In memoriam of Mr. Frank Cali from Author Steve Achord

A couple of years ago, I had the honor of reconnecting with Mr. Frank Cali. Although hundreds of miles separated us, we stayed in touch over the phone and two years ago, in person, when I was able to visit with him in his home. As a kid, I heard the stories and rumors and history about my childhood home of Patterson, La. In conversations with Mr. Frank, he separated fact from fiction and shared his knowledge and personal experiences and a fond friendship developed and matured. Nothing made me happier than to hear Mr. Frank tell me how much he loved reading my stories. I asked questions, Mr. Frank shared stories. As my musings and stories grew, so did my desire to write a fictional account of mob boss, Carlos Marcello. Slowly, I have put together a dozen chapters with more to come. Most do not know this, but my fictional character, Thomas Messina, is very loosely based on experiences and stories from Mr. Frank, as well as actual research I’ve done on Carlos Marcello. Mr. Frank approved of my stories and seemed pleased when I told him his spirit is in every chapter of “Carpooling with Carlos.” I will always regret that my brief novella of sorts was not completed before Mr. Frank achieved his heavenly reward. But with my time on Earth, I hope to continue writing and make Mr. Frank proud. Mr. Frank you are loved and sadly missed by me and the thousands of lives you impacted.

Read Mr. Cali’s Obituary here: https://www.iberts.com/obituary/frank-cali-sr.