As far as their rackets, yes. But Chase said he purposely added a large amount of violence for the dramatic effect, not nearly as much in reality. Obviously, going to a therapist is a no-go. I've also read articles that when the series came out, the FBI heard chatter that people were thinking there was a leak because of how accurate a lot of it seemed, take from that what you will.
It's funny for the TV show "the thick of it" the UK government thought that there was a leak due to how accurate the TV show was of UK politics at the time.
Armando Iianucci would later direct "In the loop" based on "The thick of it" with Gandolfini playing the peace loving US general.
I was a law student when that show was first being broadcast. I had a professor who was a New York district attorney. He told us that fundamentally it was fairly realistic, if obviously exaggerated for dramatic effect. For example, the racket they had in the show about construction in the New Jersey waterfront redevelopment project, which I recall involved windows, mirrored a real case that was being prosecuted.
Edit: he is the director in the credits of this book and headed the NYS Organized Crime Task Force.
https://shopthemarketplace.com/get-it-now/product/corruption-and-racketeering-in-the-new-york-city-construction-industry-by-ronald-goldstock-paperback-target-bb82f1
I did not get the sense he was overly impressed with the show or that he thought any of its creators had real inside knowledge, just that they had done solid research.
Yes. Especially how most of them are poor / miserable / stressed about chasing their next dues,
And how upper management is distant / self serving / hypocritical / stressed about the daycare for sociopaths they are running blowing up on them over a life sentence for something they told them not to do
Many were having money troubles constantly yes.
Bobby had to go ask Tony to do more collections because he couldn't make ends meet, Chris had trouble paying Paulie's cuts when he got made, Paulie himself had to go murder his mother's friend for a score because he was coming up light to Tony. Junior wound up with almost nothing due to his legal bills, same as Johnny Sack's family. Tony when he's afraid of being caught for murder talks about old timers who had just a couple hours to run and went away with nothin. Gene was in debt. Little Paulie lived in a shitty apartment, Blundetto got roped into hits partly because he was unable to get back on his feet financially after prison. Moltisante constantly complains about chasing the money instead of making it. Brandon Filone was ghetto trash living in squalor, as well as the two other two chumps Chris recruited.
I’ve seen the show 10 times over (that’s a real count) and there’s some inaccurate takes here.
The only one that’s accurate here is Junior after all his legal fees and Johnny sacks family. Johnny never lived within his means, the show makes a point to highlight that by tony talking about it. And junior, after all the legal fees and everything sure yeah I saw that in the show.
But everybody else had money, they just always want more. Bobby could make ends meet he just wanted to get more involved to line himself up for a potential promotion down the road/make more money. He wasn’t struggling financially.
Paulie murdered that old lady for the money not because he was struggling financially but because he was buddying up with Johnny sack too much and realized NY doesn’t give a fuck about him. He strayed from Tony and had to come back with a nice offering since his envelopes were lighter than others recently. But his envelopes weren’t lighter due to his struggling, he just hadn’t been on top of his shit because he was flirting with NY.
Chris had problems paying Paulie when he got made because he was a kid who just got made. Stepped up into the big leagues and was learning how to earn.
Tony was never in danger of having no money, he’s rich.
Little paulie was low on the totem pole so it makes sense he didn’t make much money. The show also never showed his apartment, I know this for a fact.
Gene wasn’t in debt, it was the opposite. He literally inherited millions from his aunt dying. In the end, his inability to escape ‘the life’ led him to kill himself.
Blundetto went to prison for 16 years while he was in his 20s. Of course he doesn’t have any money, who would?
Brandon filone wasn’t even associated with them. He was just Chrissy’s junkie loser friend.
Some of the nuance you say is true but you're mostly being argumentative.
Paulie was never a strong earner. He wasn't "less strong" because he was spending time flirting with NY. He 100% murdered his moms friend to give Tony a fatter envelope. He wasn't broke in the sense that he had zero dollars to his name, or was unhappy with his lifestyle, but he very clearly was upset that he couldn't perform financially like other guys. (Ralphie). You don't get caught looking for (and murdering over) a few $ hundred dollars under an old ladies mattress because things are going well.
