The Wire
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The Wire

Johnny "Fifty" Spamanto, played by Jeffrey Pratt Gordon, is a young checker from Frank Sobotka's union. Spamanto is caucasian and wears a long beard. He received his nickname for drinking over fifty beers on his 25th birthday and is often seen drinking in Delores' bar. Spamanto assists Nick and Ziggy in stealing from the docks for The Greek. He refuses to get involved in the drug trade with Nick and Ziggy. Spamanto was interviewed by a grand jury as part of the investigation in to smuggling at the docks but gave very little information and escaped uncharged.



Spamanto later appeared briefly in episode 4 of season 5 ("Transitions"), during a scene where Det. Jimmy McNulty, under the pretense of investigating the false homeless serial killings, is walking among a group of homeless men gathered under a bridge. At one point he asks a man sitting with a dog, "Does he bite?" and the man replies, "He's got teeth don't he?" That man was clearly an older and more haggard version of Spamanto, presumably a brief epilogue to one of the central themes of season 2 regarding the grim future of the stevedores.

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Appearances

Season 2


Season 5

  • "Transitions"
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