Kane & Abel (1979) (78 page)

‘Yes,’ said Abel. ‘I’ll deal with Kane once the trial is over. Now listen, Mr Jilks, and listen carefully. You must go back to Osborne immediately and tell him the file was passed on by “Harry Smith” directly to William Kane, and that Kane is using it to gain revenge on both of us, and stress “both of us”. I promise you, when Osborne hears that, he won’t open his mouth in the witness box, no matter what promises he’s made to the Justice Department. Henry Osborne’s the one man alive who may hate Kane more than I do.’

‘If that is your instruction,’ said Jilks, who clearly wasn’t convinced, ‘I will carry it out, but I must warn you, Mr Rosnovski, that Osborne’s placing the blame firmly on your shoulders, and to date he’s been no help to our side at all.’

‘You can take my word on this, Mr Jilks. His attitude will change the moment you tell him about Kane’s involvement.’

H. Trafford Jilks obtained permission to spend a further ten minutes with Henry Osborne in his cell. Osborne listened, but said nothing. It seemed to Jilks that his news had made no impression on him, but he decided he would wait until the next morning before he informed Abel. He wanted his client to get a good night’s sleep before the trial opened the following day.

Four hours before the trial was due to start, Henry Osborne was found hanging in his cell by the guard bringing in his breakfast.

He had used a Harvard tie.

The trial opened for the Government without its star witness, and the prosecuting attorney appealed to the judge for a further extension. After hearing another impassioned plea by H. Trafford Jilks on the state of his client’s health, Judge Prescott refused the request.

The public followed every word of the Chicago Baron Trial on television and in the newspapers - and to Abel’s dismay, Zaphia sat in the front row of the public gallery, clearly enjoying every moment of his discomfort. After nine days in court, the prosecution knew that their case was not standing up, and offered to make a deal. During an adjournment, Jilks briefed Abel on their proposal.

‘They’ll drop all the main indictments of bribery if you plead guilty to misdemeanours on two of the minor counts of attempting to improperly influence a public official.’

‘What do you estimate are my chances of getting off completely if I turn them down?’

‘Fifty-fifty, I’d say,’ said Jilks.

And if I don’t get off?’

‘Prescott is tough. The sentence wouldn’t be a day under six years.’

And if I agree to the deal and plead guilty to the two minor charges, what then?’

A heavy fine. I’d be surprised if it was anything more than that.’

Abel sat silently for a few moments, considering the alternatives.

‘I’ll plead guilty. Let’s get the damn thing over with.’

The State Attorney informed the judge they were dropping fifteen of the charges against Abel Rosnovski. H. Trafford Jilks rose from his place and told the court his client wished to change his plea to guilty to the two remaining misdemeanour charges. The jury was dismissed. Judge Prescott was uncompromising in his summing up, telling Abel in no uncertain terms that the right to do business did not include the right to suborn public officials. Bribery was a crime, and a worse crime when condoned by an intelligent and competent man who should not need to stoop to such levels. In other countries, he said pointedly, making Abel feel once again like a raw immigrant, bribery might be an accepted way of life, but that was not the case in the United States of America. He gave Abel a six-month suspended sentence and a $25,000 fine, plus costs.

George took Abel back to the Baron and they sat in the penthouse drinking whiskey for more than an hour before Abel said anything.

‘George, I want you to contact Peter Parfitt and pay him the million dollars he wants for his two per cent of Lester’s. Once I have my hands on eight per cent of the bank, I’ll invoke Article Seven and bring William Kane to his knees in his own boardroom.’

George nodded sadly, aware that no sooner had one battle ended than another was about to begin.

A few days later, the State Department announced that Poland had been granted most favoured nation status in foreign trade with the United States, and that the next American Ambassador to Warsaw would be John Moors Cabot.

O
N A BITTER
February evening, William Kane sat back in his armchair and reread Thaddeus Cohen’s report.

Henry Osborne had handed over the file that contained all the information he needed to finish Abel Rosnovski, pocketed his $25,000 and disappeared. Very much in character, thought William, as he replaced the copy of the file in his safe. The original had been sent to the Justice Department in Washington, DC by Thaddeus Cohen.

Once Rosnovski had returned from Turkey and been arrested, William had waited for him to retaliate, expecting him to dump all his Interstate stock immediately. This time, he was prepared. He had warned his broker that Interstate might come onto the market in large amounts, and his instructions were clear. The stock was to be purchased immediately so the price would not drop. He was prepared to put up the money from his trust as a short-term measure, to avoid any unpleasantness at the bank. He had also circulated a memo to all the stockholders of Lester’s asking them not to sell any Interstate shares without first consulting him.

As the weeks passed and Rosnovski made no move, William began to believe that Thaddeus Cohen had been correct in assessing that nothing was traceable back to him. Rosnovski must be placing all the blame on Osborne’s shoulders.

Cohen had predicted that with Osborne as the prosecution’s star witness, Rosnovski would end up behind bars for a long time, making it impossible for him to invoke Article Seven and ever be a threat to the bank or William again. William hoped a conviction might also make Richard come to his senses and return home. Surely these revelations about the Rosnovski girl’s father could only make him embarrassed, and realize that his own father had been right all along. Divorce would be William’s final vindication.

William would happily have welcomed Richard back. There were two vacant places on the board of Lester’s, created by the retirement of Tony Simmons and the recent death of Ted Leach. Thaddeus Cohen had also reported that Richard had made a series of brilliant acquisitions on behalf of Florentyna, but surely the opportunity to become the next chairman of Lester’s would mean more to him than working for a dress shop.

Something else that spurred William on was that he did not much care for the new breed of directors now working at the bank. Jake Thomas, the vice chairman, was still the favourite to succeed William as chairman. He might have been educated at Princeton and graduated summa cum laude, but he was flashy -too flashy - thought William, and far too ambitious, not at all the right sort to be the next chairman of Lester’s. William would have to hang on until his sixty-fifth birthday in eleven years’ time, hoping he would be able to convince Richard to return to New York and join him at the bank long before then. He knew that Kate would have had Richard back on any terms, but as the years passed he found it more difficult to give way to his better judgement. Thank heavens Virginia’s marriage was prospering; and now she was pregnant. If Richard refused to give up the Rosnovski girl and come home, William would leave everything to Virginia - if she produced a grandson.

William was at his desk at the bank when he had his first heart attack. It wasn’t a serious one, and his doctor told him he could live another twenty years if he was willing to slow down.

William convalesced at home, reluctantly allowing Jake Thomas to take overall responsibility for the bank’s decisions while he was away. But he soon became restless, disobeyed his doctor’s orders and returned to his desk. He quickly re-established his position as chairman, for fear that Thomas had taken on too much authority in his absence.

From time to time Kate plucked up the courage to suggest that he should make a direct approach to Richard, but William remained adamant. ‘He knows he can come home whenever he wants to. All he has to do is end his relationship with that woman.’

The day Henry Osborne committed suicide, William had a second heart attack. Kate sat by his bedside all through the night, and his obsession with Abel Rosnovski’s forthcoming trial somehow kept him alive. He followed the proceedings in the columns of
The New York Times,
although he knew Osborne’s death would put Rosnovski in a far stronger position.

When Rosnovski escaped with nothing more than a six-month suspended sentence and a $25,000 fine, William was so distressed that Kate feared he would have another heart attack. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the Government must have made a deal with Rosnovski’s lawyer. But within days William was surprised to find himself feeling slightly guilty, and somewhat relieved, that Rosnovski had not been sent to prison.