Patsy Parisi

Infobox character | name = Patsy Parisi


real_name = Pasquale Parisi
portrayer = Dan Grimaldi
creator = David Chase
species =
gender = Male
first = "Funhouse" "(episode 2.13)"
last = "Made in America" "(episode 6.21)"
last_cause =
age = 57
occupation = Bookkeeper/Extortionist
title = Soldier of the Moltisanti crew
alias = Patsy
family = "Philly Spoons" Parisi (monozygotic twin brother)
spouse = Donna Parisi (wife)
children = Jason Parisi (son)
Patrick Parisi (son)
relatives =
footnotes =

Pasquale "Patsy" Parisi, played by Dan Grimaldi, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series "The Sopranos". Patsy is the accountant for Tony Soprano's crew, and is often seen calculating the group's finances in the Bada Bing or Satriale's offices. He also acts as a soldier, performing various enforcement tasks for the family. In addition to that, he also procures fine Italian suits for his friends and associates. Patsy is something of a "dark horse" character; he has very little back-story compared to the other members of the crew, and relatively few lines, but visually he is very frequently present on screen. He shares this characteristic with Carlo Gervasi, another high-up member of Tony's crew who is frequently seen but about whom little is known to the audience. Patsy has the distinction of being the only mobster in Tony's group with eyeglasses, giving him a scholarly appearance. He is also never seen smoking cigarettes or cigars, and appears to be in better physical shape for his age than most of the crew - in the episode "Christopher", he single-handedly climbs up a metal utility pole to take down an effigy of Christopher Columbus during a Native American protest.

Loyalties

Patsy had a monozygotic twin brother, Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi (whom Dan Grimaldi also played), who had a hit taken out on him by Tony and was killed by Soprano soldier Gigi Cestone. He was born eleven minutes after his brother Patrick. He is described by Phillip after his death as a "sweet" and "gentle man" who was never "heavy" (argumentative) with anyone. He is fluent in English and Italian languages. At the time, Philly was acting capo of Junior Soprano's crew and Patsy was a member. He is from Bloomfield, New Jersey. Patsy never had concrete evidence about his brother's murder but it occurred soon after a brief and bloody war between Junior and Tony, and Philly was known to be talking about Tony's actions. It was this killing that prompted Tony to move Patsy to keep an eye on him. Patsy took it very hard, which brought on a problem with alcoholism and considering killing Tony—in 2000 a drunken Patsy was observed by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents outside the Soprano family home leveling a gun at Tony through his window. He reconsidered though, and only urinated in the Soprano's pool. Patsy also openly vented his feelings of loss to the Soprano crew in front of the men responsible for his brothers death, Gigi and Tony, at a dinner in the back of Satriale's. However, he eventually put his grief behind him. He displays masochistic tendancies by telling Gloria Trillo subversely that he would dismember her and they would only find her nipples.

Patsy still has questionable loyalties. When Patsy's then-capo Paulie Gualtieri was in prison in 2001, Tony promoted Christopher Moltisanti to acting captain over Patsy (who had seniority). Patsy didn't take this well, eventually getting into a fight with Christopher. Once Paulie was released and moved up to Underboss, Christopher took over as capo of the crew permanently—Patsy eventually seemed comfortable working with him.

In the penultimate episode "The Blue Comet", Patsy is nearly killed by two men sent to murder Silvio Dante. Patsy manages to hold them off, but Silvio is badly wounded and put into a coma, and Patsy runs into the woods fleeing for his life. He survives and later celebrates his son's engagement to Meadow Soprano with Tony and his family, seeing a great opportunity to get closer to Tony. It can be assumed that Patsy is made capo in the Soprano family after the war with Leotardo.

As a soldier

Throughout his time with the crew, Patsy has never been seen to whack anyone—perhaps his reluctance to get involved in wetwork is what holds him back. However, he showed a certain skill for intimidation when warning off Tony's ex-comàre, Gloria Trillo.

Early in the series, Patsy was involved in a smuggling run of luxury clothing, supplying Carmela with a fur coat and Tony's cousin Brian with Italian suits. Patsy and Benny Fazio work with Angie Bonpensiero, handling her money on the street and providing stolen car parts for her business (the Body Shop). Patsy helped Paulie intimidate Jason Barone when he was considering selling Barone sanitation following his father's death. He was present when Tony won the respect of the crew by beating up Perry Annunziata at Satriale's. With the revelation that Vito Spatafore was homosexual, Patsy was one of the few crew members not to bay for blood—he laughed at Christopher's jokes and his statement "I could care less" earned derision from Paulie Gualtieri.

Despite not being considered one of Tony's "inner circle," Patsy is viewed as a reliable and trustworthy soldier by Tony. When Christopher Moltisanti is forced to go into rehabilitation for his heroin addiction, Patsy is entrusted with watching him to ensure he does not try to escape. He is also tasked with intimidating Gloria Trillo after her obsession with Tony that becomes problematic.

Patsy makes collections in the North Ward neighborhood. He has been having problems in the area with franchised businesses that refuse to pay him, and the selling of Caputo's poultry (a longtime local store) by Tony annoyed Patsy. Patsy was accompanied on his rounds by newly made man Burt Gervasi. Patsy helped Paulie organize the Feast of St. Elzear in co-ordination with the local church. Patsy genuflected upon entering the church for a meeting with the priest—he takes his Catholicism seriously despite his lifestyle.

Personal

Pasquale Parisi is a second generation Italian-American, his family's from "San Bassano di Puglia", in the Puglia region of southern Italy.Patsy is married to Donna Parisi but has been shown with other women while the crew are out with their girlfriends. He has two sons—Jason, who attends college and is involved with sports betting and an older son Patrick in the legal field. In the episode "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood", Tony mentions a daughter of Patsy's, but she is never referenced again. In Season Six, Patsy seems pleased that Patrick is dating Meadow Soprano and tells Tony that "wedding bells are in the air" and that they are not too young to be grandfathers. He also previously expressed his pride in Jason's computer and gambling skills.

Real life counterparts

Pasquale and his twin brother Phil Parisi were based on real-life Patriarca crime family mob associates Rocco and Salvatore Balliro from Roxbury, Massachusetts. When the police attempted to arrest Salvatore Balliro, he escaped and fled to Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts where he was finally arrested by the FBI and later for arraignment in New Jersey. He also shares similarities with Bonanno crime family capo Gabriel Infante who also came from Bloomfield, New Jersey who on two separate occasions refused to orchestrate a murder contract on behalf of Joseph Massino sharing Pasquale's hesitation to be involved in "wet work." After refusing to fulfill a murder contract for a third time, Gabriel was murdered for his hindered loyalty.

External links

* [http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/cast/character/patsy_parisi.shtml HBO Profile: Patsy Parisi]