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  Duilio and Riccardo took a day to think about the offer and the only two flies in the ointment were they would have to immediately share profits from existing business and there would be no written signed agreement. However, it didn’t take them long to realize that they would have no way to legally enforce a contract with someone providing funds from illegal operations anyway and their investors had their own ways of enforcing contracts that had nothing to do with the law. What things really boiled down to was it was in the best interests of the Paganelli brothers not to renege on any of the provisions of the verbal agreement because they would have the required funds to finance the profitable growth of their business to say nothing about avoiding serious bodily injury or worse and it was in the best interests of the investors because they would have a way to turn their dirty money into squeaky clean currency and reap a very nice return on their investment to boot.

  The next morning, they accepted the counteroffer, emailed the detailed business plan to Nick and soon after anonymous offers were being made via a business broker to the acquisition candidates.

  Riccardo made the call to Haggerty, but it went to voice mail so he left a brief message saying he might have a need for his services and for him to call him ASAP. They’d have to wait to put this ball in motion, but they had other balls in play. One of them was looking for ways to disrupt the logistics of their competition, primarily interfering with the deliveries of supplies to them and their product to their customers, so they focused their attention on that. These guys aren’t willing to waste a minute of their time when it comes to achieving the growth they seek for their company and the methods be damned. Becoming one of the big boys in the winery industry has become an obsession with them and this doesn’t bode well for their competition.

  Chapter 4

  It’s a typical sunny morning in Napa Valley, a little on the cool side with the temperature in the high sixties, but the sky is clear and the traffic is surprising light.

  Derrick has just finished eating breakfast at the IHOP nearby his house and is heading out for San Francisco to drop in unannounced on Giuseppe Pelegrinno. Derrick ran a background check on the man and came up with nothing to hang his hat on. On the surface, Mr. Pelegrinno appears to be what he purports to be, a business broker who’s been in the business for close to twenty years. He’s had no run-ins with the law, not even a parking ticket.

  It’s about an hour’s drive from Napa to San Francisco so if there aren’t any traffic snarls he’ll be arriving a little after nine. He’s not sure what he hopes to learn from this little excursion, but experience has taught him that face-to-face encounters, especially surprise ones, can be a lot more revealing than telephone conversations and a coonhound has nothing on him when it comes to picking up the scent of something out of sight.

  Pelegrinno has a suite of offices in an office building on Market Street and when Derrick walks through the double glass doors into the reception area he’s quite impressed with the décor and the gorgeous blue-eyed blonde sitting behind the reception desk.

  When she greets him and asks the purpose of his visit, the sound of her voice adds to the impression that she’s something special. Its timbre, clarity and slight British accent give it a unique sound that is a treat for the ears.

  He introduces himself and says, “I don’t have an appointment, but it’s very important that I speak with Mr. Pelegrinno concerning an investigation I’m conducting involving some wineries in Napa Valley.”

  “He’s in the office today, but he’s been on a conference call for the last half hour and I don’t know when that will be over. Let me put a note in front of him and get his response.”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  A few minutes later she returns and says, “You’ve lucked out. He’s just finishing up and will be with you shortly. Please have seat. Can I get you some coffee, water, a soft drink?”

  “Thanks and no thanks.”

  A few minutes later a distinguished looking guy with gray wavy hair, a thin almost snow white mustache and penetrating gray eyes walks into the reception area from a hallway off to the right of the reception area. His ensemble looks like something you’d see in a GQ magazine and his looks and physique show it off quite well. He’s a little over six feet tall and exudes the confidence of a successful businessman.

  With an outstretched hand he approaches Derrick and says, “Good morning, Sergeant Chandler. I’m Giuseppe Pelegrinno and I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please come into my office and tell me how you think I can help you with your investigation.”

  Derrick’s first impression of the man is, “He’s a smooth one and a very cool one, perhaps too smooth, too cool. Most folks, even the innocent ones, get a little apprehensive when a deputy sheriff shows up on their doorstep unannounced. This guy’s acting like it’s an everyday occurrence.”

  Once seated, Derrick opens up with a comment intended to shake Mr. Cool up a little, maybe catch him off guard enough where he’ll spill something that will help with the investigation.

  “Mr. Pelegrinno, you may be playing with fire and could wind up getting severely burned.”

  Pelegrinno stared at him for a good ten seconds before responding with, “How might I be doing that, Sergeant?”

