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News and Features about Organized Crime, Mafia and La Cosa Nostra taken from National and Local News Sources. In an attempt to get you this type of coverage in a timely manner we can not be responsible for the content of the following material. |
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3-20-01 What's with the names? 3-20-01
by Jim Nolan and Kitty Caparella Bad Mafia nicknames are like cannolis. They're hard to leave behind. Look no further than the case of confessed mobster Steve "Snitch" Frangipani. Frangipani, a mob associate and cargo hijacker, has already pleaded guilty in the federal government's massive racketeering case set to begin today against reputed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and six others. Unlike the HBO world of "The Sopranos," where fictitious mobsters can get away with names like "Big P----," the tag "Snitch" is not exactly how you want to be remembered when you enter a maximum-security prison. "Snitch" picked up the nickname in grade school when his teacher put him in charge of something and he reported on a fellow student, according to law- enforcement sources. But Frangipani isn't the only mobster mentioned in the indictment with a dubious nom de plume. Prosecutors still plan to try alleged bookie/loan-shark Angelo "Buddha" Lutz and accused murderer John "Johnny Chang" Ciangalini, in addition to Merlino and four others without notable nicknames: underboss Steven Mazzone; consigliere George Borgesi; and soldiers Frank Gambino and Martin Angelina. And the feds plan to use the services of cooperating witnesses - also known as informants, or "rats." Men with names like "Pete the Crumb," "Fat Rat" and "Horsehead." Horsehead, by the way, should not be confused with Ralph "Ralphie Head" Abbruzzi, who has already pleaded guilty but who is not cooperating, just like Snitch. While some Mafia monikers aren't too hard to figure out (see Martin "Marty" Angelina and Michael "Mikey Lance" Lancelotti), others have more of a story to them. It wasn't long ago that mob nicknames could inspire fear, or respect, or at least reflect a little imagination. The late mob-enforcer associate Anthony DiPasquale went by the nickname "Mad Dog." Nicholas Virgilio, bodyguard for former Philly boss Nicky Scarfo, was known as "Nick the Blade" because, as one mob watcher noted: "His first line of defense was hacking away at you with a knife." (His son is known as "Nick the Pen Knife.") Famed mob turncoat Sammy Gravano, former underboss to John Gotti, went by the name "Sammy the Bull." The title derived from an incident in Gravano's Brooklyn childhood, during which he fearlessly fought two larger boys who attempted to steal his bicycle. Gravano went on to participate in 19 murders in the New York mob world. In the racketeering trial set to open today, however, the mob nicknames on display are more likely to inspire chuckles than trembles from prospective jurors. Most reflect the limited imagination of grade-school wiseguys who grew up together in the same South Philly neighborhood. The names originate from the most basic character and physical observations. And almost none of them is flattering. Take cooperating witness Gaeton "Horsehead" Scafidi, for instance. The nickname conjures up the infamous scene in the movie "The Godfather" in which a Hollywood producer wakes up in bed with the bloody head of his prized racehorse after refusing a movie part to Don Corleone's friend. Scafidi has no such claim. In fact, the mob soldier acquired the equine moniker because his pals thought his long face and big head made him look like - you guessed it - a horse. This happened back in the third grade. Ditto the nickname for "Ralphie Head" Abbruzzi, who also pleaded guilty before trial. According to law-enforcement sources and mob watchers, he too had a large head as a boy that his pals couldn't resist noting. Mob capo and cooperating witness Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio got his name because he's "kind of crumby looking, not the most hygienic person," according to a North Jersey mob watcher. Defendant "Buddha" Lutz is so named because of his appearance several years ago as a gold-painted Buddha in the Mummer's Parade - a role he got because of his size, which makes sense, given his other nickname: "Fat Ange." Former cop-turned-capo Ron Previte earned the title "Fat Rat" because of his girth - and the fact that he also turned government informant against Merlino and his former pals. Accused murderer "Johnny Chang" Ciangalini is not Asian, but is one of several of the Brothers "Chang," an abbreviated version of his last name. There's John's brother, "Joey Chang," who was shot multiple times in 1993 while serving as John Stanfa's underboss. And there's the late "Mikey Chang," Merlino's best pal, who was also gunned down in 1993, but by Stanfa's faction. Ciangalini's father, convicted mob capo Joseph Sr., was known as "Chickie." Go figure. So what's the skinny on Skinny Joey? Well, Merlino has a cousin, also named Joey, who happens to be a good deal larger than the slender mob boss. Police used "Skinny" to describe one Merlino and "Fat" to describe the other, according to John Apeldorn, the former head of the Philadelphia police homicide division and the organized-crime task force. Apeldorn, who now runs the Citizen's Crime Commission, knows all about nicknames. Fellow cops called him "Johnny Appleseed." That later got shortened to Johnny Apples," then "Apples." "Then they knocked the Apples off," he says. "Now I'm just 'Seed.' " It still sounds better than "Snitch."
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