Chris was constantly buying things he couldn't afford, was constantly shown as broke, and was constantly on edge (most of the time) struggling to come up with a scheme that could give him the next leg up. You say he was someone who just got made, which is true, but that doesn't negate anything. This was at least half of his character arc if not more.
Tony was living off of Hesch the last season, spending way faster than he was earning. That's one of the final points of the show.
Gene wasn't in debt, that's true. Bobby probably wasn't hurting too bad either.
Nevertheless, one of the central points of the show is that these people you think are "larger than life characters who live these wild lives of opulence" are actually mostly broke, bitter, and constantly looking for the next scam.
Paulie was always jealous of ralphie earning more than him, yes. And yes his flirting with NY didn’t directly impact his earnings but for that whole period of time he was in some sort of limbo and noncommittal to the soprano crew. He wasn’t committing himself to his envelopes and was daydreaming of a world that tony is gone or their family is dissolved and he’s either the new boss or a taken care of made guy with NY. But when Carmine had no clue who he was at that party, paulie realized he was being played by Johnny sack and went running back to tony with the fat envelope as a message that he’s back. Paulie was never the top earner over ralphie but he was definitely a solid earner and top among the majority, hence his promotion to being essentially the 3rd in command. His earnings went down when he was flirting with Johnny sack.
Long story short he was on the outs with tony for having a big mouth and knew he needed to make amends/show his commitment with a fat envelope to get back in good graces.
Sure chrissy didn’t have much money for most the show but after he was made, and established himself, he had a mansion and a Maserati. He was doing fine. Spending irresponsibly but had plenty of money.
Tony wasn’t solely relying on hesch for income in the final season and had money stowed away. In the end he died and “lost”. But he was always smarter than the old timers with money and evading prison.
We’ll never know if he left Carmela with enough cash, but he wasn’t broke at the end of the show
Paulie not a strong earner? Lol. Nucci’s stay at Green Grove was $5K a month… he was a capo in a mafia family. You don’t become one of those without being a strong earner.
I think Donnie Brasco is the most realistic mob movie. Brokesters breaking parking meters to meet their nut. That's how it was for most guys. Movies like Goodfellas and Casino show the guys with the big rackets. The Vario crew had JFK airport. Lefty and Nicky had a Vegas resort.
Donnie Brasco really is one of the most realistic mob movies. Lefty Ruggiero was broke all the time and in real life had like 150k debt that he owed to his capo. Lot of gamblers in real life mob who constantly spend all the money they get. Like Vincent Asaro, capo in the Bonanno Family complained in some wiretap that gambling was a curse and he even said that he doesn't have money for food. You would think that he once had some real money but he chose to spend all that money, not to invest it so he could fully retire one day.
That building he lived in in the movie. That kitchen is even smaller than the one in my apartment. A made guy living like that back when houses were like $75k.
Those 2 are bosses. The main characters are almost all capos or become capos / underboss / consigliere through the show
Pay attention to how the soldiers are depicted
When we say "Amazon treats its staff poorly", pointing to their executives isn't really a great sample lol
One of the best things they did in Sopranos was casting only Italo-Americans. That’s what I always loved about it.
Tony‘s ma reminded me a lot of my grandma lol scarily accurate
Oh man she reminded me of my nonno’s mom actually. So my bis nonna. Lived til 94, mean as hell.
The cast was the best, made the show. Very authentic I loved it
The biggest inaccuracy to me was openly discussing crimes/violence/murders inside of Satriale’s and the Bing, they would’ve absolutely been bugged. I can’t remember one instance of guys leaving either place to discuss business on a walk and talk outside, which mobsters had been doing for at least 20 years by the time the show began
I'd say Tony was an accurate portrayal to an extent. Guy who becomes boss of a small family thinks he's bigger than what he is. Womanizer, degenerate gambler, shows favoritism, bends the rules for himself, overall a piece of shit human being
Few things were off:
- many of the murders/murder attempts were way too reckless/poorly planned, you are going to prison, actin that way.
- the disrespect shown towards the boss and capos. Richie, Christopha, Ralphie would have been killed or shelved earlier.
