thing. Plus my fifteen percent commission, naturally.… How’s the wife? Slap her butt for me, Miltie, and have a nice day.
    He hangs up and immediately dials another call .
    Credit card call … (More numbers.)
    Hello, Chief Gomez? Moe Minskoff here. It’s all set, big buddy. I got your ten big ones for you. They’re Fed Exing the cash to me tonight from LA, and I’ll Fed Ex it on to you first thing in the morning, minus my fifteen percent commission, naturally.… Not at all. Don’t thank me. That’s what I’m here for. Let me know if you have any more of these type of problems, and have a nice day.
    He hangs up and dials a third call .
    Credit card call …
    Sal? Moe Minskoff here. Listen, big buddy, we got a little problem. You gotta lower your bid for construction of that casino down in the islands by at least five hundred big ones or you’re outa the ballpark, buddy.… Yeah, the prime minister seems pretty adamant about that.… Well, maybe I could talk him into it if you’d drop the price by three-fifty. But if I do that, Sal, I’m gonna hafta ask you a favor. I want you to put Irving Sender in charge of the construction down there.… You know who Irving Sender is. He’s Honeychile’s brother.… Whaddaya mean who’s Honeychile? Honeychile is my wife , for Christ’s sake! Irving needs a job, and his wife wants to spend the winter in the Caribbean, okay? … Well, I’ll see what I can do. Get back to you, Sal. Have a nice day.
    Another credit card call .
    Ah, Mr. Prime Minister. This is Moses L. Minskoff calling. How is the weather down there, sir? Ah, how I envy you, basking in the tropical sun, the breezes rustling the palm fronds, those miles of sandy beaches, the blue crystalline waters of the sea. You truly live in paradise, sir.… Ah, but of course I have news for you. I wouldn’t have called you, sir, if I didn’t have news, and good news it is. Mr. Cortelli has lowered his bid by a quarter of a million dollars, just what you asked for. And the other good news is that he wants to place Mr. Irving Sender in charge of construction down there. You’re very lucky to be able to obtain Mr. Sender, because he’s the best in the business, the very best, and very much in demand. I couldn’t believe you could be that fortunate when I learned Mr. Sentler might be available. But he’s agreed, not without a certain