The term "button"

[PolackTony]

From the November 1961 report:



Not only had the FBI heard the term, but they completely understood what it meant and how the phrase was used by this time.

Appears the entire NYC/NJ area was using it regularly since the 1950s. If Allegra is any indication, it goes back further.

It's definitely an earlier term than previously thought. It's likely an Americanized version of 'bottone', that found its use in America. The term began appearing in federal documents in the mid to late 1940s. By the mid-1950s, law enforcement learned that a 'button man' is a popular reference for mafia members. It wasn't strictly a regular NY/NJ slang, it was nationwide. Some pre-1960s examples:


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A mid-1950s reference from James Plumeri's files.


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A 1959 information on Sal Granello's activities, establishing a link between the terms 'button man' and 'made man'.


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Late 1950s report on the LaRocca crime family, mentioning how the term 'button man' had become synonymous with mafia members.

Great info, especially on the Pittsburgh example. I would note there that the description of being made as the act of being introduced to others in the family by one’s sponsor resembles the description given by a Chicago made member CI (who seems to have most likely been Lenny “Needles” Gianola).

[B.]

Thanks everyone for adding pieces to this.

I'm thinking "button" was an older term and the way it was used changed slightly over time/place. The mafia is a verbal group that speaks in euphemisms so it makes sense the terms survived but not the exact meaning. Allegra saw the mafia as the "bottone", and he "belonged" to it, while US members came to see the "button" as the invisible badge they received when they became a member. The way members understood the term is slightly different but identical language is used and in both cases it's in context with membership.

Wouldn't be surprised if the term was used in the early US and over time the original meaning got corrupted. Seems more likely than the mafia coincidentally using a word like "button" twice in a similar context. You can see where "belonging to the 'button'" could easily turn into "button guy" and eventually lose its original definition.

What stands out about mafia language is the names for the organization and general membership are historically only figures of speech or temporary placeholders, not official names, but the mafia's official ranks have remained fairly consistent between both languages. There are some exceptions, like the term "capo" (boss) getting left behind in favor of the English version for boss, with capodecina becoming shortened to "capo" (something early sources never do) around the time that happened. Terms like underboss, consigliere, capodecina, and soldier are more consistent in both the US and Sicily over time.

^ Note about the term capo. Keep this in mind when thinking about cities like Chicago that use the term "boss" for capodecinas. In NYC and other US cities they started doing the same thing as Chicago around the same time, but in NYC they used the Italian word for boss which is "capo". I think people have the impression "capo" translates to "captain" because they sound similar, but that's not the case. Capo = boss, so when someone says "Brooklyn capo", what they are saying translates to "Brooklyn boss." If you do the reverse translation in Chicago, what you'd see is "Melrose Park capo."

[eboli]

Another term was 'finger man'. I've seen it mentioned several times, but it seems there are a few explanations for what and when it was used. It was described as synonymous for 'button man', but also for 'trigger man', and for a high-ranking member like capo/boss i.e. somebody who's pulling the strings. If I remember correctly, Valachi talked about it, but I have to check.

[PolackTony]

^ Note about the term capo. Keep this in mind when thinking about cities like Chicago that use the term "boss" for capodecinas. In NYC and other US cities they started doing the same thing as Chicago around the same time, but in NYC they used the Italian word for boss which is "capo". I think people have the impression "capo" translates to "captain" because they sound similar, but that's not the case. Capo = boss, so when someone says "Brooklyn capo", what they are saying translates to "Brooklyn boss." If you do the reverse translation in Chicago, what you'd see is "Melrose Park capo."

Yep. The Chicago term “crew boss” is essentially a direct translation of “capodecina” (which of course was also used).

[B.]

Another term was 'finger man'. I've seen it mentioned several times, but it seems there are a few explanations for what and when it was used. It was described as synonymous for 'button man', but also for 'trigger man', and for a high-ranking member like capo/boss i.e. somebody who's pulling the strings. If I remember correctly, Valachi talked about it, but I have to check.

