My Crime Fiction: 'Up And Coming'

The story below is another chapter of my crime novel in progress.  

The story originally appeared in American Crime Magazine. 

You can read the earlier chapters via the links below:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Rigano Murders'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'From South Philly To Sicily' 

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Salvie Shotgun'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Nick The Broker'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Upton "Uppercut" Clarke'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Face'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Three Soldiers'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Jadroll'

Up and Coming

By Paul Davis

For our next interview session, I met Salvatore Stillitano at Saint Monica’s Church in South Philadelphia.

I had been chronicling Stillitano’s former life of crime in my column in the local paper. Stillitano, once known as “Salvie Shotgun,” was a caporegime in the Philadelphia-South Jersey Cosa Nostra organized crime family until he became a cooperating government witness and testified against the mob bosses who plotted to murder him,

Stillitano, who confessed to seven murders, returned to the Catholic Faith while incarcerated in a federal prison. He asked me to meet him at Saint Monica’s as he attended daily mass in the beautiful church.

I walked in, dabbed Holy Water on my forehead and joined Stillitano in a pew. After the mass, Stillitano suggested we go to the Penrose Diner and have breakfast. We got into Stillitano’s car and drove to the Penrose.

We slipped into a booth and ordered coffee. The waitress brought us our cups of coffee, and we gave her our orders. I ordered a cheese omelet and Italian sausage with rye toast. Stillitano ordered steak and eggs.

We ate and made small talk, two old South Philly guys about the same age. We both had an interest in boxing. I had been an amateur middleweight in my youth, having boxed at the old South Philly Boys Club, and later in the Navy. Although Stillitano was a tough kid, a street fighter, he never fought in the ring. But he grew up around fighters in gyms while shadowing his boxing promoter father. 

After we finished our fine breakfast and drank a second cup of coffee, I took out my cell phone and began a recording of our conversation. Stillitano asked me if I remembered John Reed. I did not.

“He fought under the name of “Handsome Johnny,” Stillitano said.

Yes. That rang a bell.

“Johnny was an up-and-coming middleweight, and my father was promoting a fight between him and a contender named Gergory “The Grinder” DeGregorio” in 1978.

Stillitano’s late father, Nunzio “Nick the Broker’ Stillitano preceded his son as a Philadelphia Cosa Nostra caporegime, and he was a major boxing promoter and illegal gambler.

“Johnny was half-Italian like you, with an Irish father and Italian mother.”

“My mother was Italian and my father was Scot-Welch,” I said.

“I knew Johnny from the neighborhood. He was a handsome kid and a good fighter. Fast hands and legs. He was a showboat like Muhmmad Ali. I introduced him to my father, and it was arranged that Johnny would get a shot with DeGregorio, a contender waiting to fight the middleweight champ.    

“Thanks to Phil Coyle, the old Philly Daily News sports columnist, the fight was heavily publicized and highly anticipated, with big money being bet on it. Coyle turned the fight into more than a boxing bout. He made it into a fight story, a grudge story, and even a love story.”

There was a wedding a month or so before the bout. Both DeGregorio and Reed were in attendance, as was Salvatore Stillitano and his father Nick Stillitano. Also at the wedding was a striking brunette named Marie Anici. The young woman was with DeGregorio and Reed and Salvatore Stillitano were at the bar watching the two dance on the dance floor of the catering hall.

“You know, for an athlete, old Greg can’t dance very well,” Reed said with a laugh.

“Yeah,” Salvatore replied. “But he can sure punch.”

“I’ll take him,” Reed said. “Bet all you got on me.”

After the dance, Anici went to the Ladies Room. Reed waited near the restroom door and when he saw Anici, he walked up to her and introduced himself as Johnny Reed.

“Yes, Handsome Johnny. I read about you in the Daily News.

“So, what ae doing with that gorilla, a beautiful girl like you?”

“I read that you called Greg a gorilla. That’s not a nice thing to say. Greg is a nice man.”

“Is he your boyfriend or what?”

“No. We date sometimes but he is just a friend.”

“Would you go out with me?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You will. Believe me you will,” Reed said with a smile.

The next day, Reed’s manager called him into the gym’s office.

“Johnny, we made a deal. We got a three-fight deal with DeGregorio. You lose the first fight, then you win the second, and he wins the third before he takes on the champ.”

“Bullshit, I can take that gorilla.”

“Johnny, I was lucky to get you a fight with DeGregorio. He’s a top contender and you are just an up-and-comer.  And we got no choice. Nick Stillitano made the deal, and bets will be made for you and me. We’ll clean up.”

“I want to talk to Nick.”

“No way. It’s a done deal. You go through with it or you’re out of the fight game.”

Reed called Salvatore Stillitano and asked his friend to set up a meeting with the father.

Reed met Nick and Salvatore Stillitano at a bar. They sat in the back at a table.

Nick said nothing and let the fighter talk.

“Nick, I know you made a good deal with my manager, but I know I can beat that gorilla. All the smart money with be on him as the favorite but think of the money you can make if I win against the odds.”

Nick Stillitano sipped his coffee and thought about the idea.

“I think he can win, Dad,” Salvatore Stillitano said.

“I’ll think about it and talk to some people,” Nick said.

“Thank you.’

Reed discovered where Marie Anici worked and met her there after her work shift. She agreed to have a drink with him. From that first drink, the two became inseparable.

DeGregorio found out and became furious as he believed he and Anici were a true couple. He confronted her and she told the rugged fighter that she was in love with Reed. DeGregorio was crushed, but he walked away in silence.

On instructions from his father, Salvatore Stillitano met with Phil Coyle and told him about the love triangle. The love angle made good copy, and Coyle’s next Daily News column featured the love triangle prominently, citing anonymous sources.

Anici was embarrassed by the column and both DeGregorio and Reed were angry, but the publicity helped the ticket sales and the betting.

Nick Stillitano met with Reed’s manager and told him that the three-fight deal was off, and he had better ensure that Reed beat DeGregorio.

On the night of the fight, DeGregorio and Reed pounded each other. Reed’s fast hands gathered points as he struck DeGregorio’s face and body time and time again. Reed moved fast and avoided most of DeGregorio’s powerful blows, but several punches connected and hurt Reed badly.

By the end of the fight Reed was still on his feet and DeGregorio was exhausted from swinging and missing Reed.

The three judges all gave Reed the fight on points.

Nick Stillitano and the gamblers cleaned up.

Marie Anici met Reed after the fight, and they attended a party in a hotel suite. Nick Stillitano and his son Salvatore were there, as were others who congratulated the prize fight’s winner.

Reed’s manager came up to Reed and told him that Nick Stilliano was going to arrange a rematch with DeGregorio.

“OK. I’ll beat that gorilla again.”

Salvatore Stillitano smiled as he told me this fight story.

“It was like a movie. Handsome Johnny won the fight and he won the girl. He made a bundle on the fight, and he invested the money wisely and then he married Marie.

“But he lost the rematch to DeGregoio.”

© 2026 Paul Davis