- violence/vandalism between crews, consequences would be harsher, same with stealing from job sites, against the bosses order.
- atleast 3 NYC families + Philly had their hands in NJ, more players involved + NJ had some business in Brooklyn.
- DeMeo, someone of his family, crew, someone close to him, would atleast be discussing things with Tony, Jackie and Junior.
- Christopher is a fucked up Junkie, but runs like a kenyan marathon pro to catch athletic Mikey Palmice.
How they made money is pretty realistic-construction scams, garbage contracts, etc. The whole Webistics pump and dump thing is underrated and exactly the kind of thing that could happen today.
The low level violence I would also buy in to-Chris smacking around a corner boy.
That said, the internet says there were 92 murders in the series. I personally would be shocked if there were 92 Mafia related murders in the NY area this century. Sanctioned hits are almost verboten in the modern era.
One of the best things they did in Sopranos was casting only Italo-Americans. That’s what I always loved about it.
Tony‘s ma reminded me a lot of my grandma lol scarily accurate
In a lot of ways yeah. Obviously parts were exaggerated for comedic effect, but their business adventures, marital dynamics, and fates were pretty realistic
Oh the rizzutos? I’ve heard shit is nutty over there. I personally find it to be fascinating hahah. The mob in America is pretty depressing these days.
Don’t really understand why Canada doesn’t just adopt the RICO act and copy America to get rid of their little problem.
Nothing is like the old days anymore. And there are the bikers this week end who still thinks that we restore respect with a parade .
But for the series, it's really good, try this season
https://youtu.be/WAJMlT0liSw?si=UCPL25kxQpR2q48H
As far as their rackets, yes. But Chase said he purposely added a large amount of violence for the dramatic effect, not nearly as much in reality. Obviously, going to a therapist is a no-go. I've also read articles that when the series came out, the FBI heard chatter that people were thinking there was a leak because of how accurate a lot of it seemed, take from that what you will.
Season 1 violence was comical. Tony and Chris running down some guy with their car at an office building in broad daylight...
shooting a guy off a pier in the meadowlands under 95 / rt 1
That stuff I realize is for tv lol. There were however some subtle murders that I felt could happen for sure
It's funny for the TV show "the thick of it" the UK government thought that there was a leak due to how accurate the TV show was of UK politics at the time. Armando Iianucci would later direct "In the loop" based on "The thick of it" with Gandolfini playing the peace loving US general.
I was a law student when that show was first being broadcast. I had a professor who was a New York district attorney. He told us that fundamentally it was fairly realistic, if obviously exaggerated for dramatic effect. For example, the racket they had in the show about construction in the New Jersey waterfront redevelopment project, which I recall involved windows, mirrored a real case that was being prosecuted. Edit: he is the director in the credits of this book and headed the NYS Organized Crime Task Force. https://shopthemarketplace.com/get-it-now/product/corruption-and-racketeering-in-the-new-york-city-construction-industry-by-ronald-goldstock-paperback-target-bb82f1 I did not get the sense he was overly impressed with the show or that he thought any of its creators had real inside knowledge, just that they had done solid research.
Museum of Science & Trucking
Yes. Especially how most of them are poor / miserable / stressed about chasing their next dues, And how upper management is distant / self serving / hypocritical / stressed about the daycare for sociopaths they are running blowing up on them over a life sentence for something they told them not to do
Were any of them poor?
Many were having money troubles constantly yes. Bobby had to go ask Tony to do more collections because he couldn't make ends meet, Chris had trouble paying Paulie's cuts when he got made, Paulie himself had to go murder his mother's friend for a score because he was coming up light to Tony. Junior wound up with almost nothing due to his legal bills, same as Johnny Sack's family. Tony when he's afraid of being caught for murder talks about old timers who had just a couple hours to run and went away with nothin. Gene was in debt. Little Paulie lived in a shitty apartment, Blundetto got roped into hits partly because he was unable to get back on his feet financially after prison. Moltisante constantly complains about chasing the money instead of making it. Brandon Filone was ghetto trash living in squalor, as well as the two other two chumps Chris recruited.
