- "Recently arrived Sicilians, in other words, considered ruthless even by other wiseguys"
- ―The Godfather Returns[src]
Zips is a slang term used as a derogatory slur by Italian-American and Sicilian-American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi. The name is said to have originated from mobsters' inability to understand the faster-speaking Sicilian dialects, which appeared to "zip" by. Ironically, the older Sicilian mafiosi of pre-Prohibition known as "Mustache Petes" were also referred to as "zips".
The Corleone family and Bocchicchio clan brought zips over to the United States. Peter Clemenza brought new Sicilian recruits for the Corleone family over once in every five years. Most of them were provided by Clemenza's older brother, Don Domenico of Trapani.
Nick Geraci also had a crew of zips in Knickerbocker Avenue, New York, who he used as part of his narcotics operation. He also set some of them up with jobs in pizza parlors to carry out the distribtion of narcotics. Carmine Marino, a zip himself, was first in charge of the crew, but after his death Renzo Sacripante was placed in charge. After Geraci's and Sacripante's betrayal and subsequent death the crew became part of Ritchie Nobilio's regime.
Notable Zips[]
Bussetta.
- Bussetta
- Lia Vazzi
- Gaetano Paternostro
- Renzo Sacripante
- Carmine Marino
- Italo Bocchicchio
- Unnamed Bocchicchio
