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==History==
==History==

===Formation===
The DiMeo crime family is believed to of been formed in Northern New Jersey in the 1950's.
It is thought to be loosely based on the real New Jersey Mafia family, The DeCavalcante crime family. Dominic Ercoli ''Eckley'' DiMeo is believed to of been the first Official Boss

===Unrest Of 1983===
During the early 1980's many Soprano family members were arrested, causing the biggest blow to the family since its formation. Amongst those arrested were Michele 'Feech' La Manna, sentenced to 20 years.

===The War of 1999===
===The War of 1999===
The [[DiMeo Crime Family]] was run by Dominic Ercoli "Eckley" DiMeo a.k.a. 'Old Man' Dimeo until he was sentenced to a life in prison in 1995. [[Jackie Aprile, Sr.|Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile]] was named Acting Boss of the family by DiMeo, to the [[chagrin]] of [[Junior Soprano|Corrado "Junior" Soprano]], a [[Capo (Mafia)|capo]] in the DiMeo family dating back to the 1960s. The Soprano family have been a key faction in the DiMeo Crime Family, running two separate crews (the Johnny, later Tony, Soprano crew and the Junior Soprano crew) and had longstanding ties with the five New York Families (particularly the [[Lupertazzi Crime Family]] led by [[Carmine Lupertazzi]]). It was assumed that a Soprano would take over the reins when DiMeo died or went to prison, but DiMeo was impressed by Jackie Aprile's leadership abilities (the Aprile crew has been the top earner and best run crew of the family for years). Junior responded by having his crew hijack trucks belonging to Jackie. Their dispute had to be settled in a sitdown coordinated by Soprano crew capo [[Tony Soprano]] and [[Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero]].
The [[DiMeo Crime Family]] was run by Dominic Ercoli "Eckley" DiMeo a.k.a. 'Old Man' Dimeo until he was sentenced to a life in prison in 1995. [[Jackie Aprile, Sr.|Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile]] was named Acting Boss of the family by DiMeo, to the [[chagrin]] of [[Junior Soprano|Corrado "Junior" Soprano]], a [[Capo (Mafia)|capo]] in the DiMeo family dating back to the 1960s. The Soprano family have been a key faction in the DiMeo Crime Family, running two separate crews (the Johnny, later Tony, Soprano crew and the Junior Soprano crew) and had longstanding ties with the five New York Families (particularly the [[Lupertazzi Crime Family]] led by [[Carmine Lupertazzi]]). It was assumed that a Soprano would take over the reins when DiMeo died or went to prison, but DiMeo was impressed by Jackie Aprile's leadership abilities (the Aprile crew has been the top earner and best run crew of the family for years). Junior responded by having his crew hijack trucks belonging to Jackie. Their dispute had to be settled in a sitdown coordinated by Soprano crew capo [[Tony Soprano]] and [[Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero]].

Revision as of 21:52, 19 April 2006

The DiMeo (Organized Crime) Family, (now known as The Soprano crime family) is a fictional mob family from the HBO series, The Sopranos. The DiMeo mafia consist of an administration and six crews.

History

Formation

The DiMeo crime family is believed to of been formed in Northern New Jersey in the 1950's. It is thought to be loosely based on the real New Jersey Mafia family, The DeCavalcante crime family. Dominic Ercoli Eckley DiMeo is believed to of been the first Official Boss

Unrest Of 1983

During the early 1980's many Soprano family members were arrested, causing the biggest blow to the family since its formation. Amongst those arrested were Michele 'Feech' La Manna, sentenced to 20 years.

The War of 1999

The DiMeo Crime Family was run by Dominic Ercoli "Eckley" DiMeo a.k.a. 'Old Man' Dimeo until he was sentenced to a life in prison in 1995. Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile was named Acting Boss of the family by DiMeo, to the chagrin of Corrado "Junior" Soprano, a capo in the DiMeo family dating back to the 1960s. The Soprano family have been a key faction in the DiMeo Crime Family, running two separate crews (the Johnny, later Tony, Soprano crew and the Junior Soprano crew) and had longstanding ties with the five New York Families (particularly the Lupertazzi Crime Family led by Carmine Lupertazzi). It was assumed that a Soprano would take over the reins when DiMeo died or went to prison, but DiMeo was impressed by Jackie Aprile's leadership abilities (the Aprile crew has been the top earner and best run crew of the family for years). Junior responded by having his crew hijack trucks belonging to Jackie. Their dispute had to be settled in a sitdown coordinated by Soprano crew capo Tony Soprano and Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero.

