#25 Thomas Pitera aka “Tommy Karate”
The infamous Bonanno Family hitman Tommy Pitera was not just given his nickname “Tommy Karate”. He earned it through years of martial arts and street fighting. As a kid, Tommy was picked on relentlessly for his high pitched voice. After a couple years in martial arts, Tommy became the bully.
After a few years overseas, Pitera came back to New York as a tough guy. He was known for brutalizing his loanshark debtors. He quickly graduated to murder. Pitera was so well known for his brutality that he was brought in by the Gambino Family to kill John Gotti’s former friend Willie Boy Johnson, who had become an informant.
Tommy Karate’s crimes were ghoulish even by mafia standards. Eventually, he scared off even those closest to him. One of his guys, Frank Gangi was so scared of him that he actually informed on Pitera after he was pulled over for a mere traffic stop. Gangi led the police to the site of dismembered bodies and the demise of Tommy Karate was complete.
#24 Albert “Tick Tock” Tannenbaum
Albert was one of the Murder Incorporated contract killers who was paid a weekly salary to be available at Midnight Roses Candy Store. He came up in the Jewish mob, mentored by Gurrah Shapiro and Lepke Buchalter. Murder Inc. was known for their members’ famous nicknames.
Albert was tasked with many killings, including that of Harry Greenberg, a major partner of Bugsy Siegel. “Tick Tock” later turned his back on Murder Incorporated. He testified against Lepke, connecting him to the Dutch Schultz murder and sending him to the electric chair.
#23 Thomas Bilotti aka “The Toupee”
It’s safe to say that not many people would call Tommy Bilotti “The Toupee” to his face, but the nickname stuck hard with his fellow Gambinos. John Gotti was one of the guys who regularly roasted him with this name because he resented Bilotti. Tommy rode Paul Castellano’s coattails all the way to the top.
His core jobs were being Paul’s bodyguard and driver but somehow was promoted to underboss when Neil Dellacroce died in December 1985. His reign would last less than two weeks as he and Paul were famously gunned down in front of Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan that same month.
#22 Michael Franzese aka “The Yuppie Don”
Franzese is a retired mobster and the son of Colombo underboss Sonny Franzese. Michael was given the nickname “The Yuppie Don” because of his heavy influence in the area of white collar crime. He was involved in both high level criminal and legitimate businesses and excelled at both. He was one of the highest earners in the New York mob in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
By the early 1990’s he became bogged down in legal battles and spent some time in prison. Upon his release in 1994, Franzese decided he was done with the underworld. This came as a shock to his associates and his father was not happy about it. Michael stuck to his guns though, and never looked back. He has not lost his business savvy with the life change.
These days he spends lots of time doing motivational and informative public speaking engagements. He’s been featured on every major news network and appeared on an episode of HBO: Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. He’s living a great life that very few mobsters would see possible.
#21 Salvatore “Sammy The Bull” Gravano
This somewhat generic but pointed nickname describes the fierce nature of Sammy Gravano perfectly. He was once the underboss of the Gambino Crime Family, when it was the most powerful family in the country. With his future boss John Gotti, he facilitated the murders of Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti in a ruthless family takeover.
It was the support of the up and coming Gravano that made Gotti decide it was safe to make a move on Paul. While Gotti was the public face of the mob, Gravano in the late 1980’s was the mob’s best earner by far. Sammy was a shark in the construction industry and got a piece of every big job in the city. Of course in later years, they publicly dubbed him Sammy “The Rat” Gravano after he turned his back on the mob.
#20 Joseph Lombardo aka “Joey the Clown”
This nickname is very interesting because it’s exactly the opposite of the true Joe Lombardo, a cunning and wise gangster from Chicago. Lombardo was a high ranking member of the Outfit for decades and reached the position of consigliere.
After a long run, he was brought down by the Family Secrets trial. He went on the run but was captured in 2006 and found guilty of murder and racketeering charges. He got the nickname “Joey the Clown” for his comical mugshots over the years. 90 year old Lombardo still sits in prison on a life sentence.
#19 Kevin “Two Weeks” Weeks
This is a convenient name considering the situation. Weeks was only in jail for two weeks before folding to the FBI. You can’t really blame him. He had just found out that his bosses Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi were FBI informants.Weeks was just joining in with a number of Boston gangsters who were cooperating at the time. Kevin served as a layer of young muscle for the two aging mobsters for years.