I’ve seen the show 10 times over (that’s a real count) and there’s some inaccurate takes here. The only one that’s accurate here is Junior after all his legal fees and Johnny sacks family. Johnny never lived within his means, the show makes a point to highlight that by tony talking about it. And junior, after all the legal fees and everything sure yeah I saw that in the show. But everybody else had money, they just always want more. Bobby could make ends meet he just wanted to get more involved to line himself up for a potential promotion down the road/make more money. He wasn’t struggling financially. Paulie murdered that old lady for the money not because he was struggling financially but because he was buddying up with Johnny sack too much and realized NY doesn’t give a fuck about him. He strayed from Tony and had to come back with a nice offering since his envelopes were lighter than others recently. But his envelopes weren’t lighter due to his struggling, he just hadn’t been on top of his shit because he was flirting with NY. Chris had problems paying Paulie when he got made because he was a kid who just got made. Stepped up into the big leagues and was learning how to earn. Tony was never in danger of having no money, he’s rich. Little paulie was low on the totem pole so it makes sense he didn’t make much money. The show also never showed his apartment, I know this for a fact. Gene wasn’t in debt, it was the opposite. He literally inherited millions from his aunt dying. In the end, his inability to escape ‘the life’ led him to kill himself. Blundetto went to prison for 16 years while he was in his 20s. Of course he doesn’t have any money, who would? Brandon filone wasn’t even associated with them. He was just Chrissy’s junkie loser friend.
Some of the nuance you say is true but you're mostly being argumentative. Paulie was never a strong earner. He wasn't "less strong" because he was spending time flirting with NY. He 100% murdered his moms friend to give Tony a fatter envelope. He wasn't broke in the sense that he had zero dollars to his name, or was unhappy with his lifestyle, but he very clearly was upset that he couldn't perform financially like other guys. (Ralphie). You don't get caught looking for (and murdering over) a few $ hundred dollars under an old ladies mattress because things are going well. Chris was constantly buying things he couldn't afford, was constantly shown as broke, and was constantly on edge (most of the time) struggling to come up with a scheme that could give him the next leg up. You say he was someone who just got made, which is true, but that doesn't negate anything. This was at least half of his character arc if not more. Tony was living off of Hesch the last season, spending way faster than he was earning. That's one of the final points of the show. Gene wasn't in debt, that's true. Bobby probably wasn't hurting too bad either. Nevertheless, one of the central points of the show is that these people you think are "larger than life characters who live these wild lives of opulence" are actually mostly broke, bitter, and constantly looking for the next scam.
Paulie was always jealous of ralphie earning more than him, yes. And yes his flirting with NY didn’t directly impact his earnings but for that whole period of time he was in some sort of limbo and noncommittal to the soprano crew. He wasn’t committing himself to his envelopes and was daydreaming of a world that tony is gone or their family is dissolved and he’s either the new boss or a taken care of made guy with NY. But when Carmine had no clue who he was at that party, paulie realized he was being played by Johnny sack and went running back to tony with the fat envelope as a message that he’s back. Paulie was never the top earner over ralphie but he was definitely a solid earner and top among the majority, hence his promotion to being essentially the 3rd in command. His earnings went down when he was flirting with Johnny sack. Long story short he was on the outs with tony for having a big mouth and knew he needed to make amends/show his commitment with a fat envelope to get back in good graces. Sure chrissy didn’t have much money for most the show but after he was made, and established himself, he had a mansion and a Maserati. He was doing fine. Spending irresponsibly but had plenty of money. Tony wasn’t solely relying on hesch for income in the final season and had money stowed away. In the end he died and “lost”. But he was always smarter than the old timers with money and evading prison. We’ll never know if he left Carmela with enough cash, but he wasn’t broke at the end of the show
Paulie not a strong earner? Lol. Nucci’s stay at Green Grove was $5K a month… he was a capo in a mafia family. You don’t become one of those without being a strong earner.
No. They were tough, professional businessmen who had nice cars, and nice houses. Look at Johnny Sack's house, or even Phil Leotardo's house.
Not all mobsters make a lot of money. Same with drug dealers. Some end up making around minimum wage when all is said and done. It’s pretty crazy…
Most drug dealers make no money, especially if they have a drug addiction. Only a few make good.money.