When Jackie Aprile was diagnosed with cancer in 1998, Tony Soprano, his closest friend and Junior's nephew, took over Jackie's responsibilities (after Silvio Dante declined the role), again to Junior's displeasure. Uncle Junior and Tony were, at that point, at each other's throats because Junior plotted to have a rival, "Little Pussy" Malanga, killed in Malanga's favorite restaurant, Vesuvio's, a restaurant owned by Tony's childhood friend Artie Bucco. Tony foiled Junior's plans by ordering Silvio Dante to set Artie's restaurant on fire. Also, Tony's younger cousin, Christopher Moltisanti and his associate Brendan Filone, were hijacking trucks from Comley Trucking, a business run by Junior. Junior's enforcer, Mikey Palmice, performed a hit on Filone, and Russian associates performed a mock execution on Christopher under Junior's orders. When Jackie Aprile died in 1999, and tensions between Junior and Tony at an all-time high, it was assumed that the two would go to war over the top position. Tony instead deferred to Junior, giving him the title as Boss. This was effectively in name only, as Tony still controlled the capos in the family and was the main conduit to the Lupertazzi Family, represented by underboss Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni.

Tensions flared up between Junior and Tony after Tony's mother, Livia Soprano, revealed that Tony was seeing a psychiatrist and had been meeting secretly with Junior's capos. An assassination attempt on Tony was made, but Tony managed to escape with just his ear getting shot. After discovering that the failed attempt was a plan concocted by Junior, Tony ordered the deaths of key members of Junior's crew: soldier Chucky Signore, consigliere Mikey Palmice, and capo Philly Parisi. Junior Soprano was spared when he was indicted by the federal government (along with underboss Joey Sasso and capo Larry Boy Barese), and because Tony wished to keep him as the lightning rod that took the hits for the Family. Tony then took over virtually all of Junior's business and became the official Boss of the now renamed Soprano Crime Family. Tony named Silvio Dante as his consigliere, and promoted soldier Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri to captain of his old crew, renamed the Gualtieri crew.

The two Soprano men have since reconciled, and although Junior has been usurped of nearly all power and is under house arrest awaiting trial, he still retained the title of Boss and acted as a mentor and advisor to Tony. One of the factors that brought the two closer together was when Junior was diagnosed with cancer in 2001. Junior managed to beat the disease before the RICO trial against him started.

The FBI Investigations

After years of investigating Tony Soprano (at one point trying to turn him into an informant) and failing to connect him to anything (the closest they came was pinning him to the murder of associate Matthew Bevilaqua, which was tossed out when an eyewitness retracted his statement after finding out one of the shooters may have been Tony Soprano), the FBI arrested Tony in 2000 when it was discovered that he had been extorting Davey Scatino. While busting out Scatino's sporting goods store, Tony had been receiving stolen airline tickets, which was discovered due to information given by turncoat Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero and when Tony gave one of the stolen tickets to his mother, Livia. The case fell through when Big Pussy "disappeared" and when Livia died of a stroke. The FBI continued to build a case against Tony, but fell on difficult times when a wiretapping of his basement was compromised and because of the deaths of several FBI informants.

In 2002, the RICO trial against Junior Soprano ended in a hung jury, but the government moved to schedule a re-trial, meaning Junior had to stay under house arrest. Due to his diminished position in the family because of the house arrest, longtime Junior Soprano loyalist Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri was named Deputy Capo of the Junior Soprano crew.

Periods of unrest

In the meantime, The Soprano Family continued to stay in a period of transition, with three captains of the Aprile crew (Richie Aprile, Gigi Cestone, and Ralph Cifaretto) dying in a three year span. The Aprile crew has found some stability under the control of Vito Spatafore. Tony Soprano began to groom his cousin/nephew, Christopher Moltisanti, into a leadership role, which was compromised when it was revealed that Christopher suffered from a serious heroin addiction. Christopher has since cleaned up and is currently the captain of the Gualtieri crew when Paulie Walnuts was elevated to Underboss.

The working relationship between the Lupertazzi Crime Family and the Sopranos reached a rocky point in 2002, when the two families joined together to control the Esplanade Construction Site in Newark, NJ. Disagreements over the split of the money of the Esplanade, plus the HUD projects that Tony was keeping secret from Lupertazzi and the displeasure of Johnny Sack with Ralph Cifaretto, nearly caused the two families to go to war. Both Johnny Sack and boss Carmine Lupertazzi blamed one another for the conflict, and reached out to Tony to whack the other as a means of ending the conflict. In both cases, cooler heads prevailed and the two families worked out a deal.

