Book summary “Hit #29”: summary

Introduction

You live in a world where violence has a price and disputes end in permanent silence. When normal legal channels fail, desperate individuals turn to the underworld to settle scores through lethal contracts. You need to understand how professional operatives navigate this violent ecosystem without getting caught or killed.

A professional contract killer details the meticulous operational tradecraft, surveillance techniques, and underworld economics behind executing underworld hits.

Joey shares decades of hands-on experience in the trade, revealing the unglamorous and calculated reality of contract murder. You will learn how hits are priced, how targets are tracked, and how operators maintain absolute paranoia to survive.

• How do professionals price a contract and collect payment safely?
• What daily routines keep an operative hidden from police and rivals?
• How do you prepare a weapon and a route for a zero-failure operation?

1. Professional Methodology and Underworld Economics

Public Execution Methodology

Professional hits in crowded public spaces rely on the chaos and psychological shock of witnesses to prevent accurate identification. High-stress public violence causes witnesses to confuse details entirely. Police composite sketches become useless as a result.

Professional hits rely on witness chaos, while the numbers game operates through massive informal betting networks and high-risk controllers.

During hit number 28 in a crowded Italian restaurant in Brooklyn, the narrator shot his target three times in the back of the head. That action scattered brain and blood into the food and sent diners diving under tables. The operation resulted in zero police leads and cost $20,000 cash, earning only one paragraph on page 26 of the New York Daily News.

Hired assassins must maintain a strict cooling-off period between jobs to avoid carelessness. You give law enforcement an opportunity to investigate if you work too rapidly. Performing contracts too frequently leads to fatal mistakes.

The narrator broke his routine of waiting at least a couple of months before accepting contract number 29. That haste violated his own safety rules after he completed heavyweight work on hit number 28 with total ease.

The Numbers Game Mechanics

The numbers game operates as a massive informal betting network structured around street runners, controllers, and centralized banking offices. Players bet varying amounts on a three-digit number or single action determined by the last three digits of a local racetrack betting handle. The system yields high payouts managed by hierarchical personnel.

The payout structure follows specific underground rules:

• 600 to 1 payoff on a three-digit number;
• 8 to 1 payoff on single action.

Joseph "Tiger" Maresca worked for 20 years as a runner and then controller in the Bronx. He collected up to $8,000 daily cash during his operations.

Systematic robberies of crime syndicate controllers require precise insider information regarding schedules, cash amounts, and locations. Controllers constantly change stops and handle massive cash volumes. Regular stick-up men cannot target them successfully without a compromised insider feeding exact operational details.

Manny Sanchez and Allie Jacobs executed a series of perfect stick-ups against Bronx and Queens controllers. They netted over $100,000 before being caught, which included taking $10,000 from an Irish kid controller and $6,000 from a Throgs Neck controller.

Organized crime syndicates utilize brutal physical interrogation methods in funeral home basements to extract confessions from compromised operatives. When independent stick-up men are captured by mob heavyweights, severe physical persuasion quickly breaks their silence and reveals corrupt insiders. Buttonmen in an East Harlem funeral home basement used an ice pick and fingernail pins to persuade Manny Sanchez and Allie Jacobs to name Joseph Squillante as their inside partner.

Even high-earning syndicate members can become ruined through degenerate gambling debts, forcing them into treasonous acts against their own organization. Trusted controllers who fall hundreds of thousands behind with rival bookmakers will resort to robbing their own employers to pay off their liabilities despite earning thousands weekly. Joseph Squillante, a respected controller making $5,000 a week, fell over $200,000 into debt with five bookmakers. He partnered with street punks to rob his own network.

2. Surveillance Tactics and Preparation

Executing contracts requires rigorous route tracking, clean weapon acquisition, and detailed target profiling to avoid fatal overconfidence.

Professional hit men must remain extremely cautious and treat their work like a standard job because past success easily breeds fatal overconfidence. While pulling the trigger for the first time is a major mental hurdle, subsequent hits make killers feel protected and untouchable. Professionals who survive long-term treat the work carefully, plan every detail down to the minute, and take notes like a matador or truck driver. The author had completed 28 men killed previously without a conviction by treating the work methodically and always ensuring he worked for legitimate people who backed him. The 29th man targeted is Joseph Squillante.

