Seems that there was a big round-up of suspected Mafiosi the other day. I don’t think these were your Tony Soprano types. These guys were allegedly the real deal.
In my childhood neighborhood, the local rackets were run by the Smalldone brothers, Eugene (“Checkers”), Clarence (“Chauncey”, and Clyde (“Flip-Flop”). I met Checkers and Chauncey a few times. My mom used to play bridge with Checkers’ wife, Pauline. In fact, mom once told me that I should talk to Checkers about law school, that she was sure he would pay for it. While it sounded good, I think that I would have wanted to have other clients besides just one Family.
Anyway, mobsters always have great nicknames, and this round-up didn’t disappoint. We have:
20. VINCENT AULISI, also known as “The Vet”
19. GIOVANNI VELLA, also known as “John Vella,” “Mousey” and “Little John”
18. STEPHEN DEPIRO, also known as “Beach”
17. ANTHONY CAVEZZA, also known as “Tony Bagels”
16. JOHN BRANCACCIO, also known as”Johnny Bandana”
15. ANTHINO RUSSO, also known as “Hootie”
14. FRANK BELLANTONI, also known as “Meatball”
13. CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS, also known as “Burger”
12. VINCENZO FROGIERO, also known as “Vinny Carwash”
11. JOSEPH CARNA, also known as “Junior Lollipops”
10. DENNIS DELUCIA, also known as “Fat Dennis,” “Little Dennis” and “the Beard”
9. LUIGI MANOCCHIO, also known as “Baby Shacks,” “The Old Man,” and “the Professor”
8. ANTHONY DURSO, also known as “Baby Fat Larry” and “BFL”
7. GIUSEPPE DESTEFANO, also known as “Pooch”
6. JOHN AZZARELLI, also known as “Johnny Cash”
5. ANDREW RUSSO, also known as “Mush”
4. VINCENT FEBBRARO, also known as “Jimmy Gooch”
3. BENJAMIN CASTELLAZZO, also known as “Benji,” “The Claw” and “the Fang”
2. ANTHONY LICATA, also known as “Cheeks,” “Anthony Firehawk,” “Anthony Nighthawk,” “Nighthawk” and “Firehawk”
1. JOHN HARTMANN, also known as “Lumpy,” “Fatty” and “Fats”
So, if we were to give nicknames like this to our favorite teabagger politicians, what would they be? I welcome your suggestions.