Reborn in Russia as a Big Shot

Chapter 119 The Kansas City Mafia

Tatiana made two "Black Russians." The recipe is extremely simple: coffee liqueur is added to vodka, resulting in a rich flavor with a coffee aroma.

"Give me some cream, and I'll have White Russian." Lillian finished the rest of her whiskey.

"Li has a powerful background. If that silly boy and Li are really friends, then if you marry him, you'll have this resource in your hands."

"He's just a cell phone seller," Lillian said dismissively.

Tatiana handed the mixed drink to Lillian, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "I'm only letting you know a little bit because we're good friends. Don't tell anyone else."

"Is there some gossip?" Lillian asked expectantly.

Tatiana looked helpless, took a sip of her drink, and continued, "We didn't take Li seriously at first. Androv didn't even meet with him and asked me to talk business with him."

"We recently received information from Moscow that Li has a very powerful background; he is one of Potanin's men."

"Who is Potanin?" Lillian asked casually.

Tatiana used an analogy, saying, "The Melon family in Russia controls all of Russia's nickel resources."

"Knowing someone doesn't mean you can help. I know a lot of scions of powerful families. They can eat and drink without a problem, but when it comes to serious matters, they run away faster than anyone else, afraid of getting into trouble."

Americans have a very low rate of surname duplication, especially in some large families that have been passed down for generations. You can tell a lot about their origins just by looking at their surname.

The surname Chiverra isn't exactly well-known in the US public sphere, but a simple online search will immediately reveal all its details.

The Kansas City Mafia—this is a mark Lillian can never shake off.

In 1970, the United States introduced the RICO Act, which marked a turning point in the rise and fall of the American Mafia.

Before RIC0, prosecutors could only prosecute individual cases, and if the boss stayed behind the scenes and didn't take personal action, they couldn't be convicted.

The RIC0 Act treats criminal organizations as a corporate entity, and can convict individuals of conspiracy if they can prove that someone is in the leadership of the organization and that the organization has committed two or more extortion offenses within ten years.

A landmark event was the 1985 Mafia Commission trial, in which the FBI rounded up the top bosses of New York's five major families, prosecuting them for conspiracy and sentencing them to an average of over 100 years in prison.

This paralyzed the "committee"—the power center of the US Mafia that coordinates national affairs; anyone who attended the meeting was arrested.

It was during this period that the Kansas City Mafia broke away from the control of the five major families and began to develop independently.

Alongside the RICO legislation, the United States also launched the Witness Protection Program.

Traditional mafia operates on the "law of silence," and anyone who dares to inform on others will have their entire family killed.

The Witness Protection Program is not just about sending people to protect witnesses. If needed, it can also help tainted witnesses change their identity, relocate them, or even provide them with jobs, essentially giving them a fresh start with a new identity.

Even if you want to silence someone, you have to be able to find them. The deterrent effect of the "law of silence" has been greatly reduced, and more and more middle and lower-level personnel are starting to defect.

However, the American Mafia did not completely disappear. Instead, it adapted to the times and upgraded its industries as it went from prosperity to decline.

Italians operate in the high-end market of the US underground economy, engaging in money laundering, insurance fraud, illegal gambling, and microloans.

Those who rely on sheer numbers to win and readily resort to guns to kill are the lowest-level street gangs, still in the initial stage of trading lives for money.

The Chiverra family, now based in Kansas City, is certainly not as powerful as it was twenty years ago, but they have found their own way to survive and have deeply integrated with the local union forces.

In the past, they would hold guns to the heads of capitalists and demand money; now they organize strikes to demand money.

Tatiana and Lillian clinked their glasses lightly, and Tatiana said, "That guy doesn't know anything about you. You're so beautiful and rich, what reason does he have to refuse?"

"It's just a fake marriage anyway, so just agree to it."

"Adam just proposed to me and two of his fingers were broken," Lillian said self-deprecatingly. "If I were to secretly marry that guy without telling my family, I think I'd be a widow in no time."

"It's not as serious as you think," Tatiana coaxed. "It's normal for your family to have a reaction, but this is a good opportunity to test the relationship between Li and that kid."

"If Li is willing to do that kid a favor, we'll take care of it. I'll ask Androv to help you coordinate."

"If Li Lian didn't even ask, it means their relationship isn't working out. You should break up with that guy, and I'll find him a girl among the bar waitresses as compensation. Getting beaten up can get you a green card, and you can also get a girl for free. It's pretty worth it."

Seeing that Lillian was still hesitating, Tatiana continued, "If you find an Italian, your dad might call you home to take over the business one day. It's much better to find a Chinese person; he's destined not to be in the inner circle, so you won't have to worry about him."

"Doing business in Russia is risky. If you get attacked by the authorities, all your wealth is meaningless. It can all be gone in an instant. The richer you are, the more you need to move abroad to diversify your risk."

"Li definitely needs to invest in some overseas assets. Where will he invest? No matter how he allocates them, the United States will be a key part. If he really has connections with that naive kid, you can go along that line and act as his front man in the United States."

Tatiana deliberately said, "We Russian gangsters are outsiders, not fully localized yet, and lack political and business resources. They wouldn't even consider taking over Li's funds. Otherwise, you wouldn't have such a good opportunity; I would have married him myself."

Lillian joked, "Would Androv really let you marry him?"

Tatiana raised her glass and said, "I have a new backer, why would I be afraid of him? Let him find another Tatiana. I'm already tired of this lousy bar."

After seeing her friend Lillian off, Tatiana sobered up and dialed her boss Androv's number.

Did she agree?

"She didn't agree, but she didn't refuse either. She's ambitious, and with the opportunity right in front of her, I don't think there's much of a problem." Tatiana leaned back on the sofa, gently rubbing her temples. "Given Li Xiang's relationship with that kid, he'll definitely have to help if something happens. It's a good opportunity to use the Kansas Mafia to test his true colors."

Wang Hongbo used to help Shopee collect iPhones. Although he was doing business in Chinatown, he was in the same boat as Tatiana, and she noticed him a long time ago.

"We won't find anything out," Androv revealed. "He's already taken the remnants of the Tambov gang to Ozark, probably to launder money there. He has enough manpower to handle Chiverra on his own; he doesn't need our help at all."

Tatiana confirmed, "They really went to Ozark?"

"Took over the Wang's docks."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Tatiana said, "Chiverra controls the union votes in Kansas City and has a lot of influence in Missouri politics."

"If those two companies can really get together, it will be a powerful alliance. We need to hurry up and not be left behind."

The Kansas City metropolitan area, located at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, spans two states and is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Ozark is located in southwestern Missouri and is a small place.

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