  “The man’s got a good poker face, I’ll give him that.”

  “You’ve been acting on behalf of a client or clients in repeated attempts to purchase some of the smaller wineries in the Napa Valley and after responding with rebuff after rebuff these same wineries have begun to experience some very unusual interruptions in their operations. It appears that someone is trying to exert increasing amounts of pressure on the owners to get them to change their minds by sabotaging their operations. Are you aware of this?”

  After another long silent stare Pelegrinno succinctly says, “No I am not.”

  “Who are you representing in these acquisition attempts?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. My clients like to remain anonymous whenever possible.”

  “Well, Mr. Pelegrinno, I’m afraid that fire I mentioned a moment ago is about to get a lot warmer. Because of your refusal to cough up the name or names of the people involved, I’ll be arranging to have you charged with interfering with an ongoing investigation and whatever else I can dig up.”

  “Now just a minute. There’s no need for that. If it’s that important to your investigation, my client is a privately held foreign conglomerate looking to diversify their holdings here in the U. S., Industrial Ventures International. I was told by my contact that the company is headquartered in Milan.”

  “Who’s your contact, where he’s located and how do you communicate with him?”

  “It’s not a he, it’s a she. Her name is Maria Conti and she’s based in San Diego. I’ve never met her and I don’t have an address. We communicate by email or phone.”

  “Give me her contact information.”

  He quickly retrieves the information from his desk top computer, writes it down on a piece of paper and hands it over to Derrick.

  “How did you and this lady get together?”

  “She was referred to me by a mutual client, but she never told me which one. One morning I received a phone call from Maria and we were soon off and running.”

  “How are you paid for your efforts?”

  “On a percentage of the sale price of the business and the seller pays the fee.”

  Looking at him suspiciously Derrick says, “So you haven’t received a dime for your time to date.”

  Pelegrinno isn’t stupid and he knows what Derrick is implying, but he just shakes his head in reply.

  “Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll be talking again soon, I’m sure.”

  Heading for his car he’s full of doubts about what he’s just learned. “Industrial Ventures International could be nothing more than a big smoke screen made up of a mirage of dummy shell corporations that will lead nowhere. This Maria Conti could be a legitimate em
ployee or part of something much more sinister. Pelegrinno could be a player or an innocent foil in the scheme of things. One thing is for sure, judging from the sheen that was forming on his forehead I believe I shook him up.”

  During his drive back to Napa he calls this Maria Conti to find out more about Industrial Ventures International and who recommended Pelegrinno to her. The lady was in and took his call. “I was anticipating your call, Sergeant Chandler, but not this soon. I just hung up from talking with a very upset Giuseppe Pelegrinno. He’s under the impression you suspect him of being involved in some illegal efforts to get some wineries that have turned down our offers to purchase them to capitulate. Is that so?”

  “Ms. Conti, if Mr. Pelegrinno has done nothing wrong he has nothing to worry about. Just about everyone who comes up during an investigation is under some level of suspicion until proven otherwise. The reason I’m calling you is I’d like to find out more about your company and who referred you to Mr. Pelegrinno.”

  “Industrial Ventures International is a diversified investment company headquartered in Milan, Italy that seeks real estate and business venture investment opportunities for its clientele all over the world. It has been around for over forty years and has an impeccable reputation. I manage its United States operation, Investors Anonymous, and have been with the company for over ten years. One of my clients referred me to Giuseppe, but I don’t remember which one.”

  “Why the anonymity?”

  “A lot of our clients are very wealthy people and prefer to keep their financial affairs out of the limelight. They are identified by account number and not by name and we jealously guard their privacy and our relationship with them using highly sophisticated security measures to keep the curious and other financial predators at bay.”

  “Is your parent company a publicly traded company or is it privately held?”

  “It is privately held. Our owners also like their privacy and conduct business through employee intermediaries. I’ve never heard any names mentioned when it comes to ownership of the company. Frankly, I don’t care who owns the company. I am paid well and treated with the utmost respect.”

  “Well, thank you for your input, Ms. Conti. If you remember the source of the referral to Mr. Pelegrinno, please give me a jingle on my cell.” He gave her his number and ended the call.

