Phillip Casciano
circa 2015, San Fierro Police Department
2003 - Death of Giuseppe Casciano "Joey"
It was around the early days of March in 2003, sirens blared all throughout the neighborhood. It wasn't rare at all, though. A young Phil watched as his father left the house earlier that day, yet he wasn't too surprised about it at all, even if it was before the family ate breakfast. He did always wonder what his father spent his day doing, did he ever even have an official job? Rumors did spread throughout Phillip's small neighborhood, he heard the majority of them at his school. The rumors did make sense, but he was too young to even realize.
Giuseppe, known around as Joey was the father of Phil. He never came home that night. Phil was so used to his father being out all day and night, he never batted an eye. On the other hand, his mother Francesca rocked in her chair directly in front of the window, waiting for him to return. She was visibly in distress, clearly having small tears fall from her eye but she claimed it to be her allergies. Until this day, Phil still has no idea whether his mother knew his father was in danger or not, he never bothered to ask. The bad news hit the household after approximately three days, a familiar man knocked on the door to deliver the news. This particular man stood tall above most, he was a handsome guy, dressed nicely than everyone in the entire neighborhood. He seemed genuine and honest, he was Joey's best friend; Ralph Merlo.
Little Phil jumped once he heard the knock on the door and ran to the living room, it wasn't that much of a distance in the small house he lived in. He saw his mother open the door, gasping for a moment then heard Ralph speaking, not knowing what he said due to the radio playing in the background. Francesca wailed out loud, full of grief as she fell to the floor with her bloodshot eyes. It seems she had already figured what happened but did not want to believe it, probably collapsing before Ralph could even finish his sentence. Ralph lifted and embraced Francesca with a hug, comforting her with encouraging words in order to calm her down. They both cried, Francesca out loud, Ralph silently.
As oblivious as they come, Phillip watched the two from the kitchen before Ralph looked over his shoulder and spotted him. Phillip instantly frowned, reading Ralph's facial expressions and finally came to realization that he may never see his father again. He was slowly approached by Ralph, watching him as he came down on one knee to speak with little Phil, greeted with a hug and a few pats on the back. "I'm sorry" is what he said after delivering the devastating news to Phil. He was so young and naive, it seemed as if he was emotionless until he read the room and actually forced himself to cry. It didn't register to him, he did not yet understand the way of life or death.
The amount of grief and suffering Francesca faced was immeasurable, it could obviously be seen in her bloodshot red eyes. She could barely sleep anymore, barely left her bedroom and even worse, she barely bathed. She had no one to support her nor Phillip, not even having the energy to contemplate her next move. Ralph stopped by later that week, she didn't answer the door so Phillip did, revealing his messy hair still wearing the same clothes he did when his father died. School was forgotten, Phillip didn't go for an entire week, it was the only sense of joy he received in a while. In stepped Ralph with chocolate and a bouqet of lilies, he smiled and patted Phillip on the head before heading into his mother's room. Ralph closed the door and tended to her for a while, moments after the door closed Phillip rushed close and stuck his ears against the wall in order to eavesdrop. He didn't find out much about what happened inside, soon caught by Ralph once he opened the door and saw him. "Are you ready, buddy?" he said, "get dressed, we're going to a ball game!" Ralph pulled two Kansas City Royals' tickets from his pocket and smiled. Phillip returned the gesture and ran to the room, picking out his finest outfit; a white t-shirt and blue jeans along with a flannel and dirty K-Swiss sneakers.
After everything was prepared, Phillip said goodbye to his mother and he and Ralph headed to the game. They embarked a 2003 Honda Civic Coupe, with a pleasant interior aroma. Minutes in, as they headed to the stadium, Ralph spoke. "Coons did it." Phillip turned his head to the left and cocked his eyebrow, "They killed your pops." Phillip simply stared forward, slightly shaking his head for a brief moment. Ralph noticed how quiet Phillip and decided to change the subject, also giving him words of encouragement, assuring to him that he would take care of him and his mother. Things seemed to click more between the two once they were at the game, having a good time together.
2011 - When It All Started
By now, Phillip had already grown fond of Ralph, especially since he was around so often. It was really close to a father and son bond, he saw Ralph as his father figure. The fact that Ralph was obviously intimate with Phillip's mother made the situation even more real than it really was. At the age of sixteen, Phillip learned most of the things he knew from Ralph, he was his protégé. Phillip was old enough to be his own man and make his own money, yet he did not have an official job, or atleast a legal one. Phillip worked for Ralph, throughout the years he was taught not only good mannerism, how to treat women and more but how to manage money and make more. It almost seemed as if Ralph was training him to be the kid he once was or the man he is today.
It started off slowly, earning his own money, that is. At first, it was a once of week type of situation, run an errand for Ralph and get paid later that day, then it became regularly on a daily basis. It went from ordinary errands such as delivering messages to strangers to more serious crimes such as grand theft auto. Fifteen years old, he committed his first crimes; mail theft. Phillip and a friend, Zachary, they visited mostly middle class neighborhoods and stole the mail from their mailboxes along with any packages that may have been on the front porches. They had no idea why they were doing it but they did understand the risk, their goal was to "not get caught" and give them to one of Ralph's workers in exchange for money. After a few months, the money saved up was good but not neccessarily enough, Phillip was ambitious, he wanted more. This gave him the motivation to ask for more jobs from Ralph, eventually leading to grand theft auto for Ralph's car theft ring. It was risky, no doubt, but he already knew the risks and decided take matters in his own hand. He was young but wise when it came to the streets due to Ralph's wisdom, manipulating younger children and others his age to assist him in exchange of a small amount what he made. They served as lookouts, distractions and "second pair of hands" as he ultimately did his job and boosted vehicles from neighborhoods. His primary targeted neighborhoods were African American neighborhoods, whom the cops did not exactly always respond quickly too during times of assistance. Throughout the days, he learned techniques from more experienced car thieves fond of Ralph, learning how to successfully boost a vehicle without making any mistakes and in a timely fashion.