Free Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples’ Organized Crime System by Roberto Saviano Page A

merchant—because his ancestors sold coal. Other nicknames spring from Camorristi passions, such as Nicola
‘o wrangler
Luongo for his fixation with Wrangler four-wheel drives, the System men’s vehicle of choice. A whole series of nicknames are based on physical traits, such as Giovanni Birra
‘a mazza
—club or bat—for his long, thin body; Costantino
capaianca
Iacomino for his premature
capelli bianchi
or white hair; Ciro Mazzarella
‘o scellone
or angel, for his pronounced shoulder blades that look like an angel’s wings; Nicola
‘o mussuto
Pianese for his skin so white it looks like dried cod; Rosario Privato
mignolino
or pinky finger; Dario De Simone
‘o nano,
the dwarf. There are inexplicable nicknames such as that of Antonio di Fraia ‘u
urpacchiello,
which means a riding crop made from a dried donkey’s penis. Then there’s Carmine Di Girolamo, known as
‘o sbirro
or the narc for his ability to involve policemen and carabinieri in his operations. For some unknown reason Ciro Monteriso is known as
‘o mago,
the wizard. Pasquale Gallo of Torre Annunziata is
‘o bellillo,
or
bello
for his sweet face. Others are old family names: the Lo Russos are i
capitoni
or eels, the Mallardos are the
Carlantoni,
the Belfortes are the
Mazzacane
—dog killers—and the Piccolos the
Quaqquaroni.
Vincenzo Mazzarella is
‘o pazzo,
the crazy one, and Antonio Di Biasi is
pavesino
for his habit of munching on
pavesino
biscuits while out doing a job. Domenico Russo, boss of the Quartieri Spagnoli area in Naples, is called
Mimì dei cani,
Little Domenico of the dogs, because as a kid he sold puppies along Via Toledo. As for Antonio Carlo D’Onofrio, known as
Carlucciello ‘o mangiavati’
—Little Charles the cat eater—legend has it that he learned to shoot using stray cats as targets. Gennaro Di Chiara, who bolted violently anytime someone touched his face, earned the name
file scupierto
or live wire. There are also nicknames based on untranslatable onomatopoeic expressions such as that of Agostino Tardi, known as
picc pocc,
Domenico di Ronza
scipp scipp,
or the De Simone family, known as
quaglia quaglia,
the Aversanos, known as
zig zag,
Raffaele Giuliano
‘o zuì,
and Antonio Bifone
zuzù.
    All it took for Antonio Di Vicino to become
lemon
was to order the same drink several times. Vincenzo Benitozzi’s round face earned him the name
Cicciobello
or fat boy, and Gennaro Lauro became
‘o diciassette,
perhaps because his street number was 17. And Giovanni Aprea was
punt ‘e curtiello—puntare il coltello
or point the knife—because his grandfather played the role of an old Camorrista who teaches the boys to use a knife in Pasquale Squitieri’s 1974 film
I guappi.
    A well-calibrated nickname, such as Francesco Schiavone’s famous,ferocious
Sandokan,
can make or break the media fortune of a boss. He earned it for his resemblance to Kabir Bedi, the star of the Italian television series
Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia,
based on Emilio Salgari’s novel. Or Pasquale Tavoletta, known as Zorro for his resemblance to the actor in the TV series. Or Luigi Giuliano,
‘o re
—the king—also known as Lovigino because in intimate moments his American lovers would whisper, “I love Luigino.” His brother Carmine is
‘o lione,
the lion. Francesco Verde’s alias is
‘o negus,
a title of Ethiopian emperors, in honor of his stateliness and longevity as boss. Mario Schiavone is called
Menelek
after the famous Ethiopian emperor who opposed Italian troops, and Vincenzo Carobene is
Gheddafi
for his uncanny resemblance to the son of the Libyan general. The boss Francesco Bidognetti is known as
Cicciotto di Mezzanotte,
because anyone who got in his way would see midnight—the end—even at dawn, but some claim it was because he worked his way up through the ranks by protecting prostitutes. His whole clan came to be known as the Midnight clan.
    Nearly every boss has a nickname, an unequivocally unique, identifying feature. A