  “Hmm. Something doesn’t smell right about this company. There’s too much secrecy when it comes to ownership. I wonder if Maury Hoagland over at the NSA has ever come across them. Maybe he’d be willing to check around with his resources to see what he might uncover. I’ll give him a call when I get back to the office. He has his fingers in more pies than a baker. If this company is involved in anything shady, he’ll find it.”

  Chapter 5

  When Derrick gets back to the office he gives Maury Hoagland a call and gets an earful.

  “Derrick, I’ve never come across Industrial Ventures International, but Investors Anonymous has been on our radar for some time now for the possibility of being involved in financial dealings with Mexican and South American drug cartels and Middle East terrorist groups. There’s a huge cloud of suspicion hanging over their heads, but so far it hasn’t burst. There are a lot of hints that they’re up to no good, but so far we haven’t been able to come up with anything solid enough for us to sink out teeth into to get a really good taste of what they’re really all about. They’re shrouded in a cloak of secrecy which we haven’t been able to penetrate. How did you come across them?”

  “Some of the smaller wineries in the Napa Valley have been experiencing some unusual and unprecedented operations problems which may be linked to repeated refusals of offers to buy them out. An independent business broker by the name of Giuseppe Pelegrinno has been representing Investors Anonymous in making these offers. I had a face-to face with him in his office in San Francisco earlier this morning and left without any strong opinion of his guilt or innocence in anything underhanded as far as the targets for acquisition are concerned. The only thing I got from the interview was the name of the parent company, Industrial Ventures International. Pelegrinno said he was contacted by a Maria Conti of Investors Anonymous because of a referral she received by a client whose name she couldn’t recall.

  “I called her during my drive back from Frisco and she informed me that Pelegrinno had already called her about my visit to his office and was upset because he thinks I think he’s somehow involved in what has been happening at the wineries. If anything, his phone call to her has me leaning in his favor regarding lack of knowledge of any wrong doing with respect to the wineries and maybe even in Ms. Conti’s. I doubt the phone call would have been shared with me if they are somehow involved in what’s been happening to the wineries.

  “All I learned about Industrial Ventures International is that they’re a private closely held corporation based in Milan, Italy. According to Ms. Conti, Industrial Ventures International is a diversified investment company that seeks real estate and business venture investment opportunities for its clientele all over the world. It has been around for over forty years and has an impeccable reputation. Investors Anonymous is a wholly owned subsidiary formed to handle business here in the States and she’s at the helm, an appropriate term since the subsidiary is headquartered in San Diego, a seaport of world renown. Ms. Conti says she has no idea who the company owners are and hasn’t even heard any names dropped in conversations she has had with anyone. Investors’ names are not used, but instead numbers are assigned to them as part of a highly sophisticated security system to ensure the investors’ privacy. To paraphrase, she further stated that she’s a happy employee and doesn’t care who the owners are.”

  “I’ll check around with my resources about the parent company and the ownership. However, assuming the parent, the sub or both are dirty as mud I don’t see how knowing this is going to help you with your problem.”

  “I’m hoping it will help me zero in on who the real culprits are. I’m not just after the folks carrying out orders, Maury. I want the schemers at the top level. I want to connect the dots. I want to be able to see the big picture and then destroy it. The more knowledge I have the easier that should be.”

  “Okay, I’ll get right on it and call you when and if I come up with anything. Bye.”

  Derrick’s thinking that his visit to Pelegrinno and the conversation he had with Maria Conti are probably soon to reach the ears of the people trying to buy these wineries or soon will be. Pondering this for a bit he decides that it would probably be wise to do what his boss suggested and get some backup before he starts making the rounds of the wineries in question. It’s a decent possibility that some of the employees could be working for the other side and someone might put a target on his back.

  By pure happenstance, Julie Styversant, a deputy sheriff who’s been with the department for a little over five years and already has more awards and commendations in her file for initiative and bravery in some very dangerous situations than deputies with a lot more years under their belts walks by his desk.

  “Julie, what’s on your slate today?”

  “Mostly paperwork and I’ve got to prepare for my appearance in court later this week on that drag racing disaster that killed that little girl. Why?”

  “I need you to watch my back when I pay some visits to some wineries today and tomorrow.”

  “Okay, but I’ll have to clear it with..”

  “It’s already cleared. Bill said I should pick somebody and notify him so he could make the required changes to the duty roster. I’m picking you.”

  “Okay, I’ve got your back. How about telling me what this is all about.”