Paulie "walnuts" Gualtieri

There's a good reason Tony Sirico is so convincing as the menacing Paulie Walnuts on "The Sopranos." Because before becoming an actor, Sirico was a mob-connected thug who dealt speed, packed a loaded Beretta, and was once actually declared a "danger to society" by a New York judge.
In fact, according to court records that read like a David Chase script, Sirico was a feared shakedown artist who preyed on Manhattan nightclubs and who once gave this description of his extortion technique: "You hit them over the head with a baseball bat, and they come around." After a dispute with a disco owner, Sirico once warned, "I'm going to come back here and carve my initials in your forehead. You better learn a lesson, you better show me the respect I deserve." A Bellevue Hospital psychiatric report from that period concluded that Sirico suffered from a "character disorder."

I love his character.....................we are well behind the USA screening of the show but i was pleased to hear that Paulie made it to the end in one piece. He had it written into his contract that Paulie would not "flip" (go into witness protection) so i guess maybe he had it written in that he had to live to the end........................anyhooo he's old school!! Love that show!