Ruggiero "Richie the Boot" Boiardo, Newark NJ Mafioso, got his name because he conducted his business out of a phone boot'.
The book "In the godfather garden" by Richard Linnett lists several theories:
Quote:
His nickname, the Boot, allegedly came from his occupation: Ruggerio Boiardo was a bootlegger and a successful one. Others said he was named after the motherland, where he came from, the boot of Italy. Newspapers reported that he earned the moniker by brutally kicking and stomping on his foes, sometimes to death. The Boot himself once told the FBI that he got the name because he was frequently summoned to telephone booths in order to conduct business and to take calls from female admirers: “Hey Richie the booth,” which sounded like “Richie da boot”; the nickname stuck.