Surveillance Logistics

Effective tailing requires strategic positioning to remain unseen and meticulous preparation to document every obstacle on a target's route. When following a target, drivers should stay to the rear right to avoid being spotted in rear-view mirrors and should never tail someone for too long at once. Preparing for stakeouts involves bringing specific tools to handle cold weather and map out traffic patterns.

• Position the vehicle to the rear right of the target.
• Avoid staying with the target for more than an hour or two at a time.
• Bring maps, notepads, a portable radio, a wristwatch, and a blanket for cold-weather stakeouts.

The author tracked Joseph Squillante through the Bronx using a 1966 Oldsmobile Cutlass equipped with maps, a portable radio, and an army blanket to stay warm without running the engine. The stakeout began at a 6:00 AM start time, leading to a 7:00 AM arrival at target's home. Numbers runners operate on strict, predictable morning schedules, collecting envelopes from various neighborhood locations before dropping them off. Controllers and runners maintain rigid habits out of necessity, collecting dozens of action envelopes from local runners, stores, and housing projects before heading to a bank or drop-off point. Joseph Squillante started his collection route by 8:00 AM in the Bronx, gathered approximately 45 envelopes by 10:30 AM, and completed his paperwork by 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM, despite the $200000 debt allegedly owed. Investigating a target's background can reveal fatal contradictions that complicate the rationale behind a contract hit. When a target supposedly deep in gambling debt explicitly denies participating in the relevant form of gambling, it signals hidden motives or deception behind the contract. While bumping into Joseph Squillante at Macy's, the author learned that Squillante claimed never to touch the horses, contradicting the premise that he owed over $200000 from racing debts.

Acquiring Clean Weapons

Clean, untraceable weapons and silencers can be sourced rapidly through established underground networks operating on the docks. Underworld suppliers routinely intercept imported or exported gun crates from ships on the docks to provide untraceable firearms on short notice. Through his long-time associate Cockeyed Jimmy, the author obtained an untraceable .38 caliber domestic handgun and a silencer for $275 total within hours, paying $75 for the piece, $200 for the silencer, and receiving a 2 hours delivery time.

3. Weapons Maintenance and Paranoia

Maintaining extreme operational security involves meticulous weapon care, multiple carry pieces, and strict counter-surveillance protocols.

Guns obtained from suppliers arrive wrapped in cosmoline oil and oilskin paper with filed-off serial numbers. You must meticulously clean and oil a newly acquired murder weapon to ensure it never jams during the critical execution.

The narrator spends 1.5 hours cleaning the .38 caliber murder weapon on his couch while his wife does needlepoint.

• Wipe off cosmoline oil and oilskin paper using a dry cloth.
• Wet the cloth and wipe down the gun including the barrel, cylinders, and hammer crook.
• Go over the gun one more time with a dry cloth until it shines.
• Put one drop of light oil down into the trigger housing to prevent rust and jamming.
• Put oil on the cylinder to spin easily and another drop in the barrel to prevent rust.
• Wrap the gun in a dry cloth and store it in a drawer.

Professional operatives maintain a diversified arsenal of firearms for different environments and specific levels of concealment. The narrator carries 3 guns for business purposes, viewing them like three candles on a birthday cake for good luck, good health, and growing older. His arsenal includes a regular .38 for heavy clothing, another .38 for the car glove compartment, and a specialized lighter-sized device packing the power of a small shotgun. This cigarette-lighter doomsday machine can blow away a target within 30 feet.

Gun Maintenance Protocol

When a professional operative suspects a setup or betrayal, confronting employers prematurely is dangerous. Confronting crooked employers about whether you are the actual target yields no honest answers. Taking money for a contract leaves no choice but to follow through while keeping watch to the rear and carrying a loaded weapon.

The narrator realizes he might be the one set up for a hit rather than Squillante, recalling a Jersey hit man who was lured into the swamps by his supposed victims and left floating.

Organized crime figures usually lead unorganized lives after their daily work is done, making predictive surveillance difficult unless you find a recurring anchor point.

• Find some point to which the target keeps returning such as a girlfriend, card game, or social club.
• Figure out when the target will be at that recurring location.