The prison release of "The Class of 2004" (Phil Leotardo, Angelo Garepe, Michele "Feech" La Manna, and Tony Blundetto) along with the death of Carmine Lupertazzi set off another series of conflicts. "Little" Carmine Lupertazzi and Johnny Sack went to war over the position of Boss in New York, and Tony had to deal with the insubordination of Feech La Manna and his cousin, Tony Blundetto. One problem in his family was solved when Feech La Manna was sent back to prison after a stolen truck was found in his garage. The other problem was complicated when Tony B. killed Lupertazzi associate Joe Peeps on the orders of Lupertazzi Capo Rusty Millio and consigliere Angelo Garape. When Angelo was killed in retaliation, Tony B. went after Phil Leotardo and killed his brother, Billy Leotardo, in an unsanctioned hit. Faced with threats of war and torture from Johnny Sack and Phil Leotardo plus unease in his own family, Tony was left with no choice but to kill Tony B. himself.

The relationship between New York and New Jersey families was further complicated when Johnny Sack was busted by the FBI and sent to prison to await trial, and Phil Leotardo, still nursing hard feelings about Blundetto, was named Acting Boss of the Lupertazzi Family.

The Shooting of Tony Soprano

During his house arrest and trials/re-trials, Junior would develop signs of dementia due to a head injury suffered after being hit with a boom mic on his way home from the courthouse and several ministrokes over the years. Junior's increasingly diminished capacity led him to shoot Tony in the abdomen, mistakenly thinking that Tony was former nemesis "Little Pussy" Malanga.

The shooting of Tony Soprano set off a media frenzy, with reporters stalking the Soprano house and outside the hospital where Tony lay in a coma. Junior Soprano was arrested and questioned about the shooting, which he insisted must have been a self-inflicted gunshot by Tony, who he labeled as a "depression case". The captains of the Family agreed to cut all ties to Junior and allow Tony to decide what happens to him.

With Tony incapacitated, his consigliere Silvio Dante took over as Acting Boss of the Soprano Crime Family. However, Silvio was unable to handle the pressure of being Boss, and suffered an asthma attack that put him in the hospital. Tony, after a near-death experience, would awake from his coma soon after, just in time to settle a dispute over the future of Barone Sanitation with Johnny Sack and Phil Leotardo.

Further Complications

While in jail, Johnny Sack reached out to Tony through Leotardo to whack his insubordinate capo, Rusty Millio. Tony refused at first, but had a change of heart after talking to Johnny Sack at his daughter's wedding.

More complications occured in the Family when Vito Spatafore, the captain of the Aprile crew and one of Tony's top earners, fled New Jersey after his homosexuality was revealed. Carlo Gervasi was named by Tony as the new pointman for the Family's construction interests.

Current Organization

Administration

Emeritus

Crews

Junior Soprano Crew

  • Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri - Capo
    • Beppy Scerbo - Soldier
    • Tommy - Soldier
    • Charles "Chucky" Signore - Soldier (Deceased)
    • Robert Baccalieri Sr. - Soldier (Deceased)
      • Salvatore "Mustang Sally" Intile - Associate (Deceased)
Former Capos
  • Junior Soprano (unknown–1999) - promoted to Boss
  • Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi (1999–2000 - Deceased)
  • Murph Lupo (2000–2002 - demoted to Soldier, semi-retired)
Territory and Businesses
  • Junior Soprano's interests include loansharking, control of the Paving and Jointfitting Unions, protection money from Comley Trucking, and the sports book on Bloomfield Avenue. He gave control over the unions to Tony upon becoming Boss, and surrendered all businesses, aside from shylocking, as punishment for taking out a hit on Tony.
  • The Junior Soprano Crew conducted business at the Sit Tite Luncheonette until Junior's arrest in 1999.
  • Had an interest along with Richie Aprile in cocaine distribution.
  • After the death of Aprile crew soldier Eugene Pontecorvo, Bobby Bacala was given control over his former sports book on Bloomfield Ave, with a percentage of it still paid to Aprile captain Vito Spatafore (before his disappearance).
  • In 1999, the crew were also partnered working with Bareses in modern enterprises such as calling card and stock scams, but since the war and FBI indictments of the same year, control of the operations were assumed by Tony Soprano and the Gualtieri crew, along with most of Junior's business.

Gualtieri Crew

Formerly known as The Soprano Crew with Johnny Boy Soprano and Tony as captains, respectively.


