Battle of the Gangster Nicknames: Italians Trounce Blacks

Vincent "No Good" Young

But they're also pretty potent pop-culture pricks. Gangs of other colors and races are also dangerous, but Joe Coscarelli's list of Mafia nicknames from the recent big bust shows that when it comes to nicknames, Italian gangsters still have an edge over black gangsters.

There are exceptions. Just yesterday, feds in New Jersey indicted a bunch of Bloods for racketeering and other felonies. Topping the list is Vincent "No Good" Young. He's so bad that even one of his other nicknames, "Good," is simply a shortened version of "No Good."

Among the other Bloods indicted, Antwon "Haywire" Breedlove sounds like someone you probably don't want to mess with. For entirely different reasons, neither is Emmanuel "Emo" Jones.

But the Italian-American gangsters' monikers still have a clear edge. "Tony Bagels" and "Lumpy" beat "Killer" or "Little Dark Angel" any day. The Bloods were indicted on federal RICO charges, and that's the most Italian thing about them. Their nicknames are pretty pedestrian, for the most part.

"No Good," however, says it all. If the 41-year-old Young (already a convicted killer serving time) ever gets out of prison, you might want to call him "Vincent" or "Mr. Young." He's basically the guy who founded and expanded the Bloods in Jersey, now the state's most powerful street gang, cops and feds say. He's also known as "Big Head," but don't call him that either.

The tale of how the Bloods became such a dangerous force in Jersey is riveting. If you're just interested in the names, here they are, culled from the indictment:

VINCENT YOUNG
"No Good"
"Good"
"Big Head"

ALTARIQ GUMBS
"Killer Reek"
"Killer"
"Reek"
"Jersey"
"Sankofa"

MARY HOLMES
"Mary Brim"
"Ma"

TORIEN BROOKS
"B.G."
"T-Bird"
"Reek BOY"

ANTWON BREEDLOVE
"Haywire"

EMMANUEL JONES"
"Killer"
"Killer E"
"Emo"

SALEEN NEAL
"S Bang"

HALEEK STATE
"H.O."

LARRY MAYO
"Little Dark Angel"
"D.A."

JOHN BENNING
"Hood"

TEQUAN RYALS
"T Brim"

MICHAEL MCCLOUD
"Ike Brim"

RICKY COLEMAN
"Pool Stick"
"Sticks"

MARCKESE STEWART
"Shark"

RICHARD FIELDS
"P.O."