Aimee V. Johnson
It was betrayal, greed, murder and passion that was the cause of
this torrid love story between Mario Clemente and Rosa
Randazza coming to a climactic end in America.
This saga covers the years 1871-1945, about the three
generations of the reputable Clemente family of Palozta, Sicily.
They owned over twenty-five hundred acres of prosperous
vineyards plus other successful holdings.
A son, Anthony Damien, was born September 14, 1871 to Daniel
and Lina Clemente and almost five years later on May 2, 1876 a
daughter Anna Daniela was born.
In the spring of 1896, Anthony met this lovely Angelina
Sabbentini. They fell in love and married a year later on his
twenty-sixth birthday. Angelina happily found herself pregnant
toward the end of their third year of marriage. On April 9, 1900,
Angelina gave birth to their only biological son Mario Augustus
Enrico Clemente.
Destiny interfered when Mario was ten years old. This caused
Anthony to send him away and enroll him at St. Francis Catholic
School in Messina. He became an altar boy and later entered the
priesthood. He was compelled to return home after his father's
untimely death on Friday night July 13, 1923.
Unexpected events forced Mario to forsake his religious
background and put many unlawful duties ahead of God.
In the second decade of the 1900s, rose a lion named Benito
Mussolini. This dictator started the Fascist Party throughout
Italy.
Arnaldo Mussolini, the younger brother of Benito, laid the
groundwork for him and his Fascist troops to invade Sicily in the
fall of 1924. Their campaign was to annihilate the Blackhand
organization.
Mussolini led his soldiers through a series of genocidal killings.
Thousands of Sicilians suffered through the purges and torture of
this disreputable madman. Benito heard of this Don Mario who
he called The Mafia Priest.
Destiny, is it controllable or predestined by a higher power?
Why has its force left so many questions unsolved?
Maybe it was because someone such as Don Mario Clemente
had chosen to live and die within his own ruthless world of
desires and dreams. He somehow had forgotten time would
force him to face the wrath of his own destiny.
I started writing this manuscript when I was 79 – I am now 83. This book was written on behalf of my beloved son, Gary Wayne Johnson.
Destiny Kills An Angel came into being March 9, 1985 after a six-hour heart operation.
Gary and I were in the doctor's office getting Gary's results from tests that were taken earlier. The doctor was explaining to us that he and his staff could not find anything wrong with Gary. While we were sitting there talking to the doctor, Gary had three heart attacks one right after the other. You should have seen the doctor. He moved around his desk so fast. He and his assistant within fifteen minutes had Gary in the hospital's operating room. He was in there for over six hours.
Gary was in the recovery room for hours before waking up. When he woke and saw me standing at his bedside, his first words to me were, "Ma, would you get me some paper and pencils? I want to write. I have a story and its title that I want to do."
Unbelievable, but true. So I went downstairs to the gift shop and bought what I thought he would need.
After he was released and sent home he could not sit idle and do nothing. So he continued with his writing. As time passed he worked his way up to a computer. He taught himself to use the machine.
When the doctor's bill came it was marked, Paid.
Gary was writing his book but a close friend in the movie business suggested that he should do a movie script instead. He then had a dream to make this into a great film but he passed away before script was completed.
The script had laid in a drawer for years after his passing. My close friends Sharyn and David Crabtree suggested that I should write a book. The story was just too good to lay there and draw dust. I found it difficult to write the manuscript from the screenplay. So I made changes and wrote it in my own way. My only goal to do this was to finish what my son had started.
These past eleven years had gone by fast. Anna and Anthony have raised the three boys in the Clemente tradition — to live life with honor and dignity. Mario will have his eleventh birthday on April ninth. Joe will be seventeen and Alberto still with his big brown eyes will be fourteen. The boys were growing into manhood. Each year that passed Anna and Anthony also felt their years.
The Christmas and New Year season was over and the routine of the household would be getting back to normal.
Finally, the school building was built and completed in the summer of 1907. Many applicants turned down the teaching job because of the low pay and the location. Anthony saw the problem and contributed his own money in order to get a qualified teacher. He wanted the village children to be educated.
Finally, at the beginning of August 1907, Conti accepted a woman who was just out of school from the Palermo area. She was a nice addition to the community. Ladies were rarely chosen to teach in these early years. This was a man's position but Conti took the chance and hired Miss Lombardo. This turned out to be a satisfactory move.
Conti had a house ready for Miss Lombardo and her mother to move into. Her mother was an old superstitious lady that believed in gypsy folklore. She spent a few hours each day in the schoolroom telling the children gypsy legends and stories from her own experiences. Some of her gypsy tales could have been true. Gypsies were known to have had an exciting history. The children were eager to hear her stories. They loved every single one.
The three Clemente boys were active around the horses when they were not studying or in school. Anthony gave the boys the responsibility of taking care of their own horse. Sometimes all three boys would go riding together as far away as the crossroads. They always looked forward to riding together. Those were the happy days.
Joe was at the age now where he didn't like to be called Joe Jr. So he wanted to be known as just Joe. His wish was granted.
Anthony had informative nightly talks with Mario in his office. There were some evenings that Joe and Alberto would join them. Anthony would want to know what they had learned in school that day. He was eager along with the boys to be educated. He wanted to be able to answer questions when asked. Anthony spent many evenings in his office reading and being self-taught. When he was younger there were no schools close for him to attend. His parents had him working in the fields and learning the wine business. He hated the fact that so many of his people were illiterate.
A secret rendezvous had developed into a long love affair between Anthony and Maria one year after Angelina's death. Anthony thought a year would be the proper time for him to respect Angelina's memory. He was afraid of Julio finding out, so he limited their time together. He would take her away from the village to the hotel in Lentini or Vizzini. Anthony was a pillar of the community so he couldn't risk a scandal.
After a while Julio had noticed Maria's pattern of being gone on certain Thursdays, so he had Nick Cannelli, follow her. He made Nick promise not to divulge any information he found to anyone. He and Maria had drifted somewhat apart romantically. He was humiliated and angry to learn that his wife was having an affair with his most despised enemy.
He didn't want to start a scandal in the village and lose her; so he kept quiet about it. Julio could not put this adultery aside and forget about it. He had thought of killing them but the opportunity never presented itself yet. He killed Ortega and found that was not so hard to do. In his twisted mind, two more would be even easier to do.
Maria Randazza found herself pregnant in September, of 1902. She was confused in her own mind who was the father. She had kept her wifely duties to Julio along with her pleasurable afternoons once or twice a month with Anthony.
