Billy Beltbuckles

William Bertucci,^[2] commonly known as Billy Beltbuckles, is the chief operating officer^[1] of the Lombardi Family in Atlantic City, though his duties more closely resemble that of a glorified accountant. He is a supporting character in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part one, Boardwalk Paradise.

Background[]

The pitiable, neurotic Billy is the official accountant for the Lombardi Family, thanks to his father Carmine's position in the mob (a capo).^[3] As such, he works with the Lombardi's accounts every day, keeping track of income and expenses to determine the profits and the amount of dues the mobsters owe to the Munis and the Showmen.^[4] Billy has done a phenomenal job, cutting costs in multiple areas, e.g. through bribery (a Muni electrician diverts more power off the books, yielding a 15% reduction), recycling (a water recycler cuts water usage in half, at a minor deterioration in quality), and alternate sources for food and alcohol (quite a bit cheaper, though of questionable provenance). Concerta Lombardi remains quite satisfied with his performance,^[5] though Billy too remains terrified of her.^[6]

While he had hoped that the job would focus on managing finances and optimizing costs, i.e. things that he is actually well cut out for,^[7] it turned out to be far more than what he bargained for.^[8] Concerta asked him to cook the books to cover up excessive medical costs and medication, to the tune of 11,500 caps at first.^[9] His father did not tell Billy about the "extra responsibilities," and it occurred to Billy eventually that Carmine might have been unaware of what his son would wind up doing.^[10]

Billy had no choice but to alter the income records to cover up and reduce the amount of dues the mob pays to the other two factions, the Munis and the Showmen. Citing desperate times as the reason, they expected Billy to do his job and not ask any questions, and he obliged. At the same time, he painted a target on his back, as swindling the other groups is not tolerated in Atlantic City,^[11] with the punishment being the death of the person responsible for the violation.^[12] Billy is ashamed and disgusted of what he has been forced to do, but that scarcely matters to others.^[13] Neither does it matter that he largely did it to make his father appreciate him (or at least stop being so angry).^[11] Billy is trapped, however, as if he refuses to follow orders, he dies.^[14] If he follows along, the forgeries may come to light, resulting in the whole peace treaty unraveling and his death, as the peace treaty is the only thing keeping him alive.^[15]

Personality[]

In general, Billy is poorly cut out for life in the mob. He detests killing, to the point that accidentally crushing a beetle a few years earlier left him in tears for two hours.^[16] He is also very sensitive in an environment full of thugs, which results in him being anxious and tense all the time. Even the nickname, which may be seen as being better than Sal Sticky Fingers', is cause for anxiety; while Billy tries to turn it around, claiming it is because he is the most secure and trustworthy accountant around, it has its origins in an unpleasant incident.^[17]

Furthermore, despite his position, he is cut out of many perks of the job,^[18] and cannot really invoke mafia protection (though in the case of his mistakes in hiding the records, doing so would also mean admitting a mistake and likely leading to all-out war).^[19] Billy finds himself unable to confide in anyone, including his former best friend, Sal. Making matters worse, all of this leads to unpleasant effects on Billy; the stress of the situation he is stuck in,^[20] living with a target on his back and in fear of the other factions,^[21][22] and constantly being around people he is terrified by is causing him many problems. He became very forgetful, to the point of forgetting his own password for the terminals holding the doctored books. He has not written it down because of, as he says, a cramp in his writing wrist.^[23] He would much rather do an honest job, for example, working for the Munis.^[24] Billy is actually in awe of all the work they do and respects Timothy Lane deeply,^[25] while he remains stuck working for the mafia, leaving him angry, frustrated, and since he is sworn to secrecy, without an outlet.^[26] He is also noticeably nervous of letting secrets slip^[27] and has multiple phobic tendencies,^[28] as well as difficulty understanding seemingly obvious concepts,^[29][30] though he does possess a knack for observation (though he often cannot deduce the meaning of what he observes).^[31]

Nickname[]

Overall, Billy is just miserable and regrets his choices in life.^[32] One of those he regrets the most is considering Sal Sticky Fingers his best friend and confidante. What was once a close friendship turned sour and Billy was forced to cut him out of his life.^[33] The reason lies in an unpleasant incident shortly after Billy was made accountant.^[34] One night at Quentino's Night Club, Sal decided to play a practical joke on Billy and pull down his pants. Due to his condition, however, Sal wound up tearing Billy's pants off, causing him to panic and run around the club screaming, with his underwear on display. The humiliation before the entire Lombardi Family left Billy traumatized. Since then, he started wearing multiple belts together with suspenders to ensure that it would not happen again.^[35]

Billy is a prized customer at Richard's Haberdashery in the flooded city center, where he bought the first batch of his brahmin leather belts (in chestnut brown, mahogany, and black) together with replacement buckles.^[36] He claims to never take the pants off anymore, even under a shower.^[37] He has not told anyone about specifically why he is wearing so many belts,^[38] but considers them paramount to his safety, even if they make dressing in the morning a chore. He has actually considered sleeping with the belts on him.^[39]

Sal, for his part, does not realize that what he did was wrong and has not felt the need to make amends or at least apologize to Billy.^[40] Billy blames Sal's prank for much of what has happened to him since,^[41] which is not too far off the mark. While Concerta has sympathy for Billy and reprimanded Sal for his actions,^[42] Billy's obsession with belts has become severe enough that his own father is warning him that he is becoming a running joke among the mobsters,^[43] and Fabio Mondadori has suggested replacing Billy due to his mistakes and seeming incompetence.^[44][45]

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
	This character is involved in quests.	Tax Evasion

Quests[]

• Tax Evasion: Billy is the hapless accountant currently threatened by both the Showmen and the Muni auditors. Since he cannot invoke the protection of the mob, he has to rely on the Vault dwellers for help.

Inventory[]

Appearances[]

Billy Beltbuckles appears only in Fallout 76, introduced in the Expeditions: Atlantic City update part one, Boardwalk Paradise.

Behind the scenes[]

When writer Stephanie Zachariadis asked the development team for a good name for a mobster, lead quest designer Joshua Moretto replied with Billy Beltbuckles. Moretto initially envisioned a character who wrapped belts around his hands and punched people with the buckles. Zachariadis, however, interpreted the name to belong to a character who was obsessed with belt buckles, leading to the genesis of Billy's character.^{[Non-game 1]} A similar character creation process played out with the name of Buttercup.^{[Non-game 2]}

Gallery[]

Billy's radio potrait

Sitting

Save Billy from the Showman

Billy is saved

References[]

Non-game