Carmine Lupertazzi

Carmine Lupertazzi
First appearance "Fortunate Son" (episode 3.03)
Last appearance "The Test Dream" (episode 5.11)
Created by David Chase
Portrayed by Tony Lip
Information
Full name Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr.
Nickname(s) Fish Lips, Brainless the First,
Occupation Mafia boss
Union leader
Restaurateur
cement contractor
Title Boss and namesake of the Lupertazzi crime family and sits on The Commission (mafia)
Spouse(s) Violet Lupertazzi (wife)
Children Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr. (son)
Unnamed daughter
Religion Roman Catholicism
Nationality Italian-American

Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr., played by Tony Lip, is the fictional boss of the Brooklyn-based Lupertazzi crime family on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.

Biography

Carmine Lupertazzi was an old-school mafioso[1] of Junior Soprano's generation. He kept a low-profile for most of his criminal career while operating out of his social clubs and restaurants. Carmine was arrested and acquitted of labor racketeering charges in the 1980s. It was around this time that Carmine's longtime consigliere, Angelo "Angie" Garepe and longtime Lupertazzi family captain Philip "Phil" Leotardo were convicted of various racketeering charges and sent to prison for 20 years each. During Carmine's tenure his family was the largest and wealthiest of the Five Families in New York City. They maintained close ties to New Jersey's DiMeo crime family.

Carmine was calm and calculating, a true opportunist and still sharp even in his old age. He is depicted as a loving father and grandfather and groomed his son and namesake "Little" Carmine Lupertazzi, by making him a capo in the crime family that bears his name. He had a sometimes contentious relationship with his underboss John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni: during different episodes in the fourth season Johnny and Carmine each authorized Tony Soprano to put a "hit" on the other, although they were both called off at the last minute.

In 2004 Carmine's health began to fail and he suffered a massive stroke while having lunch with Tony, Johnny and Angelo Garepe at a country club. After lingering for a week or so in the hospital Carmine died peacefully of natural causes. This left a large power vacuum in the Lupertazzi crime family. The "heir apparent" for his position was his son Little Carmine, a fact that became a point of consternation for Johnny Sack. Johnny did not think much of Little Carmine and felt as Carmine's underboss, he was next in line to be boss.

Carmine once told Tony Soprano that "a Don doesn't wear shorts" after his underboss, Johnny Sack, saw Tony wearing them at a backyard cook-out. Tony never again wore them while Carmine was alive but did wear them again after Carmine died in season five. Though he regarded the DiMeo crime family as nothing more than a "glorified crew" in private, Lupertazzi did show great respect for Tony as a man, at one time saying he would be proud to call Tony his own son (right in front of his actual son, Little Carmine). This was most evident when he showed genuine concern for Tony's health after hearing rumors that he was seeing a psychiatrist and suffering panic attacks.

In the episode "Rat Pack", Tony sits with Junior and makes conversations with both Bobby Baccalieri and Feech La Manna, when they suddenly are called up with the information that Carmine has passed during the night. Bobby sees Carmine as a great man, and shares that he heard Carmine was the one who invented "point shaving", having players throw games and betting against their teams. This is confirmed by Junior, who replies that in 1951, Carmine orchestrated the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal and that Junior bought a Cadillac Fleetwood from the small fortune he won betting on the game.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/cast-and-crew/carmine-lupertazzi
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