The narrator tracks Squillante through cab garages in the Bronx and up to a housing project on Randall Avenue to wait out his routine visits, where a dispatcher can pull in $500 per night from hustling cab drivers. Prolonged waiting attracts attention from neighborhood busybodies. When an approximate 70-year-old neighbor named Mrs. Gibson taps on his car window after noticing him sitting outside for hours, the narrator invents a story about waiting for his children's lost Great Dane.

Checking for Tails

Targets who suspect they are being followed can easily verify it using specific driving maneuvers.

• Make four right turns in a row or a combination of right, left, right, left turns to test for a tail.

Unaware targets are exceptionally difficult to track without detection, and being tailed without knowing it frequently leaves you vulnerable to ambushes. The narrator recounts past instances where he was successfully tailed without his knowledge, resulting in violent ambushes where he was shot or beaten with lead pipes, leading to 15 months spent in a hospital after being attacked in Reno.

Allowing personal fantasies, romantic distractions, or emotional desires to interfere with a stakeout leads to carelessness and operational failure. While staking out Squillante at his girlfriend's apartment, the narrator momentarily gets distracted fantasizing about Squillante's wife Cindy during a 6-hour stakeout, causing him to miss Squillante leaving the building.

When a target temporarily disappears during surveillance, you must rely on the absolute certainty that everyone eventually returns to their primary anchor locations.

• Identify the target's reliable anchor locations such as home, the numbers bank, or a girlfriend's apartment.
• Check these locations sequentially when a target slips away during surveillance.

When Squillante vanishes from his girlfriend's apartment building in the Randall Avenue project, the narrator initially panics before driving to Squillante's home, where he finally spots him returning with grocery packages.

4. Investigation and Tactical Planning

Confirming a target through wiretapping and evaluating environmental hazards ensures the operation proceeds without natural mishaps.

You can enlist a phone mechanic friend named Reg to tap the apartment terminal box in the basement. This terminal box measures 12 inches high by 8 inches wide and contains 25 different wires in a multitude of colors.

Reg hooks metal clips connected to earphones to the wires. You can follow this practice to verify the target:

• Meet the phone mechanic outside a neutral location with tools.
• Gain access to the apartment building basement and locate the terminal box.
• Identify the correct apartment wire and hook up metal clips connected to earphones.
• Listen for betting calls or business transactions to verify the target.

Reg hooks clips to the terminal wires and connects earphones, letting you overhear Squillante placing multiple large bets on football games. Cindy Squillante was still on the phone 70 minutes before kickoff, and you wait 30 minutes before the first phone action occurs. Squillante was on the boards for $45,000, continuing to place massive bets while steadily paying about $2,000 a week to his bookies. He placed a first set of bets of $5,000 per game for six games and a second set at $2,500 per game, dropping a total net loss of $33,750 for the day including a 10 percent vig.

Detecting Tails and Double-Crosses

Recognizing surveillance and identifying hostile tails is critical to preventing you from becoming the target of a setup.

You must constantly check your rear-view mirrors and test potential followers with lane changes and bypassed exits. A 1965 Chevy sedan maintains a distance of 4 car lengths while mimicking your lane changes and exit signals. A yellow cab suddenly accelerates from a distance of 75 feet at an estimated speed of 40 miles per hour in an apparent attempt to run you down. You can follow these counter-surveillance steps:

• Continuously check rear-view mirrors for matching vehicle movements and pacing.
• Test a suspected tail by shifting lanes, signaling for an exit, and sailing past it.
• Observe if the trailing vehicle mirrors the sudden lane changes or exit maneuvers.
• Pull over to a side street and wait to see if the tail reappeared.

You wait 20 minutes on the roadside to see if the tail reappeared. Selecting a hit location requires rigorous analysis of traffic flow, escape routes, and civilian presence to prevent uncontrollable natural mishaps. You evaluate Hunts Point, the girlfriend's project, the candy store, and a social club, ultimately rejecting each due to traffic congestion, school children, or respect for the owner, Jimmy "Blue Eyes" Alio. An automobile accident on the East River Drive causes a 35-minute delay that ruins travel timing.

