As former FBI undercover agent Joe Pistone says: “Say what you want about wiseguys, they got the best nicknames in the business.” Pistone should know. Posing as a jewel thief called Donnie Brasco he infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, later telling of his exploits in a best selling book that was later turned into a movie. Not only is no self respecting wiseguy without a nickname, but the nickname itself can make or break a reputation. I’ve complied a list of some of the better ones, along with how they were gained:
o John “No Nose” DiFronzo, a Chicago mobster, got his name after having his nose disfigured in a shootout with police during a robbery in 1949. Now reputedly running the Chicago mob.
Louis “Louie Ha Ha” Attanasio, a Bonanno crime family member, got his name because he was always happy and laughing. The smile was taken off his face last month when he was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after pleading guilty to murdering another mobster.
o Philip “Chicken Man” Testa was head of the Philadelphia mob until be was blown up by a bomb planted under his house in 1981. He got his nickname from an earlier involvement in a business that raised chickens. His death inspired Bruce Springsteen’s song Atlantic City, which opens with the lines “Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night/Now they blew up his house too”,
o Harry “the Hunchback” Riccobene took over the Philadelphia mob after the murder of Philip “Chicken Man” Testa. Also known as “Harry the Hump”, he got his nickname from a birth defect that left him with a deformed spine. But no-one ever called him “Hunchback” or “Hump” to his face. Riccobene was at the centre of the Philadelphia mob war that raged through the early 1980s. He was jailed for murder in 1984.
o Venero “Benny Eggs” Mangano, an underboss in the Genovese family, got his nickname from stealing eggs as a kid in the east village area of lower Manhattan where he grew up.
o Philip “Benny Squint” Lombardo. An underboss in the Gambino family, he was listed as the 26th richest crime boss in the US by Fortune magazine in 1986. He got his nickname because he was cross-eyed.
o Jimmy “Little Guy” Ida, a consigliere with the Genovese family, got his name from his pint sized stature. But that didn’t make him any less nasty. He was sentenced to life for murder in 1998.
o Sam “Wings” Carlisi got his nickname from being a courier for the Chicago mob and constantly flying around the country. Tied to two underworld hits, he died in jail of a heart attack in 1997 where he was serving a 13-year sentence for racketeering, loan sharking and arson.
o Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo, a member of the Chicago mob, was given his name by none other than Al Capone after smashing the skulls of two men with a baseball bat (a similar incident was featured in the movie “The Untouchables”). “This guy is a real Joe Batters,” Capone said afterwards and the name stuck. Accardo, one of Capone’s bodyguards, took part in the infamous St Valentine’s Day massacre. He outlived many of his friends and enemies, taking over the Chicago mob in 1972, before dying in 1992.
o Salvatore “Pizza Guy” DeLaurentis got his name from the pizza restaurant he owned. Also known as “Solly D”, he was an enforcer for the Chicago mob and head of the Ferriola Street Crew. He was convicted in 1993 of conspiracy to murder and racketeering.
o Jailed Chicago mob boss Joey “The Clown” Lombardo got his nickname from clowning around, including hiding behind a newspaper mask while walking through a courthouse and leading fellow mobsters up a construction ladder to evade news crews. He was arrested earlier this year in connection with 18 murders. His cousin, Joseph “the Builder” Andriacci, is allegedly the boss of Chicago’s North Side Crew.
As Joe Pistone says, once a mobster gets a nickname it stays for life. “Everybody has a nickname. It might be something you get as a kid or later on. And once you get a nickname, you can’t get rid of it.
“You can know a guy for 10 years and you’d never know his last name. Nobody would ever introduce someone with their last name and nobody would ever ask.”