George "Blah Blah" Smurra was a button/soldier for the Genovese crime family. He first gained notoriety as one of the shooters in the gangland murder of Ferdinand "the Shadow" Boccia on September 19, 1934. It is likely that Smurra and an associate murdered Boccia and dumped his body in the Hudson River. Reputedly orchestrated by Vito "Don Vitone" Genovese, the Boccia slaying caused Genovese to flee to Italy where he served as a World War II interpreter.