The Founders' Plot

endoza slouched into one of the chairs. Mike sat behind his desk and Stone took a chair across from Mendoza.

“There’s no easy way to say this. I’ll put it plain and simple. I’m a crook, criminal.”

“What!” Stone and Mike said simultaneously.

“I’m a crook. Been on the take.”

Mike cocked his head. “What do you mean, ‘on the take’?”

“I mean bribes. I’ve taken bribes from lobbyists to push or block legislation that affected their companies.”

Mike’s head dropped. Stone’s face went white.

“Manny,” Mike said, “that doesn’t make sense. You’re as honest as they come.”

Mendoza shook his head. “Not anymore. I gave up my pride. I gave up my integrity.” He paused. “But I won’t go on living like this, despising myself, living in fear I’ll be found out.”

“What brought this on, Manny?” Mike asked. “Why are you telling us now?”

“Raymond Diaz.”

“The guy who owns La Palabra?” Mike asked. “The Spanish language newspaper?”

“Yeah. And a radio station, too.”

“What about him?”

“He wanted to talk to me over lunch. I had to go. He’s in my district, and he’s a wealthy and influential guy. So, I met him today. He was friendly and gracious at first. Then, he lowered the boom. Told me that he’d found out about the bribes and tried to put the muscle on me.”

“How did he learn about the bribes?” Stone asked.

“He said that in his business, they make a lot of contacts and learn a lot of things. Said his reporters are always digging.”

Stone sat forward. “What did he want, Manny?”

“He wanted me to do what I could to inconspicuously get this new immigration bill passed. He had me over a barrel. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d splatter my bribe-taking all over the papers.”

“Why was he so concerned about the immigration bill?” Stone asked.

“He said he was concerned about the effect the immigration law was having on Mexicans in the state. Then, he said he was angry about you not obeying the Supreme Court order. Can you believe that shit?”

“No,” Mike said. “The son-of-a-bitch wants the new law passed for the same reason Stern does. Because it puts me between a rock and a hard place.”

Mendoza held his hand up. “That’s not all. Here’s some news for you. The opposition is quietly trying to begin impeachment hearings on you.”

“What!” Mike said and turned to Stone. “I haven’t heard anything about that, have you, John?”

Stone shook his head, and Mike looked back at Mendoza. “How did you find out? Diaz again?”

“Yeah. It’s like he told me, he’s got a lot of contacts and his reporters are always looking for information. He wanted me to help move the impeachment along or at least do nothing to stop it.”

“Why?” Mike asked.

“He said if you’re impeached, Stern’s bill has a better chance of passing. But he also said he didn’t much like you and your smooth-talking bullshit. He told me he’ll do whatever he can to bring you down. And he’s not alone. He said there are non-Hispanics who are upset and gunning for you. I told him I’d think about it, but I knew I wouldn’t have anything to do with it. That’s when I called you.”

“You did the right thing,” Mike said.

“What you did was wrong,” Stone said. “No question. But you’ve been clean as a hound’s tooth as a lawmaker and as a cop. You’re not a bad man.”

Mike agreed. But taking bribes was criminal. It stuck in his throat, and he was sure Stone felt the same way, despite his kind words. Still, this wasn’t the right moment to press the issue.

“In a way,” Mendoza said, “I’m glad Diaz did this. It forced me to come to terms with it. I’m going to the attorney general and square all this away. I’ll tell him everything. I’ll cooperate. Wear a wire. Whatever I have to.”

“That’s it, Manny,” Stone said. “Now you’re talking like the incredible hulk I’ve known for all these years.”

“Coming out like this is going to help you,” Mike said. “Turning yourself in and working with the investigation will go a long way. You’ll surely see some leniency.”

“You know, I really don’t care what they do to me. I mean it. I deserve whatever I get. I’m glad it’s over. I’m just worried about Arianna and the kids.” His head dropped. “What a disgrace. To do what I did. To stoop that low. I was a cop, for crisssake. I never took a bribe in my life. I prided myself on that. But that’s not what people will see when this comes out. That’s not what my family and friends will see. They’ll see a discredited politician, a crook.”