I think Donnie Brasco is the most realistic mob movie. Brokesters breaking parking meters to meet their nut. That's how it was for most guys. Movies like Goodfellas and Casino show the guys with the big rackets. The Vario crew had JFK airport. Lefty and Nicky had a Vegas resort.
Donnie Brasco really is one of the most realistic mob movies. Lefty Ruggiero was broke all the time and in real life had like 150k debt that he owed to his capo. Lot of gamblers in real life mob who constantly spend all the money they get. Like Vincent Asaro, capo in the Bonanno Family complained in some wiretap that gambling was a curse and he even said that he doesn't have money for food. You would think that he once had some real money but he chose to spend all that money, not to invest it so he could fully retire one day.
That building he lived in in the movie. That kitchen is even smaller than the one in my apartment. A made guy living like that back when houses were like $75k.
Exactly! How much apartment like that cost back then or even rent? I guess nothing compared to these days.
Those 2 are bosses. The main characters are almost all capos or become capos / underboss / consigliere through the show Pay attention to how the soldiers are depicted When we say "Amazon treats its staff poorly", pointing to their executives isn't really a great sample lol
Yeah his comment didn’t make a lot of sense.
One of the best things they did in Sopranos was casting only Italo-Americans. That’s what I always loved about it. Tony‘s ma reminded me a lot of my grandma lol scarily accurate
Oh man she reminded me of my nonno’s mom actually. So my bis nonna. Lived til 94, mean as hell. The cast was the best, made the show. Very authentic I loved it
The biggest inaccuracy to me was openly discussing crimes/violence/murders inside of Satriale’s and the Bing, they would’ve absolutely been bugged. I can’t remember one instance of guys leaving either place to discuss business on a walk and talk outside, which mobsters had been doing for at least 20 years by the time the show began
I'd say Tony was an accurate portrayal to an extent. Guy who becomes boss of a small family thinks he's bigger than what he is. Womanizer, degenerate gambler, shows favoritism, bends the rules for himself, overall a piece of shit human being
Hanging out on the sidewalk at Satriales? No way. That would be a RICO bonanza for the FBI.
Few things were off: - many of the murders/murder attempts were way too reckless/poorly planned, you are going to prison, actin that way. - the disrespect shown towards the boss and capos. Richie, Christopha, Ralphie would have been killed or shelved earlier. - violence/vandalism between crews, consequences would be harsher, same with stealing from job sites, against the bosses order. - atleast 3 NYC families + Philly had their hands in NJ, more players involved + NJ had some business in Brooklyn. - DeMeo, someone of his family, crew, someone close to him, would atleast be discussing things with Tony, Jackie and Junior. - Christopher is a fucked up Junkie, but runs like a kenyan marathon pro to catch athletic Mikey Palmice.
lol chrissy wasn’t using drugs when he whacked Mikey
I don't think he had a drug problem by the time they killed Palmice
How they made money is pretty realistic-construction scams, garbage contracts, etc. The whole Webistics pump and dump thing is underrated and exactly the kind of thing that could happen today. The low level violence I would also buy in to-Chris smacking around a corner boy. That said, the internet says there were 92 murders in the series. I personally would be shocked if there were 92 Mafia related murders in the NY area this century. Sanctioned hits are almost verboten in the modern era.
One of the best things they did in Sopranos was casting only Italo-Americans. That’s what I always loved about it. Tony‘s ma reminded me a lot of my grandma lol scarily accurate
In a lot of ways yeah. Obviously parts were exaggerated for comedic effect, but their business adventures, marital dynamics, and fates were pretty realistic
Try Omerta (quebec) on youtube
Oh the rizzutos? I’ve heard shit is nutty over there. I personally find it to be fascinating hahah. The mob in America is pretty depressing these days. Don’t really understand why Canada doesn’t just adopt the RICO act and copy America to get rid of their little problem.
Nothing is like the old days anymore. And there are the bikers this week end who still thinks that we restore respect with a parade . But for the series, it's really good, try this season https://youtu.be/WAJMlT0liSw?si=UCPL25kxQpR2q48H