Sonny wan't based on anyone in particular. The only characters who were based on real life guys were "Jo-Jo the Whale," who was based on Louis "Gigi the Whale" Inglese, and "Eddie Mush," who played himself, and was as big a degenerate gambler in real life as he was in the movie.

Chazz has said in interviews over the years that, except for seeing a guy get shot, he didn't have an actual relationship with a local mob boss. The Sonny character was straight out of his imagination.