Baby Shacks, a Bag of Tomatoes, Eastside Marketplace, and a “Favor Owed”
GoLocalProv News Team
Baby Shacks, a Bag of Tomatoes, Eastside Marketplace, and a “Favor Owed”
PHOTO: Gary Fultz/Unsplash
On Sunday, GoLocalProv was the first to report that former New England organized crime boss Luigi Manocchio — often referred to as “Baby Shacks” — died at the age of 97.
Manocchio headed the Patriarca family crime family allegedly from 1996 to 2009.
He was a World War II veteran and was known for his criminal career, but he also had community ties.
Many commented on social media about GoLocal’s article, recalling his days at Cafe Verde.
One said in jest that Manocchio “owed him a favor.”
It was Jesse Cardarelli — a longtime employee at the now-defunct Eastside Marketplace, formerly the IGA, which closed this fall.
Cardarelli shared his story with GoLocal on Sunday.
Luigi Giovanni Manocchio PHOTO: Providence Police, 1969
Doing Baby Shacks a “Favor”
“His brother Andy and friend Tommy were regulars at Eastside Marketplace in the early 2000s,” said Cardarelli. “[Manocchio] came in one day with them. I was the only one who knew who he was.”
“I spoke to him carefully for a few minutes when he asked me to get him ten pounds of ripe Roma tomatoes so he could make a sauce,” said Cardarelli. “I said, ‘Not gravy.’ And smiled.”
“I got the tomatoes. Ten pounds of perfect tomatoes,” said Cardarelli. “I walked over to him and said to the cashier, ‘This is my uncle. Make sure he gets my 5% discount.”
“She gave it to him, and he said thanks, kid, I owe you,” said Cardarelli.
