field man:
A mobster-manager who supervises a group of numbers runners.
fifth estate:
Another name for organized crime.
finger:
To inform on a person and report them to the Mafia.
This could be for a lesser offense or for a hit.
The five families:
The Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families located in New York City.
These are the most powerful organized crime units in the country.
five times thirty-eight:
To be shot five times with a .38-caliber revolver.
Mafia hit men often empty their guns into their target. Better safe than sorry.
forbidden fruit:
This term refers to a “good” Italian girl who attracts the attention of an amorous Mafioso.
fratellanza:
The Italian word for “brotherhood”; another name for the Mafia.
friend of mine:
The expression for someone who is not a member of the crime family but is deemed trustworthy.
friend of ours:
What one “made” man says when introducing another “made” man to the family. It means the other person is a made member and not an associate.
fugazi:
A slang expression for anything that is counterfeit, including counterfeit currency, made famous in the movie Donnie Brasco.
G:
Shorthand for the government. FBI agents were called “G-Men” in the Golden Age of Mafia misbehavior.
gaff:
A crooked person and unrepentant con man and thief.
gangbuster:
A law enforcement officer at the federal, state, or local level whose mandate is to battle organized crime. Eliot Ness and Thomas E. Dewey were two famous gangbusters. So was Rudy Giuliani before he became mayor of New York City.
gangland:
A generic name for organized crime. It was also the nickname for Chicago during the Al Capone years.
get a place ready:
A nice way of saying that a place should be prepared to dispose of a person who is soon to be whacked.
gift:
A euphemism for a bribe.
gira diment:
An Italian phrase that means “going crazy.”
give a pass:
This is something that a Mafioso would be happy to hear. It means that he has been granted a stay of execution. In other words, he is not going to be whacked.
giveup:
The percentage of a mobster’s ill-gotten earnings that he must hand over to his bosses. Just like any business, the bosses in the boardroom make the big money while the working stiffs get the scraps from the table.
godfather:
Another name for don, which entered the vernacular through Mario Puzo’s novel and Francis Ford Coppo-la’s trilogy of the same name.
going:
This refers to a person who has been targeted to be murdered.
going south:
When a mobster goes “on the lam” to avoid the feds.
goner:
A person who had been marked for murder by the Mafia.
goodfellas:
Another name for wise guys. Also the title of one of the most realistic Mafia movies.
good people:
The term that mobsters use for someone who is easy to deal with, that is, someone who will not have to be whacked anytime soon.
goombah:
A Sicilian slang word for “buddy.”
goon:
Another term for leg breaker and muscle.
graft:
Money paid to corrupt politicians, policemen, and judges for favors and to look the other way.
guests of the state:
A euphemism for being in jail.
gumod/gumar:
A term of endearment for the girlfriend or mistress of a gangster. Most Mafiosi have a kept woman on the side.
hack:
Mafia slang for a prison guard, not an underpaid freelance writer.
half-assed wise guy:
A wannabe who seeks entry into a crime family.
ham-and-cheese sandwich:
Graft paid to a union official.
handbook:
The mobster who sponsors a bookie’s gambling operation.
head crusher:
Yet another colorful name for leg breaker, muscle, and goon.
headhunter:
A gun for hire. A contract killer; hit man.
heat:
Pressure and scrutiny from the law.
hijack:
To steal goods and products, usually from a vehicle.
Hijacking stuff from airports before it gets to its final destination is a common Mafia enterprise.
hit:
To kill someone.
hit man:
The assassin who does the hit.
hitmobile:
The vehicle the hit man drives, always a nondescript car to avoid attention.
The Honored Society:
A reverential name for the Sicilian Mafia.
hot place:
A location that the Mafia suspects or knows is being targeted by the feds and is probably under surveillance by camera and wiretaps.
ice:
Another of the many synonyms for murder.
ice pick kill:
Just what it sounds like. An ice pick is jammed into the ear and enters the brain of the victim.
independent:
A bookie that is not a Mafioso but pays a tribute to be allowed to stay in business. Kind of like a 7-11 franchise operation.
in the wind:
A person who has disappeared into the Witness Protection Program. They are “gone with the wind.”
Italian rope trick:
Not as charming as it sounds. Strangulation by a rope.
jamook:
An insulting expression. A jamook is basically a dope.
joint:
A slang expression for prison.
juice:
The interest charged on a loan from a loan shark, which is invariably higher than your worst credit card company. Anything over 25 percent interest is illegal, which is why some credit card companies stop at 24.99 percent.
kickback:
Payoff given to the law to look the other way and to avoid the inconvenience of raids.
kiss of death:
A mobster kisses another in a public place. This is not an expression of affection. It means that the Mafioso being kissed is in danger of getting whacked if he doesn’t play ball.
lammest:
A person who has gone “on the lam,” meaning he has gone on the run or into hiding to avoid arrest by the police or the wrath of the Mafia.
large:
Slang expression for $1,000.
LCN:
The acronym for La Cosa Nostra.