He slyly kept up contact with Whitey in the 1990’s while Bulger was on the lam. The breaking point for Weeks came after he was hit with RICO charges and looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars. He didn’t think of himself as a rat because he was only getting back at actual rats who caused the whole debacle. Unlike many FBI witnesses, Weeks has never lived his life in hiding. He was released from prison in 2005 and went back to Boston, seemingly with no fears of threats to his safety.
#18 Harry “Happy” Maione
The name “Happy” was a play on Maione’s normal demeanor, which usually saw him snarling. Maione was one of the top killers in the Italian faction of Murder Incorporated. Even among a group of vicious killers, Maione stood out as unlikeable. He was known for his hot temper and a scowl that seemed stuck to his face.
Harry was the leader of the Italian side of Murder Inc. while Abe “Kid Twist” Reles. While they worked efficiently together, Maione and Reles hated each other. Later on when Reles became a witness for the government, he testified against Maione and implicated him in multiple murders.
Maione lived up to the irony of his nickname with his behavior in the courtroom, where he had multiple public blowups. Happy would end up going to the electric chair in Sing Sing on February 19, 1942, the same day as his partner Frank “The Dasher” Abbandando.
#17 Carmine “The Snake” Persico
The Snake is the longtime boss of the Colombo Crime Family. He’s currently 85 years old and has been in prison for over 31 years but refuses to relinquish power in his family. This has been the catalyst of many murders in a Colombo civil war which has broken out at various times over the years.
It is assumed by most mob historians that it was Carmine and “Crazy Joe” Gallo that gunned down Albert Anastasia in 1957. His nickname “The Snake” was very well earned and Persico is a master of double cross. By turning his back on the infamous Gallo brothers in the 1960’s, Carmine was able to attain the level of capo.
He kept grinding away and took the top spot in the early 1970’s after Joe Colombo was shot. Many attempts to wrestle aay power from Carmine have occured and he’s been able to fight all of them off but at a heavy cost. He’s still boss but the family is a shell of its former self these days.
#16 Frank Costello aka “The Prime Minister Of The Underworld”
Frank Costello rose in the ranks under the legendary Lucky Luciano in the Luciano Crime family, which today is known as the Genovese family. Costello got the moniker “The Prime Minister Of The Underworld” for his lofty position in the New York mob and his very powerful political influence.
Costello was relevant in the New York mafia from the 1920’s all the way into the late 1950’s. Everything was going great for Costello but some rifts in the mafia upper echelon started appearing. Costello was tightly aligned with Albert Anastasia while Costello underling Vito Genovese was syncing with Carlo Gambino, Anastasia’s underling.
Genovese and Gambino both wanted to take over their family businesses. In 1957, both Costello and and Anastasia were shot, only Costello survived after a young Vincent “The Chin” Gigante bungled the job. Frank “The Prime Minister Of The Underworld” Costello then did a wise thing and retired and later died from natural causes in 1973.
#15 Ciro Terranova aka “The Artichoke King”
Ciro Terranova came to America from Sicily in the 1890’s. He rose through the ranks in Harlem to become the underboss of the Morello family, the Morellos were one of the first crime families in New York. Terranova earned his moniker because of the massive profits he made from purchasing and reselling artichokes.
Ciro survived New York’s Castellammarese war of 1930-1931 but his family was hard hit. Then the mayor of New York City decriminalized artichoke trading, ending Ciro’s domination of that market. The Artichoke King died after suffering a major stroke, he was 49 years old.
#14 Philip “Chicken Man” Testa
“Chicken Man” Testa was briefly the boss of the Philadelphia family, between the Bruno and Scarfo eras. On March 15, 1981, Testa was blown up by a nail bomb that was planted under his porch. He was blown to bits and there were various pieces of him that landed all over the neighborhood, more than a block away.
His reign was short with a very unfortunate ending, the Philly family was at war. Eventually Nicky Scarfo would take over but Philly would stay a killing field. Testa would become a footnote in the long bloody history of the Philly mob. As far as his nickname, he simply got it because he was employed in the poultry business for years.
#13 Salvatore “Crown Prince of the Philadelphia Mob” Testa
“Salvie” Testa was the son of one time Philly mob boss Philip “Chicken Man” Testa. He was also the godson of future infamous Philly boss Nicky Scarfo. Salvie was considered a real up and comer and was thus given the moniker “The Crown Prince of the Philadelphia Mob”.
