Continuing the expeditions of Jeff MacNelly, James Kilpatrick, and Eugene McCarthy, with apologies.

The Rico

Sitting in the back of a classroom, the front pew of a church, or a booth in a crowded coffee shop, the Rico resembles a precocious youngster, albeit with the intense look of one who is listening to the adults and taking notes. Bespectacled, brylcreamed, and besotted with its own self importance, the Rico nevertheless blends his way into the colorful atmospheres of political, judicial, and criminal organizations. It then begins its predator phase. The creature’s keen nose but terrible eyesight make the Rico a rather indiscriminate hunter. Wide swaths of loosely associated group members are often decimated with only the slightest of effort, leaving street corners and watering holes deserted. The Rico was once an habitual bottom-feeder, but there is evidence of late that it may be training its weapons, the subpoena, the grand jury, and the ambitious prosecutor, on bigger game.

 

–Danny Grosso