Federal investigators believe that reputed Genovese family associate Carmine Franco got his “Papa Smurf” underworld nickname because fellow wiseguys just couldn’t help but think of the 1980s mushroom-dwelling cartoon character when they saw him.
“It was just ’cause of his appearance,” said one fed.
It wasn’t a term of endearment, and other mobsters didn’t dare use it within earshot, sources said.
The world first learned from the feds that Franco, 77, was called “Papa Smurf” when he was arrested in Wednesday’s predawn sweep.claimed she and her hubby never heard then Smurf nickname before. “We don’t know where he got that name,” Franco’s wife Mary told The Post yesterday. “It’s a fictitious name — just like the cartoon.”