It was a dark and stormy night.

Buddy Cianci was waiting for his helicopter to arrive.

Chain smoking, one hand holding an asterisk.

Next to him was his aide, Bob Chase.

The sky was getting dark and threatening.

And he said, Bobby, hold out your hands.

So I figured, OK, I write, you know, little old ladies have written a request.

He's going to hand me this request, this request.

I hold out my hands.

And he takes the ash tray right into my hands.

And he said, sorry, he said, you're up draft.

You suck it up.

The rotor's starting to go.

Boom, boom.

He's going off into the sky.

Here I am looking at this pile of butts and ashes in my hands.

And then the heavens open up.

It was like, why me?

Bob stood there in the pouring rain, his hands full of cigarette butts.

To Bob, this moment said a lot about Buddy.

Buddy was incredibly smart, charming.

But he had an ego that allowed him to view people as ash trays.

...