Little Joe:
This is an assassination technique reserved for compulsive gamblers in over their heads to the loan shark. They are shot four times in the head in two rows of two shots.
loan shark:
A person who loans money with a higher interest rate than your friendly neighborhood credit card company.
made guy:
A hoodlum who is made an official and trusted member of a crime family. The prerequisite for admission is usually to kill someone.
madonn’:
This is an expression of surprise.
mafie:
Sicilian gangs that terrorized the peasants and townsfolk back in the Old Country. This was the genesis of the modern Mafia.
make a marriage:
When two mobsters are brought together for family business.
make one’s bones:
Making a killing, quite literally, in order to become a “made” man in the Mafia.
mannagge:
This means going to the mattresses in a mob war.
mattresses, going to:
Term meaning getting prepared for a long and drawn-out gang war.
the meets:
When the Mafia families get together to discuss business.
mercy room:
Mafia slang for the emergency room of a hospital.
message job:
This means to shoot someone in a particular body part to send a message to his buddies as to why he was killed.
mezza morta:
An Italian phrase that means “half dead.”
middle:
In gambling parlance, this is a “sure thing.” This is a bet you cannot lose.
middling:
Reselling stolen merchandise that “fell off the back of a truck.”
mobbed up:
Someone who is either “connected” to the Mafia or involved with them in some shady dealings.
Moe Green Special:
Moe Green was a character in The Godfather who was shot in the eye. The character gave the name to this type of Mafia hit.
mortadella:
Another Mafia insult, it literally means an Italian sausage.
motorcade murders:
Drive-by shootings are not a modern phenomenon.
During the 1920s there were numerous celebrated drive-bys.
muscle:
Low-level Mafiosi who are the bodyguards, enforcers. Those who are called upon by their superiors to use violence to get the point across.
Mustache Petes:
Name given to an old-fashioned or conservative Mafioso. Though the true Petes were wiped out in gangland wars in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the name still applies to some older mobsters.
nickel:
The Mafia monetary denomination that means $500.
OC:
The acronym for organized crime.
off:
Another synonym for murdering someone.
off the record:
Doing something that is not sanctioned by the family.
The Office:
The nickname for the New England Mafia.
old man:
An affectionate name for the don.
Omerta:
The code of silence that a Mafioso takes when he is initiated into a crime family. Breaking the vow is punishable by death.
on the record:
Doing something that has the approval of the family.
oobatz, u’pazzu:
An Italian expression meaning “crazy.”
The Outfit:
The name for the Chicago Mafia branch.
parakeet:
A not very politically correct term for a good-looking woman.
Partnership:
Name for the Detroit mafia family.
payola:
Another word for graft. Payoffs to corrupt officials to ensure their cooperation.
pazzo:
The Italian word meaning “crazy” or “nuts.”
piacere:
An Italian phrase that means “Pleasure to meet you.”
piece:
Slang for a gun, as in “packing a piece.”
piece of work:
A contract to assassinate a person.
pigeon:
As in stool pigeon, an informant who betrays the Mafia by going to the cops.
pinched:
Meaning to be arrested.
pop:
Another word for murder.
pre-hits:
Ancillary targets in a major hit. It is wise to whack the associates of a bigwig, lest they try to seek vengeance when their don is killed.
problem:
An expression for someone who has caused a problem and is worthy of being whacked.
The Program:
Shorthand for the Witness Protection Program.
put the X on:
To mark for murder. See finger.
put to sleep:
The Mafia probably has more euphemisms than any other organization for murder. This is another.
racket:
Any illegal business. There was the bootleg racket, gambling racket, prostitution racket, and so on.
rat:
A mobster who violates the sacred code of Omerta.
respect:
Something demanded by all Mafiosi. The Mafia brand of respect is, of course, based on fear of getting whacked.
RICO:
Passed into law in 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act gives prosecutors latitude to get tougher sentences for criminals if it is proven that they are members of an organized crime family.
right arm:
See underboss.
rub out:
Another in the lengthy litany of Mafia synonyms for murder.
screw:
Mafia name for a prison guard.
serious headache:
Mafiosi have an ironic penchant for understatement.
It means a bullet in the head.
shills:
The characters you see in a gambling situation who are winning and making it look easy. They are plants to lure in unsuspecting gamblers.
shiv:
Prison slang for a knife made of anything available.
shylock:
Another term for loan shark. Shylock is a character in William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.
Sicilian necktie:
Piano wire used to strangle the Mafioso’s target.
sit-down:
A meeting among high-level Mafiosi to settle disputes and grievances before violence ensues.
skim:
Taking money off the top, usually from gambling profits, so it is not reported to the IRS as taxable income. One of the Mafia’s biggest scams was skimming profits from Vegas casinos.
skipper:
Another name for a capo.
snitch:
Another word for someone who is revealing things he shouldn’t. A snitch can be relaying information to the police or to another Mafia family.
soldier:
An infantryman in a Mafia crime family. He is a low-level member of the organization and reports to the capo.
sottocapo:
The Italian name for “underboss,” the second in command in the Mafia family.
spring cleaning:
This refers to getting rid of the evidence after a crime has been committed.
stand-up guy:
Someone who is eminently trustworthy and will not “rat out” other mobsters under any circumstances.
stone killer:
An especially sadistic and ruthless professional assassin.
stoolie:
See pigeon.
straightened out:
To become a “made man,” that is, inducted into a Mafia family.