Former Capos
Territory and Businesses
  • The traditional and primary income of the crew stems from gambling (particularly sports betting), loansharking, and extortion, although under the leadership of Tony Soprano, more diverse and modern criminal enterprises were pursued.
  • The Soprano Crew are the main proprietors of the Bada Bing strip club on Route 17 in Lodi, New Jersey. Silvio Dante officially owns and manages the club.
  • Business has also been established through Satriale's, a meat market that was left to Giovanni "Johnny Boy" Soprano when "Old Man" Satriale, a complusive gambler and debtor, committed suicide.
  • Tony Soprano was a longtime co-owner of Barone Sanitation until Jason Barone sold the company after his father, Dick Barone's death. Tony still maintains a percentage of the company.
  • Tony runs an HMO scam with longtime advisor, Herman "Hesh" Rabkin.
  • Tony and Silvio also run the Executive Card Game, a high-stakes poker game once run by Johnny and Junior Soprano.
  • Christopher Moltisanti is the silent partner of the Crazy Horse nightclub, once run by his fiance Adriana La Cerva. Furio Giunta was a partner until he fled to Italy.
  • In 2000, Tony orchestrated a scam buying calling cards on credit through front companies and selling them at discount.
  • Christopher also ran the 2000 'pump and dump' Webistics stock scam, until it was discovered that "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero passed information on it to the FBI.
  • The crew's relationship with the Vittorio/Zucca Camorra family in Naples allowed for the smuggling of stolen cars to Italy in return for money and free use of Neapolitan enforcers, notably Furio Giunta.
  • Bonpensiero also ran an auto body shop before his death, now operated by his widow Angie.

Aprile Crew

The Aprile crew is known as the most profitable crew in the Soprano/DiMeo family.

  • Vito Spatafore - Capo (2002–present - M.I.A.)
    • Jason Molinaro - Soldier
    • Dante Greco - Soldier
    • Eugene Pontecorvo - Soldier (FBI Informant - Deceased)
      • Beansie Gaeta - Associate
      • Bryan Spatafore - Associate
      • Donny K - Associate
      • Dogsy - Associate
      • Jackie Aprile, Jr. - Associate (Deceased)
      • Dino Zerilli - Associate (Deceased)
      • Carlo Renzi - Associate (Deceased)
      • "Sunshine" - Associate (Deceased)
Former Capos
Territory and Businesses
  • Since at least the leadership of Jackie Aprile, Sr., the Apriles have had the biggest interests in construction, via illicit control of unions and projects in co-operation with the Lupertazzi Family; this became most lucrative under the leadership of Ralph Cifaretto, who supervised the New Jersey Front Esplanade construction project and the HUD scam, and his successor Vito Spatafore. This had made them the most consistently profitable crew of the whole family. However, since Vito's disappearance in 2006, the Gervasi crew has been granted control of all future construction interests.
  • Own and operate Spatafore Construction and Aprile Roofing.
  • Significant income also came from various garbage routes throughout New Jersey, operated by Zanone Bros. Trucking. Richie Aprile at one point used them for cocaine distribution.
  • The Aprile Crew also has business in some minor pizza joints around Jersey.
  • Richie Aprile and Ralph Cifaretto both sponsored mid-level poker games.

Barese Crew

The Barese crew is known for its large crew of made men.

Territory and Businesses
  • A percentage of Barese crew profits come from drug trafficking.
  • The Bareses were also involved in calling card and stock scams up until Larry Boy's arrest; these were later replicated by the Soprano/Gualtieri crew.

Gervasi Crew

  • Carlo Gervasi - Capo (1999–present)
Former Capos
  • Jimmy Altieri (1995–1999) - FBI Informant - (Deceased)
Territory and Businesses
  • The Gervasi crew runs all operations around the New Jersey ports, controlling overseas shipments and business.
  • With the absense of Aprile Crew Capo, Vito Spatafore in Season 6, Carlo Gervasi was given control of the Aprile's construction job.
  • The Gervasi crew owns the casino on Bloomfield Avenue, once run by associate Tony Blundetto until his death.

Curto Crew

It is currently unknown of who took over the Curto crew after the passing of its Capo, Raymond Curto.

La Manna Crew (Defunct)

Territory and Businesses
  • Feech La Manna once ran a high stakes card game, which was famously held up by Jackie Aprile and Tony Soprano.
  • Legitimate interests included a gardening company run by his nephew and the La Manna bakery, run by Feech himself.

Misc. Members

  • Rocco DiMeo - Soldier (Deceased)
  • "Little Pussy" Malanga - Soldier (Deceased)
  • Augustus "Little Auggie" Aprile - Soldier

Unofficial Associates

  • Herman "Hesh" Rabkin - advisor to Tony Soprano


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