He buried his face in his hands.

Stone moved closer to Mendoza. “We’re your friends, Manny. And we don’t see anything like that.”

“He’s got that right, buddy,” Mike said. “I see a guy with a conscience and the courage to admit his mistakes. There’s that pride and integrity you thought you’d lost.”

No one spoke. Then, Mike bent forward. “Listen, Manny, you don’t have to say a word about it if you don’t want to, but this just doesn’t fit. Why did you do it?”

Mendoza closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and rolled it from side to side. “It was Arianna. She was a gambling addict. Had been for a couple of years. Lost almost everything we had.”

Mike’s jaw dropped. Stone’s eyes lowered. He stood and stepped to the window.

“She lost all of it?” Mike asked.

“Just about. With the equity in the house, we’ve got a little more than a hundred thousand. Not much at my age. The worst part was my mother. I had to … well, you know, Mike. She has a heart condition, and her dementia was getting worse. I had to put her in a nursing home. And I can tell you, even with Medicare, that costs plenty.” He hesitated. “So, I went in the tank.”

“And you knew nothing about this?” Mike asked.

“No. Nothing. She did all the banking and bill paying, so I didn’t see that she was draining our savings. I knew she gambled, but not that she was hooked.”

Mike rubbed his forehead. “I’d never figure Arianna to do something like that. She’s so levelheaded.”

“I know. That’s why I never suspected. It’s still hard to fathom.”

Stone approached Mendoza. “It happens so fast you don’t know what hit you. It can happen to anyone. It doesn’t make her a bad or a weak person.”

Mike looked at him. “You know something about this?”

Stone nodded. “I’m sure I can trust you both to keep this quiet,” he said, glancing at each of them.

“I’m almost afraid to hear this,” Mike said. “But yeah, whatever you say stays here.”

“Me too,” Mendoza said.

“Have you two ever noticed that I don’t bet on anything, not even an office football pool? I don’t even play the stock market anymore. It’s not allowed. Too much like gambling. You can get hooked on it just like getting hooked on craps or blackjack or slot machines. And that’s what happened to me about thirty years ago.”

“Wow!” Mike exclaimed. “This is a big day for surprises.” It was the last thing he expected from a man he respected so much for his intellect and logical mind.

“It starts innocently enough,” Stone continued. “You take a few big losses and to win your money back you gamble more often and make higher bets. It’s what I call ‘chip inflation.’ Once you’ve played with twenty-five and one hundred dollar chips, going back to five or ten dollar bets is not only boring, but it won’t get your money back.”

He put his hands in his pockets and turned to Mendoza. “So, before you know it, you’re playing for bigger and bigger bucks, telling yourself that eventually you’re going to run into a hot streak, and with the size of your bets now, you’ll get your money back. You think you’re due to win, that you can’t just keep on losing. It’s quicksand, and by the time you realize it, you’re already in it up to your chin.”

“That’s what Arianna told me,” Mendoza said. “She said she thought she could win it back. Said her luck had to change.”

“Typical,” Stone replied.

Mendoza sat up. “How did you ….”

“Diana fortunately caught on early,” Stone said. “She sensed something, probably because I was gambling so much more. She checked our financial statements and saw I’d gone through $40,000. I guess that would be something like two hundred grand or so in today’s dollars. It was about half of everything we had back then. She almost walked out on me.”

“I know the feeling,” Mendoza said. “I almost did, too.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had,” Stone said. “But we worked it out, and I went into Gamblers Anonymous. We’re supposed to tell everyone we know, just like with AA. But I chose not to. Diana knowing was enough.”

He shrugged. “So, there’s my deep, dark secret. In a way, it was a good thing. Really put me on track. I disciplined myself, set goals, and looked at life—and people—differently. That’s when I got my J.D.

“Anyway,” Stone said to Mendoza, “I just wanted you to know that Arianna isn’t stupid or evil. She just got caught up in a whirlwind and couldn’t come out of it on her own.” He paused. “Well, I’ve pulled us off the real subject here, haven’t I? But please remember, this is between us.”

Mike snickered. “You can bet on it.”