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Even our mobsters speak Boston English
By adamg on Fri, 10/03/2014 - 10:02am
The US Attorney's office reports the indictment of two Revere men on extortion charges. The feds ID one of them as Anthony "Spucky" Spagnolo, 72, "the acting boss" of the "New England Family of La Cosa Nostra."
Only an old-time Bostonian would call himself Spucky, since the kids these days only know from sub rolls.
The indictment, which notes that Sagnolo is also known as "Crazy Eyes," alleges that Spagnolo and alleged made-man Pryce "Stretch" Quintina collected monthly protection payments from a Revere company that leased illegal video-poker machines to social clubs and bars across Revere and East Boston - with Quintina acting as the bag man.
The indictment specifically refers to the Revere Moose Lodge, which at one point drew Spucky's alleged ire when it tried to remove his preferred machines and replace them with machines from another company with a better revenue split. After Spucky had a word with the managers, however, they decided to stick with his preferred vendor.
Innocent, etc.
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| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Spucky indictment | 184.24 KB |
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Comments
Never understood
Why Italians-Americans born in Boston have Italian accents. That would be like me talking with a brogue.
Never met an American-born (and raised)...
... Boston Italian-American with an "Italian" accent -- the North Boston-Revere accnt is distinctive (and used to be _very_ different from the Sourth Boston Irish one) but it is not an Italian accent.
Take a trip to the
N. End "Aaaaa"
I often go to the North End...
... and have done so for many years. The people I encounter with Italian accents -- as opposed to Northeastern (and specifically Boston area) Italian-American accents -- were born in Italy.
Americans with Italian accents
There absolutely are American born people with Italian accents. I grew up in East Boston during the Italian era, and I knew kids who were born, raised and educated in this country (though their parents or grandparents may not have been) and they practically spoke like they got off the boat from Naples and still do. Not quite so extreme, but the accent was there. I never understood this phenomenon. I think they consider it a point of "ethnic pride" to speak as if they were from "the old country".
It may be bc they are around
It may be bc they are around a lot of relatives that have accents? I have friends w/ parents and lots of relatives from Ireland and sometimes they speak w/ a bit of an accent.
Could by my ignorance, but...
how can a company legally lease video poker machines to those places? Isn't that illegal as well?
You're right
The indictment says the machines were illegal - so the two (wise?) guys are charged with extorting money from an illegal operation.
They say some of these were
They say some of these were in bars; how could you put an illegal machine in a bar for 10 years and not have anyone say anything??
Well..
One, we're talking about Revere here. There's been poker machines in Revere bars since I was a kid. As long as a cop isn't in the bar when a payoff takes place between the player and the bartender, they've always gotten away with it. The majority of the players are old locals, many veterans, so the cops have always treated poker machines as harmless vices.
Two, we're talking about Revere here, Boston's Cicero.
Also, I have learned from my two now California based siblings how to pronounce my "R's" around clients, but for some strange reason whenever I hang out in Revere, I still find myself slipping back into the dese, dem, doses constantly!
There is zero difference
between the way an American of Italian (or part Italian) decent who speaks with a Boston accent vs anyone else.
There is no such thing as an 'Irish' Boston accent.
A Boston accent sounds nothing like a real Italian or Irish accent. It is actually based on non-rhotic southeastern England accents (London, etc.) An Irish accent is the exact opposite of a non-rhotic accent. Same with Italian.
*non-rhotic refers to the way accents can be dplit between the way the letter R is pronounced; 'ah' vs 'ur'. In America, only the Boston-Eastern MA (parts of Maine), NYC, and a few southeastern accents are non-hotic. R.I. has a traditional accent that sounds like a cross between a NY and Boston accent. A traditional New Orleans accent sounds very similar to a NY accent. The rest of America pronounces R as 'ur'.
After a generation most people, regardless of their background, if they speak with a Boston accent, it's indistinguishable from anyone else.