Joe Massino had several nicknames: -'Joe Wagons', as he started out as a lunch wagon operator under Rusty Rastelli -'Big Joey' for his obesity -'The Ear', as he wanted others to use their ears when referring to him, similar to how mobsters pointed to their chins in reference to Vinny Chin -'The Last Don', as he was the last full-fledged mob boss on the streets whom the feds didn't pinch while the other bosses were in the can in the 1990s.
i dont know if Massino started doing the ear thing himself and making it a mandate. i think they started pulling on ear lobe or pulling their ears to refer to him, because he was notorious for "having his ear to the street" - always finding out about every penny his soldiers made and every move they made...a micromanager. i get the feeling that he wasnt well liked, before he ratted. he seemed greedy as fuck. no made guy could borrow any money from anyone else in the tamily except from him...still kept a personal, active loanshark book when he was boss
