The best part of any Mafia bust is reading the nicknames of the suspects. So I’m grateful to The Village Voice for publishing the nicknames of 20 of the 127 alleged organized crime figures arrested Thursday by the FBI in the Northeast on charges ranging from murder and racketeering to gambling, extortion and loan-sharking.
Here are The Voice’s top 20:
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”