He was once featured in the Wall Street Journal where he was referred to as a “rising star” of the Philly mob. Unfortunately, this attention irked his godfather and boss Nicky Scarfo. Nicky was a psychopath and felt very insecure about the respect that Testa was being shown by other mobsters and the press.
Scarfo ordered Testa’s closest friends to set the trap and lure Salvie in, which they did. The Crown Prince was killed on September 14, 1984, his hogtied corpse was found later in New Jersey. His father had been blown to pieces just three years earlier.
Between Salvie and Phil Testa, they likely have the most memorable father-son mafia nicknames of anyone. The Crown Prince of the Philadelphia Mob and his dad, The Chicken Man.
#12 Joseph Bonanno aka “Joe Bananas”
Joe Bonanno for most of his life was a member of the mafia’s very elite. He became the boss of his own mafia family at just 26 years old. He got the nickname “Joe Bananas” from the media, a name that was very catchy but didn’t really apply to the man.
Bonanno was very cunning and calculated, in no way a loose cannon. He obviously did not care for the name but it stuck and has remained his moniker for almost a century. His nickname among the people in his inner circle was “Don Peppino”, which Bonanno did not object to.
Bonanno would eventually retire from the mob and die a peaceful death. He was 97 years old at the time of his passing in 2002. His last name would remain synonymous with the mafia and his family still exists and continues to carry his legendary name.
#11 Angelo “Quack Quack” Ruggiero
It’s obvious to anyone who knew Angelo Ruggiero why his nickname was “Quack Quack”. Angelo could not stop talking for any significant amount of time. FBI agents were thrilled to find this out after they bugged his house. He discussed the heroin operation that Gotti’s crew was running and tons of other sensitive Gambino business.
Even worse for Angelo, he had been caught many times on the tapes insulting the head of the family Paul Castellano. Luckily for Angelo, Paul was too preoccupied in his own mounting legal matters at the time. Underboss Neil Dellacroce would successfully stall Castellano.
Neil was caught on a bedside wiretap telling Angelo that he didn’t understand La Cosa Nostra and that the “boss is the boss”. Eventually John Gotti completely blackballed Ruggiero and strongly considered killing his longtime friend. Angelo was stripped from his position as capo and spent the next couple years battling his legal cases.
Ruggiero would die of lung cancer in 1989. Gotti, who was still a free man at the time, did attend his wake, although Gravano said he nearly had to be dragged there. It’s understandable why Gotti would have been holding a grudge. Angelo’s had caused him so many problems over the years and almost got both of them killed.
#10 John Gotti Sr. aka “The Teflon Don”
Gotti was dubbed “The Teflon Don” by the media after the high profile mob boss beat 3 cases in a row in the 1980’s. Witnesses either disappeared or changed their stories. In one case a juror was bribed leading to another dismissal of charges. These public battles led to John Gotti becoming one of the most famous people in the world for a few years.
He was winning the war of perception as well, but the FBI and state were not giving up. They kept pressing forward and eventually a tip led to them installing a wiretap in an apartment above his social club where it was reported that he retreated to for business discussions.
The amount of gold they found just in Gotti’s first few apartment meetings went beyond anything they could have dreamed. Gotti had admitted to multiple murders, racketeering and discussing mafia existence and current structure. After hearing Gotti throw him under the bus on the tapes, his loyal underboss Sammy The Bull decided to make a deal with the FBI.
This was the final nail in the coffin and just like that the Gotti era was over. He would hand the family over to his much less experienced and less capable son John Jr. The “Teflon Don” nickname is still mentioned nowadays when Gotti’s name comes up, but usually in more of a dismissive notion.
#9 John “No Nose” DiFronzo
John DiFronzo was a gangster who was around for a very long time in the Chicago Outfit. He would slowly work his way up to the spot of boss after several decades. It was an incident at 21 years old that scarred DiFronzo and gave him this unfortunate moniker for the rest of his life.
DiFronzo was making his escape from a burglary through a window when he slashed off a significant portion of his nose. He would be caught and do time, but the police had found the chunk of sliced off nose. DiFronzo was able to get emergency surgery and somewhat restore the nose.
