Sublime

“As long as we don’t cross [a] line in our pursuit,” DPR wrote to Variety Jones, “then we are only doing good.” “Ha, dude, we’re criminal drug dealers,” VJ responded. “What line shouldn’t we cross?” “Murder, theft, cheating, lying; hurting people,” DPR replied, resentful of the question. “That line. We are drawing a new line I guess you could say.

Smith was not only a politician; he was a Tammany politician. In the simple Tammany code, the first commandment was Loyalty. Smith’s loyalty to his appointees was legendary. Once he gave a man a job, he was fond of saying, he never interfered with him unless he proved himself incapable of handling it.

He and FDR became lifelong friends, and their partnership endured until Roosevelt’s death. The president often used O’Connor to transmit messages he did not wish to entrust to political associates—a confidential conduit he knew he could rely on.

Evan kept his focus on Miguel. “You have to show that you’re not corrupt and that you’ll stop at nothing to find those who did this. That you’re tough on the gangs. That you will tolerate no one and no policy that isn’t as tough as you are. You have to be That Guy.”