Ronald Zellman

This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series '' The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film '' The Many Saints of Newark.''

Main characters

Cast table

Main character biographies

Tony Soprano

Jennifer Melfi

Carmela Soprano

Christopher Moltisanti

Corrado "Junior" Soprano

Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero

Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero is played by Vincent Pastore. Big Pussy was a longtime close friend and mob enforcer for Tony Soprano, and was also shown to be close friends with fellow DiMeo crime family mobsters Paulie "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, Silvio Dante, and was once a close friend to Tony's uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano. In the tie-in video game it is revealed he has an illegitimate son named Joey LaRocca. Samson Moeakiola portrays a young Bonpensiero in the 2021 prequel film, '' The Many Saints of Newark''.

The son of Lino Bonpensiero, Salvatore Bonpensiero started out as a cat burglar, and was affectionately known as Pussy, in reference to those talents. He was called "Big Pussy" to distinguish from Gennaro "Little Pussy" Malenga. Sal had a wife Angie and three children. He operated an auto body shop with his brother Edward "Duke" Bonpensiero. Sal was a soldier in the Soprano crew, and he backed "Johnny Boy" Soprano's wishes to have Tony Soprano become capo following Johnny's death in 1986.

In order to put his children through college, he dealt heroin on the side. Sometime between 1995 and 1998, Sal was caught by the FBI and decided to inform against the Soprano crew in order to avoid the possibility of life in prison. He was assigned Agent Skip Lipari as his handler. He was revealed as an informant in the episode " Do Not Resuscitate". In flashbacks to 1995, it is shown that Sal was instrumental in organizing a sit-down between high-ranking capo Junior Soprano and acting boss Jackie Aprile Sr. He traveled to Boca Raton to persuade Junior to return to New Jersey and settle a trucking dispute with Aprile. However, Sal was suspiciously late for the sit-down and blamed the health problems of his comare's mother.

In 1998, he was arrested at a card game run by Soprano family capo Jimmy Altieri. He tried to escape but threw his back out and was caught. He was quickly bailed out, but was confined to his home due to injury. Dirty cop Vin Makazian told Tony he had a rat in his organization and pointed the finger at Sal. Tony assigned Paulie Gualtieri to investigate, and to kill Sal, but only if he explicitly saw proof. At a bathhouse with Paulie, Sal refused to undress, blaming high blood pressure and alleging it would be bad for his back, but implicitly suggesting (to the viewer) it could really be because he was wearing a wire.

This raised the crew's suspicions further, especially after Sal then disappeared. Paulie took over his collections, and the crew killed Altieri, taking the heat off Sal, as the crew figured the rat was flushed. Sal resurfaced at Tony's home in 2000, claiming to have been in Puerto Rico receiving treatment for his bad back from an acupuncturist. He started lying to Agent Lipari, showing reluctance to divulge details. Acquaintance Jimmy Bones, who is later murdered at his home for fear of revelation, spots him with Agent Lipari. Sal and his wife Angie begin having marital issues when he returns. Angie discusses leaving him with Carmela, who dissuades her, so she settles for sleeping in separate bedrooms.

When Tony became acting boss, he made Silvio his consigliere, and Paulie a capo, with new addition Furio Giunta on equal footing with Sal despite Sal's years of service. Sal wore a wire to A.J.'s confirmation, but he spent most of the time privately counseling A.J., instead of talking business with the crew. Following Christopher Moltisanti's shooting by associates Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte, Sal resumed his loyal soldier role despite his double life as an informant; he tracked down the escaped Bevilaqua, and shot him to death with Tony. Sal eventually gave Agent Lipari information on Soprano's stolen airline tickets scam, leading to Tony's brief arrest.

Tony eventually accepted his suspicions about Sal after a portentous dream where Sal appeared to him as a talking fish, a clear reference to the Mafia-related saying "sleep with the fishes". To be certain, he searched for evidence in Sal's home and found a wire in a cigar box. He then organized a hit on Sal, with Silvio and Paulie, on a boat, with one last toast to the good times, and the three shot him to death, wrapped his body in plastic bags, chains, and weights, and dumped it into the ocean.

Sal would make several appearances in the show after his death in dreams and flashbacks.

Silvio Dante

Anthony "A.J." Soprano Jr.