You must also watch out for internal treachery by observing who enters and leaves the target's premises during off-hours. You park in hidden areas, such as under tree shadows near the target's residence, to monitor visitors. Spending 5 minutes waiting in the shadow under the tree at a distance of 30 yards, you recognize Jackie Sweetlips walking out of Squillante's doorway.

5. Execution Logistics and Operational Security

Testing ammunition, managing transport without a paper trail, and resolving domestic friction secure a calm state before the hit.

You test firearms and predict bullet performance in a soundproof basement belonging to an acquaintance named Charlie in Yonkers. Charlie charges a small fee of twenty-five dollars for using his basement, originally soundproofed when he bought a split-level home in the early 1960s. Firing hollow-point, flat-nosed, and ball ammunition into wood panels simulates human tissue resistance. You test ammunition at an eight-foot distance and a three-foot distance against a 2 x 4, a 3 x 6, a 1-inch board, and solid plywood.

• Set up test boards against a solid wall.
• Step back to the maximum expected engagement distance.
• Fire different types of cartridges into the wood.
• Dig out and inspect the bullet remains to predict bodily impact.

Buying a car creates a paper trail, so stealing a dark-colored late-model car provides reliable transportation without leaving paperwork. You steal a dark green 1966 Oldsmobile 98 in Queens, drive it to an anonymous locksmith in the North Bronx who spends 45 minutes making new keys for $100, and then park it in a 24-hour indoor garage for $5.50. The gas tank has three-quarters of a tank of gas, and you spend 78 cents to top off the tank with high-test fuel.

• Put on skin-tight rubber gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.
• Insert a wire inside the rubber window lining and raise the latch.
• Open the hood and run a wire from the battery to the solenoid to start the car.
• Check the gas tank to ensure there is enough fuel to leave the area without stopping at a public gas station.
• Visit a trusted locksmith to cut new ignition and door keys.

A professional must intentionally resolve domestic arguments beforehand to ensure complete emotional detachment during high-risk operations.

You initiate an argument with your old lady at 4:00 PM about calling his brother, successfully navigate her jealousy and accusations, kiss her on the forehead to secure a truce, and take a nap before waking up at 8:00 PM to focus entirely on Joseph Squillante. Before leaving for the Squillante hit at 8:45 PM, you dress in conservative, mismatched, dark clothing with soft-soled shoes, and arm yourself with a primary .38, a backup .38, a miniature shotgun, a silencer, a flashlight, and a dozen extra shells loaded into your pockets.

• Initiate a controlled domestic argument early in the day to clear the air.
• Address accusations of infidelity or neglect calmly without escalating anger.
• Secure a domestic truce so the spouse does not interfere or track your movements.
• Take a nap before the operation to clear the mind of all outside distractions.
• Dress conservatively in dark, loose-fitting clothing that allows easy movement and conceals weapons.
• Wear dark socks and soft-soled shoes to remain silent and avoid slipping on wet ground.
• Put on skin-tight rubber gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints.
• Load all weapons in a private, secure location before departing for the scene.
• Pack backup firepower, extra ammunition, a silencer, and a flashlight.

10 Key Ideas

1. Professional hits rely on witness chaos, while the numbers game operates through massive informal betting networks and high-risk controllers.
2. Executing contracts requires rigorous route tracking, clean weapon acquisition, and detailed target profiling to avoid fatal overconfidence.
3. Maintaining extreme operational security involves meticulous weapon care, multiple carry pieces, and strict counter-surveillance protocols.
4. Confirming a target through wiretapping and evaluating environmental hazards ensures the operation proceeds without natural mishaps.
5. Recognizing surveillance and identifying hostile tails is critical to preventing you from becoming the target of a setup.
6. Testing ammunition, managing transport without a paper trail, and resolving domestic friction secure a calm state before the hit.
7. Professional operatives maintain a diversified arsenal of firearms for different environments and specific levels of concealment.
8. When a target temporarily disappears during surveillance, you must rely on the absolute certainty that everyone eventually returns to their primary anchor locations.
9. Stealing a dark-colored late-model car provides reliable transportation without leaving paperwork.
10. A professional must intentionally resolve domestic arguments beforehand to ensure complete emotional detachment during high-risk operations.