A History of Violence

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

As March Madness enters its final phase and office pools go up for grabs, pundits and fans across the land are asking, “Who will take the last shot?” Meanwhile, TV land is beginning to hear rumblings of the same question as HBO’s acclaimed mob series “The Sopranos” gets set to return for its final nine episodes on April 8.

DiMeo crime family boss Tony Soprano survived a brush with death last season when his senile uncle Junior mistook him for a former rival and shot him in the stomach. But club owner Adriana La Cerva and Soprano soldier Tony Blundetto weren’t so lucky. Now, as the series careens toward its conclusion, more blood is sure to be spilled. But who’s will it be, and why? For loyal fans, the final run of episodes will connect the last dots in a long and winding puzzle of violence and revenge. For the uninitiated, here’s a history of the Soprano casualties, from Season 1 to the present.

SEASON 1

BRENDAN FILONE, Soldier
Gunshot wound clean through the eye while he was in his bathtub, on orders from Uncle Junior for hijacking trucks without permission.

Episode: 3
Killer: Mikey Palmice

JIMMY ALTIERI, captain
After being arrested for gun charges while running an illegal card game in 1999, Jimmy begins informing for the FBI. After his body is discovered in an alley with a rat in his mouth, Soprano soldier Christopher Moltisanti calls in a bomb threat to Jimmy’s wake.

Episode: 13
Killer: Silvio Dante

SEASON 2

RICHIE APRILE, captain
Older brother of the late boss, Jackie Sr., Richie is shot and killed by his fiancée Janice Soprano after he punched her in a domestic dispute. Although he’s disturbed by his sister’s actions, Tony no longer has to mull whacking Richie for insubordination and power grabbing.

Episode: 25
Killer: Janice Soprano

SAL “BIG PUSSY” BONPENSIERO, captain
After years of loyal service, the beloved captain and body shop owner turns to drug dealing to make ends meet. Then he turns to informing for the FBI when the feds break up his business. He’s eventually shot multiple times for his betrayal. His final words are “not in the face, okay?”

Episode: 26
Killers: Tony Soprano, Silvio Dante, and Paulie Walnuts

SEASON 3

GIACOMO MICHAEL “JACKIE” APRILE JR., soldier
Jackie Jr., who once accused Meadow Soprano of cheating at Scrabble because “oblique” is a Spanish word, never was going to make it in college. But that didn’t mean the family business was good for him. When his attempted robbery of a mob poker game went violently wrong, Tony had no choice but to take out his ex-boss’s son.

Episode: 39
Killer: Vito Spatafore

SEASON 4

GLORIA TRILLO, goomar
Tony’s unstable “goomar,” a seductive car dealer, hangs herself after being rebuffed by Tony.

Episode: 45
Killer: Suicide

RALPH CIFARETTO, captain
A former member of the Aprile crew, Ralph, who is known as much for his viciousness as his earning prowess, is beaten to death for setting the fire that killed Tony’s racehorse, Pie-O-My.

Episode: 48
Killer: Tony Soprano

SEASON 5

JACK MASSARONE, construction magnate
The owner of Massarone construction, with which the Soprano crew had a business interest, Jack became a federal informant and was eventually murdered and found in the trunk of his car with a golf club cover in his mouth.

Episode: 54
Killer: Unknown

JOSEPH “PEEPS” PEPPERELLI, soldier
A member of John “Sack” Sacrimoni’s New York crew, Joey Peeps was killed in his car by Soprano family member Tony Blundetto as revenge for the death of Lorraine Calluzzo, an associate of John’s rival New York boss, Carmine Lupertazzi.

Episode: 60
Killer: Tony Blundetto

BILLY LEOTARDO, soldier
Younger brother of New York captain Phil Leotardo. Billy, who killed Lorraine Calluzzo, was then whacked by Tony Blundetto in an act of revenge for the murder of Angelo Garepe, a veteran captain who had befriended Blundetto in prison and later orchestrated the response to Lorraine’s murder.

Episode: 63
Killer: Tony Blundetto

ADRIANA LA CERVA, fiancée of Christopher Moltisanti
After Adriana, who serves as manager of the Crazy Horse club, is forced to cooperate with the FBI, she tries to persuade Christopher to go into hiding with her. He initially agrees, but thinks better of it and reports her to Tony.

Episode: 64
Killer: Silvio Dante

TONY BLUNDETTO, soldier
After going into hiding after his murder of Joe Peeps, Tony is found in upstate New York and killed by his own cousin to appease Johnny Sack’s New York crew for the unauthorized killings of Peeps and Billy Leotardo.

Episode: 65
Killer: Tony Soprano

SEASON 6

RUSTY MILLIO, New York consigliare
As the rift in the New York family escalates, Rusty, trusted confidante to New York boss Carmine Lupertazzi Jr., is killed by the Soprano crew on a request from Johnny Sack.

Episode: 72
Killer: Hired Italian thugs

VITO SPATAFORE, captain
A valuable asset to the Soprano crew, Vito flees to New Hampshire after he is discovered to be a homosexual. Tony Soprano is reluctant to kill him for his sexual preference, but Vito was married to Phil Leotardo’s sister, and Phil takes the news as a personal affront. He personally tracks his ex-brother-in-law down.

Episode: 76
Killer: Dominic “Fat Dom” Gamiello, Gerry Torciano, Phil Leotardo


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