Meadow Soprano

Paulie Gualtieri

Livia Soprano

Adriana La Cerva

Richie Aprile

Richard "Richie" Aprile is played by David Proval. Richie is the older brother of acting DiMeo crime family boss Jackie Aprile Sr., and was a capo in the DiMeo crime family before being sent to prison for ten years. Richie was previously married and fathered a son, Richie Aprile Jr. Richie returned from prison to a very different family, with Tony Soprano as the boss, whom Richie had known since before Tony had become a made man. Richie feels he is entitled to more control and a higher ranking position in the family for having paid his dues in prison.

Tony promises to give Richie his due, an offer which Richie immediately rebuffs, saying Tony does not have the authority to do it. Richie's tensions with Tony escalate throughout Season 2. One of Richie's first actions as a free man is to confront his old partner Peter "Beansie" Gaeta and try to extort money from Beansie's legitimate business investments. Later, Richie waits for Beansie to approach his car in the parking lot, then rams Beansie with his car, crushing Beansie between the two vehicles. Richie then drives over Beansie's legs as he leaves.

Richie dislikes Tony's protégé Christopher Moltisanti because of his violent relationship with Richie's niece, Adriana La Cerva, and warns Christopher of the consequences should he ever hit her again. Christopher's two young associates, Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte, learn of Richie's dislike for their boss, and shoot Christopher, hoping to impress Richie. The shooting goes wrong, however, and Christopher survives while Sean is killed. Richie had nothing to do with planning the hit, and when he learns of it, he refuses to help Bevilaqua and chases him off his premises.

Richie and Janice Soprano, Tony's sister, used to date in high school. When Richie gets out of prison, he and Janice resume their old relationship and eventually get engaged. Janice frequently encourages Richie to defy Tony, because she wants to be married to the boss. In the end, Richie prepares, with the approval of Tony's Uncle Junior, to take over the family as boss. Richie approaches acting capo Albert "Ally Boy" Barese to ask for his support in his takeover bid, but he declines.

After weighing his options, Junior realizes he is better off with Tony in charge and tips him off about Richie's plans. Silvio Dante advises Tony that there is nothing to gain from leaving Richie alive, so Tony instructs Silvio to have Richie killed. However, after returning home one night, Richie gets into an argument with Janice over Richie's son's possible homosexuality. Richie is enraged at the thought of his son being gay, but Janice replies that it would not matter. Furious, Richie punches her in the mouth before settling down for dinner.

Janice leaves the room and returns with a gun pointed at him. Calmly, Richie says, "Get the fuck outta here. I'm in no mood for your..." before she shoots Richie twice, killing him. Distraught, she calls Tony, who has Christopher, and Furio Giunta meet him at Livia's (where Janice, Richie, and Livia reside) to remove Richie's body. They bring his corpse to Satriale's to dismember it while Tony sends Janice off to Olympia, Washington to lie low.

Janice Soprano

Artie Bucco

Arthur "Artie" Bucco Jr. is played by John Ventimiglia. Artie is a restaurateur and chef, and childhood friend of Tony Soprano, attending elementary school together. Artie appears throughout the series, from the first episode to the penultimate episode. He and his wife, Charmaine Bucco, have three children Chiara Bucco, Melissa Bucco, and Arthur "Art" Bucco III. Charmaine is frequently concerned about his attraction to Tony's criminal life and often warns Artie about his occasional attempts at involvement.

Despite Artie and Tony's close friendship, their relationship sees several low points. At the end of season 1, Artie learns from Tony's mother, Livia, that Tony was responsible for the arson at his original restaurant co-owned with his wife, Vesuvio, in Essex County, New Jersey. Tony's Uncle Junior had planned to stage a hit at Vesuvio on “Little Pussy" Malanga, despite Tony's repeated requests to move the location of the hit. Tony, knowing that the restaurant's patrons would be permanently chased away if a hit occurred there, set the restaurant ablaze so that the hit would be avoided and Artie could rebuild the restaurant with the payout from his insurance policy.

Artie rebuilds the restaurant renaming it, Nuovo Vesuvio. However, Artie had a strong emotional attachment to the old restaurant, which he inherited from his father, and confronts Tony with a hunting rifle in the parking lot of Satriale's when he finds out that Tony was responsible. Eventually, Artie believes Tony's repeated denials of having been the arsonist. There is a brief tension between the two, but by the end of the season 1 finale, they have made up.

