The transfer of Vito and Marcus in Moon Lake into full FBI custody had gone very well, and to Agent Baoman, that presented a good specific end to that part of the whole mess. They could take the two to Seattle and hold them in the holding cells at the Seattle Field Office for the FBI while working through where the main trail would be held, likely in Washington state, given the Gamboni's other actions before they arrived in Moon Lake. The local charges in Moon Lake could be added, and the Moon Lake DA could be brought to the trial location for that aspect of the trial. That would be the immediate problems with Vito and Marcus. Whether or not they'd end up having trials for some of the things that they'd likely done in other places while chasing the Charlestons and were suspected of doing while in New York/New Jersey could be solved later for the moment.
However, as Agent Baoman buckled his seat belt, he had another issue that needed to be solved that would tie up the present case with the Gambonis. That, ironically, came from where the present efforts to track, monitor, and catch the Gambonis began, when Albert got onto Fort Wolfe claiming to be a family member looking for Karen Charleston, only to be caught when someone recognized him as a member of the Gamboni crime family. All the army had on him was criminal trespass and fraudulent claims to gain access to the base, and in pure theory that could be handled quickly and easily by the military. However, when the military did a standard inspection of Albert Gamboni's belongings and vehicle, to make sure nothing was stolen from the base, they found his laptop and found evidence that the Gambonis had been tracking the Charlestons through a viral app sent to Moe Charleston's phone. That increased the charges and allowed Baoman to send an agent that could try to gain custody over Albert Gamboni. All they ended up getting was the cooperation to work together and further finding that the Gambonis had managed to hack into the owner's accounts of various banks around the country.
That made things bigger and further required that Albert Gamboni be transferred into the FBI's custody. For the hacking into those banks' own passwords had to have happened WELL before the Gambonis arrived in Washington state, and likely went back to while they were still on the East Coast. But it appeared that the army wanted to keep jurisdictional hold over Albert Gamboni, and Agent Baoman could only figure that this was some kind of jurisdictional issue. That the army wanted recognition for their MPs providing a break in a case and operation that had been going for quite some time and helped bring down a major organized crime group. Some of that was understandable, given that Fort Wolfe was largely only a logistical base and wouldn't slow any military attack on it. This meant that the men there men there likely wasn't much action that went on there and a New York mobster stumbling onto the base and asking questions like an idiot was a prize that the army MPs really wanted to claim.
"Some guys and their pride," Agent Baoman thought to himself as he turned to head west on Moon Lake's main street and began to drive out, "pretending like Hoover is still running the bureau... and THOSE days are long gone."
The drive was ultimately long but relatively quiet. The distance between Moon Lake and Seattle wasn't great, as the crow flies, but between winding roads and a reduced speed limit, it ultimately took about an hour or so before he was able to turn north on the interstate running north. The Pacific was to his west and the mountains to his east, and he was able to increase his speed, knowing that Marcus and Vito would be on their way to lockup in Seattle. It wasn't too much longer from there before he came up to the security gate at Fort Wolfe. It might not be the sort of "fort" that was designed to repel invaders, but it was still a military instillation, and they would want it secured. And as an FBI agent, Agent Baoman was well aware of that.
"Can I help you, sir?" the man at the gate asked.
"I'm Agent Baoman with the FBI," Agent Baoman answered, while holding up his wallet so that the man could look to see his ID badge, "I need to see your MP commander... a Colonel Rick Harrison. One of my Agents should already be here with him."
The man at the gate moved back to the small structure that was there to run the gate. Agent Baoman sat in his seat with his foot on the brake while watching the man talk. After a few moments, he came back to the side of Agent Baoman's car and looked in while carrying a small paper map of the post.
"Okay, you are cleared to enter," the man spoke, "the base commander will be there with Colonel Harrison." He then paused to present Agent Baoman with the map. As Agent Baoman accepted it, he noted one building was circled in black ink. "This is where you'll go. Clear, sir?"
"Perfectly, thank you," Agent Baoman nodded.
The soldier then backed up and the gate was open. Agent Baoman then pulled slowly forward and then followed the map to the main office for the post's MPs, where he found there were a few other vehicles parked in front. One had FBI plates, while there was another that had military plates. This had to be the base's commander, who would be there to back up the man in charge of the MPs. Though, he'd only get confirmation when one of his agents came out and stretched his arms behind his head for a moment. Agent Baoman also stretched as he climbed out of his car, a little bit tired from the drive, but with the possibility of putting an end to the Gamboni's operation. The other agent noticed him.
"You're here," the other agent spoke.
"Yes," Agent Baoman answered, "the Gambonis have been a thorn in most people's sides for years, and the army can't formally charge them with much beyond trespassing. And that would then leave everything taken as a result of the arrest as inadmissible because it wasn't in relation to the crime the army can charge him with."
"I've tried that... the army doesn't fully see it that way," the other agent spoke, "they think they're going to get ignored in bringing at least Albert down. They've been willing to help with the work... but they don't want their credit to be denied."
