What character do you think comes off as most like a real life gangster on the show? For me it is Patsy Parisi, he doesn't spend all of his time drinking, sleeping with women that are not his wife, partaking in mindless violence, etc. He seems to be a normal and level headed guy for the most part, he can get violent when it is called for, like the time he almost went at it with Christopher at the construction site, but he doesn't beat up waiters for bringing out a cold dish of pasta alla norma.

Not all mobsters are similar. for example a guy Like Joe Armone who was a high ranking mobster never cursed, Paul castellano was the boss of bosses and he was never a violent guy at least in person. So Patsy is a good one since he is not the stereotypical mobster that most movies portray.

In my opinion, its Richie Aprile. Psychopathic, paranoid and ruthless.

Paulie Walnuts for me.In fact I think he is the character that best illustrates your average mobster,as well as the whole Cosa Nostra,its fickle nature,as well as its decline.

He was once young,very tough,very strong and very feared.Now he is old,he retains some of the fierceness he had,but not all of it.He is street smart and sometimes cunning.At the same time he can be petty,narrow-minded,and set in his ways.He is sometimes shown to be very competent.Other times he is a barely functioning idiot,or at best a child.At times he shows fierce loyalty to Tony and the crew,other times he is disillusioned and sells him out.

There are a few for me.

Chrissy: He represents the modern day up and coming wiseguy. Has the hot girl, nice cars, completely ruthless and a drug addict. That role was VERY realistic

Pauly: Old timer still looking for the respect he has never gotten.

Joey Peeps: Again like Chrissy, a young enforcer and collector for his capos. Portrayed it so well that I have researched to see if he was connected in real life.

Layy berese: Well, the guy just got pinched for being a loanshark for the Gambinos, how much more realistic do you need?

Carmine Lupertazzi: GREAT depiction of a boss in my opinion

Least realistic:

Tony: James did a superb job playing the role, the writers are to blame here. No way does a real life boss do the things he did. I.E. be involved in every racket personally, be a lonashark, kill a capo in his own crew with his bare hands, etc

Silvio: Probably my favorite character, but just not real life material in my eyes.

totally agree with everything u just said. But you forgot Feech LeManna. Perfect examample of how egotistical some of these guys are . Alot of times guys like feech just disappear.

But if i had to choose one it wud b Christopher

i think for me it would be christopher and richie aprile. chris with the money hungrey and wanting to do things fast and hard and everything at once. in the first season he would tell tony shit that no one else would like questioning his leadership. richie was just an arrogant not give a shit slime ball killer. for what he did to beansie was just cold. then when the other guys reamed him out about it he didn't care he was only concerned with what was good for him. i didn't care for the way he died tho. janis shooting him over one punch.....i don't agree with him punching janis but she was so in love w/him why did they have to make it over something menial?

i agree the way richie died was totally ridiculous. I also think the way they killed Christopher off was a disgrace. First off i dont think tony shud have ever killed Chrissy . And second the way he did ??? FORGET ABOUT IT!!!

yeah i didn't care for the way it went down...then everyone speculated that chris was a rat. i don't think he was. i realize that christopher had to go but in that way....fugetaboutit

I wish I could participate in this discussion, but the thing is, I don't know any wiseguys. Nice to see you do.

Yep. A number of of the shows viewers who have known real mob guys, including ones who post on other forums, have agreed that Richie Aprile is the most authentic representative of what real mobsters are like. They also thought Patsy Parisi was rather true to life.

You need less internet, and more of getting out of the house then.

The Tony Soprano character does seem quite over the top for being a boss. He killed his top earner capo in a fist fight over a horse for christsake! Notice how he was never investigated for Ralph being missing either, despite having his car parked outside Ralph's house for hours when he went missing, and the house being a mess from the fight, and blood evidence from the fight and mutilation that followed.

Are you serious? Which wiseguy do you know? I'd love to hear this. Feel free to pm me.

me and nino gaggi were real close, our relationship started strain when he wouldnt shut his mouth about trying to give me the hucklebuck at the end of the bar one night....

Hesh resembled a real person according to some NJ wise guys.

Most realistic characters. Uncle Junior, except for his ridiculous singing. And Obviously, Pualie because Junior was real life wanna be wiseguy with the Franzese crew.

I agree with the above statements. Its hard to say because its not like an exact profile for a mobster. There have been some real creeps in the mob, and some real nice guys. Its all different. But I'd say paulie fits the profile the best. Not really a "honor" ridden guy. Just a guy thats been around the block a few times. Doing anything to make a quick buck. Typically a real ass hole but respectable.

Though not a major character, Rusty Milio comes to mind

Carlo perhaps if I'm thikning of the right guy...

Not many people call him Junior, but you're absolutely correct. Tony Sirico used to do muscle work for Sonny Franzese.

I think Richie Aprile and Carlo Gervasi appear as the most authentic mafia characters. But Mickey Palmice and Patsy Parisi also seem to be pretty realistic.

For me the most unrealistic are Paulie Gualtieri and Silvio Dante, who appear too much like 'comic book' characters.

johnny sack for many reasons especially the always smoking i always thought he looked like frank locascio and frank was called frankie loc wich rings like johnny sac

johnny sac always reminded me of gotti. the fine suits the hair the expensive cars. the flaming temper. wanting to kill people over off color remarks.....

Gotti would never cry in public its not cosa nostra

He'd be crying now if he saw how his grandsons turned out.

He would give the order to whack them.

And He tried hard to set those boys straight in there formative years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFydrV9dN0
all for nothing

Add Sacrimoni.
Silvio was just painful to watch. Funny but painful.

the 2 bareses, carlo, bobby sr, murph, mikey palmice, ray curto

johnny fuckin sack

Tony Sirico aka Paulie Walnuts. I met this great actor in real life in SoHo, New York and he is the real deal. Funny with a sense of style and was a mobster before becoming an actor.

"Before turning to acting, Sirico was reportedly a fast-rising mob associate of the Colombo crime family serving under Carmine "Junior" Persico and had been arrested twenty-eight times. "