In season 3, Artie becomes infatuated with Adriana. When she quits working as a hostess at his restaurant, he unsuccessfully tries to court her. This causes a rift in his marriage to Charmaine and the two separate. In season 4, Artie is approached by Frenchman Jean-Philippe, the brother of the new hostess at Vesuvio, for a $50,000 short-term loan to distribute Armagnac in the US. Artie agrees to lend him the money at high interest. He tries to borrow the money from Ralph, who declines but mentions it to Tony, who reminds Artie of their friendship and insists that he accept the loan from him.

Ten days pass and Jean-Philippe is not answering the phone. Artie goes to his home; Jean-Philippe says plainly that the deal has failed and there is no money. Artie attacks him. Jean-Philippe gets the better of him, rips out his earring, and throws him out. At home, Artie overdoses on alcohol and pills and calls Tony to apologize. Tony deduces that his friend is trying to kill himself and calls 911.

At the hospital, Tony says that Artie can clear his $6,000 tab at Nuovo Vesuvio in lieu of payment. Artie expresses admiration that Tony could intuitively foresee that the deal would go bad and so he would be able to profit from it; this makes Tony furious. Someone rings the bell at Jean-Philippe's apartment. He opens the door: it is Furio.

In the third episode of season 5, Tony learns that Artie has been living in a Motel 6 since the separation from his wife. Tony offers to let Artie stay in his mother's old house, where Tony has been living since his separation from Carmela. Artie accepts, and the old friends reconcile. In season 6, Artie and Charmaine reconcile. There is a growing sense of dissatisfaction amongst Nuovo Vesuvio's diners, culminating in the episode " Luxury Lounge".

Artie has hired another young hostess that he lusts after—Martina, an undocumented Albanian immigrant he has been helping through the U.S. government's immigration process. Soprano crew associate Benny Fazio is a regular fixture at the restaurant's bar, flirting with Martina. The restaurant is losing many customers to the new rival restaurant, Da Giovanni's. Nuovo Vesuvio's finances worsen when American Express will not let its customers use its cards there, because several account numbers had been stolen and used to run up charges elsewhere. Artie confronts Martina, who instantly breaks, tearfully admitting to stealing, then passing, the charge card numbers to Benny.

Artie is enraged and storms to Benny's house in the middle of the night. Benny tries to deny his involvement, and Artie starts a brawl, knocking Benny unconscious on his front porch. A furious Benny tells Tony he wants Artie dead, but Tony is able to keep him from doing so. Later, Artie appears to restore his business. Artie had also catered Christopher Moltisanti's belated bachelor party at Nuovo Vesuvio without coming into confrontation with Benny.

Charmaine Bucco

Charmaine Bucco is played by Kathrine Narducci. Charmaine is the wife of Artie Bucco and a childhood friend of Carmela and Tony Soprano. She co-owns the restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio with her husband. Charmaine runs the front of the house, and Artie is the head chef. Charmaine's education is referenced periodically in the series: in ''The Test Dream'' it is revealed that she is a licensed notary public and in '' Everybody Hurts'' it is revealed that she went to the Wharton School of Business. She and her husband have three children Chiara Bucco, Melissa Bucco, and Arthur "Art" Bucco III.

In season one, Charmaine and Carmela drift apart. Charmaine resents that Carmela enjoys an affluent lifestyle that is only made possible by her husband's criminal activities. She discourages Artie from associating with Tony because of his criminal lifestyle. When Carmela hires the Buccos to cater a silent auction fundraiser at the Soprano home, Carmela treats Charmaine like a servant. This prompts Charmaine to reveal that she dated and had sex with Tony in high school at the same time he was beginning to date Carmela when she was spending the summer with her parents on Long Beach Island.

Following a series of escalating arguments, Artie and Charmaine separate. Artie moves out of the family home, but the two still reluctantly run the business together. Charmaine ultimately reconciles with Artie in season six.

Ralph Cifaretto

Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto is played by Joe Pantoliano. Ralph is not present in season 1 or 2, as he spends a prolonged period of time in Miami, Florida and lived in Delray Beach, Florida. Ralph first appears as a soldier in the Aprile Crew in the second episode of season 3, "Proshai, Livushka". He is characterized as an excellent earner but also unstable and prone to violence. He returned to New Jersey in 2000, following the disappearance of Richie Aprile. As a high-ranking soldier, he tried to take over the crew despite Tony's reluctance to make him captain, and often referred to it as "my crew". Tony viewed Ralph as obnoxious and insubordinate, so he passed Ralph over for promotion, and made Gigi Cestone captain of the Aprile crew. After Cestone dies of a heart attack, Tony reluctantly installs Ralph as capo.