"I'd gathered that from your reports," Agent Baoman spoke, "thinking J. Edgar Hoover is still running the Bureau and wanting all the credit for everything that we're involved with."
"I'd put it as more that they want credit for the arrest and bringing down Albert down," the other agent reported.
Agent Baoman nodded, "a standard jurisdictional fight. The army is technically within their rights to claim the arrest on trespassing on the post, but there are bigger issues that we need their cooperation on. Not just the protection of the Charlestons but the various banks that you say that Albert has hacked."
The two then made their way back in, to find Colonel Harrison standing with another high-ranking officer near the front desk to the post's security and law enforcement office. It wasn't big, which Agent Baoman expected, but he moved carefully in order to try and find some agreement. They looked to all Agent Baoman and the other agent.
"Agent Baoman, Special Investigator with the FBI as part of the offices dealing with organized crime," Agent Baoman spoke, "I believe you know why I'm here."
He shook hands with the commanding officer who introduced himself and then stepped back to introduce Colonel Harrison.
"We can discuss this in my office," Colonel Harrison offered.
Agent Baoman nodded, and they made their way into that office. Harrison actually offered his seat to the commanding officer and moved to stand behind and slightly to the right. Agent Baoman and the other agent were offered seats across from the two military men, which both accepted.
"I trust ya'll got the rest of these Gamboni crooks?" Colonel Harrison asked.
"Yes," Agent Baoman spoke, "and your MPs were of great help and service in getting information that likely helped save the lives of the Charleston family and saved several major businesses that Alfred had hacked... likely quite some time ago."
"See... we helped," Colonel Harrison smiled.
"Indeed, but we're now left with some major jurisdictional issues," Agent Baoman spoke, "for you can only charge Albert Gamboni with trespassing on the basis that his request was fraudulent in nature. Which would be a crime... but not one that Albert will go to jail for a long time over. In fact, the Don of the Gamboni family could probably have that charge argued down to some community service sort of thing."
"But the stuff we helped find..." Colonel Harrison began.
"All occurred BEFORE Albert Gamboni came onto the base and likely in connection with my investigation into the Gamboni's operations that have effectively followed a small family around the country," Agent Baoman spoke, "thus in your custody, you have evidence that is irrelevant to the charges you can bring, and because what you recovered came as a result of what you could charge Albert Gamboni with... so long as you're claiming jurisdiction on the case... there is nothing we can do with that information. We couldn't use it as evidence of all of the things that the Gambonis have been involved in for years."
"And that sets a lot of the concerns that the colonel has," the Fort Wolfe commanding officer commented, "our post is a small logistics post. Our troops are pretty well behaved and the most common problem we have are some mountain lions moving around the edges of the post... sometimes black bears. To have a major mob member stumble onto our post is actually something that would stand out for an officer like Colonel Harrison, who has dedicated his life to fighting crime and keeping soldiers in line. Not something that is always easy..."
"And he's afraid that we would claim all the credit?" Agent Baoman asked.
"Everyone wants attention at times," the Fort Wolfe commander answered, "though, I've been around these issues to note how people don't like to share."
"What were I to offer something that may benefit all sides?" Agent Baoman commented, thinking to what he'd been thinking on with regard to his drive from Moon Lake to Fort Wolfe having taken up much the rest of his morning, "You allow the transfer of Albert Gamboni to FBI custody and allow us the primary jurisdiction. We can tie what was found to the bigger crimes that we've suspected him of. At the same time, I could offer Colonel Harrison or any legal officer that would equate to the post's district attorney a spot with the prosecuting team when Albert goes to trial. Then they can add the trespassing charges and explain how your MPs helped my agents crack Albert's codes."
"An equal spot on the prosecuting team?" the Fort Wolfe commander asked.
"Yes," Agent Baoman nodded, "we'd all end up at the discretion of the local Justice Department attorneys, and likely the state officials given some of the other nonsense that his brothers have pulled, but you would be present and could then your charges as a related minor charge. It'd ultimately show how well we've cooperated on this case, even if it wasn't planned."
"And our deductions would be recognized?" Colonel Harrison spoke.
"Of course," Agent Baoman spoke, "that's my promise as the head of the team dealing with the Gambonis at present."
"That would be agreeable," the Fort Wolfe commander spoke, "we can begin the transfer now. Colonel Harrison will escort the prisoner to where you wish to hold him and all the evidence for the case and joint operation that you've worked together on. The final exchange can then be made there. The Colonel will also then be able to provide the appropriate addresses and numbers that your lawyers may contact him at."
The other agent could only blink in amazement, as he'd tried to explain this and hadn't gotten anything close to what Agent Baoman had gotten. Agent Baoman wasn't as surprised, as while the other agent was FBI, he wasn't that highly ranked within his team, and to those that held higher rank and authority, it was also common for some to mistrust others without authority on the case. Dealing with the Gambonis had been Baoman's chief case for quite a while now and they recognized his leadership. It thus made his promises more believable, and he would do his best to see that they were honored.