Vaffanculo: Scalia caught in a lie?

As much as I generally dislike the Herald, like any trashy paper, they can't resist some controversy:

“It’s inaccurate and deceptive of him to say there was no vulgarity in the moment,” said Peter Smith, the Boston University assistant photojournalism professor who made the shot.

Smith said the jurist “immediately knew he’d made a mistake, and said, ‘You’re not going to print that, are you?’ ”

“The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ” punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said.

The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.”

What's that they say about picking fights with people who buy ink by the barrel?

Again, compared to some other allegations about Scalia, this is pretty immaterial. It speaks to his character, perhaps, but so do his decisions.