In the episode " University", Ralph is involved with a 20-year-old stripper named Tracee, who becomes pregnant with his child. At the Bing, Tracee insults Ralph in front of his friends and makes fun of his perceived lack of masculinity. He follows her outside, where they argue. Ralph sweet-talks Tracee by telling her of a romantic future with their child which makes her happy, only for Ralph to insult her by telling her if their child is a girl, she should name her "Tracee" because she "is going to become a cock-sucking slob, just like her mother." Tracee spits at him and slaps him in retaliation, and he brutally beats her to death. Tony finds out and strikes him repeatedly. Ralph defends himself by shouting, "I'm a made guy!" Tony justifies his actions by saying that Ralph "disrespected the Bing".

Johnny Sack, a high-ranking member in the Lupertazzi family, once ordered a hit on Cifaretto for making an off-color joke about his wife's obesity, although he later cooled down and called it off. Although unknown to Johnny Sack, his own hit was approved by Tony and Carmine in order to protect the highly valuable Esplanade project to which Ralph's involvement was key. Ralph purchases a prize racehorse from Hesh Rabkin named Pie-O-My.

While Ralph only cares about the horse as a means to make money, Tony becomes emotionally attached to the horse. When Ralph's son Justin is accidentally impaled in the chest with an arrow as part of a game, Ralph is devastated and turns to Father Intintola for guidance. After Pie-O-My dies in a stable fire under questionable circumstances, Tony confronts Ralph over the suspicious timing of the fire with the $200,000 insurance payout, which was used for his son's medical expenses. Ralph denies the accusation, and rebukes and mocks Tony for being emotionally attached to the horse.

A fight ensues in Ralph's kitchen during which Tony beats and strangles Ralph to death. Tony calls Christopher to dispose of the body. Chris dismembers Ralph's body in his bathtub with a meat cleaver, after which he and Tony bury Ralph's severed head, toupee, and hands on a farm inside a bowling bag, and sink the rest of Ralph's remains in a flooded quarry after throwing his body off a cliff into the water below.

Eugene Pontecorvo

Eugene Pontecorvo is played by Robert Funaro. Eugene was a made man in the Aprile Crew. Hesh Rabkin mentions to Soprano family members that Eugene's father committed suicide by inert gas asphyxiation in his vehicle at the age of 52. It is implied he is from North Bergen, New Jersey. Eugene was introduced on the show as an associate in the Soprano crime family in the episode "Proshai, Livushka". Eugene subsequently becomes a made man in the following episode " Fortunate Son" along with Christopher Moltisanti.

In season six's premiere episode " Members Only", Eugene inherited $2 million from his deceased aunt. He begins developing serious stress with his home life due to his wife pushing him to talk Tony into their retiring to Fort Myers, Florida. When Eugene discusses this with Tony, he says he would think about it, but he states Eugene took an oath indicating that it is unlikely he would approve. He attempts to bribe Tony with David Yurman watches for Tony, Carmela, Meadow and A.J. He again tries to coax Tony by handing him over a share of the inheritance.

Christopher Moltisanti assigns Eugene the task of killing Teddy Spirodakis in Boston who owed Christopher money and failed to pay him. Eugene is reluctant but must follow Christopher's order due to his rank of capo. Chris assures Eugene that he will put in a good word for him to Tony as a favor for doing the hit. Eugene drives to Boston and finds Teddy eating dinner at a fast-food restaurant and shoots him repeatedly in the head. Eugene then walks out calmly.

It is revealed Eugene has been an informant and cooperating witness for the FBI, though it is unclear for how long. After Ray Curto dies of a massive stroke while giving potentially damaging information to Agent Robyn Sanseverino about Tony discussing a murder, the FBI informs Eugene they also refuse his notion to move to Florida, as they need him as a material witness in New Jersey to help build a case against Tony in the wake of Curto's death. Silvio informs Eugene that Tony denied his request to move to Florida. With Tony and the FBI both hindering his family's chance to escape the mafia life, coupled with his stress at home and seeing it as the only way to allow his family to move to Florida, Eugene hangs himself in his basement.

Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri

Furio Giunta

Furio Giunta is played by Federico Castelluccio. Furio is an Italian gangster, referred to as a zip, working for Tony Soprano. Furio first appears in season 2 in " Commendatori" as Tony's contact when visiting Italy who speaks both Italian and English. In Italy, Tony negotiates with the Neapolitan Camorra crime boss Annalisa Zucca for Furio to be transferred to New Jersey to work for him as part of an international car theft operation deal.

In order to get Furio a visa, Tony initially gets him a job as a mozzarella maker in the Nuovo Vesuvio Restaurant, enticing Artie Bucco with the idea that Tony will pay Furio's salary and he does not have to be on the restaurant's payroll. Furio became one of Tony's most feared enforcers, intimidating and beating up multiple people who owed Tony money, as well as acting as Tony's driver and bodyguard. Furio's first assignment was to extract payment from a massage parlor owner whose wife had convinced him to withhold payment. He broke the owner's arm with a baseball bat and shot him in the kneecap—all of which made a positive impression on Tony. In season 3 in "Amour Fou", Furio is shot in the leg by Jackie Aprile Jr. while Jackie and his friends Dino Zerilli and Carlo Renzi robbed Ralph Cifaretto's card game in an attempt to gain recognition amongst the crime family.

In season 4 in " Everybody Hurts", a sly Frenchman named Jean-Philippe talks Artie Bucco into temporarily lending him $50,000 for a business venture to distribute Armagnac in the US. Artie borrows the money from Tony Soprano, but when Artie goes to Jean-Philippe's apartment to collect the money, he claims he does not have it and does not know when or if he is going to get it. Artie and Jean-Philippe scuffle briefly, but Artie leaves bruised and bloodied. Furio is later tasked with reclaiming Tony's assumed debt from Jean-Philippe.

Furio eventually became infatuated with Tony's wife, Carmela, who shares the same feelings. The two never truly became romantically entwined, which creates significant sexual tension between them. Carmela repeatably found excuses to visit Furio including assisting him in buying and decorating a house and planning a house-warming party. At the house-warming they shared a sexually charged dance, Furio later claims he forgot his sunglasses at the Soprano house, just as a ploy to talk with Carmela.

When Furio's father dies, he returned to Italy for the funeral. He sought the advice of his uncle, another Mafia member, telling him that Italy no longer felt like home and that he was in love with his boss's wife, feeling that they could truly communicate. His uncle made it clear he had to move on or kill his boss. In the season 4 penultimate episode " Eloise", Furio witnesses Tony's infidelity firsthand on a night out at a casino. A helicopter had been arranged to take them home and while Tony was urinating on the tarmac, Furio suddenly grabs him by his jacket and contemplates pushing Tony into the rear rotor blades of the helicopter. "What the fuck you doin'?!" exclaimed Tony in a very inebriated voice. Furio then pulls him away and plays it off by telling Tony "You were standing too close...".

Furio, no longer able to bear the burden that the internal conflict is causing him (that of his feelings conflicting with his honor, as well as his respect for the "family" hierarchy), sells his house and moves back to Italy. Carmela was devastated, and eventually revealed her feelings for him in an argument with Tony, to which Tony replies "If certain people see him, he's a dead man". In season 5, it is said that Tony has men looking for him in Italy. However, it is never stated whether Furio was found.

Johnny Sack

John Sacrimoni, better known as Johnny Sack, is played by Vincent Curatola. Johnny Sack was the longtime underboss and later the boss of the Brooklyn-based Lupertazzi crime family. He operates out of his Essany Scaffolding (until he is given a severance package) or Little Italy, Manhattan social Club, and was a major player in the New York crime family formerly led by Carmine Lupertazzi. Johnny was Carmine's Underboss for many years, handling political payoffs and bid-rigging for the organization.

He ultimately became boss after Carmine's death. Johnny was also a friend of Tony Soprano. His wife Ginny was obese, and he became violently angry when any remarks were made about her weight. He once ordered a hit on Ralph Cifaretto for making one such off-color joke, although he later cooled down and called it off. Although unknown to Johnny, his own hit was approved by Tony and Carmine to hit Johnny in order to protect the highly valuable Esplanade project to which Ralphie's involvement was key.