I've always understood "finger man" to mean a participant in a murder who points out the victim for the shooters. "Trigger man" would mean a shooter. Pretty sure those terms were used outside of the mafia, too, but would be interesting to see what you can find.

Yep. The Chicago term “crew boss” is essentially a direct translation of “capodecina” (which of course was also used).

Brings to mind Joe Bonanno's use of "group leader" in his book. It seems weird until you realize he's trying to put "capodecina" in English without resorting to Valachi-isms like "lieutenant". Bonanno also purposely avoided the word "boss"...

He says early in the book he loathes the word "boss" because it was a corruption of "Father". What's interesting is on the DeCavalcante tapes, Sam mentions after a meeting with Bonanno capodecinas that he finds it strange they all refer to their "representative" (rappresentante) as their "father". Joe Bayonne also continually refers to Joe Bonanno and the boss position as "father" on those tapes. So the whole "Father" thing was not invented for Bonanno's book to make himself sound grandiose, but was the term Bonanno members actually used for him. DeCavalcante considered it strange, so that tells us "father" was not in common use outside of the Bonanno family.

But anyway, "capo" can be translated to "boss" or "leader", though I can't help but feel Joe Bonanno was deliberate in the translation his book used given he hated the term "boss". I wonder what he thought about "capo", as it had the same meaning. You can find the term "capo" for mafia boss going back to the 1800s, so it wasn't a later corruption. The question is if Bonanno only took issue with the English version.

[eboli]

LCN disciplinary procedures and a glossary of terms the FBI were familiar with in the late 1950s - early 1960s.

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[cavita]

Seemed a Chicago informant used the term "button men" to describe some Rockford LCN members in this 1966 FBI file.

Nice find. Maybe it’s the same Chicago CI who noted that “button man” was used in Chicago.

Also, my impression has been that “wiseguy” was used in Chicago as well, but I’m not sure when exactly it went in or out of fashion. I also don’t know if it was used to refer specifically to made guys, or if it was also used to refer to “Outfit guys” (associate-“soldiers” belonging to a made guy’s crew). I don’t have the transcripts handy, but I recall that Frank Schweihs used “wiseguy” when he was recorded by Red Wemette back in the 1980’s, in the context of instructing Red to let the German know if any “wiseguys” tried to show up and collect from, or put the arm on, Red (since Lombardo was in the can Schweihs was told to look out for Wemette).

I completely spaced this, but CG T-2 was Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Iasparro. He had intimate knowledge of the LCN then and later on was investigated for his ties to Rockford LCN gambling boss Phil Emordeno and Iasparro admitted he gambled with known Rockford "hoodlums." It seemed he was playing both sides of the fence at the time.

[PolackTony]

Seemed a Chicago informant used the term "button men" to describe some Rockford LCN members in this 1966 FBI file.

Nice find. Maybe it’s the same Chicago CI who noted that “button man” was used in Chicago.

Also, my impression has been that “wiseguy” was used in Chicago as well, but I’m not sure when exactly it went in or out of fashion. I also don’t know if it was used to refer specifically to made guys, or if it was also used to refer to “Outfit guys” (associate-“soldiers” belonging to a made guy’s crew). I don’t have the transcripts handy, but I recall that Frank Schweihs used “wiseguy” when he was recorded by Red Wemette back in the 1980’s, in the context of instructing Red to let the German know if any “wiseguys” tried to show up and collect from, or put the arm on, Red (since Lombardo was in the can Schweihs was told to look out for Wemette).

I completely spaced this, but CG T-2 was Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Iasparro. He had intimate knowledge of the LCN then and later on was investigated for his ties to Rockford LCN gambling boss Phil Emordeno and Iasparro admitted he gambled with known Rockford "hoodlums." It seemed he was playing both sides of the fence at the time.

Ah ok, thanks for following up on that.

