b"Do you participate in the retirement programs?I'm too busy but I go to all the retirement parties. I'm part of the committee for the Italian retirees. It takes up timesometimes. Plus, you got your life besides. Now, that Im retired, my wife wants to go to Atlantic City, she wants to do this,go there, go on a cruise, vacation. I have a new great grandchild. Theres a whole lot more to be involved with than justgoing to the union activities. I retired in 1993 when I was 50. Im retired 24 years. Im 74 now.Can you remember what your starting salary was?The Housing Authority had 26 raises in one title. You can never reach the top of the title because the contract wouldbe over and you would start a new one. I know my salary was 3,300 when I started. Maybe I went to 52-5,300 with overtime work on the weekend. When I retired, I was making about, maybe 46,000.I am curious to know how you ended up hitting a policeman.You know the Italian feast San Gennaro?I was born and raised in Lower East Side, a block from Mulberry Street, so the feast was like our neighborhood. Weused to leave a jukebox out front and girls and guys would be dancing in front of whatever kind of store it was. One guydoesnt like another guy dancing with his girl. There was a fight. Cops came. I was the last guy to go away. He's breakingus up. And he kept hitting me with the bat. I turn around, he hits me across my face. Then I punched the shit out of him,and I was arrested. His fault, and I was arrested. He was hitting me with the bat for no reason. We respected the uniform,break it up, but he just kept hitting. That would provoke anybody. When youre young, your head isnt always together,you know what I mean.Tell me about your family and childhood.My grandparents came from Sicily, Port Palermo, Sicily. They arrived in this country in the 1890s. My father was born1913. I had one older sister and one younger. So, I never had to do the dishes. My job was to take the garbage out. Werethree years apart.I went to Seward Park High School, Lower East Side, Grand Street. I didnt end up graduating. I wound up getting ajob at 16. Why go to school? You could do this; you could do that. You got money in your pocket. You want to go out now,youre 17, 18. In those days, you could drink at 18. You want to go to a bar, you want to take a girl out to a movie, youwant to go for dinner. You need money. You can't do that if youre going to school. I married a girl from my neighborhood.We liked the same things- food, entertainment. Im married 52 years. So, you know, that tells you something. My wifenever worked; she was the mother of my children. I have two good boys. Catholic grammar school, Catholic high school,Catholic college, I done it all. And I supported the mother-in-law for ten years. I was never afraid to work, I was neverafraid to make money.We moved to Brooklyn. The others moved to Staten Island, Jersey. My parents stayed in that neighborhood theirwhole life.Are you going to make new friends when you're 70 years old? That's kind of tough. My father used to go outevery night, he had a gang of friends, wait for the newspaper to come out, go to the bar, have a couple of beers and comeback home. You know, you can't do that if youre in a strange neighborhood.43 "