Johnny cultivated a friendship with Paulie Gualtieri, making use of him as a source of information about the Soprano family business. The relationship began when Paulie felt sidelined by Tony over the Esplanade construction project and proved most fruitful when Paulie was imprisoned in 2002 — a time when he felt particularly neglected by his friends. Johnny lied to Paulie — telling him that Carmine held him in high regard and often asked about him. This encouraged Paulie to place more faith in his friendship with Johnny than in the loyalty of his friends in the Soprano crime family.

Through Paulie, Johnny learned about Tony's Frelinghuysen Avenue property windfall and HUD scam — allowing the Lupertazzi crime family to demand a piece of the action because their mutual interests made both projects possible. It was also Paulie who told John about the insult that Ralphie made about his wife. However, after a chance meeting with Carmine, Paulie discovered that Carmine did not even know who he was. Angered by John's deceit, Paulie became one of his biggest detractors.

Following the death of Carmine in 2004, Johnny's crew engaged in a bitter war over the family leadership with Carmine's son, Little Carmine. More violence was threatened upon Soprano's family following the unauthorized murder of Joseph "Joey Peeps" Peparelli, Johnny's protegè, by Tony Blundetto, Tony Soprano's cousin, on Little Carmine's behalf. After both New York factions suffered heavy casualties, the conflict was brought to an end with Little Carmine surrendering control of the family. This was followed by a tentative reconciliation with Tony Soprano, who had personally taken the life of Blundetto to bury the hatchet.

The moment was cut short when Johnny was promptly arrested by the FBI after the family's consigliere, Jimmy Petrille, turned state's evidence. Even while in jail awaiting trial he remained in control of the Lupertazzi family. In the sixth season, Johnny entrusted Phil Leotardo with the role of acting boss while he was in jail. Johnny's brother-in-law Anthony Infante acted as a back channel for communications to reach him while he was imprisoned. His wife remained supportive, often visiting him in prison. Johnny was portrayed as becoming more selfish while imprisoned — he commonly disregards the problems of others stating that his "situation" should take precedence.

He ordered Phil to maintain a good relationship with Tony and avoid starting a war over any business disputes, particularly the new office park construction project – another shared venture like the Esplanade project. Johnny was granted release from prison to attend his daughter Allegra's wedding. However, he had to cover the cost of U.S. Marshals and metal detectors for the wedding and would have six hours maximum. When the time came for Johnny to leave the wedding he was reluctant to go — he wanted to wait until his daughter and her new groom left. However, the marshals blocked her limousine and dragged Johnny away in handcuffs, causing him to break down in tears. Johnny used Tony to help plan a hit on Rusty Millio. Johnny again reached out to Tony for help, this time with his financial situation. Johnny elected to use his brother-in-law Anthony as a go-between instead of Phil.

Johnny's efforts to maintain control of his family ultimately proved futile. His lawyer, Ron Perse, floated the possibility of cooperating with the FBI, but John was quick to dismiss this. However, as the trial neared, Ron arranged a deal with the government on Johnny's behalf. Facing a massive asset seizure that would have left both him and his beloved wife destitute and a case he could not possibly beat, Johnny pleaded guilty to 47 RICO predicates for a reduced sentence of 15 years and a fine of $4.2 million, effectively ending his position as boss but still leaving Ginny enough money to live comfortably.

As part of the deal, he was also required to give an allocution admitting his involvement in organized crime (although he did not reveal the names of any associates). Members of both the Soprano and Lupertazzi families were angered by his allocution, believing that John should have stood trial before admitting anything regarding La Cosa Nostra. Johnny was now serving 15 years in federal prison and was considered ''persona non grata'' among his former associates.

During his incarceration, Johnny developed lung cancer. He died at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri not long after receiving a grim prognosis from an oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Phil subsequently took over the Lupertazzi family.

Vito Spatafore

Vito Spatafore is played by Joseph R. Gannascoli. Vito was a soldier in the DiMeo crime family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore, who was a second cousin to high-ranking member of the Lupertazzi family, Phil Leotardo, with two children, Vito Jr., and Francesca. In the fifth season, it was revealed that Vito was a closeted homosexual. Gannascoli brought the idea to the writers of making his character gay based on the true story of Gambino crime family member Vito Arena, in the 1993 book ''Murder Machine''. Gannascoli has said he saw the character as "a cross between Mike Tyson and Liberace."

Although Vito Spatafore was not introduced on ''The Sopranos'' until the season 2 episode "The Happy Wanderer