The term Mustache Pete was an old slang expression for a conservative and cautious fellow, but it became a derisive comment used for stodgy (and stingy) bosses. It had nothing to do with facial hair and everything to do with attitude. The earliest American mobsters were given this moniker by their rivals and the young turks who sought to seize power from the old guard. The old boys were believed to be too traditional and Old World to make the Mafia a viable enterprise in the New World. Static was their ways; tending to their olives and tomatoes or leisurely sipping a cappuccino or some vintage wine while business got done at a leisurely clip was their style. The younger breed of mobster was lean and hungry, and very dangerous. They had the eye on the prize, always looking to get into new schemes and team up with mobsters across ethnic boundaries.