This all happened when DiFronzo was a young man, it was an embarrassing and costly incident. It didn’t interfere with his rise through the Outfit, but he did have to learn to deal with the nickname. DiFronzo was the Outfit boss when he died from complications from Alzheimer’s in 2018 at 89 years old.
#8 Greg Scarpa aka “The Grim Reaper”
Greg Scarpa was a nightmare for enemies. Not only was he constantly killing or plotting to kill them, he was also an informant with a cozy relationship with the FBI. He was a disciple and enforcer of Colombo family boss Carmine “The Snake” Persico, another man with an equally justified nickname.
Much like Whitey Bulger in Boston, Scarpa was given special treatment and protected by certain FBI agents. The Colombos during the early 1990’s were in a full blown civil war and Scarpa was given secrets about his enemies from the FBI. A power struggle was going on between an imprisoned boss Carmine Persico and his appointed acting boss “Little Vic” Orena.
Scarpa killed many of Orena’s men. Team Orena caught up with The Grim Reaper at his home and nearly killed him and some of his family members. After this incident, Scarpa’s sole reason for living was to wipe out the Orena side of the Colombo Family. But his days were numbered after decades in the streets.
Scarpa was shot in December 1992, resulting in Scarpa losing an eye to a gunshot but surviving. Scarpa had other problems by this time, he was beginning to lose his battle with HIV symptoms. He’d caught the disease through a blood transfusion years earlier. After being convicted of 3 murders, a sickly one eyed Scarpa died in a prison hospital bed on June 4, 1994.
#7 Vincent “The Oddfather” Gigante
Gigante was also known as “The Chin”, but law enforcement and the press gave him “The Oddfather” moniker. He earned this nickname by wandering aimlessly up and down the streets of Greenwich Village. He would be in a bathrobe looking disheveled and often being led by the arm of a caretaker guiding him.
Gigante looked like your standard homeless person with schizophrenia wandering around, but he was actually a very sane man who was the boss of the Genovese Crime Family. Gigante had been around for a long time, it was him who shot Frank Costello way back in 1957.
In earlier days and still now, he’s often referred to by his original nickname “The Chin”. He got that name during his career as a boxer, where it is said that he may have suffered some significant CTE as a result. As he rose the Genovese ranks through the years, his public behavior became more and more bizarre.
This strategy worked beautifully for years as the FBI mistakenly believed “Fat Tony” Salerno to be the Genovese boss. Gigante finally was convicted of racketeering in 1997. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and openly admitted in court how he’d used his “Oddfather” act to deter prosecution.
#6 Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski
Well ok, he wasn’t really in the mafia, but his name is synonymous with it.
Richard Kuklinski became the world’s most famous hitman because of his documentary interviews on HBO in the 1980’s. He claimed to have killed up to 200 people, a claim that is universally disputed in hindsight. What can’t be denied about Kuklinski though was that he was a vicious contract/serial killer.
He had the sneer and eye contact of someone who appears evil, and thus his interviews were fascinating. It was investigators who originally began referring to Kuklinski as “The Iceman”. He was most known by them for the various methods he used to murder, and sometimes torture people. He enjoyed poisoning the food or drinks of victims, and was later arrested for trying to buy cyanide from an undercover agent. Eventually,Kuklinski would be convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to life in prison.
It was shortly after this time that he first appeared on HBO in The Iceman Tapes. He would do 3 documentaries, the last being a very entertaining cat and mouse sit down with forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz. Kuklinski died in prison quietly in 2005. His notorious story would surface in the public eye again when Michael Shannon played the role of Kuklinski in The Iceman.
#5 Al “Scarface” Capone
Al Capone has the most infamous nickname in mobster history, “Scarface”. It’s a nickname no one would dare say in front of Capone, he hated this name and it brought back bad memories. Rewind back to his Brooklyn, New York days before going to Chicago and becoming the richest mobster in the world.
As a young man, he was working nightclub security at the Harvard Inn in Brooklyn. One night, he disrespected the sister of a local gangster and the man immediately responded by slashing Capone across the face with his knife. Those close to Capone knew this was sensitive subject matter to Al it would be best never to do anything to remind him.
#4 Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso
It was said by Anthony Casso that his father was the one who used a gas pipe as a weapon, others said it was Anthony himself that like to use a gas pipe on his victims. Gaspipe Casso was one of the most vicious killers in American mafia history. Some in his very inner circle called him “Gas”.