[B.]

Another term for mafia family in Sicily was "paese". On the recording of Paolo Violi and Carmelo Cuffaro, where Cuffaro breaks down the admin changes in Sicily, they refer to the "rappresentante di paese" to mean local bosses (as opposed to capomandamento and capoprovincia).

This is the root of the word paesani and makes sense given families are traditionally based in a given village/neighborhood/region. Not much different from the origin of "borgata" to mean family but this one for whatever reason didn't carry to the US.

[Amershire_Ed]

LCN disciplinary procedures and a glossary of terms the FBI were familiar with in the late 1950s - early 1960s.


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The way they spell “Causa Nostra” in this document is funny. You can tell he’s typing it phonetically as he heard it. Anytime I’ve seen or heard a wiseguy say it, that’s how they pronounce it.

[B.]

Yeah, always funny to see the phonetics. I imagine non-Italian agents were wracking their brain about "ugob" (il capo) when they first heard it. If I remember right, "ugob" was transcribed by the Detroit office.

Stefano Magaddino commented that he couldn't understand Italian-American agents who tried to speak proper Italian to him, as he spoke only in dialect.

[PolackTony]

Yes, and Joe Costello in Chicago who they transcribed as referring to his “gobracheen”.

Personally, I’ve wondered if the whole “capo regime” thing is just a phonetic rendering of capodecina in dialect that wound up sticking. To me it shows several clear signs of phonetic shifts common to Ital-American pronunciation based on various Southern dialects. “D” between vowels is often rendered as an “r” (such as the shift from “Madonn’” to “Maronn’”). “C” and “g” before a vowel often are realized as the same or very similar phonemes (closer to a “j” sound in English in many cases). And a word-final vowel in an unstressed position either becomes a schwa (like an “uh” sound) or is dropped entirely. “M” and “n” are of course both nasal consonants, so easily confused.

Capo decina -> capo “regime”. I think it’s fully possible that the Feds misheard it (as in “causa nostra”, until Valachi made it clear) as “regime” and that’s how it initially got propagated.

Unless there some evidence that proves me wrong, which in that case then forget the above.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Great thread All. Fascinating read.

[Cheech]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeLTEu0vwdo

[Antiliar]

Yes, and Joe Costello in Chicago who they transcribed as referring to his “gobracheen”.

Personally, I’ve wondered if the whole “capo regime” thing is just a phonetic rendering of capodecina in dialect that wound up sticking. To me it shows several clear signs of phonetic shifts common to Ital-American pronunciation based on various Southern dialects. “D” between vowels is often rendered as an “r” (such as the shift from “Madonn’” to “Maronn’”). “C” and “g” before a vowel often are realized as the same or very similar phonemes (closer to a “j” sound in English in many cases). And a word-final vowel in an unstressed position either becomes a schwa (like an “uh” sound) or is dropped entirely. “M” and “n” are of course both nasal consonants, so easily confused.

Capo decina -> capo “regime”. I think it’s fully possible that the Feds misheard it (as in “causa nostra”, until Valachi made it clear) as “regime” and that’s how it initially got propagated.

Unless there some evidence that proves me wrong, which in that case then forget the above.

You are correct that "Cosa Nostra" was misheard as "causa nostra," but there's an easy explanation for this. Their strong New York accents. It's why Joe Valachi's nickname, Joe Cargo, was heard as "Joe Cago." This doesn't explain "decina" becoming "regime," however. Again, I think there's a simple reason. In Sicily a decina was a crew of ten or fewer picciotti. In the United States some crews became very large with twenty or thirty soldiers, so calling them decinas wouldn't make sense. A regime is a variation of "regiment," a large military unit and is applied to large crews. The Genovese Family was known to have very large crews, so I think it's likely that they started using caporegime instead of capodecina for all their crews (after all, it might create unwanted hostility and jealousy if one crew boss had a decina while another had a regime) and it caught on in the other Families.