Vinny owned several small businesses in the Bronx, mainly here in Throggs Neck. His video store was actually very busy, and I'm sure it stood on its own, not just as a "front." He was a much sharper businessman than he's given credit for (especially with "Mom and Pop" stores).

As far as the whole "Vinny Pills" thing, that piece of human garbage Vitale makes me laugh. He wants it to sound like he's the guy who uncovered that nickname for the rest of the world, and that it was used as a pejorative by the other Bonannos behind Vinny's back. Bullshit. Some people in the neighborhood referred to him that way prior to his purchase of "Hello, Gorgeous" (his beauty parlor).

At that point, yeah, some people jokingly started to refer to him as "Vinny Gorgeous," but in my opinion it's the media that made that moniker stick. And for the record, everyone who knows me here knows that Vinny and I lived practically spitting distance from each other before he went away for good and Angela sold the house.

I'm not defending his life and I'm hardly a fanboy. I wouldn't piss on most of these guys if they were on fire. But what's right is right. The shit that Vitale dreamed up about Vinny is ridiculous. He barely knew the guy.