He was a longtime member of the Lucchese Crime Family. When John Gotti broke mafia code with the Castellano hit it was Casso who would step up to the plate and take action, killing his underboss Frank DeCicco. DeCicco was blown up in his car right in front of Sammy Gravano, and Gotti was supposed to be in that car.
Casso would never catch up to Gotti or Gravano after that. Like Gravano, Casso would later decide to cooperate with the FBI. The feds soon decided that they made a bad deal and Casso was a liar, so they pulled the plug and kicked him out of the witness protection program. He was then sentenced to 455 years in prison.
#3 Tommy “Three Fingers Brown” Lucchese
Tommy Lucchese was the boss of the New York mafia family that still bears his name today. He was one of the original gangsters who was hooked up with Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Lepke Buchalter and Meyer Lansky. Lucchese got the nickname “Three Fingers Brown” from a police officer who was booking him on auto theft charges as a young 20 year old.
He was comparing Lucchese’s deformed hand to famous baseball player Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown. Lucchese hated the nickname but somehow it made the rounds and stuck forever. Lucchese would later team up with Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino to eliminate Albert Anastasia and Frank Costello.
Later that year, Genovese would fall out of favor for arranging the infamous Apalachin meeting where 61 mobsters were arrested, not including Lucchese. Genovese would be deported. Lucchese and Gambino would continue their alliance. A few years later, Carlo’s son Tommy married Tommy Lucchese’s daughter.
Tommy “Three Fingers Brown” Lucchese would pass away from a brain tumor in 1957, and the Lucchese Crime Family still exists today and bares his name.
#2 Abe Reles aka “The Canary Who Could Sing But Couldn’t Fly”
Reles was part of the infamous team of mafia hitmen known as Murder Incorporated. He originally made his bones as the leader of the infamous Brownsville Boys gang, killing all enemies on his way up. His partners included guys with names like Bugsy, Harry Happy, Frank the Dasher, Pittsburgh Phil and The Lord High Executioner..
Reles was implicated in a murder in 1940 and made the very surprising decision to make a deal and become a government witness, a “canary” as it was called in those days. Reles seemed to enjoy testifying and seeing the reactions of his old partners as he buried them on the stand. Harry “Happy” Maione had the hardest time, cursing, throwing a glass and threatening Reles’ life in front of the court.
All was going well for Reles and prosecutors, sending 7 men to the electric chair. Then on the morning of November 12, 1941, the unthinkable happened. Reles was cooped up on the 6th floor of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island preparing to testify against Albert Anastasia. He was under 24/7 police guard. That morning, Reles’ mangled body would be found on the second floor landing. He either fell or was tossed out of the window of his hotel room.
The press would label Reles “The Canary Who Could Sing But Couldn’t Fly” after his mysterious and chilling death. The name has stuck throughout history. Reles had originally been known by the nickname “Kid Twist” during his days with Murder Inc. and the Brownsville Boys, his original gang.
#1 Albert Anastasia aka “The Lord High Executioner”
Simply put, the most chilling and accurate nickname ever given to a mobster. Anastasia got this name in the press because of both his lofty position as a mafia boss and his vicious murderous streak. He was a protege of Lucky Luciano who ran the enforcement arm of the Syndicate, known as Murder Incorporated.
Anastasia was the most feared man in the New York mafia for thirty plus years. He sat on the ruling boards of both the National Crime Syndicate and the Commission, which dictated business among the 5 New York families. Albert was involved in no less than 3 killings of other New York mafia bosses. He committed or sanctioned hundreds of killings.
Anastasia was often referred to as “The Mad Hatter”. He was very feared and even in the media, only a few gutsy journalists dared to write about him. Albert skated right by after the fall of Murder Inc., thanks to Abe Reles and all the other witnesses against him being killed. Seven other Murder Inc. members went to the electric chair.
He was the underboss of the Mangano Crime Family until he killed Vincent Mangano in 1951 and turned it into the Anastasia Crime Family. Eventually the other New York bosses decided that the Commission could not efficiently function with such a psychopath in their midst.
In 1957, Anastasia was famously gunned down in his barber’s chair while enjoying a morning shave. The Anastasia Crime Family would now forever become known as the Gambino Crime Family. None of Albert’s peers attended his services which shows what they thought of him.