Patsy Parisi
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| Patsy Parisi | |
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| First appearance | "Funhouse" (episode 2.13) |
| Last appearance | "Made in America" (episode 6.21) |
| Created by | David Chase |
| Portrayed by | Dan Grimaldi |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Patsy |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 57 |
| Occupation | Bookkeeper |
| Title | Soldier of the Moltisanti crew |
| Family | "Philly Spoons" Parisi (twin brother) |
| Spouse(s) | Donna Parisi (wife) |
| Children | Jason Parisi (son) Patrick Parisi (son) |
Pasquale "Patsy" Parisi, played by Dan Grimaldi, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Patsy is a soldier, performing various enforcement tasks for the family and is often seen calculating accounts in the Bada Bing or Satriale's offices.
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[edit] Loyalties
Patsy had an identical 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. At the time, Philly was acting capo of Junior Soprano's crew and Patsy was a member. 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 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.
Patsy still has questionable loyalties. When Patsy's then-capo Paulie Walnuts 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 and Silvio manage 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.
[edit] As a soldier
Throughout his time with the crew, Patsy has never been seen to whack anyone—perhaps his reluctance to get involved in wet work 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 Walnuts.
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 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.
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] 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. New Jersey is where The Sopranos creator David Chase grew up and lived.
[edit] External links
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